Introduction

Humans are an artistic species. We draw, paint, and sculpt. We make music and movies. These are all forms of art. Humans can make art because we are able to think abstractly. We can imagine more than what we see before us. This allows us to dream up things that do not exist, like monsters and superheroes. It also allows us to make symbolic art. We can make an image that represents an idea.

As humans have produced different works of art, we have exchanged them for other goods. That's how artwork travels from one community to another. Through this exchange, people learn. They discover new methods and improve upon them. They use what they learn to make new art.

When did humans first develop the intellectual ability to create art? All people living today belong to the species Homo sapiens. Were we the only species to develop artistic abilities? Or did earlier human species have these abilities as well? What about other animal species? What kinds of skills are needed before a species can create art?

These are not easy questions. We have no written records from these very early time periods. Few artifacts have survived. Still, archaeologists and anthropologists have a few ideas. They use clues from the past to try to answer these big questions.

The Paleolithic Cognitive Revolution

Many researchers agree that one key development made our species into modern humans. They call this development the Paleolithic Cognitive Revolution.

Cognition is the process of gaining knowledge through experience and thinking. A cognitive revolution is a major shift in the ability to gain knowledge and understanding. The Paleolithic Cognitive Revolution was the point in the Old Stone Age when humans developed the brainpower they needed to develop language, think abstractly, and learn together. At this point, scholars say, humans became able to create music, art, dance, toys, tools, and weapons. These abilities are what we think of when we talk about human behavior and culture today. For many scholars, it is what separates humans from all other species.

From about the 1950s to today, researchers believed that these cognitive abilities developed with the evolution of Homo sapiens. Ours was the only human species to survive. Other human-like species whose brains did not develop the same way, such as Neanderthals, died out. Many believe Homo sapiens' survival was made possible by those same abilities that allowed us to create words and art.

The Upper Paleolithic Cognitive Revolution: Cave Paintings and Venus Figurines

The most recognized Paleolithic art found in Europe are cave paintings. They are mainly found in Spain and France. They date to the Upper Paleolithic period from about 45,000 years ago. The Upper Paleolithic period began about 50,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago.

Cave paintings fit our current definition of art. They include paintings of humans and animals. Some of these paintings seem symbolic. They might represent something religious or spiritual. Venus figures are another example of Paleolithic art.

Other Paleolithic art that fits our current definition are the three-dimensional figurines known as Venus figures. These little statues may have had some spiritual meaning. Some scholars think they were representations of spirit animals.

These works might show there was a cognitive revolution among Homo sapiens who lived in these parts of Europe. It was once thought that these abilities resulted from a sudden intellectual shift. Scholars argued that this shift made our species stand apart from all others. New research suggests something different, however. It suggests that these abilities might have developed slowly over a longer period of time.

Middle Paleolithic Art: Tools, Weapons, and Beads

To explore this idea, let's go back to the Middle Paleolithic period. This was between 300,000 and 50,000 years ago. Some humans in this time painted their bodies with red clay. They made tools and weapons such as bows and arrows. Tools are not usually considered to be forms of art. Yet making them does require intellectual ability.

Other early Paleolithic art featured geometric patterns. Check out an example in the image below from Blombos Cave in South Africa. This period also saw the creation of beads made from shells. They were painted and strung into jewelry.

Such art forms were created at least 75,000 years ago. That was about 30,000 years before the cave paintings. So, maybe we must push back the time period for a cognitive revolution. Perhaps it should include the artistic humans of the Middle Paleolithic period.

What about human species that made tools even longer ago--say 300,000 years ago? This was before the evolution of Homo sapiens. Would their accomplishments mean the cognitive revolution happened even earlier? Some of these early humans made musical instruments and performed religious dances. These are certainly forms of artistic expression. They, too, would require symbolic thought.

Conclusion

So, should our definition of what we consider to be art change to include the earliest forms of human creation? There is certainly evidence to suggest that tool-making should be considered a form of art. It takes skill and creativity. As humans shared these skills, tools improved. New innovations were discovered.

This might also show that cognitive abilities began long before the creation of cave paintings. Perhaps the roots of humans' cognitive thinking extend much further back than 40,000 years.