page_title: Rock art
section_title: Asia
hierarchical_section_title: Rock art / Regional variations / Asia
caption_attribution_description: English: View of the main neolithic painting at the 'Great King' painting site above Malipo in Wenshan prefecture, Yunnan province, China. 中文: 文山麻栗坡大王岩崖画新石代画
context_page_description: In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also may be called cave art or parietal art. A global phenomenon, rock art is found in many culturally diverse regions of the world. It has been produced in many contexts throughout human history. In terms of technique, the main groups are: petroglyphs, which are carved or scratched into the rock surface, cave paintings, and sculpted rock reliefs. Another technique creates geoglyphs that are formed on the ground. The oldest known rock art dates from the Upper Palaeolithic period, having been found in Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa. Anthropologists studying these artworks believe that they likely had magico-religious significance.
  The archaeological sub-discipline of rock art studies first developed in the late-19th century among Francophone scholars studying the rock art of the Upper Palaeolithic found in the cave systems of parts of Western Europe.
caption: 'Great King' neolithic paintings above Malipo in Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. Thought to be over 4000 years old.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5DS", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image Tag 0x0000": "0", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "darktable 1.6.9", "Image DateTime": "2015:11:28 17:55:54", "Image Artist": "", "Image Rating": "1", "Image Tag 0x4749": "20", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "270", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "42440", "Image DateTimeOriginal": "2015:11:27 10:47:56", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/160", "EXIF FNumber": "71/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1000", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "1000", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2015:11:27 10:47:56", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2015:11:27 10:47:56", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "59/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "45/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "1/3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "50", "EXIF SubSecTime": "08", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "08", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "08", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "8734", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "5856", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "42410", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "173760/29", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1158400/193", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "044021003470", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[50, 50, 0, 0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF50mm f/1.8 II", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "0000000000"}