Drawings that may be about 75,000 years old have been found in the La Roche Cotaire cave in the center of the Loire Valley in France. Perhaps these are the earliest examples of rock painting. A study on this has been published in the journal. Plos One.
Archaeologists have no doubt that they were left by Neanderthals. While it is generally accepted that fine art emerged only during the time of Homo sapiens, some scholars insist that it existed even earlier – even during the time of earlier human ancestors. And this French find only confirms their theory.
Analysis of the shape and spacing of the drawings confirmed their “human” origin. Also, with the help of optical dating, scientists discovered that the cave was abandoned about 57 thousand years ago – long before Homo sapiens appeared in this area.
The images themselves appeared 75,000 years ago. And the tools found in the cave belong to the Mousterian culture associated with the late Neanderthals. That is, absolutely everything points to the fact that this is precisely the work of their own hands. But scientists have yet to determine the meaning of the rock paintings. They hope to unravel this mystery during further exploration of this French cave.
Source: Port Altele
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