avatarDark Energy Articles

Summary

Researchers have discovered that the cave art in Patagonia's Huenul cave is thousands of years older than previously thought, with up to 100 generations contributing to nearly 900 paintings over 3,000 years.

Abstract

New findings published in Science Advances reveal that the rock art in Argentina's Huenul cave dates back approximately 8,200 years, significantly earlier than the previously estimated 5,000 years. This cave art, which includes depictions of humans, animals, and other designs, is a testament to the facultative behavior of creating art that emerged under unknown socioecological conditions. The discovery was made possible through radiocarbon dating of black pigment from the drawings, which was derived from plant material. The cave's extensive collection of almost 900 paintings, grouped into over 400 motifs, suggests a long-term tradition of artistic expression and communication across generations, potentially serving as an educational tool for survival in the harsh Patagonian climate.

Opinions

  • The researchers believe that the creation of cave art was a facultative behavior that arose under specific socioecological conditions.
  • Archaeologist Guadalupe Romero Villanueva expressed surprise at the cave art's age, which was much older than expected.
  • Professor Ramiro Barberena highlighted the difficulty of dating cave art without organic material and emphasized the significance of the plant-based black pigment in enabling radiocarbon dating.
  • The team posits that the cave paintings were a means of conveying information between artists and other people, including future generations.
  • Professor Barberena suggested that the cave art might have served as a form of educational activity, helping communities to survive as hunter-gatherers in a challenging environment with scarce water and dry conditions.

Patagonia’s Cave Art: Work of 100 Successive Generations?

New research on cave art from Argentina has revealed that the rock paintings there are thousands of years older than previously thought. Up to 100 generations were involved in their creation.

[Photo: KehDon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons]

The first person to paint a simple drawing on a cave wall initiated a new stage in human development. Tens of thousands of years ago, our ancestors decided to create something that would facilitate communication with others. Thus, the first archive in history was created, with the aim of preserving what exists and might soon disappear.

Cave paintings in an Argentine cave

From then on, people began to create paintings in the caves where they lived, even if only for a moment. Besides transmitting knowledge, the drawings on the walls probably served as a form of artistic expression. Cave art is known practically on all continents, and each cave is an encyclopedia shedding light on individual communities from hundreds or even thousands of years ago.

An article has just been published in Science Advances, in which researchers reported on their studies of the Huenul cave in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. However, it turns out that the paintings may be much older than previously believed.

“The moment of evolution of cave art creation is of global significance. Although it was an innate ability when Homo sapiens first colonized America, the heterogeneous distribution of cave art shows that it was facultative behavior, arising under unknown socioecological conditions,” wrote researchers from Argentina, Chile, and the United States.

[Photo: Richard Bonnett, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons]

Cave art could be as old as 8,200 years

Scientists emphasized that Patagonia was the last region colonized by humans. Although cave art in the region is significant worldwide, it remains largely underexplored in terms of dating. This is precisely why scholars decided to use radiocarbon dating to determine its age.

“It turned out that the paintings in the cave are thousands of years older than we expected,” said Guadalupe Romero Villanueva, an archaeologist from the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, in an interview with Live Science. “We were really surprised by this discovery,” she added.

The analysis showed that some paintings date back to as early as about 8,200 years ago and were created in the late Holocene epoch. Previously, it was believed that the art left by prehistoric inhabitants of Patagonia was at most 5,000 years old.

To determine the date of creation of the vast graphic depicting humans, animals, and other designs, archaeologists chipped off small pieces of black pigment from the drawings. Because the pigment was made from plant material, researchers used radiocarbon dating to determine the age of the cave art.

“It is usually very difficult to date cave art if it does not contain organic material,” said Prof. Ramiro Barberena, a co-author of the study. The archaeologist explained that his team took samples from drawings on the wall that contained black pigment made from plant material. This is why dating was possible.

Up to 100 generations of people were involved with the paintings

The entire cave contained almost 900 paintings, grouped into over 400 motifs. Interestingly, researchers are still unsure which prehistoric culture could have created this art. However, the team hopes that their study will be another step towards solving this puzzle.

Archaeologists are certain, however, that the intricate illustrations made on the cave walls could have been used to convey information between artists and other people, even future generations. All the paintings inside the cave were created over about 3,000 years. This means that up to about 100 generations of people had contact with them.

“They were created within one motif. We believe that there was a transmission of information between many generations of people who inhabited the same region and the same place,” said Prof. Barberena.

The archaeologist also added that the exact circumstances of the creation of these images are not known. However, the team believes it was a kind of educational activity aimed at educating people about surviving in very harsh climatic conditions.

“Much of the landscape of Patagonia at that time was devoid of water, and the climate was very dry. In order for communities to survive as hunter-gatherers, they had to stay in contact with each other,” said Barberena. “In such difficult conditions, it would be almost impossible to act alone, so the exchange of information was important,” he concluded.

Attention all readers!

As content creators on Medium.com, we face minimal compensation for our hard work. If you find value in my articles, please consider supporting me on my “Buy Me a Coffee” page. Your small contributions can make a big difference in fueling my passion for creating quality content. Thank you for your support!

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/oconnel
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/oconnel
History
Science
Art
Culture
Life
Recommended from ReadMedium