The cave paintings date back 30,000 years ago, during a period called the Upper Paleolithic in which homo-sapiens began to express themselves through rock art and drawings on cave walls mainly in France and Africa . The process of making the art was the result of grinding rocks to produce pigments which were often first engraved on the cave walls or painted directly onto them in the colors black and ocher. There is no absolute reason behind these cave paintings, but scientists have thought about the theories behind the work of talented artists. The three main categories studied are animal drawings, shamanism, and human paintings; all of this gives reason to a new evolution of the human mind and how the meaning behind rock art can be an insightful look at what homo-sapiens experienced thousands of years ago. One hypothesis behind the meaning of the rock art is that it was a ritual intended to bring good luck in hunting. During the Paleolithic period many paintings of animals such as bison, deer, cattle, horses, mammoths, bears and reindeer were arranged cascading onto cave walls along with geometric shapes. Although the meaning behind the geometric shapes is still unclear, the animal designs could be seen as a symbol of what homo-sapiens hunted and this desire for food may have driven the imagination to create art within the caves . Perhaps the slain animals were painted in honor of their sacrifice, or perhaps they were painted on the occasion of a successful hunt as a reminder of their good fortune. This may be their way of keeping a diary or record of animals that have been killed or seen but not hunted. The theory of the painting that brings the good hunters... middle of paper... the rock art that has been created and studied throughout France and Africa is a great tool for understanding what homo-sapiens experienced and how they have survived for thousands of years, but there is no definitive answer to the reason behind these paintings. Whether it was for reasons of joy and creativity, or to document the types of animals and life necessities that were a conscious need and tool for survival will remain unknown. The portrayal of animals versus humans and how shamanism may be a reason for how they could have been created is the best explanation of rock art. The meaning behind the drawings may not be as real as the dating of the art, the process and materials used, or where the art was found; but the meaning and what drove our ancestors to this stimulus of creativity is the most important question that still remains unanswered.