Couldn't control myself...
Posted on 02/05/2006 7:34:22 PM PST by Pharmboy
PARIS -- Cave drawings thought to be older than those in the famed caves of Lascaux have been discovered in a grotto in western France, officials from the Charente region said Sunday.
A first analysis by officials from the office of cultural affairs suggests the drawings were made some 25,000 years ago, Henri de Marcellus, mayor of the town of Vilhonneur where the cave is located, told France-Info radio.
He said, however, that the date could only be confirmed by further investigations.
Cavers exploring a part of a grotto in the Vilhonneur forest made the discovery in December, the local newspaper Charente Libre reported Saturday.
News was withheld until a first investigation could be carried out, local officials said on French radio.
"If this first expertise is confirmed, the paintings discovered here (change) scientific findings date to Lascaux and Altamira in Spain," Michel Boutant, head of the local government, said on France-Info radio.
The famed Lascaux Cave in Montignac, in the Dordogne region of southwest France, has long been considered one of the finest examples of cave paintings. The art dates back 13,000 years, like those in Altamira, in northwest Spain.
However, the Chauvet cave, discovered in the mid-1990s in southeast France, features some 300 examples of Paleolithic animal art dating back in some cases 31,000 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
Pictures?
Good one.
This is a result of some sort of genetic change that occurred in Europe first.
Can you think of no other possibilities? None at all?
(I can.)
5 bucks says it's in German.
Art ping.
Let Republicanprofessor or me know if you want on or off the art ping list.
I wish there were some pics of this stuff to post.
Or, alternatively, guys from outerspace did the drawings, or..... there are many, many possibilities. At the moment, though, we have only this cave.
Agreed. It's amazing they haven't been discovered until recently.
Couldn't control myself...
I don't believe that. We just haven't found or the 100,000 year old art hasn't survived.
Well, it was shipped in (LOL).
Wait for National Geographic...
Even today artistic talent is much more a question of having the right gene set than anything else. It is exceedingly rare to find a good artist in a family that does not already have a good artist.
Pass the ochre please, Mungo...these were my peeps on my father's side.:') More where this comes from. ;')
Sure, we simply haven't found earlier evidence.
Or, alternatively, guys from outerspace did the drawings, or..... there are many, many possibilities. At the moment, though, we have only this cave.
I objected to the comment re:
Art hit the ground running. There appear to be no amateur, tenative, halting steps ~ there was no art, and then there was.Given the scarcity of the ancient rock art, I think its a little early (no pun intended) to make any firm statements on the course of its development.This is a result of some sort of genetic change that occurred in Europe first.
What would you posit for a genetic change? We have modern humans some 160k or more years ago. I know there were two groups in this part of Europe at some 30k. What are you thinking for the genetic change.
I may have to answer in the AM.
Coyote
Britain And France In Dispute Over Cave Art
The Telegraph (UK) | 10-16-2003 | Philip Delves
Posted on 10/16/2003 10:47:34 AM PDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1002398/posts
Stone Age Code Red: Scarlet Symbols Emerge In Israeli Cave
Science News | 11-8-2003 | Bruce Bower
Posted on 11/08/2003 9:33:41 AM PST by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1017552/posts
False Bay Cave Shows Signs Of Prehistoric Man
Cape Argus | 11-22-2004 | Daniel Ashby
Posted on 11/22/2004 12:08:43 PM PST by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1286101/posts
It has to do with the linkage between the motor centers and the visual cortex. I suspect "dance" has a comparable gene set, although different. Notice that top level dancers in every society appear to have a sense of position similar to that of top level basketball players. Not all of us have that ~ actually, almost none of us do.
Then there are the musicians ~
I didn't check to see if there is also a FR topic about this:
Were Modern Humans Neighbors to Neanderthals?
Dating of Modern-Style Artifacts in Famed Neanderthal Cave in France Refuels Debate About Possible Coexistence
By Guy Gugliotta
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 12, 2005; Page A07
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/11/AR2005091100851.html
Shoot, the magazines in my Doctor's office are older than that.
The human family has lots of artists.
Preservation Of Rock Imagery (Australia)
" 'Rock varnish' in petroglyphs in South Australia has been dated to greater than thirty thousand years ago (Nobbs and Dorn 1988). Red and yellow ochres, perhaps used in rock painting, have been recovered from contexts dated to 60,000 ago (Roberts et al. 1990)."
The 'Hobbits' on Flores Island were found with a well-worn shell necklace dated at 80,000 years old.
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