Cave Art and Climate Change

About this book

French and Spanish Upper Paleolithic cave art was drawn forty thousand to eleven thousand years ago, and it was motivated by climate change. Kieran D. O'Hara, a geologist and professor emeritus at the University of Kentucky, explains why we know that to be true in this book. His goal isn't to explore the meaning of cave art but to show why it was done.

While many scholars argue that the art depicted in these caves don't depict the animals of that period, O'Hara argues just the opposite – putting forth the controversial theory that the cave paintings accurately reflect the climate and animals that existed alongside the artists. O'Hara contends that cave art specialists for far too long have incorrectly concluded that cave art doesn't match up with the reality of life at the time because they've been comparing archaeological bone remains with cave imagery of a different age. Paleolithic people survived through some of the most severe swings in climate this planet has experienced in the past two million years, and it was a major factor in what cave artists depicted.

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