Chauvet Cave

Discovered in 1994, Chauvet Cave in southern France contains an amazing array of art dating to around 30,000 years ago.

Until this cave was discovered there were theories about Paleolithic cave art that focused on its depiction of the herbivores that Paleolithic people probably hunted. So, "hunting magic." But at Chauvet the herbivores are outnumbered by carnivores -- hyenas, lions, bears. So much for that theory.

Of course there are herbivores at Chauvet, too.

This is probably the most famous image at Chauvet, "Venus and the Sorcerer." Venus is represented by the pubic triangle (with a slit scratched into the rock) and thighs, a composition very much resembling some of the "Venus" sculptures. But the left thigh of the Venus also seems to be the left thigh of a person wearing a bison mask looming in from the right -- this is the "Sorcerer," otherwise the Man-Bison. The whole ensemble is incorporated into the back half of a lion.

What a marvel that such things survive after 30,000 years.