Sculpture, rock paintings, and cave paintings have been found at the Paleolithic era around 40.000 years ago. But the precise meaning of that art is often disputed because of what people know is so little about the cultures that produced by them.
The oldest object art in the world is drilled snail shells. It's about 75.000 years ago were discovered in a South African cave.
Many great traditions is foundation in one art from Ancient Egypt, China, India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Ancient Greece, Rome, Inca, Maya, and Olmec. Then, all of that traditions evolve, not as a whole but separately. For example, this period of Greek art saw a veneration of the human physical form and the development of equivalent skills to show musculature, poise, beauty, and anatomically correct proportions or we often call it iconography.
For the next period, in the Western Middle age, much art focused on the expression of Biblical and religious truths, and used styles that showed the higher glory of a heavenly world, such as the use of gold in the background of paintings, or glass in mosaics or windows.
In the East, Islamic's art rejected iconography emphasis on geometric patterns, calligraphy, and architecture. In India and Tibet, their artwork emphasis on paintings sculpture and dance. The artwork of China emphasis on carving, pottery, poetry, calligraphy, music, painting, drama, fiction, etc. Chinese styles is very varies from era to era.
