Humans live within, and are molded by, their environment, from cultural effects to actual evolutionary traits we are products of the world we live in. This influences every aspect of our lives, from technology to the arts. One of the most powerful factors of the environment on us is the climate, and “when considered over a period of time, art may also be an indicator of changes in climate. This assumes some importance in the light of the current debate over long-term climate change. According to the balance of current scientific opinion, climate change is occurring on this planet, and human activities are contributing to it.” (McCouat 2019)
When we
look at art from the ancient past with the effects of climate in mind we can
begin to analyze the effects of climate on the variations seen in the art. “How much can we learn from ancient cave and
rock art about climate variations in the past? Even in the absence of direct
depictions, we can certainly get some indirect evidence from features such as
the types of animals (particularly large mammals) that are shown. To take an
obvious example, if paintings of reindeer or woolly mammoth appear regularly at
a site, it is a fair guess that conditions were extremely cold at the time,
where giraffes would indicate a much warmer environment.” (McCouat 2019)
This is an extreme example, but the principle is a good one. In the magnificent painted caves of Europe, decorated with so much great realistic art of animals, variations in the type of fauna portrayed might well indicate climatic shifts from glacial conditions to later post-glacial warming climates. How much can we learn from ancient cave and rock art about climate variations in the past? Even in the absence of direct depictions, we can certainly get some indirect evidence from features such as the type of animals (particularly large mammals) that are shown.
Heyd and
Lenssen-Erz (2015) propose “the
consideration of associations between, on the one hand, important changes or
variations in climate, and, on the other, a) the appearance or disappearance of
particular motifs, b) significant increases or decreases in variability of
motifs or styles over a certain territory, c) over time, the production of rock
art, and the discontinuation of such production, in areas that in principle are
suitable for such production in terms of materials (wall space, painting or
engraving surfaces and materials), and d) the utilization of particular motifs
in time periods in which their use would seem surprising, given the actual
environmental conditions that prevailed during the production of the art.”
(Heyd and Lenssen-Erz 2015:265)
Other effects of climate are on the survival of the rock art itself. On 5 June 2021 I posted a column titled “THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE PLEISTOCENE ROCK ART OF SULAWESI” reporting on a study which found that changing climatic conditions were leading to the destruction of some of the world’s oldest rock art by exfoliation (Faris 2021, Huntley et al. 2021).
Closer to home, in the American southwest, the locations of early puebloan rock art panels was influenced by climatic conditions. Bellorado and Anderson found that the early Puebloan inhabitants of the Eastern Mesa Verde (EMV) area resided in different parts of the environment depending upon climatic conditions, which would be reflected in where rock art is located. “Throughout the Ancestral Puebloan occupation of the EMV region, changes in temperature regimes appear to have been the most significant influence on demographic movements of farming societies at several key points in time. Relative drought severity within the sub-regions of the northern Southwest also played an important role in ancient farmers’ decisions to stay in an area or move to another location that was perceived to have the potential to be farmed with greater success. This pattern demonstrates that farmers in the EMV area had long-standing, reliable, and probably quite formal subsistence strategies that included periodic movements from lowland to uplands (and back) in response to climatic changes.” (Bellorado and Anderson 2013: 406)
Another aspect of climate’s effect on the location of rock art is seen in rock art that has been submerged as a result of climate change. Between 9 January 2021 and 30 January 2021, I posted a series of four columns about underwater examples of rock art, some of which are the result of sea level rise because of climate change. Some of the examples in those columns were based upon a 2014 paper by Sachin Kr. Tiwary titled “UNDERWATER ROCK ART: IN GLOBAL CONTEXT.” In that paper Tiwary wrote about perhaps the most famous rock art site affected by climate change, Cosquer Cave. Cosquer Cave is a Paleolithic painted cave that was near sea level when painted but is now underwater because of sea level rise after the melting of the glaciers. “In July 1991 Dr. Jean Clottes, and English teacher (Honorary President of the French Prehistoric Society, Scientific Advisor for Prehistoric Art, Director of Prehistoric Antiquities) and a deep sea diver Henri Cosquer discovered paintings and engravings in a cave beneath the sea near Marseilles (France) on the Mediterranean. The gallery slopes up for about 360 feet underwater before reaching a huge chamber that partly remained above the sea where many prehistoric paintings and engravings are preserved on the walls as well as remains on the ground (charcoal, a few flint tools).This is the only painted cave in the world with an entrance below present-day sea level where cave art has been preserved from the flooding that occurred when the seas rose after the end of the last glaciations. Between 1991 and 2002 a number of dives were organized with the participation of Dr. Jean Courtin, who is professional archaeologist cum diver and Dr. Jean Clottes. The extraordinary location of the cave entrance is due to the rise of the sea level after the end of the last glaciations and the melting of the thick ice caps. The walls of all passages and chambers under the water have been corroded and no painting or engraving has been preserved. The rock art discovered is located in the upper chambers that have remained above the sea. About 180 animal figures have been registered, as well as many dozens of diverse geometric signs, 1000 finger drawings, 65 hand stencils and a strange image of a ‘killed’ man has been noticed.” (Tiwary 2014)
In the
above examples we have seen that the effects of climate change can have a
strong influence on rock art, from its content and its location to its ultimate
survival. Perhaps if we change our perspective and look from the rock art back
toward the climate we can find it illuminating on a number of levels. For
instance the location of rock art may point to areas of residence or other
usages, and content such as animals portrayed may suggest dating periods to
investigate. In any event, as we change the world around us we should not be
surprised at the side effects that pop up.
NOTE 1: See Sachin Tirwary’s paper below for many other examples of rock art sites that have been, or are becoming, inundated by sea level rise.
NOTE 2: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Bellorado, Benjamin A., and Kirk C. Anderson, 2013, Early Pueblo Responses to Climate Variability: Farming Traditions, Land Tenure, and Social Power in the Eastern Mesa Verde Region, KIVA: Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History, Vol. 78, No. 4, pp. 377-416, Summer 2013, Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society.
Faris, Peter, 2021, The Effects of Climate Change on the Pleistocene Rock Art of Sulawesi, 5 June 2021, https://rockartblog.blogspot.com
Heyd, Thomas, and Tilman Lenssen-Erz, 2015, Art, Rock Art and Climate Change, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285356507
Huntley, J., Aubert, M., Oktaviana, A.A.
et al., 2021, The Effects
of Climate Change on the Pleistocene Rock Art of Sulawesi, Science
Reports 11, 9833 (2021), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-921987923-3
McCouat, Philip, 2019, Art as a barometer of climate changes, Journal of Art in Society, www.artinsociety.com
Tiwary, Sachin Kr., 2014, Underwater Rock Art: In Global Context, en Rupestreweb,
http://www.rupestreweb.info/underwaterrockart.html
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