Reply To: What do the pictures mean?

[Dean Riley]

While some things have changed throughout history, I don’t feel as if basic human nature has. Most, if not all, of early prehistoric art could be deemed as functional, but I feel human nature has not changed dramatically in the several thousand years since then. Humans in the modern age mark their property with their name or decorate their items to make them less plain. I do not think it is much is a reach to think that prehistoric humans might have etched lines such as those on the piece of ocher from the Blombos Cave in South Africa to be able to distinguish their property from someone elses. It could also very well have been a sign of social status to have decorated items versus unadorned items. Religious imagery also played a large role in their art. There lives revolved around animals. They needed them for survival. It would make sense that they would document the main reason for their survival on cave walls.