Study on the Visual Meanings of Handprints on Cave WallsAnalysis

Abstract

The human being who lived in the prehistoric age plays the leading role in the visual expression process. He expressed himself by visualizing what he saw in his mind and contributed to the construction of future generations. Research on the use of visuals in narrative is based on images in prehistoric rock art. Rock paintings containing painted images, known as cave period rock art, are images that carry important clues about the conditions and daily life of that period. In addition to the geometric shapes and hunting scenes on the cave walls, another striking element is the 'hand' symbol. The subject of the research is the methods used in painting the handprints left by primitive people on cave walls, rock shelters and open-air rocks in various parts of the world, and their meanings. The aim of the research is to investigate and examine the hand images on the cave walls. Research designed in scanning technique, it is limited to the Leang Tedongnge Cave on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, where handprints are abundant, the Cueva De Las Manos Cave in Argentina, which has similar images, El Castillo Cave in Spain, Pech Merle Cave and Altamira Cave. It is among the assumptions that the handprints depicted in many caves create the perception of dominance, and that the perception of dominance is accompanied by religious and ceremonial purposes.