The oldest known rock engravings are in Australia, but within the next 30,000 years art occurs on every continent. The murals of the caves of Lascaux , France, and Altamira , Spain, depict mostly animals.
Human figures appear more often in wall paintings, and are skilfully composed into groups.
The art depicts animals in fresh and vigorous line which is often enriched with rubbed-on pigments of red and yellow ochre, red hematite, manganese, and graphite, and sometimes emphasized by very finely powdered colour blown on through a pipe. Human forms are rarely depicted in this period, and then only as sticklike figures, sometimes wearing masks or pointing arrows at the vital parts of animals, which are frequently drawn pregnant. Prehistoric art was probably associated with hunting magic or ritual, perhaps intended to ensure success in the hunt and fertility of the animals. Drawings sometimes overlie others, suggesting that the act of drawing may have been the essence of the ritual magic and not the picture itself. Interpretations have included links with the female cycle, and incorporation of children's marks may be significant.