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#6104
tmbergan
Participant

The definition of abstract art, as described on tate.org.uk, is “art that does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality but instead use shapes, colours, forms, and gestural marks to achieve its effect.’ Prehistoric art doesn’t fit this definition. All of the little statues we’ve seen do seem to be pretty accurate depictions of reality. Granted, some of the women figures are a bit rounder than what a real human woman would be, they’re still fairly accurate for being such old creations. As for the drawings in caves, they do have a simpler look to them in comparison to the clay works, but they still have the accuracy in portraying real animals rather than just being shapes and colors. Some of the stick figures or symbols they drew and carved into walls might lean a little more toward being seen as abstract, but overall I don’t think that prehistoric art can be considered abstract art.