Most cave art the work of teens, not shamans - A landmark study of Paleolithic art

University of Alaska Fairbanks, Institute of Arctic Biology ^ | 10 February 2006 | Dale Guthrie and Marie Gilbert

[BenLurkin]

"Using new forensic techniques on fossil handprints..."

Could also mean that the shaman obliged everyone in the tribe to place their handprint in the cave for good luck and and then he went back to work painting bison.

[MillerCreek]

The lifespan of the average adult during those times was...what, twenty five or thirty if you were "old aged"?

I'm also thinking that most humans lived in small groups and the notion of a "shaman" was probably rare...while painting, imagery, seems OF COURSE the effort of self expression for a number of motivations, many of which had to do, certainly, with how to keep busy during times of lower-to-no-light. Happened every day, had to be motivational for nearly everyone to figure out what to do with the several hours in the evening before sleep, and/or during the days of rain and storms when they were limited to keeping "indoors".

[SunkenCiv]

The lower cave (the one which used to be open, but got sealed up by a rail line) under the "Ruby Falls Caverns" by Chattanooga supposedly has graffiti as you described, including (supposedly) Andrew Jackson's autograph. :')

[caver]

That would be cool, a real Andrew Jackson signature.

[SunkenCiv]

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[Battle Axe]

So what ages do you expect the boxcar artists to be??

[null and void]

4 years older than when I posted that...

[GregoTX]

"So what ages do you expect the boxcar artists to be??"

Ancient boxcars from a long time ago (in a galaxy far far away)

[ApplegateRanch]

I took several anthropology and intro archeology courses in the early 1970s, along with ancient art history. Naturally, "cave art" and "rock art" were covered.

...and I put my new found knowledge to (not so) good use: there is a fine set of petroglyphs that I made under a sandstone overhang near (but not too near) a SoCal nature trail.

So far, I'm still waiting to hear that they have been "discovered".

[ApplegateRanch]

A lot of the “cave art” is just “random marks” where they were testing their plows, before going out to use them putting “plow marks” on rocks.

[wildbill]

Cave art as teen grafitti?

“This is the antelope gang’s turf.”

“Go Lions!”

“Mammoths Rule!”

[SunkenCiv]

In one cave, there’s a string of runic characters in fine lettering, which have finally, almost miraculously been translated — “No Clubs or Colors”. There’s some crude graffiti near it, showing a stick man clubbing another over the head, and another scrawl that translates, “what’s color?”

[SunkenCiv]

:’) I hope you get a chance to photograph them in detail, before someone else “discovers” them and screws them up with their own idea of writing, or tries to cut them out to sell or whatnot. :’)

[Little Bill]

A little hot mammoth fat, a doll, and a dark place, sounds normal.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Taglodytes.

[SunkenCiv]

LOL!

[SunkenCiv]

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