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Animals |
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| Figure above: Horse painted on the cave wall at Lascaux (Dordogne, France). Alongside the animal can be seen signs that at first have been interpreted as projectiles or darts, associated with a hunting representation. Leroi-Gourhan (1971) has instead introduced a new way of interpretation: he regards these signs as part of a typology of male symbols (comprising sticks, barbed signs, arrows, etc.). According to this author, in prehistoric cave art the most frequently shown animals are horses and bison: the horse is generally associated with male symbols, in opposition to the bison, frequently related to female signs. The dating is attributed to about 20,000 years B.P. [Image: www.lascaux.culture.fr] Figure below: The
horse constitutes about 30% of the animals represented in prehistoric
cave art, showing its consistent presence in the fauna of that period.
The last descendant of the prehistoric wild horses can be detected in
the Przewalsky horse, a variety which has survived in Mongolia and which
shows remarkable similarities with the cave representations. |
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