Romualdova cave, Croatia.
Internet.
As time
goes by we are learning more and more about the capabilities of our ancestors.
Some time back we were told that only the very early Europeans had achieved
levels of cultural sophistication that led to producing the beautiful
Paleolithic cave art. The accumulation of more factual knowledge is teaching us
that the capabilities of early people everywhere were pretty much the same, and
the continued search for rock art is turning up examples from places that were
once thought to be barren. This is certainly the case in India as I have
written previously, and now we are learning of the first known cave art on the
Balkan peninsula.
Bison, Romualdova cave, Croatia.
Photo: Dr.Aitor Ruiz-Redondo www.croatiaweek.com.
"An international team, led by
an archaeologist from the University of Southampton and the University of
Bordeaux, has revealed the first example of Palaeolithic figurative cave art
found in the Balkan Peninsula. Dr. Aitor Ruiz-Redondo worked with researchers
from the universities of Cantabria (Spain), Newfoundland (Canada), Zagreb (Croatia)
and the Archaeological Museum of Istria (Croatia) to find the paintings, which
could be up to 34,000 years old.
The cave art was first discovered in
2010 in Romualdova Pećina (Romuald's cave) at Istria in Croatia, when Darko
Komšo, Director of the Archaeological Museum of Istria, noticed the existence
of a red colour in a deep part of the cave." (Croatiaweek.com 2019)
Ibex, Romualdova cave, Croatia.
Photo: Dr.Aitor Ruiz-Redondo www.croatiaweek.com.
This
discovery led to detailed examination of the cave and documentation of the new
discoveries. "The paintings were
documented inside Romualdova Pećina, a deep cave extending to a depth of 360
feet (110 meters) along a canyon-like estuary known as the Limski Kanal. During
the Upper Paleolithic period, Europe would have been colder than it is today
and sea levels were lower. So anyone who took shelter in Romualdova Cave would
have looked out onto a river that flowed toward a vast, fertile plain (where
the Adriatic Sea is today)." (Gannon 2019)
Anthropomorphs, Romualdova
cave, Croatia.
Photo: Dr.Aitor Ruiz-Redondo
www.croatiaweek.com.
Figures discovered so far have been interpreted as a bison, and ibex, and possible anthropomorphs, and excavation of the cave floor below the paintings has provided a flint tool, and ochre crayon, and charcoal. "Radiocarbon dating of these objects show an estimated age of around 17,000 years ago and other indirect data suggest the paintings date to an even earlier period - at around 34,000-31,000 years ago. Further research will be conducted in order to establish the precise age of the rock art." (Croatiaweek.com 2019) The older dates are estimated based upon the styles of the images themselves, as well as archaeological evidence found elsewhere in the cave. The younger age is a radiocarbon date obtained from the charcoal. (Gannon 2019)
These new examples of Paleolithic cave art illustrate that human talent is universal, and suggest long range cultural contacts so very long ago. It is truly exciting to imagine what is still to be learned.
NOTE: Images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for
public domain photographs. If these images are not intended to be public
domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner
will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should
read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Anonymous,
2019 Photos: First Prehistoric Figurative Cave Art
Identified In Croatian Cave By Archaeologists, April 11, 2019, www.croatiaweek.com
Gannon,
Megan,
2019 The First Cave Art From The Balkans May Date
Back 30,000 Years, April 11, 2019, https://livescience.com,65209-cave-paintings-discovered-croatia.html
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