Post by Brian Roebuck on Nov 3, 2006 18:03:55 GMT -5
Last night Lynn and I attended the Nashville Grotto meeting (first time in awhile for us) and were entertained and educated by a nice presentation on Dunbar Cave Archaeology. This cave is located within easy driving distance from Nashville and is part of the Tennessee State Parks System. Recently Native American petroglyphs and pictographs were found in the cave and interpretive tours are now being given to the public on these important cultural resources. Nashville Grotto arranged for Dr Jan Simek of the University of Tennessee to come to Nashville and give a presentation on them. Dr. Simek showed the slides of many of the pictographs and petroglyphs found to date and explained the significance of each find. There were various styles of cave art found including circle patterns, sun shapes, and even a mythical warrior pictorgraph found under a ledge along the cave passage that was over 9 feet long. Other common symbols such as swastika shapes and crosses were also present. He explained the patterns of cave art in this cave were different form those found in other caves of the Southeast US but that much more research would have to be done to look at the entire cave. Dr Simek told the group about other styles of cave art showing examples of most types and encouraged cavers to be on the lookout for signs of Native American exploration such as cane torch stoke marks that have also been found in other Tennessee caves. The group left knowing a bit more about the ancient world of cave use by Native American peoples and a healthy respect for early cave explorers who lit their way with simple cane torches for cave gear. It made me wonder how many independant light sources they carried through the cave! All in all it was a fun and entertaining evening. 