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Bradshaw Foundation Cave Art Paintings News
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Chauvet discovered 26 years ago today
Friday 18 December 2020

26th Anniversary of the Grotte Chauvet Discovery

speleologists Ardèche France drawings Grotte Chauvet cave art prehistoric
The Fighting Rhino and Horses of Chauvet

As pointed out by Google, it is the 26th Anniversary of the Grotte Chauvet Discovery

speleologists Ardèche France drawings Grotte Chauvet cave art prehistoric
The three speleologists Jean-Marie Chauvet, Éliette Brunel, and Christian Hillaire discovered the cave 26 years ago

'On this day in 1994, three speleologists by the name of Jean-Marie Chauvet, Éliette Brunel, and Christian Hillaire (above) were exploring in the Ardèche region of southern France when they happened upon something remarkable: an enormous display of what turned out to be some of the earliest-known and best-preserved figurative drawings ever made by humankind. Today’s Doodle celebrates this groundbreaking discovery – now known as Grotte Chauvet – which forever altered the archaeological understanding of prehistoric man’s artistic expression and creative development.

speleologists Ardèche France drawings Grotte Chauvet cave art prehistoric
The Panel of Lions of Chauvet

'Through carbon dating, the extraordinary drawings have been traced back to the Aurignacian period over 30,000 years ago. Thanks to a rock fall that sealed the entrance more than 10,000 years later, the Chauvet Cave–and the more than 1,000 drawings documented on its limestone walls–then remained untouched, preserved for millennia in pristine quality.

Article continues below
Article continues

'As illustrated in today’s Doodle, the cave features depictions of 14 different species — from horses and lions to dangerous prehistoric creatures like the long-extinct wooly rhinoceros and mammoth. The deepest gallery features representations of the human body, while other walls display abstract series of red dots. The images demonstrate great artistic vision and technique through their anatomical accuracy, illusion of depth and movement, masterful use of colors, and skillful combination of both painting and engraving. In addition to the paintings, the cave is also home to human footprints and some 4,000 prehistoric animal fossils.

'In recognition of the site's vast significance to the human story, UNESCO inscribed the Chauvet Cave onto the World Heritage List in 2014.'

Click here to explore the cave of Chauvet

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CAVE PAINTINGS
Capturing the art of Cosquer
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 30 May 2022
Hand Stencils in Chhattisgarh
by Bradshaw Foundation
Wednesday 19 January 2022
New U-series dating of rock art in China
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 06 January 2022
New approach to research in Australia
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 06 December 2021
Color begets life
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 29 November 2021
Sulawesi rock art
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 25 October 2021
Protecting Utyetye rock art
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 12 July 2021
A lockdown obsession with cave paintings
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 24 May 2021
What Sulawesi cave art reveals
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 20 April 2021
Cosquer cave replica underway
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 01 April 2021
Oldest date for Aboriginal rock art
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 23 February 2021
Oldest cave painting found in Indonesia
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 14 January 2021
Chauvet discovered 26 years ago today
by Bradshaw Foundation
Friday 18 December 2020
Response to 'discovery' claims in Colombia
by Bradshaw Foundation
Sunday 06 December 2020
Drug use and human creativity
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 26 November 2020
Cave art discovered in Thailand
by Bradshaw Foundation
Wednesday 07 October 2020
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