CAVE PAINTING WORKSHEET
Can you
put yourself in the mind of a boy of a few thousand years ago who is
brought, blindfolded and terrified by ritual, into the most secret and sacred of
caverns of the clan? After days of fasting and hunting practice, tomorrow he
will be
allowed to hunt the big beast itself with the rest of the warriors.
Finally the blindfold is removed in a room ablaze with light, and there, glowing
on the wall is the very image of the great beast!
There is no need to explain the image to the boy. It is so much a part of
existence that this icon holds a special
significance. Perhaps there were not yet a thousand words in the vocabulary of
the clan, but this picture is worth
the equivalent in that young boy's life.
GO TO THE WEBSITES UNDER EXTERNAL LINKS AND RESEARCH CAVE PAINTING. THEN ANSWER
THESE QUESTIONS.
1. Where inside the cave
are the paintings generally located? What do researchers think is the importance
of the location of the art?
2. What animals are shown in the paintings? What are they doing? What do
researchers think is the meaning of the choice of animals?
3. What activities are shown in the paintings? Are there humans shown? If so,
what are they doing?
4. Are any man-made tools shown in the paintings? If so, what are they and for
what were they used?