Cave Art (394 words) Essay Example For Students

Cave Art (394 words) Essay Cave ArtAt thefoot of a cliff in the Ard?che Gorges, in south-eastern France, amateurspeleologists discovered the worlds oldest painted prehistoric cave. Discoveredon December 18, 1994, this cave features art that dates back thirty-one thousandyears. Jean-Marie Chauvet, Eliette Brunel-Deschamps and Christian Hillaire, werethe amateurs who discovered the cave that has come to be known simply as theChauvet cave. The explorers were in Vallon-Pont-dArc, France some thirty feetbelow ground. While exploring a cave, they were intrigued by a draft of air. They followed the draft to the source and discovered a cavity. This cavity thenled to a vast network of galleries and rooms. The explorers were amazed. As theybegan to take a closer look, they saw columns of calc-spar, minerals in thewalls, bones of bears. Suddenly, Eliette saw the image of a small mammoth on thewall in front of her. The adventurers were astounded. The walls began to comealive with engravings and paintings in red ochre and black. Everywhere theyturned, there were these paintings that stretched hundreds of yards. Thediscoverers could not believe their eyes. Before them, were some three hundredhorses, rhinoceros, lions, buffalo, and mammoth. Some of the animals were alone,while some were drawn in packs. And finally, all of these paintings wereawakened from thousands of years of deep sleep. Jean Clottes, a specialist incave paintings, is commissioned to appraise the cave. He was able to verify thatthis was genuine Paleolithic art. Everything was authentic and perfectlyp reserved. Now, all that needs to be done is determine the age of thesemasterpieces. Six months later, carbon 14 dating analysis showed that onebuffalo and two rhinoceros were no less than 31,000 years old. Suddenly, thecave paintings at Vallon-Pont-dArc found themselveds promoted to the rack ofthe oldest known cave paintings to date. The Ministry of Culture isquoted as saying that these datings have revolutionized hitherto acceptedconcepts on the appearance of art and its development, and prove that homosapiens learnt to draw at a very early stage. Not only was there artfound, but there was also many clues to the activities of primitive man. Charcoal, sediment extraction points, sharpened flint stones, and imprints wereamong some of the clues founds. The Chauvet cave is the discovery of a lifetime. It has provided many insights into the world of primitive art. It is truly amagnificent wonder of the world.