On 18th December 1994, three cavers were inspecting sites in the Ardeche, southern France, when they came across the hidden entrance to an underground cavern. Inside, they picked out traces of colour on the cave walls: pictures of a mammoth, a huge bear, rhinoceroses and lions. Here, in this hidden network of underground caverns, was a collection of 300 wall paintings, and traces of occupation dating back 30,000 years. They are the oldest examples of prehistoric art ever found - some 15,000 years older than those at Lascaux - and the cave had remained undisturbed for so long that the even the footprints in the floor were those of Stone Age man. This book recounts this discovery and presents a series of photographs of the cave paintings. The images are particulary impressive in terms of the techniques used to present perspective and motion: many figures interact with each other; some are staggered; others are drawn on bulges in the cave wall to further suggest depth. An epilogue by Jean Clottes, a prehistoric art specialist, provides an analysis of the paintings, and sets them in context. Now that the cave is closed to the public, this book provides an opportunity to view the paintings at first hand, revealing the mastery of our Stone Age ancestors.
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31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Aurignacian Uffizi!,
By Giordano Bruno (Wherever I am, I am.) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Chauvet Cave (Paperback)
High on my "bucket list" of places to visit before I die is Chauvet Cave, in the Rhone Valley of France. It won't happen, however; it would be easier by far to climb Everest or to plunge into the Marianas Trench than to gain access to Chauvet, which is restricted to a mere half dozen archaeologists by the government of France. There are very good reasons for the restrictions. Human activity in limestone caves is inevitably destructive; both natural features and artifacts are quickly degraded. This is hyper-critical in Chauvet because of its uniqueness and scientific significance. Fortunately, there are several glorious coffee-table books of photos of the cave and its art, as well as this more modest account of its dicovery and exploration. There is also a spectacular virtual tour of the cave on line, maintained by the French government.
When the cave was discovered by spelunkers in 1994, it had not been entered by humans or any other large mammals since roughly 22,000 BCE (or 12,000-14,000 years before the Creation of the Earth, according to Biblical fundamentalists). Yet to the astonishment of archaeologists, some of the art and artifacts in the cave were soon dated as even older, perhaps 15,000 years older, from the Aurignacian era, thus the earliest known cave paintings as well as the oldest known footprints of an anatomically modern human. Even more astonishing is the sophistication of the paintings, both technically and aesthetically. No words can describe the impact of seeing such skillful representations of horses, mammoths, rhinoceroses, elk, and cave lions, representations that seem as vivid and impressionistic as our own modern iconic images of the Wild. The Chauvet paintings are in no way "primitive" in comparison to the images in the caves at Altamira or Lascaut, yet they are thousands of generations older. I've personally visited a dozen or more of the cave-art sites of France and Spain. Some of them are over-toured, yet a few of the best, like Peche-Merle, are solitudinous. Photographs and even moving pictures do little justice to the sensations of seeing the paintings and sculptures in situ. You can't just walk into the gallery and stand on a flat floor and see the stuff on the walls. These are real caves, narrow, cold, full of sharp spikes of rock and jagged corners - head-bangers, crawly holes, slime, and ankle-twisters. Likewise the artists didn't stand and sketch; they crept and crouched, and sometimes hid their images in the weirdest crevices! Whatever they were doing, whatever it meant to them, it was no casual graffiti; it was full of lost intention. Jean Clottes, the author of this book and one of the chief archaeologists of Chauvet, writes lucidly and modestly about the project he heads, the history and significance of Chauvet, and the whole context of the presence of early modern H. sapiens in Europe. His text is not for specialists only; it's accessible to "armchair" archaeologists like myself, though I can't help regretting that my armchair is as close as I'll ever get to this first known masterpiece of human artistic impulse. Wouldn't a few million dollars or euros be more usefully spent on conserving and studying Chauvet than on building another freeway overpass or a fence to keep workers out of a country where work is needed?
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring,
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This review is from: Chauvet Cave (Paperback)
I ordered Chauvet Cave after seeing Werner Herzog's documentary. I wanted to know more about the original discovery of the cave. The book did not disappoint. It is a well written book in the voices of the discoverers. The photographs of this haunting place are beautiful. Fascinating.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chauvet Cave,
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This review is from: Chauvet Cave (Paperback)
This book, firsr published in French, and I have been advised is now unavailable in France(even no postcards are available) due to a legal battle regarding ownership of the site and of copyright, is fortunately still available in English language.Written by the discoverers of the Chauvet Cave it presents an account of first impressions of this magnificent cave with its spectacular cave paintings, estimated to be in excess of 30.000 years old.It is beautifully illustrated on gloss paper and is strongly reccommended not just to cavers but to anyone interested in the evolution of the human race.
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