Cave painting

Cave paintings are paintings painted on cave walls and ceilings in pre-historic times.

Some cave paintings show surprisingly high levels of artistry of Stone Age humans, and give valuable clues as to the culture and beliefs of that era.

The commonest themes in cave paintings are large wild animals, such as bison, deer, aurochs, and bears, and tracings of human hands.

Well known cave paintings include those of:

• Lascaux in France (discovered by a dog named Robot)
• La Marche, in the Lussac-les-Chateaux area of France
• Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc, France
• Altamira in Spain

Significant early cave paintings have also been found in Australia.

In 2003, cave paintings also were discovered in Creswell Crags, Nottinghamshire, England.