Cave markings show that Ice Age hunter-gatherers were the first to use a lunar calendar
A small team of researchers some independent, some affiliated with University College and the University of Durham, all in the U.K., has deciphered cave markings made by Ice-Age hunters tens of thousands of years ago. In their paper published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal, the group suggests the markings are evidence of the first use of a lunar calendar.
Scientists and lay people alike have long known of the cave paintings made by people in the distant past all across Europe and the U.K. Prior research has shown that they were made by Ice-Age hunter-gatherers that lived mostly on the meat from animals of their time. Those animals were often depicted on the walls of the caves in which the people of the time were living.
But one aspect of the cave drawings has remained a mystery—certain dots and dashes placed near the animals. In this new effort, the researchers claim to have at long last deciphered the marks.
After several years of study, the researchers found that the marks coincided with what would have been seasonal behaviors of the animals, such as mating, or birthing. Such information, the researchers note, would have been very important to early hunters because it helped to keep track of which animals would be most easily killed during a given time period.
The researchers also found that the seasonal information drawn on the walls could be broken down into 13 periods, which coincided with the lunar calendar year. And this, they further suggest, is evidence of the first use of a lunar calendar. They also found that certain marks, such as Y-shaped symbols, held specific information, such as the beginning of birthing season for a given animal, while other marks noted seasonal information, such as snow.
The researchers also suggest that such a system of recording could be construed as a means of writing, or perhaps proto-writing system, which they further note, would be evidence of the earliest form of writing by Homo sapiens. They conclude by noting that more work still needs to be done in studying the wall art—there are still marks that have not yet been deciphered.
More information: Bennett Bacon et al, An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing System and Phenological Calendar, Cambridge Archaeological Journal (2023). DOI: 10.1017/S0959774322000415
© 2023 Science X Network
Patrick Gouldsbrough
Thu, 5 January 2023
Two Durham professors have helped make a breakthrough discovery when it comes to ice age hunters.
Professors from Durham University have helped make a breakthrough discovery that Ice Age hunter-gatherers used cave paintings to record sophisticated information about the world around them.
Decoding marks on the drawings for the first time, a team of specialists has proven that at least 20,000 years ago, people across Europe made notes about wild animals and the timings of their reproduction cycles.
Despite help from two professors from Durham University and one from University College London, the initial discovery was made not by an academic, but by London-based furniture conservator Ben Bacon who spent countless hours of his own time looking at examples of cave painting and analysing data.
The so-called “proto-writing” system pre-dates others that are thought to have emerged during the Near Eastern Neolithic by at least 10,000 years.
Mr Bacon said he went to academics with his theory and they listened and encouraged him to pursue it, despite him being “effectively a person off the street”.
The Northern Echo: A red ochre drawing of an aurochs (wild cattle) in La Pasiega cave (Cantabria, Spain) around 23,000 years ago showing a set of four dots. Picture: PA
A red ochre drawing of an aurochs (wild cattle) in La Pasiega cave (Cantabria, Spain) around 23,000 years ago showing a set of four dots. Picture: PA (Image: PA MEDIA)
Archaeologists have long known that sequences of dots and other marks on the drawings had meaning, but no-one could decipher them.
Mr Bacon was keen to decode these, and in particular the inclusion of a “Y” sign – formed by adding a diverging line to another – which he believed meant “giving birth”.
Mr Bacon, who has an English degree but decided not to go into academia, said: “The meaning of the markings within these drawings has always intrigued me so I set about trying to decode them, using a similar approach that others took to understanding an early form of Greek text.
The Northern Echo: Professor Paul Pettitt. Picture: PA
“Using information and imagery of cave art available via the British Library and on the internet, I amassed as much data as possible and began looking for repeating patterns.
Professors Paul Pettitt and Robert Kentridge, both of Durham University, have worked together to develop the field of visual palaeopsychology, the scientific investigation of the psychology that underpins the earliest development of human visual culture.
Professor Pettitt, of the Department of Archaeology at Durham University, said: “To say that when Ben contacted us about his discovery was exciting is an understatement. I am glad I took it seriously.
The Northern Echo: Professor Robert Kentridge. Picture: PA
“This is a fascinating study that has brought together independent and professional researchers with expertise in archaeology and visual psychology, to decode information first recorded thousands of years ago.
“The results show that Ice Age hunter-gatherers were the first to use a systematic calendar and marks to record information about major ecological events within that calendar.
The Northern Echo: A horse drawn onto the wall of Niaux Cave (Ariege, France) around 15,000 years ago.
A horse drawn onto the wall of Niaux Cave (Ariege, France) around 15,000 years ago. (Image: PA MEDIA)
“In turn, we’re able to show that these people, who left a legacy of spectacular art in the caves of Lascaux and Altamira, also left a record of early timekeeping that would eventually become commonplace among our species.”
Mr Kentridge, Professor of the Psychology of Vision, Durham University, said: “The implications are that Ice Age hunter-gatherers didn’t simply live in their present, but recorded memories of the time when past events had occurred and used these to anticipate when similar events would occur in the future, an ability that memory researchers call mental time-travel.”
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