Cupules were a widespread art form during the early Stone Age. A cupule is a cup-shaped hollow carved into a large rock surface. These hollows were pounded out of the stone and are usually found clustered in groups of anywhere from six to several hundred. Some cupules were created to form geometric patterns and other times their placement is random. While cupules can be formed by geologic forces, thousands of man-made cupules have been found throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and North and South America.
Small figurines depicting short, round female forms became widespread during the upper Paleolithic era. The figurines have been found in an area stretching from Siberia across Europe to France. These figures are made of bone, ivory, wood, clay and varieties of soft stone such as limestone. The facial detail is usually minimal, with the sculptor focusing instead on wide hips, bellies, thighs and large breasts. There is no consensus among anthropologists as to what the figurines were used for, but many believe they were symbols of fertility.
The traditionally labeled "cave art" style of Paleolithic art is best represented by the Franco-Cantabrian sites throughout southwestern France and northern Spain. Although this area is relatively small it contains about 95 percent of the known painted cave images in the world. The cave paintings feature thousands of images, many of which depict animals such as horses and human-like figures, painted in long murals with many connected figures. Charcoal and oxidized minerals were used to create the color seen in this cave art.
Petroglyphs is a term derived from the root word "petra" meaning rock and "glyph" meaning picture. Petroglyphs are pictures carved into stone. Some designs depict the same type of animal images as cave paintings while other carvings depict geometric designs such as Celtic spirals. While writing did not develop during the Stone Age, some early petroglyph designs are viewed by archaeologists to be precursors to writing systems.