The Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Posted by on January 21st, 2011

The Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave in France is the subject of a new documentary by Werner Herzog called Cave of Forgotten Dreams. The cave was discovered in 1994 and is filled with cave paintings that date back from 26,000 to 32,000 years ago. There is a chamber at the end of the cave, 1312 feet underground, that is filled with CO2 and radon gas that is said to cause hallucinations. These hallucinations are reflected in the paintings on the walls.

A few are not even supposed to exist, like weird butterflyish animals or chimerical figures half bison half woman. These may be linked to the hallucinations. The trip is such that some archeologists think that it had a ritual nature, with people transcending into a new state as they descended into the final room.

[Gizmodo]

3 Responses to “The Cave of Forgotten Dreams”

  1. Andrew Mayne Says:
    January 21st, 2011 at 9:22 pm

    Cool. The soundtrack is a bit annoying.

  2. Mycupatea Says:
    January 24th, 2011 at 2:09 pm

    How do they explain the Roman cross depiction and the “sacred heart”? That alone would date less than 2,000 years old.

  3. Andrew Mayne Says:
    January 25th, 2011 at 3:02 am

    People have been drawing in the cave for 30,000 years. Putting your initials on the Pyramids doesn’t make them contemporary.