Art was hence magical and utilitarian. Objects decorated with images of animals could serve as amulets or talismans. And as for depictions in the depths of caves, they were not intended to be seen: they were created to influence reality through its representation. Creation of the artwork therefore took precedence over the result and over its visibility to the mortal community. This explained multiple superpositions of images on a given cave wall, where each magical ceremony added representations that ended up in an inextricable tangle, rendering the panels concerned virtually unreadable. “Once
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