Parietal Art as Naturalistic Representation of the Late Upper Paleolithic

Although "long thought by many as possible abstract or symbolic expressions as opposed to representations of real animals, the famous paleolithic horse paintings found in caves such as Lascaux and Chauvet in France likely reflect what the prehistoric humans actually saw in their natural environment," as revealed by a recent study of DNA data.  http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/september-2011/article/prehistoric-cave-paintings-of-horses-were-spot-on-say-scientists  (accessed April 9, 2014)   

Painting of horses at Chauvet:

Image source:   http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/september-2011/article/prehistoric-cave-paintings-of-horses-were-spot-on-say-scientists