Humans have deep, innate creativity. Where does it come from? For me, the answer is simple: I’m made in the image of the Creator, therefore I create. For those of a materialist turn of mind, the question is impossible. There is no biological or evolutionary need for artistry.
When I was a student in the last millennium, we arrogantly assumed that all ancient hominins were knuckle-draggers with no inner life at all. Today we have an example of cave art from Sulawesi in eastern Indonesia, dated to at least 67,800 years ago. There are at least three cave art sites in Europe that predate the arrival of homo sapiens by 20,000 years, meaning they were most likely made by Neanderthals. These dates will be pushed farther and farther back as more sites are discovered and analyzed.
A quick note on classes before we get into it
Claim your spot in Painting clouds, which starts next Monday evening. There are just two seats left.
What art lessons can we learn from our hominin ancestors?
I often tell students that technique—as important as it is—isn’t the point. The real question is what you’re trying to say. Everything else is subservient to that.
Your message doesn’t have to be some grandiose theme; these have a way of seeming dated in just a few years. But more modest ambitions speak loudly. Cave art tells us something profound: that a long-gone artist once paused long enough to notice things.
Noticing and recording are spiritual acts. I’m not talking about religion here; I’m talking about the belief that there is something beyond our material existence. Art is symbolic thinking. That makes the hominins who engaged in it a lot like you and me.
All art history is a bridge to long-lost minds. Cave art tells us that someone, long ago, looked at the same world as I do today, slapped some ochre onto their hands and made an image that interpreted what they saw.
I will never see a cave painting; they’re too fragile for casual visitors. But there’s something incredible about the idea of art made by people tens of thousands of years ago. Stripped of all cultural reference, it is the embodiment of a universal language of art.
Where does art fit into human history?
Let’s set some date-markers here: agriculture (as in cereal cultivation) is about 23,000 years old; cities are about 10,000 years old; written language about 5,000. These are all the achievements of homo sapiens. All the other hominins were either extinct or gathered into the human gene pool by then.
Before they became farmers, hominins spent all their time catching and cooking their food. (At least they had fire, thank goodness.) Nobody had the time to develop civilization, which is why cities and written language were such late inventions.
Art is way older than civilization. The oldest known musical instrument is at least 50,000 years old. Hominins were decorating cave walls almost 70,000 years ago and carving figurines some 40,000 years ago. Art and music predate almost everything of practical material culture.
My Neanderthal great-granddaddy
We now know that the Neanderthals buried their dead, used pigments, made jewelry from shells and claws, and created abstract cave markings. Since all Europeans carry Neanderthal genes, we can also infer that our homo sapien ancestors found them attractive enough to have children with them.
Imagination is symbolic thought
When Neanderthals carefully placed items within a ritual burial or painted on a wall, they were investing time and energy in something that served no immediate need. That is the very definition of art.
Could your work speak to someone in ten thousand years?
Heck, could your work speak to someone in twenty years? Leaving aside the impermanence of modern media, what in your art transcends the culture in which we live? What can speak to something universal in the soul of man? Is that even important?
Registration is now open for workshops in 2026! Reserve your spot:
- Advanced Plein Air Painting | Rockport, ME, July 13-17, 2026
- Sea & Sky | Acadia National Park, ME, August 2–7, 2026
- Find your Authentic Voice in Plein Air | Berkshires, MA, August 10-14, 2026
- New! Color Clinic 2026 | Rockport, ME, October 3-4, 2026
- New! Composition Week 2026 | Rockport, ME, October 5-9, 2026
Can’t commit to a full workshop? Work online at your own pace:
“Imagination is symbolic thought” which becomes art… Indeed!
Evocative post.
I’m not motivated enough to do it, but painting paleolithic hominids in their daily life (as I imagine it) might be very interesting.
BTW, when I pointed out to Doug that music and art were older than civilization, he said, “that probably drove them to it.” And that was before he’d even had coffee, funny guy.
I love the idea that The Creator created us just from the JOY of creation! And we carry that in our souls.
Can’t wait for “Painting clouds” class next week!
I gotta think that was the Holy Spirit putting that in my head…