Sexuality depicted in Ancient rock art sometimes challenges how we think about gender, gender roles, and sexual orientation in the present. The article I read was called “Rock Art” from “The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality” on Credoreference.com. In some of the earliest known rock art, we see imagery representing or eluding to sexual practices. These images can be challenging to decipher as each style of art can differ vastly depending on the time they were created and where. Sexual rock art is rare but has been found all over the world. Based on ethnographic information, we can discern information that helps inform our understanding of the sexuality of early humans. I found this topic very interesting because some concepts surrounding sex have changed in the last 40,000 years, others have not. I always had the understanding that the world has changed so much, even in my lifetime. I never really thought about what has remained the same.
Ethnographic research shows that women have been drawn with stylized breasts and that genitals were often exaggerated. These ‘creative liberties’ are what initially drew me to this topic. Some of the first humans to ever leave marks on walls deliberately chose to represent themselves with these specific features altered. People still do that to this day. Sexual rock art with these same stylized features has been discovered in all corners of the globe: Australia, Asia, and Africa, just to name a few. These choices were all happening independently of each other.
What also shocked me was that “Depictions of sexual intercourse include male-female, male-male, …are widespread.” I find it very hard to think of a time where anything but Heterosexual sexuality was the norm. These ancient people had a different view of human relationships than what we have today. I realized evidence of Homosexuality has existed forever, in places like ancient Greece and Egypt. Evidence of Homosexuality in cave art also appears to be widespread around the world and independently of each other.
This article also talks about gender and gender roles. Men were often depicted with weapons and “exaggerated, erect penises”. This shows that the status of ‘warrior’ was intertwined with sexuality. In these ancient carvings, women were shown concerning fertility and puberty rites. There is also a possibility of a third gender. Men were drawn with a line between their legs and women’s genitals were shown with diamonds, two lines, and circles, but there is evidence of people with indicators of both types of genitals. The article asks, “Might figures with a line and a cupule between the legs represent intersex individuals or third gender “two‐spirits”?”. These questions surrounding gender norms are very relevant to conversations many people are having today.
I would love to delve deeper into this topic because this gives historical evidence and knowledge about topics that still affect people today. Rock art is so old that it is very difficult to put together a conclusive story. It takes a certain level of interpretation. I enjoyed reading this because I take comfort in the fact that LGBTQ+ people have existed forever.
https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/wileyhs/rock_art/0
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https://www.rockartscandinavia.com/rock-art-interpretation-vv22.php
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