Have you ever seen some of the cave art done by prehistoric humans? As you view these paintings, have you ever felt that they remind you a bit of the art projects your children bring home from school? Turns out there’s a reason for this.

An analysis of ancient cave art in Cantabria, Spain, found that up to a quarter of the ochre handprints put on cave walls were made by children. Archeologists believe the Paleolithic paintings were made by blowing red pigment through either a bone or a hollow reed over a hand used as a stencil. In my mind I can hear the clamor of little caveman children begging, “Let me Try!”

The artwork these kids created has been on the walls for millennia, and is now the subject of scientific inquiry. Yet you took your child’s finger painting off the fridge after a mere week. How rude.

1. Scientific American, June 2022, p. 17