While images of animals are abundant in ancient cave paintings, human figures seldom appear. A painting found in a cave in Lascaux, France, is unusual because it contains the image of a human and seems to tell a story. The mural is not found in the galleries with the other paintings, but at the bottom of a deep shaft.

What symbols are shown in Upper Paleolithic cave paintings?
More common than figures of humans in these cave paintings are the symbols shown by hands, patterned lines, grids, and dots. Their meaning remains a mystery, but most interpretations suggest a magical or religious significance.

Hands appear in a variety of styles and sizes. Some are "negatives," achieved by sponging or possibly even blowing the earth-made paints around a hand placed against a cave wall. Some are as small as a two-year-old's, and located high enough that a prehistoric toddler could not have reached that height without help. "Positive" images are also abundant, made simply by smearing paint on the hand and placing it palm down against the wall.

Handprints are common in prehistoric artwork. The hands shown in the image to the left are found in the Kakadu National Park in northern Australia. In this park, Aboriginal culture that began 20,000 years ago is reflected in rock art. In Gargas, France, many handprints appear to show shortened fingers. Were these hands the victims of frostbite or injury, or were the fingers folded forward in some kind of silent sign language? Scholars have speculated that the hands near an animal's image represent magical control designed to guarantee the success of the hunt. View these examples from Pech-Merle and Cosquer, France.

The patterned lines that appear in the cave paintings offer mysterious messages. Some single lines crossing an animal shape may represent the path of a spear. Parallel lines are very common, sometimes representing the mane of a bison or horse, sometimes standing off to one side without a clear explanation. Rectangular grids are sometimes found. Some scholars have suggested the grids represent animal traps.

Rows of dots, usually black or red, and often in groups of seven, also occur frequently. They appear to be placed strategically within the caves, suggesting to some experts that they signaled the end of an area of cave decoration. Modern-day shamans, healers, and spiritual leaders of traditional societies say that the dots gave permanence to the spirits of the animals.

Credits: Hall of Bulls at Lascaux Sisse Brimberg/National Geographic Image Collection; Lascaux animals/humans Paleolithic cave painting (c. 15,000-10,000 b.c.). Lascaux Caves, Perigord, Dordogne, France. Photo © Art Resource, New York; Handprints Belinda Wright/National Geographic Image Collection.

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