Chauvet Cave

So I just watched the new Werner Herzog film, 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams' (in 3D!), a film about Chauvet Cave: a cave located in southern France that was discovered in 1994, containing the oldest known cave drawings in the world to date. Most of the artwork dates back 32 000 - 30 000 years, though there are traces in the cave of humans and animals from as recent as 25 000 years ago. A landslide around 25 000 years ago sealed off the cave until 1994, preserving the paintings drawings, animal bones and even the footprints of humans and animals - animals, some of which are now extinct, such as the cave bear, the cave lion, wolly mammoth and woolly rhino! among others...
Very fascintating stuff! And the drawings are just beautiful, so much motion in the overlapping animal figures; a beat, a rhythm over the curving surface of the cave walls...Amazing. In short, everyone should check out this movie! Seeing it definitely made me want to pick up the charcoal and conte again.

 Chauvet Cave is located very near this natural archway, Vallon Pont D'Arc, in the valley of the Ardeche River. As mentioned in the movie, we have to think of this as a very different Europe 30 000 years ago: A Europe partially covered in glaciers, with forests full of animals such as horses, rhinos, mammoths, lions, panthers, bears...along with the humans and neanderthals. A crazy, crazy time.

 A very stunning rock 'panel' of horses, and combatting rhinos below.

 love this movement...and the white around the dark rhino....ah, so good...

 Cave lions! And possibly panthers? In the movie it's mentioned that the drawings of cave lions in Chauvet cave were able to prove that the cave lions/ lions of the time did not have manes like the lions of today.

 One very stunning rock face in the cave...though there are many, many more. The cave is actually enormous! You can find topographical maps of the cave, it is surprisingly extensive.

A 30 000 year old handprint (wow).