A Glimmer of Hope in the Darkest Hour

Today I was going to bring you an image relating to Prehistoric Cave Art, so I set about some research.  I decided the best place to start was Lascaux caves, I have seen the images so many times but I have never taken the time to properly look.  I am so glad I waited, their website (as long as you have Flash Player) provides quite the explorers experience.  I was truly amazed! I shall give you my thoughts on the matter then give you the details on how to explore it yourself...we can all be Indie for just one day!! Here's a glimpse...

You are probably wondering why I sold this as a glimmer of hope, so I'll explain.  The cave was discovered by 4 teens in 1940, World War II was well underway and France was a bleak and weary land.  In September of that year they explored a 'fox den' convinced it would give them a secret entrance to a manor house, they didn't get that...they got something far better!  The boys saw the cave paintings explored as best they could and told their teacher what they had found.  He went to see for himself and was amazed at their find, and told the Chair of Prehistory in Toulouse.  A photo study was carried out by October and the site was given national historical importance shortly after.  In 1947 study was continuing but the caves were open to the public, by 1955 visitor numbers were still growing and shortly after provisions were made to make the cave more suitable.  By the late 70's there were noticeable affects on the caves of the visitor numbers and it was promptly closed to the public in order to preserve it.  Study is on going and a replica cave was built, which is still open today. 

Such a discovery in 1940 must have brought glimmers of the World that local people thought they had left behind.  It provided an escape from all the death and destruction that had become the World.  The care that was shown to Lascaux during War must have told the French people that there would be an end and it would end well...why else would time and money be spent on their heritage?  If the caves had not been found during the War years, funding and security may well have been harder to come by...but this cave and its' art showed how long people had lived in the region, they could be billed as French and utilised in terms of propaganda.  This was probably of more value at the time than the caves ever have been to the world of heritage...they provided light at the end of the ever growing tunnel.

I'm sure you are all set to explore now and if you haven't already stopped reading my musings and done a Google search (Thank you for sticking with me!) here is the all important link:

http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/index.php#/en/00.xml

Happy Exploring!

Back to our Roots?

Today's artefact is a true taste of Prehistory, it's some 230,000 years old.....

Picture taken from www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld

 

 

It is of course a handaxe, this is a Paleolithic example and hails from a cave in Denbighshire, Wales know as Pontnewydd.  Pontnewydd is associated with Neanderthal activity and some 19 individuals were in part identified within the cave.  These are the oldest known inhabitants of Wales and are credited by many as being the first Welsh people.  Their lives were without doubt tough, they lived during a glacial period, food was scarce and the nature of their tools suggests that their technique required them to be within close proximity to the prey.  The presence of ice would have minimised vegitation and as such meat was essential to survival.  To us, in our modern world, this artefact can look simply like stone, often over looked in museums everyday, but to the Neanderthal community of Pontnewydd it was all that stood between them and death.  The range of individuals found alongside this hand axe are varied in age, there is a presence of young children and developed adults, suggesting that the cave was at least a temporary home for this community before a disaster struck.  The likelihood of this being their permenant dwelling is slim, the Neanderthals were nomadic peoples and during this period there was no English Channel, we were part of the Continent.  Where these people had come from or were looking to reach will never be known, but it is possible that they found themselves in Pontnewydd purely through the ongoing feat of seeking food.