Rock shelter paintings are dated to which broad period?

Rock shelter paintings are dated to which broad period?

• A. The Iron Age
• B. The Middle Stone Age
• C. The Bronze Age
• D. The Neolithic

Answer: (B)

Rock shelter paintings are among the earliest forms of human-made art, dating from the Stone Age before metalworking. The Middle Stone Age is the period when such parietal art first appears, created by hunter-gatherers using pigments in caves and rock shelters. Metalworking societies of the Iron Age and Bronze Age come later, so those periods can’t be when these paintings originated. The Neolithic marks a shift to farming and settled life, which is also later than the appearance of the earliest rock art in many regions. So the broad period that fits best is the Middle Stone Age.

Rock shelter paintings are among the earliest forms of human-made art, dating from the Stone Age before metalworking. The Middle Stone Age is the period when such parietal art first appears, created by hunter-gatherers using pigments in caves and rock shelters. Metalworking societies of the Iron Age and Bronze Age come later, so those periods can’t be when these paintings originated. The Neolithic marks a shift to farming and settled life, which is also later than the appearance of the earliest rock art in many regions. So the broad period that fits best is the Middle Stone Age.