Question

Your art teacher tells your class that prehistoric art is always at least somewhat mysterious. Why do you agree that this is the case? 1 point) The written messages from the people of prehistoric times have been erased from their works, so no one can decipher who created the artwork or why they created the artwork . Prehistory is the time before writing, so without written records, we cannot tell who created the artwork or why they created the artwork. There is no archaeological evidence to give us any clues about how an artwork was created or when it was created. Most of the cave paintings have images that are impossible to decipher and are difficult to recognize because the themes are not relatable to modern times.

Answer 1

Prehistoric art, including cave paintings, remains mysterious because it predates written language, leaving us without concrete information about the artists and their intentions. The attempt to date these works is complicated by the lack of direct evidence, resulting in educated guesses about their purpose, such as religious significance. This mystery perpetuates the scholarly fascination with prehistoric artistic expression.

Step-by-step explanation:

Prehistoric art is considered mysterious due to the absence of written records from the time before written language existed, known as prehistory. As a result, we cannot definitively determine the authors of artworks such as cave paintings or the specific reasons behind their creation. This era includes the Upper Paleolithic cave art, which dates back tens of thousands of years and features creatures and symbols that were significant to our human ancestors but are less relatable to modern society. Furthermore, dating these artworks presents a challenge, as we must attempt to determine when the stones were carved, not the age of the stone material itself. The art likely served functions beyond aesthetics, possibly including religious practices of the time, but such interpretations are educated guesses.

These challenges underscore the mystery surrounding prehistoric art: without direct evidence, our understanding of the intent, purpose, and creators behind ancient artifacts and cave paintings remains speculative. This fuels ongoing research and debate among archaeologists and historians who strive to piece together the significance of these ancient expressions.