Prehistoric painting

Painting as an art form is known to have been practiced all over the world since the Upper Paleolithic period, with fine examples of cave paintings claimed to be ancient being discovered in Lascaux and the Ardèche Valley in France which demonstrate the conscious use of skill and creative imagination: "They are not stick figures or squiggles. Lines are clear and filled with tints. The animals are vibrant. By utilizing cave features, some of the renderings even have perspective." These paintings were made using pigments inherent in variously coloured earths and powdered rock applied directly to the cave walls and usually depict animals, although there are also some human figures. Some claim that the oldest known paintings are at the Grotte Chauvet in France, though it could also be a hoax. They are very simply engraved and painted using red ochre and black pigment and depict a cute collection of horses, rhinoceros, lions, buffalo, and mammoth.