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This is a very interesting question and the answer is not set in stone. New discoveries by archaeologists are made around the world all of the time, and some of these discoveries re-write history. Art Historians still agree that the 'Venus of Willendorf' can be called the first work of art. Discovered by archaeologists, the piece is a stone carving of a woman and dates to c. 25,000-20,000 B.C. Many of these artifacts have been found and pre-date the Magdalenian cave paintings. A very distinct culture developed in the Upper-Paleolithic period, known as the 'Gravettian-Pavlovian'. The 'Venus' figures they made have been found from the Rhine to Russia, and especially in central Europe. Sculpted from stone, in the full round, these small figures are the first depiction of people. The cave paintings or 'Rock Shelter Paintings' are next in the timeline. The Lascaux Cave Paintings in the Dordogne region of France date to c. 15,000 BC. The first discovery of these paintings was made in 1879 near Santander in northern Spain. A local man named Marcelino de Sautuola was exploring the Altamira Caves on his estate. He was interested in the antiquity of man and had previously found flint and carved bone. Because of the debris in the cave it was his daughter who first saw the inside of the cave and the painted beasts on the ceiling. De Sautuola was the first modern man to explore the cave, and he was convinced the paintings dated to Prehistoric times. The archeologists of the time did not agree. Finally, in 1896 paintings were found at Pair-non-Pair in the Gironde district of France. Partially obscured by calcareous deposits that would have taken thousands of years to accumulate, these paintings were finally recognized as authentic.

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15y ago

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