What is the Paleolithic art period?

The Upper Paleolithic (Late Stone Age, c. 50,000 to c. 12,000 years ago) is the period in human prehistory when we see the emergence of art. Upper Paleolithic art is usually divided into two categories: rock/cave art and portable art such as animal and anthropomorphic figurines.

Did any paintings survive from the Paleolithic period?

Yes, there are surviving cave paintings from the Paleolithic period. The most famous ones include Altamira Cave in Spain, and Lascaux Cave and Chauvet Cave in France.

Paleolithic Art

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Image Gallery

by Ibolya Horváth
published on 11 June 2024

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Panel of the Lions, Chauvet Cave (Replica)

by Claude Valette
published on 10 February 2017

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Panel of the Lions, Chauvet Cave (Replica) — View Full-Size Image

Replica of the Panel of the Lions from Chauvet Cave, France, which depicts cave lions hunting bison. The art in Chauvet Cave has been dated to between c. 33,000 and c. 30,000 years old.

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Questions & Answers

What is the Paleolithic art period?: The Upper Paleolithic (Late Stone Age, c. 50,000 to c. 12,000 years ago) is the period in human prehistory when we see the emergence of art. Upper Paleolithic art is usually divided into two categories: rock/cave art and portable art such as animal and anthropomorphic figurines.
Did any paintings survive from the Paleolithic period?: Yes, there are surviving cave paintings from the Paleolithic period. The most famous ones include Altamira Cave in Spain, and Lascaux Cave and Chauvet Cave in France.

License & Copyright

Based on Wikipedia content that has been reviewed, edited, and republished. Original image by Claude Valette. Uploaded by Emma Groeneveld, published on 10 February 2017. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon a work even for commercial reasons, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.