4 th Grade

Prehistoric art is defined as art produced in preliterate cultures and continuing until the development of writing or other methods of record-keeping Cave paintings are some of the great mysteries of the world Many experts have been baffled as to their true meanings but it is certain that, without language or writing, they were the main way early man communicated

Paints were made by crushing minerals into powder and putting them on damp surfaces like rocks These early artists sometimes painted deep in caves To provide light, they made lamps from hollow stones filled with animal fat and moss or fur that was set on fire

Cave paintings can be found around the world in many areas including: Europe Africa Asia The Americas – even in Washington State! Australia

I n 1940, four teenage boys accidentally discovered the most famous cave art in Europe

Africa has some of the earliest paintings and rock engravings to have been securely dated Nearly 30,000 years old, some were discovered in 1969 in a cave near Twyfelfontein, Namibia

Some of the earliest oil paintings are found in the Bamian caves outside of Kabul, Afghanistan

Cave paintings can be found in the countries of Columbia and Peru in South America Many places in North America have cave paintings from Native American tribes In prehistoric times, the Wanapum Native Americans inhabited the region in Washington State along the Columbia River and created cave paintings there

In 2003, more than 200 well-preserved paintings were discovered in a 4,000- year-old Aboriginal rock art site at Eagles Reach, near Sydney, Australia

Until 1788, the only inhabitants of Australia were the Aborigines They had lived there for over 40,000 years and it is thought that there was as many as 300,000 of them there at the time Today there are only 150,000 Aborigines representing 1% of the population of Australia The Aborigines did not grow crops but survived by hunting, fishing and gathering food Aborigines learned to live with long periods of drought which could last up to eight months

One of the classic styles of Aboriginal artwork is the dot paintings utilizing thousands of painted dots

Aboriginal Animals Kangaroo Dingo Kookaburra Platypus Tasmanian Devil Koala Emu

Using black paper, brightly colored paints, and Q-tips and paint brushes, create your own Aboriginal Dot Painting Select a native Australian animal as your main feature Cover at least 85% of the paper with dots or lines Leave blank the areas that you want to remain black