Cave of Forgotten Dreams: Art and Meaning in Paleolithic Cave Paintings

In the prehistoric times, caves played a vital role in the lives of the Stone Age people. Caves are hollow places in the ground which are specifically a natural underground space, large enough for a human to enter. They are formed naturally through weathering process. Therefore, from the film, the paper intends to cover the significance of the paintings and the meaning behind them.

The human beings never use the caves not only for shelter and livelihood; however, they use them for paintings and ceremonies. These can be evident by the fires which were shown on the caves and the lights which reflect the men who are dancing over time. Besides, the archeologists also found that the remaining of the animals found in the caves were not for the human beings but the animals. From the walls of the caves, which the archeologists were not allowed to touch some parts like the inner depths, the paintings of various animals such as rhinos, hyenas, wolves, and horses. Besides, some other animals were drawn by many legs to show the movement of the animals. Also be evident with the red paintings which can be evident on the walls of the caves. The Stone Age period also uses the caves and arcs to show a sense of directions. When the paintings were compared, it was apparent that they were painted by the same man especially when the images of the fingers were taken into considerations.

The main reason why the paintings were made by the people living in this periods was to show the lifestyles which they were living in the past. It also shows the type of animals which were in existence in the past and how they were interacting by one another. For example, the images show lions which want to mate and the lioness is not ready. These depict a lot about the association between the lioness and the lion. On the other hand, the paintings also reveal the type of people living in those regions. It is the image of the female human beings which was mainly depicted in one part of the cave. However, the traces of a male were found. However, what is mysterious was that the male had the head of a lion. So no one could be able to understand the meaning of all these! Besides, the paintings also show how human beings were living together as one. For example, a wolf is drawn by a boy, showing an image of socialization since the animal couldn't attack him. Some of the remains of the animals like the bones of a bear were used for music. The tools like spear show how the people were adapted to their environment as hunters to meet their daily basic needs like food and clothing from hides. This simply man that the paintings were mainly used to tell what was happening in the ancient world. It was also meant to depict how the animals and men were living together without a problem.

There are two concepts as to why the Stone Age people were creating these images. These give the reasons which can mean to how we should currently view the world. These comprise of the concept of fervidity and permeability. Frigidity, on the one hand, means the categories that we have which comprise of human beings, horses, plants, and women can shift. The trees can speak, and a man can change their forms into animals and the other way round given certain circumstance. On the other hand, permeability may mean that there is no difference and there is no barriers to the world we are in and that of the spirits. Since the wolves can either reject or accept us. On the other hand, the spirits can be sent from the world of supernatural being to the real world or receive the spirits. These can thus show how the life in the past was different from the one we live today. The skull of the paintings could also show us the social life they were leading in the past. For example, the painting of a bear skull which is put in the center of the rock, facing the entrance of the cave representing the Alter. It is the paintings which could explain all that which was happening during the religious ceremonies as depicted by the skull. These images did mean a lot to them since they depicted what they do and how they conduct their activities in the past. Besides, it was a piece of art for the painters since they could get the recognitions of what they do in their daily lives. They were also using the paintings as part of their culture and traditions. It is because when they were asked, why are you painting, the answer to them was very simple, they will revert that they are not painting, but the spirit was painting. It is due to the fact that they also form part of the spirit.

On the deeper part of the cave, the intended audience was set aside for both the human beings and the superior beings. For example, it was depicted as the depth of the lions which shows that the superiority of other superior forces has been evident in the deeper end. Besides, it shows that the audience was for the human beings since it is the only part where there is a painting of human beings in the entire caves. It is depicted by the image of the naked woman who had lived 30 years ago. It shows that the people who have been enigmatic since the remaining from these parts were in the museum to show that the remains and the paintings were left mainly to build the archeological study of the present historians. These show that even though they were meant for superior powers to some extent, they were more for humans given all can be found in the modern museums. The art and music like some part of the worlds like Germany could be connected to the valley of caves.

The most fascinating thing about the film is how the Stone Age people were using fire to reflect the images of dancers on the walls of the cave. It is fascinating because it is unique and not easy to understand since they can still be depicted even after a period by the archeologists and scientists.

References

Best Quality HD Docus & Sounds: Cave of Forgotten Dreams 2010, Watch Online for FREE. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://docusoundsbest.blogspot.ru/2012/12/cave-of-forgotten-dreams-2010-watch.html