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Prehistoric Kids Went to Art Class

Cave art suggests adults taught children to be creative

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 30, 2011 12:58 PM CDT

(Newser) – Looks like art class may date back 13,000 years: Back then, research suggests, kids were getting help from adults as they decorated cave walls. Analysis of cave art in France reveals which works were created by kids, and the findings even indicate the artists’ likely ages and genders, the Daily Mail reports. Scientists reached their conclusions after analyzing a simple art form known as "finger fluting," in which the artists run their fingers over the walls.

Flutings can be found in every chamber of the French caves. “So far, we haven't found anywhere that adults fluted without children,” says a researcher. And “one cavern is so rich in flutings made by children that it suggests it was a special space for them." What's more, some of the children’s artwork in France’s Rouffignac region is so high on the wall that researchers speculate adults had to hoist the kids up there. Click through for photos of the cave art.

Cave art can teach us a thing or two about the children of hunter-gatherers. Though this one looks like the work of a grown-up. (Shutterstock)

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Prehistoric Kids Went to Art Class

Cave art suggests adults taught children to be creative

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