Which theories and conclusions have scholars reached about the possible meanings and purposes of prehistoric cave painting? What is the consensus among scholars about prehistoric cave painting?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The ideal answer should include:
1. In the early twentieth century, scholars believed that art had a social function and proposed that cave paintings might be associated with prehistoric ceremonies performed to strengthen clan bonds or to enhance the fertility of animals used for food.
2. Early anthropologists also suggested that cave paintings were expressions of "sympathetic magic" and that prehistoric caves were thus used to ensure that hunters found their prey asleep, as places of worship, and as settings for initiation rites.
3. In the second half of the twentieth century, scholars discovered that the depicted animals were not those frequently used for food and dismissed earlier theories, instead arguing that the paintings could be used to teach novice hunters about animal behavior.
4. Due to the artifacts and footprints found in the caves, scholars agree that the decorated caves must have had special meaning because prehistoric people returned to them time after time over many generations.