Cavemen Were Much Better At Illustrating Animals Than Artists Today

A new study finds that prehistoric humans correctly depicted the gait of four-legged animals much more frequently than modern artists

Prehistoric humans correctly depicted the gait of four-legged animals, such as this bull in the famous cave paintings of Lascaux, France, more frequently than modern artists. Image via Horvath et. al., PLOS ONE





This labelled contour drawing of the Lascaux painting shows that the hoofs are placed on the ground in a realistic manner according to the foot-fall formula. Image via Horvath et. al., PLOS ONE

When the researchers looked at 272 paintings and statues of four-legged animals made during modern times but before Muybridge’s findings in the 1880s, such as a famous horse sketch by Leonardo da Vinci, it turned out that these more recent artists were much worse: They only got the sequence right 16.5% of the time. Remarkably, even the 686 paintings and statues studied that were made more recently than 1887, after scientists knew for sure how four-legged animals walked, still got it right just 42.1% of the time.

In this drawing, even Leonardo da Vinci draws the sequence of a horse’s gait in an unrealistic manner. Image via Horvath et. al., PLOS ONE

Even apart from artists, a sizable number of depictions of four-legged animals made during the 20th century specifically for the sake of accuracy got the sequence wrong too, according to references used in the study. Out of 307 renditions analyzed, just 58.9% of depictions in natural history museums were correct, along with 56.9% of those in taxidermy catalogues, 50% of animal toy models and 36.4% of illustrations in animal anatomy textbooks.

Although the amount of art studied in each group varies greatly, the accuracy rate for animal depictions in prehistoric times is noteworthy. How could prehistoric humans possibly be this skilled at depicting animals such as bulls, antelopes and wild horses? For a potential answer, consider the way these ancient artists probably thought about the animals: as prey.

For prehistoric humans, “the observation of animals was not merely a pastime, but a matter of survival,” the study’s authors write. “Compared to artists of latter eras, when people were not as directly connected to nature, the creators of such cave paintings and carvings observed their subjects better and thus they depicted the walk of the animals in a more life-like manner.”


Comment on this Story

comments powered by Disqus