Of all prehistoric cave paintings discovered in different parts of the world, the ones at Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave in southern France deserve special mention. These paintings are significant for two factors: firstly, they exhibit exceptional aesthetic quality previously unseen in prehistoric paintings, such as the skillful use of shading, combinations of paint and engraving, anatomical precision, three-dimensionality and movement. Secondly, they are of great age. Radio carbon dating has put them in the Aurignacian period, approximately 30,000 to 32,000 years ago, making them the earliest-known and best-preserved examples of figurative drawings in the world.
The cave is located in a limestone plateau along the bank of the river Ardeche, near the commune of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc. Until its discovery in 1994, the cave had remained sealed off by a rock fall that occurred approximately 20,000 years ago. Chauvet is one of the few prehistoric painted caves that was found preserved and intact, right down to the footprints of animals and humans.
When the cave was discovered, the content of the imagery and the artistic techniques used to create them surprised archeologists and anthropologists. Usually most of the animals depicted in Stone Age art are game animals that were hunted for food. At Chauvet, however, the majority of animals represented are predatory such as bear, cave lion, rhino, and hyenas. Besides, the paintings were executed so skillfully that it has “forced us to abandon the prevailing view that 'early art was naive art'.”
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