Cave paintings (also known in archaeology as "parietal art") are paintings found on cave walls and ceilings, and especially those of prehistoric origin, in both Asia and Europe. The purpose of the cave paintings is not known but evidence suggests that they were not merely decorations of living areas since the caves in which they have been found do not have signs of ongoing habitation. In fact the paintings are often located in areas of the caves that are not easily accessible.

The paintings are remarkably similar around the world, with animals being common subjects that give the most impressive images. Humans mainly appear as images of hands, mostly hand stencils made by blowing pigment on a hand held against the wall.

The most common subjects in cave paintings are large wild animals, such as bison, horses, aurochs, and deer. Also tracings of human hands as well as abstract patterns, called finger flutings are common. The species found most often were suitable for hunting by humans, but were not necessarily the actual typical prey found in associated deposits of bones. Drawings of humans were rare and are usually schematic as opposed to the more detailed and naturalistic images of animal subjects.

Hand stencils, made by placing a hand on the wall and blowing pigment at it (probably through a pipe of some kind), form a characteristic image of a roughly round area of solid pigment with the uncoloured shape of the hand in the center, which may then be decorated with lines or dashes. These are often found in the same caves as other paintings, or may be the only form of painting in a location. Some walls contain many hand stencils. Similar hands are also painted in the usual fashion. A number of hands show a finger wholly or partly missing, for which a number of explanations have been given. Hand images are found in similar forms in Europe, Eastern Asia and South America.

Colbert County Bluff shelter, Alabama

Sears Point, Arizona

Rockhouse Cave, Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas

Burro Flats Painted Cave, California

Chumash Painted Cave Historic Park, California

Painted Cave, California

Crystal River State Archaeological Park, Florida

Track Rock Gap, Georgia

University of Georgia Campus, Georgia

Waikoloa Petroglyph Preserve, Hawaii, Hawaii

Jaguar Cave, Idaho

Wees Bar, Idaho (43.2927381, -116.4296211)

Millstone Bluff NHL Archaeological Area, Illinois (37.4666016, -88.6880104)

Dighton Rock State Park, Massachusetts (41.8117662, -71.1094517)

Sanilac Petroglyphs State Park, Michigan (43.6565758, -83.0180894)

Jeffers Petroglyph State Park, Minnesota (44.0908352, -95.0586316)

Pipestone National Monument, Minnesota (44.0129620, -96.3256784)

Picture Cave, Missouri

Thousand Hills State Park, Missouri (40.1884564, -92.6411711)

Washington State Park, Missouri (38.0790510, -90.6825149)

Pictograph Cave State Park, Montana (45.7369257, -108.4322715)

Petroglyph Canyon Trailhead, Montana (45.0046358, -108.5053159)

Pompey's Pillar NM, Montana (45.9943141, -108.0018049)

Seton Hall University Museum , New Jersey (40.74263222, -74.2457525)

Blackwater Draw, New Mexico (34.2765247, -103.3220940)

Village of the Great Kivas, New Mexico (near to 35.1645948, -108.7153836)

Gold Butte NM, Nevada Falling Man Trailhead (36.5116417, -114.1855096)

Judaculla Rock, North Carolina (35.3013746, -83.1101874)

Writing Rock State Historical Site, North Dakota (48.7802036, -103.8594546)

Inscription Rock, Ohio (41.5926980, -82.70688498)

Leo Petroglyph, Ohio (39.1505118, -82.6747806)

Indian God Rock, Pennsylvania (41.3302554, -79.8242261)

Montgomery Bell State Park, Tennessee

Hueco Tanks State Historic Site, Texas (31.9239126, -106.0464275)

Buckhorn Wash, Utah ()

Black Dragon Pictograph (38.9426558, -110.4245804)

Wild Horse Canyon, Utah (38.9317099, -110.4226976)

(Spirit Arch, Double Arch)

Black Dragon Pictograph

Columbia Hills State Park, Washington (45.6406597, -121.1047973)

Indian Painted Rocks, Spokane, Washington (47.7826204, -117.4968702)

Ceredo Historical Museum, West Virginia (38.3942354, -82.5591366)

Roche-a-Cri State Park, Wisconsin (44.0012929, -89.8123993)

Medicine Lodge SP, Medicine Bear Creek, Wyoming (44.2981524, -107.5418722)

Petroglyph Park, British Columbia, Canada

Peterborough Petroglyphs, Ontario, Canada