Grotte Chauvet -- Holy Ground, Sacred Space

  

The Chauvet cave was a bear cave. In it are bear bones, their claw scratch marks on the walls, and indented spaces on the red/orange floors where the bears hibernated. Only during the summer was it safe for humans to enter and not confront a dangerous, 1000+ pound bear. Ironically, the dark and mysterious underground cavern also became a place where the Aurignacians created another aspect of their lives, the spiritual, something entirely new in human history. The rock was the artists’ (both men and women artists) medium for expressing meaning of their lives and they did it with over 1,000 wall drawings, engravings, geometric shapes, signs, as well as sculpted objects and bone collections.

 

The images of the animals seem to come alive in the darkness once light (latter-day torches and today's flashlights) is cast upon them. They seep out of the cracks and curvatures of the rock and seem to become animated. What is present in the cave are the living, the dead, and the spirits says Paleolithic art historian Diana McDonald of Boston University. In the minds of the Aurignacians, the drawings were equivalent to creating life. 

 The animals on the walls were "power animals" from whom the people derived sustenance both for food and for the guidance of their lives in their communities. The horses move reverently together in unison (above photo) and the lions are focused on the hunt.

 

 

The feeling evoked from the paintings is that one is on a journey to another world, another time, and another reality, McDonald continues. Coming upon the animals painted on the rock walls, one can begin to understand that for the Aurignacians the animals were intercessors to the Spirit World captured in the outlines of their bodies on the walls. By drawing the figures, the artists were trying to create a bond with them. The animals served as the mediators for help with daily life, curing illnesses, and communicating with the dead. The images on the cave walls were their religious texts that told stories about their culture and survival.

The Aurignacians lived near these dark and silent caves, not in them. Researchers believe that the cave art contains both these ancient peoples' imaginations and sacred myths. Plants were not included in this menagerie of drawings. However, what is unique to Grotte Chauvet from other Paleolithic caves are the depictions of carnivorous animals who once roamed the Earth thousands of years ago. Most other cave paintings in western Europe feature sedentary animals.

Before entering the cave, communicants fell into a trance (through hunger, pain, alcohol, psychodrugs, or rhythmic dancing) in order to see the spirits on the walls and through cracks and bulges in the rock. As they looked at the paintings, which held a profound power, they felt a sense of belonging to a numinous presence. Myths developed from the drawings--and the act of drawing gave the artists spiritual meaning and purpose.

Paleolithic archeologists and anthropologists believe the artists were shamans invoking fertility and hunting rituals, initiation rituals and/or contact with the spirit world. Prayers and rituals entailed gratitude for survival and sustenance and the appeasement of the spirits. The Aurignacian hunter-gatherers had an animistic worldview, which is “the belief that a soul or spirit exists in every object, both animate and inanimate. In other words, everything is alive. In a future state, this soul or spirit would exist as part of an immaterial soul. The spirit, therefore, was thought to be universal” (Science and Philosophy). Thus, the Aurignacians paid intense attention to and had empathy for the animals they lived among beyond their dinner plate. They readily recognized their disadvantage between themselves and the ferocious beings they lived among, but couldn’t help but “admire the large mammals that dominate[d] them.” So they saw their drawings of the animals as “spirits of creation.”

Anthropologists also believe that such artwork is the first time in human history that “the symbolic [and the spiritual] permeates the entire culture.” Consequently, the Aurignacians’ clothes, objects, tools, and art reflect this symbolism. As French anthropologist Philippe Descola explains in his book, Beyond Nature and Culture, spirits are everywhere in everything and everyone (man, animal, rock, landscape). All are connected. The hunter not only captures the animal for sustenance, he captures the animal’s life as an exchange of lives.

 

Social anthropologists suggest other signs of the spiritual nature of Paleolithic societies 35,000 years ago:

·     - The living and the non-living were not separated nor were humans and animals;

·     - All sensitive beings had spirits;

·     - The art illustrates a closeness between humans and herbivorous and carnivorous mammals;

·     - The artists were hunters who risked their lives for the survival of their group and who intimately knew the habits of the animals;

·    -  The artists regarded the animals as food but also as spiritual partners who could nourish their imaginations.

 

A bear skull set on top of a rock  was deliberately placed on an altar.

 

 

The Spiritual Power of the Cave

The power of the cave still seems to affect various researchers, journalists, and artists who visit it. They report that not only is the cave "fresh and untouched" as if the paintings were made the day before, but that the cave has an unmistakable spiritual quality to it.

Werner Herzog in his film "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" declares that humans are not "homo sapiens"--those who can know things--but rather "homo spiritualis"--those who are spiritual beings. That means that we humans have an innate desire for the transcendent and the world beyond ourselves. Art allows us, says Herzog, to depict our lives and to connect with the spiritual. In this way we are like our Stone Age ancestors attracted to a spiritual existence as we try to convey its meaning in art about the nature of our existence, the nature of science, our relationship to the past, and our sense of where we come from. Herzog also claimed that he felt as though his presence in the cave "disturbed" the original artists. Others report this same experience.

Stephen Alvarez, a photographer of National Geographic magazine, had the privilege of shooting Grotte Chauvet and writing the article: "Shooting Chauvet: Photographing the World's Oldest Cave Art." As a visual artist, he was deeply moved by the pictures of the animals on the cave walls, as he writes below.

 

“The connection with the ancient artists is visceral. It is a magic that no other form of communication can manage. Entering Chauvet is like entering a time machine.”

 

“Some of the power of the paintings is derived from where they are, deep inside the cave, surrounded by darkness.” 

 

“It wasn’t until the second and third trips that I felt I was able to make photographs that said something about the relation of the art and the cave.”

 

“And although the artists’ message is lost, it clearly was something profound enough to take tremendous risks to say. That is the beauty of visual art. It is durable. It transcends time in a way that language cannot. How many of us can understand Sanskrit? Sumerian? On the timeline of human history those languages were spoken practically yesterday, yet they are lost to all but a few scholars. Visual art survives the gulf of time. As a photographer, that knowledge thrills me.”

 

One researcher said he had to take some time off from his work in the cave because he was so moved by the experience of the cave that he was having powerful nightmares about the lions of the cave.  

 

And seeing the replicated artwork in Grotte Chauvet 2 gave me an emotionally-charged response by realizing that images of living beings had been meticulously created by living beings of a time past. Just as the first speleologists of the cave declared "They were here," my response to the art was: "They are still alive."

 

What we can learn from Paleolithic art is that survival and reproduction are always important and not very far from our minds. For these early humans, the animals were their biggest threat and such fear and quest for survival has been imprinted on us in our modern times. Also imprinted on us today is the concept of dominance: predators over prey; the large over the small. Such status or rank became associated with the leadership of kings, who are often seen with fierce animals. To survive in such a world, the Aurignacians also offered supplication and appeasement by drawing the animals. To survive and overcome inherent weaknesses in our world, we have built armies, technology, and cities.

 

For a simulated experience of the cave, click on to the 27-minute film, The Final Passage. It was created from 3-D surveys of the cave to show the wonders of the underground's rock formations as it combines with the artwork of the Aurignacians. 

 

Sources:

https://www.missingmatter.info/tara-expo   

 

Shooting Chauvet : Photographing the World's Oldest Cave Art

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2015/01/05/shooting-chauvet-photographing-the-worlds-oldest-cave-art/

Grotte Chauvet 2 -- Making a Replica of the Cave

               Patrick Aventurier, site officiel d’Ardèche Tourisme

You enter the “cave” as any good speleogist would: gingerly, expectantly, curiously, and hopeful that you will discover a former presence, an ancient presence, an extremely ancient presence.

 The first thing you see is a series of reddish palm prints that look like a kind of playful signature on the “rock.” Actually, it is a simple rendition of a bison. The cave discoverers’ first words were: “They were here,” they being early humans who used art to convey their ideas about the meaning of life and their reverence for the Earth and its creatures.

 

You press onward and see a bear skull set on top of a rock only it’s not just a skull, it is a skull deliberately placed on an altar. You begin to realize that you are not in just a “cave,” you are on holy ground, a sacred space.

 

As you penetrate the “cave” you see profile drawings in black charcoal or red ochre of a buffalo, a threesome of bears, a deer, a rhinoceros all leading up to the last panel where a crescendo of figures interact with each other. Some animals are grazing. Some are on the hunt. Some are just “being.” Indeed, “they were here,” too. And now, we are here connecting with them through art in a profound and visceral way on a journey dating back 35,000 years ago. 

 

 

 

Bison

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lions on the hunt

 

 

Cave bear

 

 

 

Woolly Rhino
 

     

 

Hyena

 

 

Horses with small heads, brush-like manes, and small eyes

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auroch

 

 

 

 

 

Actually, we are in a replica of Grotte Chauvet built for the public so that they could experience a representation of the original cave. Grotte Chauvet 2 provides a profoundly mystical experience of imagination, creativity, and spirituality of the Aurignacians, hunter-gatherers who lived during the Ice Age in southwestern Europe between 36,000 to 12,000 years ago. 

Grotte Chauvet 2 stands like a monolith as in the film, 2001: A Space Odyssey like something from the past and something of the present. And in a way, Grotte Chauvet 2 is just that, thanks to modern technology and a devoted team of artists, engineers, and scientists who re-created what the Aurignacian artists did 35,000 years ago. 

 

First of all, the building of Grotte Chauvet 2 was designed to be embedded in Nature rather than to overpower it. The original forest surrounding it has been preserved on its hillside site. The architecture aims to prepare visitors for the darkness, silence, and surprises of the cave. Part of this feeling is conveyed in waiting for one’s scheduled appointment for the tour. And then, bit by bit as you walk in circles and wait your turn to enter, you are greeted by a guide who emerges from inside the structure. 

 

 

Allowing the public to view the cave paintings at Lascaux had inadvertently ruined this ancient underground treasure. Carbon dioxide exiting from visitors’ breaths caused mold to grow on the walls after only 20 years of exposure. To preserve Grotte Chauvet, a team of artists, sculpturers, historians, scientists, and engineers worked together to create a replica complex. It took 8 years from conception to its opening in April 25, 2015, to create “Pont d’Arc cave replica.” It has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

This 5-minute BBC video provides background on the cave and shows how Grotte Chauvet 2 was constructed.

This Euromaxs video also shows how the "cave" was constructed. It provides interviews of visitors and locals.

The objective of Grotte Chauvet 2 was to provide visitors with the cave's sense of wonder and amazement by using cutting edge technology to replicate the paintings, walls, and ceilings as authentically as possible. Through 3D surveys and 6,000 high-definition photos, they recorded all the volumes and complex reliefs in order to imitate the surface walls of the cave. The artists mixed pigments in the same way the Aurignacians did, and they stood, squatted, or sat in the same way the original artists did for each mural. 

This work took thousands of hours and more than 500 people from 35 companies. Planners selected the most interesting and spectacular paintings—22 panels with 142 figures out of 1,000+ paintings found in the cave with a surface space of 32,300 square feet compared to 91,500 square feet in the original cave. 

 

Modern artists reproduced the cave paintings with the colors and materials similar to those of the original artists paying  attention to the variations of black, grey, and red markings of the drawings. They used wood charcoal to “rediscover both the power and the fragility of the curves that formed the animal figures drawn in charcoal or smudged by stump work. 

A team of nine sculptors, painters, and artists from Montignac in the Dordogne region worked on the cave drawings in an atmosphere of “studious contemplation” to reproduce within a millimeter, the decorated walls of the cave. 

Again, accuracy was of paramount concern. Even the fossil shells embedded in the original limestone cave walls as well as bear claw marks were reproduced. Copyists then added color to the “wall” to represent the minerals of the rock.  

 

One team constructed the walls, floors, and ceilings of the cave with concrete and resin. They used a process called "anamorphosis" where they scanned the richest parts of the cave in terms of paleontology and geology and created a 3-D digital map.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visual artists in Paris took resin and formed speleothems (secondary mineral deposits formed in caves by flowing, dripping, ponded, or seeping water) in order to create 110 stalagmites, stalactites, gours, large concretions, pendants, and soda straws as shown here. 

               

 

                                                                          

    

 

                stalagmites                                                            gour

 

 

 

 

 columns (left) and pendant (right)

 

 

 

concretions

 

 

soda straw
 

 

       

                                              stalgatites

 

Although the walls, floors, and formations were scientifically studied, recreating them became an interesting process of "transmitting" knowledge and understanding about geology and history from the geologists to the sculptors, said Jean-Jacques Delannoy. For example, the sculptors went with geologists to see real caves and to learn about their geological history. This "transmission process" greatly aided in enhancing the authenticity in the Grotte replica.

 

The sculptors also came to realize that geology wasn't a fixed, stable thing, said Delannoy, but rather a living element that changes over time. Stalagmites, stalagtites, and crystals, for example, grow and agglomerate. Different levels of materials "formulate," that is, they create concretions, develop color, sparkle, change transparency, and respond to light. 

 

Consequently, to make the materials for the "cave", the artists  produced micron casts and built a "speleothem library" that served as a tool for reproducing the various cave formations. Their objective was to remain both scientifically truthful and emotionally charged.

 

Sculptors and polishers gave the "stone" (made of concrete and resin) a finishing touch with their trowels, brushes, and styluses. Not only was this work done by the centimeter, but cracks and crevices were dug into the “rock” and white, red, or black fluids and pigments (representing calcite, iron oxide, and manganese respectively) were added in order to reproduce the original appearance of the rock. An inspector with an iPad compared the image of the wall with the 3-D model—about 3 square meters per day—to assure authenticity to the real cave.

Another team “hung” the cave with from the ceiling of the concrete shell of the building. With thousands of twisted metal rods, the workers matched the digital coordinates of their 3-D model. More than 100 kilometers of metal rods were bent and welded together to produce “cages” for the vaults and walls. Workers then projected two layers of stone-colored mortar onto the “cages.”  About 1,200 tons of steel, resin, cement, and concrete were used.   

 

Scenographers orchestrated the design and construction of the cave and the staging of the space. 

 

“We needed to define what seemed credible, what the cave’s spirit and its soul were,” said Mélanie Claude and Jean-Hugues Manoury. 

 

They reflected on the dynamics and spontaneity of the Aurignacians rather than to just copy their artwork, which they believed might turn out to be “sterile immobility.” They then reflected on the qualities of the cave that made it the place it was: intimate, silent, dark, shadowy, cool, humid. Specialists were called upon to reproduce these effects as well as sound, acoustics, smell, and humidity. Lighting was subtle in order to contrast in rendering color, sparkle, and texture to the rock, according to scenographers Mélanie Claude and Jean-Hugues Manoury.

 

The artwork was executed with precision and sensitivity to convey the emotional quality of the paintings. For example, one artist burned pine branches to reproduce the charcoal the Aurignacians used for outlining their figures. He then applied his learning after long sessions of scientific analysis of the original cave with its layered and complex lines on the walls.

 

Grotte Chauvet 2 is truly a work of art within a work of art and its effect on visitors emits a profound emotional response.  

Jean Clottes, a specialist in cave art, was the first professional to visit the original cave after its discovery in December 1994. He authenticated the drawings and served as director of the scientific team that initially studied the cave for four years. He remarked on Grotte Chauvet 2:

“I have just felt an emotion comparable to the one I experienced twenty years ago before the original and that was among the most intense in my life as a man and as a researcher….This is a great achievement, up to the task of sharing with the public the treasure of humankind that is the painted Chauvet-Pont d’Arc cave.”

 

My own response to Grotte Chauvet 2 was to wonder more deeply about what I was seeing and my profound reaction to it. At one point, I was moved to draw the animal figures of the “cave” and that effect, too, took me to another plane that induced both reverence and awe in the art. (Click here for a blog about the spiritual side of the cave.)

 

Grotte Chauvet was such an awe-inspiring experience, it took me three months to get up the courage to write about it because I knew I was impinging on holy ground, even though it was only a replica. I did more research on Grotte Chauvet and the Paleolithic era in general in order to reflect and understand it better. I have found a new interest!

 

Sources

Claude Pommereau, ed. Grotte Chauvet 2--Ardèche. Beaux Arts and Cie Éditions, Paris.

 

Grotte Chauvet 2

https://en.grottechauvet2ardeche.com/

 

France creates replica Chauvet cave for spectacular prehistoric art--Newsnight  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2ycvQ80MdA 

The Bradshaw Foundation

http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/chauvet/index.php

 

Photos of the drawings

https://images.app.goo.gl/yseQMhcahpK1CRxU6

 

 

Paleolithic Art

 

Cave Art 101 by National Geographic

 From human hands to now-extinct animals, cave art gives us a glimpse into prehistoric life. Who created cave art, and what was its initial purpose? Explore the paintings of Chauvet-Pont d'Arc and Lascaux Grotto, and learn what prehistoric art can tell us about our world thousands of years ago.

 

What can Stone Age art tell us about extinct animals? by Trey the Explainer

From Lascaux to Chauvet to Australia, in this video I discuss the many illustrations of now extinct prehistoric animals and how they can be significant to paleontologists. Additionally, artwork created by our long dead ancestors can actually tell us a lot about prehistory we wouldn't know otherwise from cultural norms to religious beliefs. So I've taken the time to examine what prehistoric art can tell us. We will talk about everything from Irish Elk to Marsupial Lions so I hope you enjoy! May 2018

 

Why are these 32 symbols found in caves all over Europe by Genevieve von Petzinger

Written language, the hallmark of human civilization, didn't just suddenly appear one day. Thousands of years before the first fully developed writing systems, our ancestors scrawled geometric signs across the walls of the caves they sheltered in. Paleo-anthropologist and rock art researcher Genevieve von Petzinger has studied and codified these ancient markings in caves across Europe. The uniformity of her findings suggest that graphic communication, and the ability to preserve and transmit messages beyond a single moment in time, may be much older than we think.  December 2018

The Roots of Religion by Genevieve Von Petzinger

A PhD student in Anthropology at the University of Victoria, Genevieve Von Petzinger's main area of interest is understanding the geometric imagery of European Ice Age rock art and how we can use this type of behavior to identify cognitive and symbolic evolution in modern humans. Her work was featured on the cover of New Scientist in 2010 and Science Illustrated in 2011, and she has also appeared on the Discovery Channel's popular program Daily Planet.  December 2012
 

 

 

Saint Geneys

 In the area around Le Puy are several small towns with Romanesque churches. These churches were built around the 11th century. This one is in the small town of Saint Geneys, located at a fork in the road on the D-906 highway and about 20 minutes north of Le Puy. It does not seem to be a functioning church--or at least one with the Blessed Sacrament--but the town takes care of it as a relic of its history and welcomes visitors with an open door to explore it and its architecture.

The small farming village of St. Geneys was founded in 1038 and the church was first mentioned in documents in 1164. Two centuries later it was dedicated to St. Barthélemy in 1336. There used to be a fort a short distance from here, built in the Middle Ages, but there is no evidence of its remains.

The church measures only 4200 square feet but it has evolved over the centuries and incorporated different architectural traditions into the same church.

 

 

The oldest part of the church is the north side, which actually dates back to the Romans who left an ossuary there. (The ossuary continued to be used as a depository for funereal bones until the 18th century.) Today, this part of the church stands as a side chapel (left of the altar) that provides more seating and an altar to the Blessed Mother. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the mid-16th century the apse was reconstructed in the Gothic tradition with ribbed vaults (ceiling) and flat-wall pilasters. Four chapels were added (north, south, east, west) as was a new door with an emblazoned pediment on the east side of the church.

   

 

 The bell tower was reconstructed in 1662.

  

 

During the French Revolution when churches were taken over by the state, this church was no exception. Afterward, the parish was re-started in its Catholic tradition. 

Between 1852-58 the curé, Fr. Monteillard, enlarged the small church and by extending the nave on its west side and building a new chapel on its south side. Along the nave are arches with a smoothed surface for paintings although none exist now. The choir in the back of the church is out of line from the nave because its walls were used to support a steeple that was reconstructed in the 17th century. 

 

 

 

 

The windows on the south side employ a more flamboyant Renaissance style. The stained glass window below was installed in 1938 depicting St. Louis XIII (1601-43) making vows. He was king of France 1610-43.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The church was restored again 1981-82 and the sacristy was eliminated. However, a sarcophagus was found buried beneath it. Today it serves as a planter at the entrance of the church. Also discovered was a subterranean hall that had served as a Roman ossuary. 

The priest assigned to this parish was named by the head priest or bishop of the Cathedral in Le Puy as well as the feudal lords in this area. This system of appointments went on until the French Revolution (1789-99).

 

Saint Geneys is just 20 minutes north from LePuy over the area's two-lane country roads and through a dramatic post-volcanic landscape.

 

On the way home from St. Geneys are some astonishing sights. The Polignac fortress rises above the landscape on its "table-top" mount.  

Some beautiful snow-capped mountains appeared in the distance in early December. It snowed in Le Puy a week later but melted after only a day on the ground.