<P> Prehistoric art is visible in the artifacts . Prehistoric music is inferred from found instruments, while parietal art can be found on rocks of any kind . The latter are petroglyphs and rock paintings . The art may or may not have had a religious function . </P> <P> Petroglyphs appeared in the Neolithic . A Petroglyph is an intaglio abstract or symbolic image engraved on natural stone by various methods, usually by prehistoric peoples . They were a dominant form of pre-writing symbols . Petroglyphs have been discovered in different parts of the world, including Asia (Bhimbetka, India), North America (Death Valley National Park), South America (Cumbe Mayo, Peru), and Europe (Finnmark, Norway). </P> <P> In paleolithic times, mostly animals were painted, in theory ones that were used as food or represented strength, such as the rhinoceros or large cats (as in the Chauvet Cave). Signs such as dots were sometimes drawn . Rare human representations include handprints and half - human / half - animal figures . The Cave of Chauvet in the Ardèche département, France, contains the most important cave paintings of the paleolithic era, dating from about 36,000 BCE . The Altamira cave paintings in Spain were done 14,000 to 12,000 BCE and show, among others, bisons . The hall of bulls in Lascaux, Dordogne, France, dates from about 15,000 to 10,000 BCE . </P> <P> The meaning of many of these paintings remains unknown . They may have been used for seasonal rituals . The animals are accompanied by signs that suggest a possible magic use . Arrow - like symbols in Lascaux are sometimes interpreted as calendar or almanac use, but the evidence remains interpretative . </P>

When was the first paleolithic (stone age) art discovered and where
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