They knew the habits of all living creatures and by meticulously observing the animals they gathered inspiration and knowledge. Stone Age hunters were surrounded by nature. Special motifs, patterns and symbolic signs were applied to the surface of important objects – like weapons, amulets, garments, skin or body parts, hut walls, sign posts and monuments, with the intention of addressing and warding off harm or evil influences.Įarly art – at least some of it – seems to have been used as an ingredient of pre-scientific medicine, in which symbolic patterns and signs were used along with other ritual means, like amulets, music, song and dance, in order to influence supernatural, invisible forces that were seen as threats to individuals or groups. This essay is based on the assumption that prehistoric art primarily served an apotropaic, magic purpose.
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