"Why Israel Has No Prehistoric Cave Art: A Fascinating Mystery"

Several sources explore a new theory explaining the absence of cave art in the Levant, specifically Israel, during the Aurignacian period, contrasting it with the abundance of such art in Europe. The theory posits that the extinction of megafauna in the Levant before the arrival of Homo sapiens eliminated the existential anxieties and symbolic framework that spurred cave art creation in Europe, where megafauna persisted and their decline created a crisis. The researchers argue that European cave art served ritualistic purposes, aimed at appeasing entities in response to the dwindling megafauna populations. This contrasts with the Levant, where the lack of megafauna resulted in different anxieties and consequently, a different expression of artistic and spiritual needs. The absence of comparable environmental pressures in the Levant further contributed to the lack of cave art.