In 1994, cave explorers Eliette Brunel-Deschamps, Christian Hillaire, and Jean-Marie Chauvet made a world-changing discovery.
In southern France, the explorers felt drafts of air shooting up from the ground. After a bit of digging they discovered a tiny shaft leading into the depths of the earth. Squeezing into that narrow hole, they leapt into the unknown.
At first, the cave did not appear to contain anything particularly interesting, no bears and no hidden treasure anywhere. The stalactites and stalagmites were all very beautiful, but nothing that they hadn't seen before. As they delved deeper into the earth, their flashlights caught something awe-inspiring. Deep inside this mysterious cave they discovered a time capsule 32,000 years in the making.
They discovered the oldest paintings ever known in the history of mankind.
Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, this gorgeous cavern, known as the Chauvet Cave, is protected by anyone who cares about humanity.
Please look at the paintings below, this ancient artist deserves to be remembered, and odds are you very well might be related to this artist. A very distant ancestor indeed!
Looking at the drawings really will put time in perspective. See if you can draw any of these cool looking animals as well as this "caveman" did! Feel free to share your own drawings of horses for future generations to see!
And please SHARE these beautiful images with your friends and family!
When Jean-Marie Chauvet and his team first found this secret cave, they had no idea they were about to make one of the most important discoveries of the century.
Let's put this into perspective: Imagine that in the year 2015 A.D. you comment "I love this post," in the comments below. Then in the year 7015 A.D. someone replies to your comment saying, "Me too!"
With all that happens on the internet, this article eventually gets lost in the jumble of information. Until, in the year 34,015 A.D. an "internet archaeologist" finds this article and discovers both of your comments!
Watch how they figured out movement on the NEXT page!
The original artist's first animal drawing had been drawn over by another artist, who had drawn another animal...5,000 years later.
At first they were thought to be fakes, for they were in too good of a condition. But scientists quickly realized that these ancient drawings were about as original as you can get.
Beautifully illustrated cave paintings depicting majestic running horses, angry cave bears, and other ancient animals, a few of which have long since gone extinct.
The ancients left us an incredible present on the NEXT page!
The drawings are 32,000 years old, but something even more incredible was realized...
32,000 years ago, one artist did most of these. Though nearly nothing is known about him or her, one thing has been confirmed: The ring finger on their right hand was slightly bent!
You can almost see the action of the four horses running on the open plains, or hear the rhinos gruffly fighting over a mate!
The NEXT page has this ancient endangered species on their wall!
You can see the artist clearly knew what they were doing. In broad, confident sweeps using charcoal, they captured the upward movement of this boisterous rhino.
As beautiful as it would be to witness these paintings in real life, unfortunately, the caves are closed off to the public. When large crowds of eager tourists enter such a closed-off environment, the humidity caused by their breathing could potentially destroy these priceless paintings.
Luckily, modern-day artists and scientists are working together to construct a replica of the original cave so families from all over the world can visit without fear of damaging the original art!
It's wild to think that so many years ago our ancestors felt the need to mark a sign to posterity. Though they didn't have written language, they clearly said to us over the inescapable chasm of time, "I was here once, I lived, I had dreams, I loved, and
Watch the amazing video on the NEXT page!
Watch the video below!
Please comment for future generations to see your words, too!
And please SHARE these beautiful drawings with your friends and family!
