
26 27
PETROGRAMS AND PETROGLYPHS
CAVE PAINTING
Cougnac, France
c. 13000 BCE
The realistic representations of hand stencils,
drawings, and polychrome paintings of animals,
human beings, and crude objects found on the
walls of subterranean caves such as the ones
in Lascaux and Niaux in southern France are
considered to be the first and oldest known
examples of graphic symbols created by man-
kind. These primitive images also communicat-
ed and commemorated the social and economic
occurrences of the people who created them.
Crude pigments were created from
charcoal and red and yellow oxides, mixed with
fat, to create a medium that was then possibly ...