'Human history in essence is a history of ideas'.
- H. G. Wells, 'The Outline of History'.
Chauvet Cave in southern France: the location of the earliest known prehistoric cave paintings, and the setting for Werner Herzog's 2010 documentary, currently showing at the Tyneside Cinema.
The documentary, which is presented in 3D, seeks to 'capture the intention of the painters', who incorporated the cave's dramatic bulges and recesses into their artwork.
Why did prehistoric people paint on the walls of caves? Was it for their own amusement, for religious reasons, or for the edification of future generations? Can cave-dwelling people of the Aurignacian era have had any conception of the fact that we would be observing and studying these paintings 30,000 years later?
These were some of the questions in my own head while observing the stunning images of Chauvet Cave. However, Herzog seemed in search of prehistoric man himself, who is somewhat conspicuous by his absence: one alone of the hundreds of paintings appears to represent the lower half of a human female. There are footprints and marks from torches, but no human remains. Indeed, forensic evidence suggests that the cave was used to store animals such as cave bears; experts believe that the paintings themselves may have had ritualistic significance.
Due to the cave's unstable nature and toxic atmosphere, the general public are not allowed inside, and Herzog had to receive special permission to film there with a skeleton crew. The film's soundtrack was not particularly to my taste; I also found it quite difficult for my eyes to adjust to the 3D imagery. However, given that this is the closest most will come to witnessing these ancient images, I feel privileged to have seen the forgotten paintings of Chauvet Cave.
