Sex Pistols Graffiti Makes Johnny Rotten Drawings as Important as Cave Paintings

The Sex Pistols mark a distinct turning point in rock 'n' roll history, when pop tendencies turned toward brash punk and anarchism. But it's not just the Pistols' music that helped form a new politically minded artist -- it was their graffiti as well. As the BBC reports, a London flat that the Pistols' Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious and other members shared in 1975 still bears the band's original caricature wall drawings.

As seen in the video below, Rotten drew himself and other bandmates as whimsical, big-headed figures, and even immortalized the cash-grubbing hands of their manager Malcolm McLaren. These recently highlighted doodles have gained much acclaim from archeologist and writer Dr. John Schofield, in the newest issue of the journal Antiquity. He and independent researcher Dr. Paul Graves-Brown claim the quarter-century-old scribblings hold as much significance as ancient cave art.

"Why should graffiti and interior spaces from 1975 not be approached with the same seriousness as those from a thousand years earlier?" the authors surmise. "Whilst some of this is documented in published biographies and captured in films and documentary, this very archaeological record offers something visceral and immediate and generates unique insight."

So there you have it. The Sex Pistols are being compared to the Paleolithic age, so you can cross another band off the cool-ometer because this one is sooo "last century." Rotten's naughty drawings also depict the band's working-class manifesto of "Depressed, Miserable, Tired, Ill, Sick, Booed and Bored." Unlike the ancient cavemen of thousands of years ago, Rotten is still available for comment. But good luck getting that guy to tell you what he thinks about some wall art.

Watch BBC's Report

Watch Sex Pistols Play 'Anarchy in the UK'