Deep inside a labyrinthine cave in southwestern France, ancient humans who lived around 30,000 years ago carved horses, mammoths and rhinoceros into the walls, a fabulous prehistoric menagerie that has rarely been seen — until now.
Discovered in 2000 by an amateur cave explorer, the Grotte de Cussac in the Dordogne department holds ancient human remains, traces of long-extinct bears and stunning, fragile artworks its custodians go to great lengths to preserve.
Typically, the French authorities restrict access to the cave to researchers, who are only allowed to enter it four weeks per year.
Photo: AFP
But a team of journalists was recently allowed to visit the cave for the first time, accompanied by scientists working to unravel its mysteries.
After unlocking the metal grate that blocks the entrance, the group put on white protective overclothes, head coverings and gloves, then disinfected the soles of their boots.
Authorities are anxious to avoid a repeat of the damage done to France’s famed Lascaux caves by microorganisms brought in by visitors.
Photo: AFP
The Lascaux caves — which are also located in Dordogne, though their artworks are estimated to have been created thousands of years after the Cussac carvings — were closed to the public in 1963 to save their precious frescoes.
The Cussac cave is accessed by a narrow passage through boulders that have closed off its inner chambers for thousands of years.
Lighting the way with headlamps, visitors cross vast chambers of stalactites and stalagmites, following the same narrow path as Marc Delluc, the late amateur speleologist who discovered the cave in September 2000.
Photo: AFP
Delluc, who died in 2017, noticed a draft blowing from within the rocks, picked his way through the limestone and uncovered a path of around 100 meters leading to the engravings.
He described the “rush of adrenaline” he felt when he saw the curved figures and silhouettes carved into the rock overhead.
“I realized the privilege I’d been granted, to enter a place that had been consecrated since the dawn of time,” he said.
Photo: AFP
‘SANCTUARY’
The 1.6km-long cave has more than 1,000 carved figures, both animals and stylized feminine forms.
Scientists have dated them to between 26,000 and 35,000 years ago, the time of the ancient Gravettian culture in Europe.
“The Grotte de Cussac is exceptional for its well-preserved state. It was probably closed off very soon after it was occupied, which protected the soil and vestiges inside,” said Emeline Deneuve, chief heritage conservationist for the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region’s cultural affairs department.
Claw marks and signs of burrowing show it was also used by cave bears, prehistoric relatives of the brown bear.
Inside their hibernation chambers, researchers have found the remains of six human bodies, dating to the same period as the engravings.
It is the only known example of a cave used by prehistoric humans for both burials and artworks, said the site’s lead archaeologist, Jacques Jaubert.
The site was a “sanctuary,” not a dwelling, he said. “The group lived outside, in the open or in shelters under the rocks.”
‘FRAGMENTS OF MYTHOLOGY’
Jaubert thinks the cave may have been used for initiation ceremonies, “a rite of passage for adolescents to join the adult world” — a practice often observed in hunter-gatherer groups.
It would also have been seen “as a place of passage between the world of the living and the world of the dead,” he said.
The carvings, which he calls “fragments of mythology,” were made with flint, wood and bone.
They depict bison, ibex, geese and other animals, as well as women, often with giant heads and tiny feet.
“After testing the wall of the cave, leaving traces with his fingers, the artist carved the first animal figures, which were followed by others superimposed over them,” said researcher Valerie Feruglio, who uses 3D imaging to study the artworks, seeking to decipher their stories.
SAFEGUARDING HISTORY
The cave has still not been fully explored.
But authorities are extremely cautious in protecting the site, which was named a historic monument in 2002.
“We are the guardians responsible for preserving and documenting the site,” said Deneuve, the conservation chief.
“We support the research carried out there, as long as it is in line with conservation and heritage requirements. Documenting the cave and digitizing it in 3D is also part of our goal to bring it to the public.”
In October, the Dordogne department opened a free exhibit on the cave in the town of Buisson-de-Cadouin, with reproductions of its artworks.
But authorities say there are no plans to open the cave to the public.
May 26 to June 1 When the Qing Dynasty first took control over many parts of Taiwan in 1684, it roughly continued the Kingdom of Tungning’s administrative borders (see below), setting up one prefecture and three counties. The actual area of control covered today’s Chiayi, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The administrative center was in Taiwan Prefecture, in today’s Tainan. But as Han settlement expanded and due to rebellions and other international incidents, the administrative units became more complex. By the time Taiwan became a province of the Qing in 1887, there were three prefectures, eleven counties, three subprefectures and one directly-administered prefecture, with
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday delivered an address marking the first anniversary of his presidency. In the speech, Lai affirmed Taiwan’s global role in technology, trade and security. He announced economic and national security initiatives, and emphasized democratic values and cross-party cooperation. The following is the full text of his speech: Yesterday, outside of Beida Elementary School in New Taipei City’s Sanxia District (三峽), there was a major traffic accident that, sadly, claimed several lives and resulted in multiple injuries. The Executive Yuan immediately formed a task force, and last night I personally visited the victims in hospital. Central government agencies and the
Among Thailand’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) villages, a certain rivalry exists between Arunothai, the largest of these villages, and Mae Salong, which is currently the most prosperous. Historically, the rivalry stems from a split in KMT military factions in the early 1960s, which divided command and opium territories after Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) cut off open support in 1961 due to international pressure (see part two, “The KMT opium lords of the Golden Triangle,” on May 20). But today this rivalry manifests as a different kind of split, with Arunothai leading a pro-China faction and Mae Salong staunchly aligned to Taiwan.
It’s an enormous dome of colorful glass, something between the Sistine Chapel and a Marc Chagall fresco. And yet, it’s just a subway station. Formosa Boulevard is the heart of Kaohsiung’s mass transit system. In metro terms, it’s modest: the only transfer station in a network with just two lines. But it’s a landmark nonetheless: a civic space that serves as much more than a point of transit. On a hot Sunday, the corridors and vast halls are filled with a market selling everything from second-hand clothes to toys and house decorations. It’s just one of the many events the station hosts,