The fascination of Ice Age faces and the unknown past
Not too long ago, a science headline caught my attention. I read the article by BBC Science editor, David Whitehouse, about the rediscovery of what appear to be representations of human faces on the floor of a cave in France. Apparently they were first noted in 1937 and as many as 1500 catalogued. But they are apparently confusing- sometimes one image laid over others. Some of the images are of animals but apparently 155 represent people.
What is most extraordinary is that they are not stick figures but appear to be faces or figures with hats and cloaks and boots, estimated to be from a time 15,000 years ago. And the images are carved into limestone slabs which were then, apparently placed on the floor. The article speculates that other cave painting systems might also have had such faces but that they could have been missed or even destroyed by explorers whose attention was drawn to the elaborate paintings on cave walls. Cave floors were often leveled and "cleaned up" in other sites.
Dr Rappenglueck, a researcher who has worked with this and many other neolithic sites, found what he believes to be seven small pits in the floor of the cave, carved in the configuration of the Pleiades, a constellation also apparently marked on the walls at other sites. He speculates that the pits may have been filled with oil which, when set afire, would recreate the night sky. He further wonders if this might be the origin of much later 'candlelit festivals' in the Far East which involve candles in the shape of the Pleiades.
I found myself entertaining further speculation---for which, of course, there is no evidence. The idea of real people's faces being carved into stone and then brought and left in a space with such seemingly ceremonial elements suggests the possibility of early rituals of invocation. We know many cultures where people came to a "sacred" place and left wishes, curses, prayers, and thanksgiving offerings to the gods. It does not seem so far fetched to think of a culture in which the sacred cave and constellation could have been the center of an early religious expression. I find my mind racing in connection back through these long millenia to touch the minds and hearts of these ancestors. I can imagine them engaging in rituals in much the same way humans are known to have done in all the years since. I find myself fascinated.
Hope that there is more information yet to come.
Ice Age faces
What is most extraordinary is that they are not stick figures but appear to be faces or figures with hats and cloaks and boots, estimated to be from a time 15,000 years ago. And the images are carved into limestone slabs which were then, apparently placed on the floor. The article speculates that other cave painting systems might also have had such faces but that they could have been missed or even destroyed by explorers whose attention was drawn to the elaborate paintings on cave walls. Cave floors were often leveled and "cleaned up" in other sites.
Dr Rappenglueck, a researcher who has worked with this and many other neolithic sites, found what he believes to be seven small pits in the floor of the cave, carved in the configuration of the Pleiades, a constellation also apparently marked on the walls at other sites. He speculates that the pits may have been filled with oil which, when set afire, would recreate the night sky. He further wonders if this might be the origin of much later 'candlelit festivals' in the Far East which involve candles in the shape of the Pleiades.
I found myself entertaining further speculation---for which, of course, there is no evidence. The idea of real people's faces being carved into stone and then brought and left in a space with such seemingly ceremonial elements suggests the possibility of early rituals of invocation. We know many cultures where people came to a "sacred" place and left wishes, curses, prayers, and thanksgiving offerings to the gods. It does not seem so far fetched to think of a culture in which the sacred cave and constellation could have been the center of an early religious expression. I find my mind racing in connection back through these long millenia to touch the minds and hearts of these ancestors. I can imagine them engaging in rituals in much the same way humans are known to have done in all the years since. I find myself fascinated.
Hope that there is more information yet to come.
Ice Age faces
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