Dawn of Art: The Chauvet Cave (The Oldest Known Paintings in the World)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810932326 ISBN 13: 9780810932326

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, 1996

An intriguing study of the early evolution of human artistic endeavors focuses on recent discoveries in the Chauvet cave, Stone Age paintings and engravings of animals that are more than thirty thousand years old. BOMC Div. Natural Science Main.

Review:

The 1990s have witnessed a sort of renaissance in cave art, thanks to new discoveries from the south of France. Previously, the oldest examples of human art were thought to have been painted 15,000 years ago. When these three spelunkers-turned-authors happened upon the Chauvet cave (named after one of them), however, they visited an underground art gallery that had been closed for 30,000 years. It's still inaccessible today, except to specialists. But this wonderful book of pictures and text allows virtual tourists to appreciate the creations of our remotest ancestors. This may be primitive art in the literal sense of the term, but it's remarkably sophisticated.

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French