- Brumm says discoveries in Asia have complicated what we know about when — and where — humans started to make figurative art. There are some older examples of humans making simpler markings, like zigzags or circles.
"I think the discoveries that have been emerging over the last few years is suggesting that our understanding of the human story, that key part of the human story, is still being revised as we speak and there could be some big changes in store," he adds.
Genevieve von Petzinger, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Victoria, says the discoveries in her field are happening very quickly, thanks to newer technology such as the technique used to date the hunting scene. "I think the overall theme here really is that we've vastly underestimated the capacity of our ancestors," she says.
One wonders how many images were created and destroyed or made out in the open where they wore away. I imagine conditions have to be just right to preserve drawings like these for thousands of years. It's not the same I know but looking at oil paintings that are 400 and 500 years old and many are faded.