Scientists have proposed the original version, explaining some oddities rock carvings of animals of the stone age, such as a greater number of legs or tails. In their opinion, it was the first in the world attempts to animate picture, that is to create something like a cartoon film. And the primitive artists all happened.

The ancestors of Europeans have developed a technology of animation and cinematography another 30 thousand years ago. Ancient painters sought to cause the viewer the illusion of motion of lions and other wild beasts. In addition to plastics, in the course were other technical effects, for example, flickering light of burning torches and other novelties of the stone age. The cinema of the stone age did not differ by the variety of genres and subjects. Basically it was one cycle: in the world of animals.

Specialist Paleolithic and filmmaker mark Asama (Marc Az?ma) from the University of Toulouse in the last 20 years has been studying cave rock art. In the center of his attention are two of the famous French Chauvet, the Department of Ardeche (Chauvet/'ard?che) and La Baume-Latrun, the Department of Gard (La Baume Latrone/Gard).

Together with his partner freestyle artist Florent river (Florent Riv?re) he came to the conclusion that the cave painters century used the technology underlying the creation of films and animation.

It seems that only those who are already well past forty or fifty, still remember baby pictures primitive animation, which published the Soviet children's magazines. On the edge of the page had to cut strictly on the dotted line for a few leaves, then, having gathered at a pencil or ballpoint pen first page, it was necessary to move wound sheet up and down. Even at low speeds in an illusion of movement: man, for example, put on a hat or a dog threw a cat.

In fact, an illusion of the current 3D is also based on the old effect of the combination of red and blue.

In June the book of the journal Antiquity, the authors report that the artists of the stone age was going to breathe life into their image. The majority of petroglyphs are shown animals in motion.

"In fact, the movement and action presented in rock art in different manners," notes on the website ScienceNews specialist in rock art, archaeologist Jean Cloth (Jean Clottes), which currently operates in the French Ministry of culture. It was he who in 1998 was engaged in the study of the petroglyphs of Chauvet, with more than 30 thousand years.

Picture of ten meters in length of Chauvet is like hunting history. The narrative begins with the fact that several lions, ears bending down and bent head, pursuing prey. Next depicted mammoths and other animals. In the second part of the picture pride of sixteen Lviv, depicted through the perspective of a few less in comparison with neighbouring animals, rushes to the fleeing of bison.

There in the cave seam image osminoga bison that, according to the researchers, is intended to demonstrate the running animal. A similar effect occurs if to take into account that bison fingering hoofs.

A total of 12 French caves there are 53 figures that are running, shaking their heads or waving their tails. In particular, in the famous Lascaux cave (Lascaux) has 20 painted images of animals, which is drawn from a large number of heads, legs and tails than in reality.

In the caves of France and Spain discovered stone and bone disks with several carved images of running an animal similar to freeze frames from the cartoon. In the center of the disk drilled hole. River threaded through these holes tendons of animals and spun disks: animals in the figure sat down and got up. The experiments conducted since 2007, was given the effect of optical illusion.

By the way, similarly worked based on optical illusions toy thaumatrope (thaumatrope from two Greek words thauma - the miracle and trope - rotation), invented around 1825. Two images printed on both sides of the disk, combined in one, thanks to their rapid movement between the toes. For example, if on one side was placed image vases, and on the opposite of a bouquet of flowers, while rotating both figures were merged together, and the viewer has seen a bouquet of flowers, standing in a vase. Thaumatrope considered as a predecessor of cameras and animation.