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Cave paintings are footprints of the prehistoric times that give us an insight into the earliest signs of human civilisation. They are the cultural and scientific treasures for the human race, in general, they were one of the earliest and most traceable forms of human existence and self-awareness.
However, studies on cave paintings by the universities of Kent and Edinburgh both in the UK have proved to be more than just threads of historical events. The scientists are understood to have applied these paintings to a renewed interpretation of human communication. The paintings were found to have connections with the star positions and relevant data during the time around.
Cave Art relates to Star-Dated Records
It would require some comprehension of astronomy and its connection to the passage of time to be able to understand these sculptures engraved in these caves. This is a far more advanced concept compared to the present standards of the understanding of astronomy. The figures of animals used in these representations were related to astronomical figures and hence considered as specific to the passage of time that was intended to be depicted. These figures were mostly identified with the cave paintings found in the European countries like France, Spain and Turkey.
This new revelation is based on the model of the famous painting, France’s Lascaux Shaft Scene, that depicts a comet strike that occurred 17,000 years ago. These findings were based on sophisticated techniques. This was done by lining up the age of the paintings from previous samples and positioning the constellations and stars that would have appeared in the sky in these recorded times.
Applying this to the sculptures seen in Gobekli Tepe, a cave site located in the present day Turkey showed similar characteristics. This art presented in itself a similar animal-themed system of astronomy. This again was interpreted, by researchers, as a record of yet another comet-strike event, which could have taken place about 13,000 years ago. This becomes significant , as it is understood to be a causative factor in the onset of a minor ice age known as the Younger Dryas Period.
Odd enough to note is that this system of astronomy strikes across all the cave art sculptures under study in this particular project. Hence forth it should be assumed that the people who belonged to the period, immediately after the extinction of the Neanderthals and colonialization of Europe had a far better understanding of the science of astronomy. And this knowledge they put to good use in predicting the actual date as in the case of the Lascaux and the Gobekli Tepe, Comet strikes with precision
The New Cave Art Research
This research points to a particular type of record keeping. Even the oldest recorded form of cave painting found in Germany’s Hohlenstein-Stadel Cave believed to be about 40000 years old, also conforms to this.
This clearly suggests that even the earliest-known humans to reach Europe had a clear, yet complex, knowledge of the night sky. According to the paper, these early human settlers in European regions should be seen as people who remembered cataclysms and catastrophes such as comet strikes, and as having depicted them through these sculptures, that survive to tell the story to this day.
It is believed that these studies would lead to a similar re-examination of early humans in many other regions and it leaves no reason to think that they were less advanced or unaware of the environment around them.
Sourced from 'The Explore Science'.
Published:16/04/2024
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