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Description
At first, I was going to call this painting The Priestess. I knew that women held positions of great regard in early societies, but I assumed that the earliest shamans were men. It just so happens, that upon researching a little more, the earliest known paleolithic shaman was a woman (circa 30,000 BP). Women of Paleolithic societies enjoyed a higher status and shared in much of the decision making. It also appears that these groups were based on a matrilineal descent pattern.

Most people are familiar with the cave paintings at Lascaux, located in southwestern France (the basis for my background). This vast cave system contains some of the best examples of Upper Paleolithic art. I can still recall seeing pictures of these paintings as a child and being completely fascinated by them.

The Shamans tattoos, with the exception of those on her face, are based on tattoos found on Otzi, the iceman. Otzi is an exceptionally well preserved mummy found in the Otztal Alps by two German tourists in September of 1991. His remains date to some 5,300 years ago. Admittedly this does not fall in to the age range of my shaman...but it makes for a good painting Tattoos have been in existence for a very long time and have been used to symbolize everything from ancestral descent to Otzi's pain relief treatments.

The stock I used for The Shaman is from Chonastock: [link] Thank you so much for the use of your beautiful stock!!!!

Description
At first, I was going to call this painting The Priestess. I knew that women held positions of great regard in early societies, but I assumed that the earliest shamans were men. It just so happens, that upon researching a little more, the earliest known paleolithic shaman was a woman (circa 30,000 BP). Women of Paleolithic societies enjoyed a higher status and shared in much of the decision making. It also appears that these groups were based on a matrilineal descent pattern.

Most people are familiar with the cave paintings at Lascaux, located in southwestern France (the basis for my background). This vast cave system contains some of the best examples of Upper Paleolithic art. I can still recall seeing pictures of these paintings as a child and being completely fascinated by them.

The Shamans tattoos, with the exception of those on her face, are based on tattoos found on Otzi, the iceman. Otzi is an exceptionally well preserved mummy found in the Otztal Alps by two German tourists in September of 1991. His remains date to some 5,300 years ago. Admittedly this does not fall in to the age range of my shaman...but it makes for a good painting Tattoos have been in existence for a very long time and have been used to symbolize everything from ancestral descent to Otzi's pain relief treatments.

The stock I used for The Shaman is from Chonastock: [link] Thank you so much for the use of your beautiful stock!!!!