Ancient Europe: Altamira Cave
In 1879, avocational archaeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola decided to explore one of the caves on his Spanish estate in a hill called Altamira. The cave had been discovered earlier by a hunter looking for his lost dog. Sautuola’s focus was on the cave’s floor where he had hoped to find some ancient artifacts. He had been to the World Exposition in Paris the year before and had been attracted to an exhibition of prehistoric artifacts. He also met Édouard Piette who was the preeminent collector of prehistoric artifacts.
While he carefully examined the floor of the cave looking for ancient artifacts, his young daughter María was looking at the ceiling and walls which were illuminated by the lantern. It was María who discovered the fabulous paintings on the cave’s ceiling.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/24/1258049/-Ancient-Europe-Altamira-Cave#
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A fascinating (as always) project by Herzog used cutting edge technology to record and then present the Chauvet cave paintings in this project:
http://media.ifcfilms.com/flv/caveofforgottendreams_clip_003_480x272.flv
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_Forgotten_Dreams
http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/cave-of-forgotten-dreams
