Long before Disney and Miyazaki: the oldest animation in history

Using 3D modeling and virtual reality to bring ancient images to life, a team of archaeologists argue that ancient artworks may be dynamic depictions of animals in motion when viewed by firelight, Science Alert reports.

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While these images are far from the realistic animation that entertains us today, these prehistoric artworks are awe-inspiring because our desire to understand, depict and reproduce movement is deeply rooted.

An example of such a reenactment was found at Burnt City, an archaeological site in southeast Iran. Here, the researchers found a humble goblet with scorched red sketches of a jumping goat that comes to life when the vase is rotated—just like a modern zootrope.

In five consecutive images, the horned goat jumps to eat the leaves of the tree, which may represent the Assyrian tree of life. However, years after the vase was unearthed in 1967, archaeologists realized that the drawings were a series of paintings.

Dating shows this goblet, now on display at the National Museum of Iran, is about 5,200 years old, and some argue it may be one of the earliest examples of animation. This suggests that Iranian potters mastered the early concepts of animation long before 19th century inventors achieved a similar effect.

“This shows that for thousands of years people have been fascinated by the movement of animals and are trying to capture a sequence of images,” writes Layla Khonari, Iranian animator and art critic at Griffith University in Australia at Animation Studies 2018.

Honary says, “The Goblet of the Burnt City shows the knowledge of its creator, who conceived a series of images as a series of movements.

The ancient potter created “keyframes” that included the basic level of now-classic animation principles such as compression and stretching, prediction, and even timing and spacing.”

As Paleolithic researcher and filmmaker Mark Azema explains in a 2015 article, “If we stop and take a closer look, there are many more examples of Paleolithic artists who brought their work to life.”

The sprawling, graphic, and often chaotic narrative scenes actually reflected movement with repetitive sequences. For example, the Fond Hall’s Great Panel (Salle du Fond), a 10-metre-high hunting scene located in the Chauvet cave in France, is filled with horses and bison, as well as superimposed cave lions to chase their prey. prey along the wall. Its age is about 32,000 years.

In Indonesia, about 12,000 years ago, people on the island of Sulawesi painted panoramic scenes depicting supernatural creatures battling buffaloes, stretching along limestone walls – these images are considered the oldest scene ever found.

Separate motion sketches have also long been used to capture moving parts of the body. These artifacts depict animal forms with more than normal heads or legs, like the cave paintings announced earlier this year.

But as Azema explains, these prehistoric illustrations depict the sort of sequences seen in folding books, galloping, throwing their heads back or wagging their tails from side to side. Sometimes barely marked contour lines around the head or legs also give a sense of movement.

“A painted octopus bison in Chauvet Cave (Alcôve des Lions) proves that motion transmission by superposition was already in use during the Aurignacian period, about 35,000 years ago,” writes Azema. “This graphic illusion reaches its full effect when light from an oil lamp or torch travels along the wall.”

Ancient bone discs, possibly used for amusing or symbolic visual illusions, and double-sided plaques with superimposed images of animals were also found.

Previously Focus He wrote about new geoglyphs found in Peru. The number of drawings now officially known is 358.