Cave of Forgotten Dreams Page #3

On the computer,

one can see three phases.

The first dates 40,000 years

back in time,

the one when the bear

scratched the walls.

Then a second phase

with drawings

stretching over eight feet

in height,

therefore made with a stick,

followed by the main phase

sometime around 33,000 years

or less.

It starts

with the scraping of the wall

to get to the white of the rock.

After that, the first figures

were put in place.

These were the two rhinos

attacking one another

at the bottom.

After that came

the three bulls.

- And finally, they ended

with a series of horses

going from top to bottom

and, in the final phase,

adding this very beautiful horse

that confronts the viewers

when they arrive in the cave.

- When you do a synthesis

of the composition,

there is a kind of dynamic

circular movement

going from the bottom

to the right,

towards the center,

like a circle.

It obviously creates

a very strong dynamic

that is reinforced here

by the oblique movement

of the horses.

- It's the force

of the contrast,

the fact that they've played

with the contrast

and with the shape of the wall.

It's like an easel.

They've used the surface,

made use of the material,

and mixed material to create

this very strong impression.

By comparing

all the paintings in the cave,

it seems certain

that the horses of this panel

were created

by one single individual.

But in the immediate vicinity

of the horses,

there are figures of animals

overlapping with each other.

The striking point here

is that in cases like this,

after carbon dating,

there are strong indications

that some overlapping figures

were drawn

almost 5,000 years apart.

The sequence

and duration of time

is unimaginable for us today.

We are locked in history,

and they were not.

Despite this blurring of time

and the anonymity

of the artists,

there's one individual

who can be singled out.

Dominique Baffier is a scholar

of Paleolithic culture.

Here on the right, she examines

the cluster of palm prints

with her colleague

Valrie Feruglio.

We are currently working

on this large panel

that was covered

with positive handprints.

We've been able to put forward,

as evidence,

the number of positions

the individual assumed

and his movements.

He started by crouching,

and then he stretched out

to reach all the way

to his highest palm prints.

This panel is comprised

of the prints of a single man

who must have measured

roughly six feet tall.

A single human.

- 1 meter 80 tall, that's big.

Was it only one person?

- Une personne, une personne.

One person,

a person measuring six feet.

And you'll notice

on these prints

that there is

a very significant detail.

He has a slightly crooked

little finger.

And that's extraordinary,

because it gives

a physical reality

to a prehistoric individual

who, 32,000 years or more ago,

came to the cave before us.

And what is even more surprising

is that you'll find traces

of him deeper in the cavern.

We'll be able to recognize him

by his crooked little finger,

because he printed his hand

farther in the cave.

So we can follow

this man's path.

Madame Baffier

took us on a tour.

She serves as the custodian

of the cave,

and her rules of engagement

are strict

but entirely reasonable

given the precious

and fragile nature

of this unique place.

- You have cave bear tracks,

the forepaws and hind paws.

These are the longest

cave bear tracks

currently known in any cave.

It's very sparkly.

There are crystals

that glitter.

Here at this junction, we have

the panel of the panther.

You can see the drawing

of a panther,

which is the only one known

in Paleolithic wall painting

to date.

Here we've arrived at a place

where concretion growth

has been very important.

On the ground and walls,

you can see

that rimstone calcite ridges

have covered everything

in sparkling formation,

a kind of cascade...

With waves.

Here you have... - take a look... -

a bear vertebra

which is entirely coated

in calcite

and held by calcite crystals.

In front of us, on the wall,

you also have an overflowing

drapery-like concretion

and here a kind of niche

where you can see the traces

of ancient red paintings,

which have been washed away

by water seepage.

And this is where you find

extremely original images,

like this insect-shaped one

or this one shaped like

a butterfly

or a bird in flight,

that you also find

on this rock pendant

hanging from the ceiling

large and very small

coupled with two vertical

ocher stripes

that follow

the pendant's contours.

So here we are in front of

the large panel

of red paintings,

also an extremely

intriguing item:

this mound of stones.

You can see that it didn't fall

from the ceiling.

It was prehistoric man

who grouped the stones here,

but we do not know why.

On this panel, you have,

first of all,

a little rhinoceros

with a large horn

and a stripe on the abdomen.

Also, you have

a whole series underneath

of positive handprints.

And over there,

you can see the hand

of the man

who printed his palms

in the first room of the cave,

because you can recognize

his crooked little finger.

In other words,

we've followed him here.

Here there are some animals

and here the front part

of a big rhinoceros

with a very large horn.

Here you have

torch swipe marks.

The men would light their way

with a torch,

and when the wood

was too burnt down,

they would scrape the torch

against the wall

to rekindle the flame.

The traces are fresh,

because you can see

these small fragments of coal

that have fallen.

One of these

tiny fragments

was tested

by radiocarbon dating.

This torch was swiped

- And here we have a painting

that is quite interesting,

because it represents a couple

of now-extinct cave lions.

You have here the male.

He's behind, the larger one.

He's outlined

in a single stroke

more than six feet in length.

And in front,

you have the female.

She is smaller and seems to rub

her flank against the male.

And this representation

of the cave lion

has allowed us to shed light

on a mystery,

because archaeozoologists

didn't know

whether the cave lion

had a mane,

like the lion today

living in Africa.

And this representation

of a cave lion,

more than 30,000 years old,

shows us

that they didn't have a mane.

Look at the outline of his head,

which is clearly delineated.

And this is, without a doubt,

a male,

because we've got the scrotum

right here under the tail.

This is one of the most

beautiful panels in the cave,

along with the lion panel

at the far end.

And here we can see

the technique

of prehistoric man,

but you can also see

their keen knowledge

of the animal world.

They tell us stories.

Here you have

an ensemble of horses,

but their open mouths suggest

that the animals are whinnying.

That is to say

that these images

become audible to us.

You see that the two rhinos

there are fighting.

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