In archeology, the term "Parietal art" (also referred to as "cave art") is used to denote any prehistoric art found on cave walls. It embraces all types of cave painting, all forms of engraved rock art, or other petroglyphs, as well as any relief sculpture carved on walls, floors or ceilings. artwork done on cave walls or large blocks of stone. The opposite of such immobile "parietal art" is "mobiliary art", meaning any small-scale portable art of prehistory, such as the Venus figurines, or other ivory carvings, as well as jewellery and other similar items. Although parietal artworks have been found in Africa, the Middle East, India, China, Siberia, Australia and the Americas, the main body of this form of Paleolithic art has been discovered in the 300 or so prehistoric rock shelters of southwestern France and northern Spain, and forms what is known as Franco-Cantabrian cave art (40,000-10,000 BCE).
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