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Prior to written stories, storytelling existed through visual art and communication. From the beginning, the foundation of entertainment was having the ability to communicate stories. How humans communicated trails all the way back to prehistoric times through oral traditions. Oral traditions is first and foremost used to communicate a foundation of the narrative. This type of narrative can be to a family member, one hunter to another, or to an inclosed tribe. During the prehistoric age, oral traditions were at its earliest demonstrative forms.
Moreover, storytelling was used to teach and inform principles for survival and morals. As defined, oral traditions are narrations of events. These events are witnessed and then later created through Paleolithic art. In this essay, we will explore the origins of storytelling that conveys entertainment value as a social standard from Paleolithic art.
First and foremost, it is uncertain to know when and where the very first story was told. Some assume the first stories may have been told by a primitive hunter.
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Where this could have been is presumably crowded around a crackling fire, somewhere in a stone cave as the fire lit the stone walls. It is not for certain as far as what the first story was and where that story was told. However, something that we can point out is a time frame to when Paleolithic art was first utilized to narrate that story. According to a research article by Gourhan, he informs that Paleolithic art within Europe can be traced all the way back to 30,000 and 10,000 B.C.
(Gourhan, 1968). Essentially, Gourhan explains that the earliest forms of cave paintings reside in the prehistoric age (Gourhan, 1968). Before civilizations and agriculture were formed, these cave paintings came before it all. Going all the way back to 30,000 and 10,000 B.C., resources used for creating the cave paintings were scarce as well. Just like food and other provisions, materials to craft cave paintings were similar.
In the prehistoric age, cavemen, or also referred to as hunters, drew animals on the cave walls that symbolized a particular scene or event that occurred. Being a witness of this particular event, the hunter's drawings would resemble other hunters, symbols, and animals. Additionally, the materials used for cave paintings were found in local areas such as the minerals in the earth to record this particular event. According to Gourhan's research, particular materials like clay ochre, for instance, would be made which also provided several different colors: varieties of red shades, brown, and yellow tints (Gourhan, 1968). Moreover, when a black color was used, charcoal was then sought out. After the materials were collected for painting, the artist would practice the drawings on the cave walls. Giving an example, a particular cave drawing may have an animal that may reflect the shape of a horse or rhinoceros, huddled around these animals may look like hunters holding spears. As we can suggest, hunters in the prehistoric age battled animals for a means of survival where they then recorded the events to narrate the story to their group. Oral traditions is prominent in this manner because of the narration of the witness and the form of entertainment was provided to their audience to pass down these stories of old.
Paleolithic art has various forms that helped make storytelling integral to oral traditions. Two of these forms to be noted are parietal and portable art. Parietal art is essentially the art that is found on walls. Another form of prehistoric art is portable art. Portable art is relatively small in size and is easy to carry around. Each of these two art forms compliments each other immensely in terms of oral traditions and storytelling. According to two researchers, Abadia and Morales, they reported that cave paintings involving parietal and portable art forms resemble personal artifacts and items (Abadia/Morales, 2013). Although these paintings that Abadia and Morales explain as "nonfigurative artwork," it is important to point out that the items painted on cave walls resembled a sight seen by the artist which was then used for storytelling as well as parietal and portable art (Abadia/Morales, 2013). Whether it be as a personal object or even material from nature, portable artifacts and parietal art resembled a story. Stories drawn and painted on these parietal walls were primarily symbols what resembled hunters and animals. Why parietal and portable art was significant to oral traditions is because it was another story to tell about the upbringing of the item, but also used for living and entertainment.
Since man created Paleolithic art, oral traditions symbolize value in illustrations and writings for narration. According to a research article by Arthur J. Evans, he informs that oral traditions support pictorial records in terms of the time frame (Evans, 1903). Evans writes about this time period as the "Reindeer Period." The designs implemented into this form of art were revolved around stick figures holding spears known as the "rude hunter" along with wild animals such as deer and horses (Evans, 1903). As Evans suggests, the significance of oral traditions and pictorial records compliment each other. This is significant because the hunter would stalk or hunt the animals. Also, the cave painting records suggest the event that occurred. Nevertheless, correlating Evan's research with storytelling, we can suggest that the stick figure and animal Paleolithic cave art can imply how substantial these events were to record but to also convey from experience to the art form and oral traditions.
When oral traditions first began, we can presume it was somewhere surrounded by an audience and from the warmth of flames to illume the cave walls to tell the story. Generation after generation began to retell stories of old and new and added on to the already painted walls. Leading up to modern times, oral traditions and storytelling are still implemented in our daily lives. In fact, storytelling has recently changed as of late such as vlogs and podcasts. Both vlogs and podcasts are immensely popular in modern times, which shows that oral traditions through storytelling are still changing to this day. Starting off from a more visual form such as Paleolithic art, it shows that any form of storytelling is significant. Audible and visual forms of storytelling are vastly different, but the substance for entertainment still remains. Influences of storytelling originated from times of old and will still continue to bind social unity in many forms. Whether these forms are in books, music, movies, and news outlets, oral traditions will always remain to be a fundamental contributor to our culture and will continue since stories are meant to be told.
The Roots of Entertainment: A Visual and Verbal History. (2019, Dec 15). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/paleolithic-art-essay
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