An Animated History of Animation - Classical Civilisations

ANIMATION BEFORE FILM

Earliest known approaches to the 'drawn moving image'

The Palaeolithic wall paintings in caves are the first known evidence of an interest in moving images. Some of the paintings depicted have several sets of horns, or legs. This could be as a result of the artist deciding to draw the animal in a different position and having no means of erasing the drawn lines. However, it is believed that the pictures are meant to convey motion.

Another example of an early interest in animation is a sequence of drawings on a vase. This vase was  found in the city of Shahr-e Sukhteh, Iran. It dates back to the 3rd millenium BC.
The vase depicts a goat reaching for some leafs:

These are the images put together into an animation:




This is an egyptian burial chamber mural. It shows two wrestlers fighting: