Review by Choice Review
Chauvet, a French cave of astonishing size and singular in its revelation of Paleolithic art, was discovered late in December 1995. The cave's three discoverers here chronicle that discovery from the first day on, in a first-person account of their shared adventure as they journeyed through this underground wonder-world. Their description is subjective, painted in tones of excitement and amazement, and the reader feels the wondrous quality that the trio felt when they realized that they were the first to enter this cathedral-cavern in 20,000 years. In the epilogue, Jean Clottes sums up the discovery: "No new cave since Lascaux has aroused such interest or so much admiration." The initial authentication by Clottes, Daugus, and Gely is detailed and meticulous. The focus is on the wall paintings, but the entire environment of the cave was considered in their analysis--e.g., the plethora of bones, skulls, cave bear paw-prints, and myriad detritus, so important from an archaeological standpoint. Radio carbon testing of some of the paintings indicates an age of 31,000 years, making Chauvet the oldest decorated cave ever discovered and necessitating a complete rethinking of existing concepts of Paleolithic art. At this point of research, all current analyses are provisional. Even so, Chauvet is already ranked with Lascaux, though thousands of years older. Oversized format. Beautifully illustrated by full color photographs. General; upper-division undergraduate; graduate; faculty. F. G. Bock California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Two recent discoveries of Paleolithic art in French caves reveal the astonishing artwork of some prehistoric artists. Explorers conscientious about preservation found the Chauvet cave in 1994, and its contents are simply incredible, as significant as the famous Lascaux paintings. Preliminary analysis determined some of the paintings to be 31,000 years old, the oldest ever found. Extraordinary beyond age, though, is the natural beauty of two of the panels (ensembles of rhinos and felines) and their evident creation by a single artist. Other stunning and unique finds were a chiseled outline of an owl and a bear skull set on an altarlike stone. The excitement of the discoverers, the first to see the artwork in millennia, is palpably conveyed in the text and will be shared by library patrons. The last recession of the glaciers drowned the entrance of the Cosquer cave, named after a diver who found it. In addition to hand stencils and animal outlines typical of Paleolithic sites, this cave has a rare human image, a prone figure dubbed "the Killed Man." Another curious revelation is that the Cosquer cave was decorated in two phases, 27,000 and 18,000 years ago, respectively, which begs the question of what group two thought of the images put up by group one. Perhaps they were as perplexed as we are, for the purpose of these invaluable images is unknown and perhaps unknowable. However they, and shards of tools strewn about the cave, furnish promising clues about their creators, when life was certainly brutish and probably short, at least for the Killed Man. Serious science readers will best profit from this album's clinical description. Gilbert Taylor
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
The prehistoric paintings recently discovered in Chauvet Cave are twice as old as the paintings of Lascaux, and show both considerable strength and beauty. The discoverers of Chauvet Cave are well known and respected speleologists who maintained impeccable records while exploring their find. It is they who tell the story of their explorations. In many ways this book is reminiscent of Carter's writings about Tutankhamen's tomb with a similar sense of awe at the millennia that had passed between the fabrication of the work and the modern discovery. The text is good, with a clean, easy-to-read translation by prehistorian Paul G. Bahn, who also provides the foreword. It is the photographs, however, that capture the real power and beauty of these paintings, bringing the humanity of their Stone Age artists close to home. Very highly recommended for any collection on art history or prehistory.Mary Morgan Smith, Northland P.L., Pittsburgh (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Before there were artists at the famous caves of Lascaux, there were artists at Chauvet and Cosquer--two caves whose paleolithic drawings remained undiscovered until the 1990s. Chauvet, in southeast France, is the most ancient; some of its vivid panels of horses, lions, and rhinoceri (beautifully reproduced here) are as much as 31,000 years old. Cosquer, buried for 20 centuries beneath the Mediterranean, was serendipitously discovered by a diver for whom the cave is named. Some of the Cosquer drawings date back 27,000 years. In Dawn of Art: The Chauvet Cave, a series of experts in prehistory discuss the nature of the cave and the remarkable paintings found on its walls. In The Cave Beneath the Sea: Paleolithic Images at Cosquer (Trans. by Marilyn Garner; Abrams; $60.000; May; 200 pp.; ISBN 0-8109-4033-7), the two archaeologists who explored the cave review their journey into the treacherous space and the wonders they found--drawings that echo the humanity of the prehistoric artist across otherwise silent millennia.
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