Is Palaeolithic cave art consistent with costly signalling theory? Lascaux as a test case

Abstract

Several proponents of Costly Signalling Theory have noted its potential for understanding Prehistoric art. We use the Late Upper Palaeolithic art of Lascaux Cave (Dordogne, France) as a test case as to whether we may be able to identify an assertive, individual style in Palaeolithic art. The cave's abundant images represent one of the most stunning examples of European Upper Palaeolithic cave art, and in terms of the material provisioning of the cave, demonstrable artistic skill, and difficulties accessing decorated areas, it represented a huge cost to its hunter-gatherer creators. But does it represent group cost, or can any CST element be identified? We approach this question using several characteristics we regard to be central to costly signalling, and explore the various ways by which this occurred within the cave. We conclude that it is best viewed as a group signal, and that no CST component can be identified.

Upper Palaeolithic Installation Art: Topography, Distortion, Animation and Participation in the Production and Experience of Cantabrian Cave Art

“…An anamorphic herbivore in Cognac was placed on a wall at the height of standing viewers, but it appears deformed when viewed from this height, only achieving naturalistic form when the viewer crouches down and looks up (Groenen 2000). Thus, the presence of anamorphosis in cave art supports the notion that an ideal viewpoint was actually shared between artists and viewers (Gittins & Pettitt 2017), and viewing such images naturally involved the awareness of different viewpoints. Accordingly, it seems safe to argue that Upper Palaeolithic artists were aware of the plurality of viewpoints in cave art.…”

Application of Line of Sight and Potential Audience Analysis to Unravel the Spatial Organization of Palaeolithic Cave Art

“…García-Bustos, 2019b), which could show the use of certain tools to execute the GUs, or help determine the presence of specific artists, despite the difficulty such an approach entails (Apellániz, 1987;Groenen & Martens, 2004). This would be important, given that even if we could confirm whether or not there was prior planning (Gittins & Pettitt, 2017), we do not know whether there was a single previous exploration of the natural cave (Rouzaud, 1990), with all the complexity that would have involved in terms of memorizing the topographic and morphological structure of the cave, or whether the current decoration was the result of small, successive additions over time.…”