Cave art

[Grumpage]

Thanks for the reply Dig. I'm OK now.

[Digit]

Thanks kb, make you wonder about future discoveries.

Roy.

[Manystones]

Interesting MS. I had assumed that most, if not all, of the sites had been uncovered by now, or at least evidence that other sites had been used even if the art had vanished.
Any further insights on this?

Roy.

Hi Roy,

The point is, that conditions are very rare that this sort of evidence remains, this is not to say that it was not widespread, but the conditions have to be "just so" so that any signs would still be visible now. Many sites are "open air" for instance, and therefore suffer from erosive elements, etc.. As I understand it, there are sites still being discovered even now, though these are often not publicised outside of small circles in order not to attract attention, protect them, and any activity that may still occur there. A good example of how "archaeology" works is provided by Bednarik in his ongoing lecture series "The epistemology of Pleistocene archaeology" (here http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/epc/srb/cyber/cyber.html ) where he describes the destruction - defended by archaeologists politically and financially motivated - of the Dampier Rock Art, the world’s largest complex of petroglyphs.

The next link, and the associated links thereafter are possibly the most concise writings concerning rock art and indeed palaeoart available on the internet and are essential reading on the subjects.

http://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/aura/web/index.html

[Minimalist]

Here's a timely link for this thread.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl ... 656338.stm

Experts from the University of Bristol are to attempt to accurately date prehistoric caves.

The team from the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology travelled to northern Spain to collect samples of paintings from more than 20 caves.

They will use a new method, based on the radioactive decay of uranium, to date the paintings.