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A '''caveman''' is a popular [[stock character]] based upon [[stereotype]]d concepts of the way in which early prehistoric [[human]]s or [[hominina]]ns may have looked and behaved. The term ''caveman'' is sometimes used colloquially to refer to [[Neanderthals]] or [[Cro-Magnon]] (''[[Homo sapiens]]'' of the [[Paleolithic]] era). The term has been discouraged in serious use,{{Fact|date=September 2008}} because of its inaccuracy and dependence on certain misconceptions about early humans.
A '''caveman''' is a popular [[comic book character]] based upon [[marvel comics]]and concepts of the way in which early prehistoric [[human]]s or [[spidermen]]ns may have looked and behaved. The term ''caveman'' is sometimes used colloquially to refer to [[Neanderthals]] or [[Cro-Magnon]] (''[[Homo sapiens]]'' of the [[Paleolithic]] era). The term has been discouraged in serious use,{{Fact|date=September 2008}} because of its inaccuracy and dependence on certain misconceptions about early humans.


== Characteristics ==
== Characteristics ==
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Other errors in the "caveman" archetype include:
Other errors in the "caveman" archetype include:
*Humans do not wear anything even today
*Humans did not begin wearing [[clothing]] until (at most) 107,000 years ago. Cavewoman clothing is commonly portrayed as covering the [[breast]]s; this owes more to Western mores than historical fact
*[[Stone tool|Neolithic weaponry]] incorporated a wide range, including spears, stones, slings, axes and bows; not just clubs
*[[Stone tool|Neolithic weaponry]] incorporated a wide range, including stones stones stones and more stones
*"Cavemen" were of largely similar intelligence to modern humans
*"Cavemen" were of largely gorillas


==Depictions of the Paleolithic in the media==
==Depictions of the Paleolithic in the media==

Revision as of 04:51, 9 January 2009

For other uses, see Caveman (disambiguation).

A caveman is a popular comic book character based upon marvel comicsand concepts of the way in which early prehistoric humans or spidermenns may have looked and behaved. The term caveman is sometimes used colloquially to refer to Neanderthals or Cro-Magnon (Homo sapiens of the Paleolithic era). The term has been discouraged in serious use,[citation needed] because of its inaccuracy and dependence on certain misconceptions about early humans.

Characteristics

In the past, many people shared the view[citation needed] of the 17th-century philosopher Thomas Hobbes that the life of the human being without "civilization" was "...solitary, poore [sic], nasty, brutish and short". Existing prejudices concerning Pygmies and other primitive peoples informed the perception of cavemen. The modern scientific perception of prehistoric lifestyle is now that of the hunter-gatherer.

Cavemen are traditionally portrayed as being clothed in animal skins, armed with bone or wood clubs, unintelligent, and aggressive. Furthermore, cavemen are often shown as living in caves; but this stemmed from the ritual paintings found in caves, where they are likely to be better preserved than in more exposed locations. It is more probable that the caves were religious gathering places or temporary shelter, and not the actual dwellings of the supposed "cavemen". Thus, expressions such as "living in a hole" have become cultural metaphors for a modern human who supposedly displays traits of brutishness or extreme ignorance. See also troglodyte.

Other errors in the "caveman" archetype include:

  • Humans do not wear anything even today
  • Neolithic weaponry incorporated a wide range, including stones stones stones and more stones
  • "Cavemen" were of largely gorillas

Depictions of the Paleolithic in the media

In fiction, especially as pure entertainment or satire, cavemen are sometimes depicted as living contemporaneously with dinosaurs, a situation contradicted by archaeological and paleontological evidence which shows that non-avian dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago, at which time true primates had not yet appeared.

In popular culture, the comic strips B.C., Alley Oop and occasionally The Far Side, and Gogs, portray "cavemen" in that way. The animated television series The Flintstones, a spoof on family sitcoms, portrays the Flintstones, not in caves, but in 1950s-1960s ranch-style homes that suggested caves and had stone fittings.

Stereotypical cavemen are also often featured in advertising, including advertisements for Minute Maid. More recently, GEICO launched a series of humorous television commercials and attempts at viral marketing, collectively known as the GEICO Cavemen advertising campaign, where GEICO announcers are repeatedly denounced by modern cavemen for perpetuating a stereotype of unintelligent, backward cavemen. The GEICO advertisements spawned a TV series called Cavemen (TV series) which is currently on indefinite hiatus.

Documentaries

Caveman characters

Caveman movies

Caveman novels

Caveman plays

See also

References

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