Page 545 - Proceedings Collega2023

Figure 5
Zoomorphic Images of Birds

(i) (ii) (iii)

Source:Author

The pictograph in this prehistoric painting also depicts the image of a labi-labi, a snake in a circle
position and a crocodile. This image is taken from the wall of the cave painting. This image depicts a myth
spread across generations through word of mouth, with permanent imagery aimed at preserving meaning
so as not to be lost in history. Ahmad (2006) explains, “Previous images actually show complex
compositions that characterize prehistoric art in visual form”.

Snakes with painful venomous pats seem to have become part of prehistoric community life. In
this cave painting, the image of a snake in a circle position has been definitively identified on several panels
of the cave wall. The image of this crocodile is drawn without scrutiny but still shows the characteristics of
a crocodile with a pointed mouth and a long tail. The resulting pictograph shows that the image of a
prehistoric animal undergoes a transformation with the head, body, and tail. This transformation has been
reflected in prehistoric art.

This research found that the interpretation of these cave paintings is quite open and the images
are depicted as part of an “orderly change of landscape,” with image creators having centralized the
conceptuality of their universe to the natural world in which they live. This happens in three stages, with
the upper (celestial in nature), the middle (plants and animals) and the lower (darkness, death and danger)
which is an afterlife that corresponds to the concept of life in the region.

Nowadays, most people think only about the sophistication of modern technology. They rarely
recall back to world history, how the first civilizations appeared, what happened in ancient times, how
ancient people lived, how to find food and so on. In ancient times, before human beings used writing
systems as it is now, they used some records or some sketches on the walls, especially in deep caves
(Bellwood, 1997). Some archaeologists have found many cave paintings, especially on the European
continent. Cave paintings have different histories, meanings, methods to produce cave paintings to hunt
more animals to get food easily. Usually the animals featured on the cave paintings are animals that
became the fugitives of society at that time as everyday food.

Some identifiable images of animals include images of crocodiles, snails, turtles, four-legged
mammals, and figures with bird and human characteristics. This symbolism can be said that some human
figures wear headdresses and clothes. However, the general symbolism of the figure hides in the ambiguity
of human or physical nature of animals. As Harrisson (1958) has proven, the recognizable features of the

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