Post by L Roebuck on Jun 5, 2006 8:21:12 GMT -5
Ancient remains in cave
A 27,000-YEAR-OLD human skeleton laid out in a room decorated with ancient art is among the rare finds at a cave in France, whose subterranean art predates that of the famed Lascaux caves.
It is only the second time that a human body from the upper Paleolithic period has been found placed in a cave with decorations.
The French Cultural Ministry yesterday announced the discovery in a cave in Vilhonneur forest in Charente, in western France.
A crude representation of a human face found in the cave could be among the oldest ever discovered, said Jean-Yves Baratin, archaeology curator for the Poitou-Charente region.
The face is "represented in the most elementary way, using an anomaly of the wall", he said.
Two pieces of calcite that split are used to form the hair, with two black horizontal strokes depicting the eyes. A vertical stroke forms the nose and another horizontal stroke the mouth.
Cavers exploring part of a grotto discovered the cave in December, but this was kept secret until experts studied its contents.
The cave dates to the upper Paleolithic period, like the skeleton.
Mr Baratin underscored the significance of the human skeleton, a young male, placed on the ground inside a decorated room.
The Vilhonneur cave features a series of decorations, including a negative imprint of a right hand surrounded in black on a wall, made by blowing colour onto the area once the hand had been placed there, experts said.
The famed Lascaux Cave in Montignac, in the southwest Dordogne region, has long been considered one of the finest examples of cave paintings.
However, that art dates to 13,000 years, making the Vilhonneur art much older.
the Advertiser
A 27,000-YEAR-OLD human skeleton laid out in a room decorated with ancient art is among the rare finds at a cave in France, whose subterranean art predates that of the famed Lascaux caves.
It is only the second time that a human body from the upper Paleolithic period has been found placed in a cave with decorations.
The French Cultural Ministry yesterday announced the discovery in a cave in Vilhonneur forest in Charente, in western France.
A crude representation of a human face found in the cave could be among the oldest ever discovered, said Jean-Yves Baratin, archaeology curator for the Poitou-Charente region.
The face is "represented in the most elementary way, using an anomaly of the wall", he said.
Two pieces of calcite that split are used to form the hair, with two black horizontal strokes depicting the eyes. A vertical stroke forms the nose and another horizontal stroke the mouth.
Cavers exploring part of a grotto discovered the cave in December, but this was kept secret until experts studied its contents.
The cave dates to the upper Paleolithic period, like the skeleton.
Mr Baratin underscored the significance of the human skeleton, a young male, placed on the ground inside a decorated room.
The Vilhonneur cave features a series of decorations, including a negative imprint of a right hand surrounded in black on a wall, made by blowing colour onto the area once the hand had been placed there, experts said.
The famed Lascaux Cave in Montignac, in the southwest Dordogne region, has long been considered one of the finest examples of cave paintings.
However, that art dates to 13,000 years, making the Vilhonneur art much older.
the Advertiser