This is a photo of the spotted horses found in the Peche Merle Cave in Dordogne, France and dates to 25,000 BC.
Here is a quote from Tamsin Pickeral’s book “The Horse . 30,000 years of the Horse in Art.”
The spotted horses may have been an actual representation of horses in that area at the time but the spots extend quite deliberately beyond the outline of the horse, which suggests they had a more significant and symbolic meaning. It is possible that prehistoric man practiced a form of shamanism , a ritualistic religion based on magic, which is still found in hunter-gatherer tribes today. A major part of the cult of shamanism revolves around self-induced trances, during the early stages of which the brain conjures up abstract signs and forms, including prolific dots.
The dots on the horses were applied by blowing pigment through a primitive stencil. The horses are accompanied by negative handprints, which were also created by blowing pigment, using the artist’s hand as a stencil. These handprints might have been the artist’s signature, or might have a greater significance linked to the traditions of shamanism.
Tamsin Pickerel.
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