The Caves of Altamira

I read a story several weeks ago in one of the online newspapers I skim daily, reporting that the government of Spain is seriously considering reopening the Caves of Altamira. In my opinion, that is a BIG, BIG MISTAKE. Why, you may ask? Or, what in the hell are you talking about, you may ask? So I'll give you some background.

The Caves of Altamira, known as the Sistine Chapel of Paleolithic Art, are located on the northern coast of Spain near the town of Santillana del Mar. An amateur archaeologist named Marcelino Sauz de Sautuola knew of the cave, but in 1879 his daughter accompanied him on a trip there and it was then that they discovered paintings on the walls and ceilings. He excavated the cave with another archaeologist and they published a paper in 1880 that posited the age of these paintings to be tens of thousands of years old. And then the criticism began, because the general public, and even the scientific community, could not believe that prehistoric people could possibly have the skill to create such works of art.

"Fallen Bison", one of my favorite works of art, from the Caves of Altamira

Senor Sautuola died many years before the acceptance of the fact, in 1902, that indeed these were paintings created by ancient man. An actual 'mea culpa' paper was published in the most widely read journal of Anthropology of that time, apologizing for the skepticism with which Senor Sautuola was met in regard to the art of the Cave.

Present day technology is able to date the probable age of the artwork in the cave as between 15,000 and 35,000 years old. Some of the works were most likely created over time by multiple artists, judging by the carbon dating of materials (artistic collaboration!).

The caves were actually open as a tourist attraction for many years, and as you might guess, attracted many thousands of visitors. And here's the problem with that - carbon dioxide. And humidity. Due to those visitors breathing and sweating, the images began to degrade. Mold and bacteria began to grow on the walls. I mean, the reason these images were so well preserved is that the caves were sealed off for tens of thousands of years.

In 1977 the caves were closed. They were opened in a limited fashion in 1982, and at that time the waiting list to get in was three years long. Three years! The caves were again closed to all except scientists in 2002.

In 2001 a replica of the caves was built near the original site. So what I'm saying is, the works in the cave can be seen, probably more easily, because of the replica. And what I'm really saying is, PLEASE DON'T OPEN THE CAVES. Sorry people, you do not have the right to go in there. These works were not made for you. And they're documented. And reproduced in a configuration very similar to what you would see in the actual cave. So leave them alone. It's called preservation. It's crucial. You are not entitled to see the originals. And I'm not even sorry to say that, no, I'm not. Someone needs to be dope-slapped here, snap out of it and leave the caves alone. And before I go on to my next thought, I will whine - "Why do people have to ruin everything?"

A few other images from the Caves:

How I learned about the Caves, or, Mrs. Guthrie's 6th Grade Art Class

I'll admit that I just didn't get it. We have to do a cave painting? What? It's 1972 and everything is psychedelic and we have to do a CAVE PAINTING? I mean, who cares about that stuff?? But no amount of complaining could change the fact that we had to do a CAVE PAINTING. Great...

First, we needed to bring in our own rock. Smooth and of sufficient size to allow for the recognizable depiction of an animal. Then we had to choose one of the animals shown on the walls or ceiling of the Caves of Altamira. And by the way, back then we had film strips, remember those? So of course we watched a film strip to introduce us to the images in the cave paintings. Snooze.

Then we had to use pastels, the same earth-tone color palette use by the cavemen. Again, snooze. But, here's what happened - as I started the drawing, I discovered my inner caveman. I actually ended up with a pretty fine looking goat, if memory serves. After we were finished drawing, we sealed our projects with a clear coat spray so that they wouldn't smudge.

I wish I knew what happened to that project. I'm quite sure it ended up in a landfill. Wouldn't it be a hoot if it turned up in some archaeological dig years from now?

One more thing...

Steely Dan, The Royal Scam, track#2

This is one of my favorite songs of Steely Dan, and really one of my favorite songs, ever. Once I get it in my head it's hard to dislodge. Good thing I love it so much. If you don't know the song, I've included a clip here:

Sorry, the image is of the album cover only. There was a clip of a live performance, and it was pretty good, but Steely Dan was a studio band so I went with this, direct from the album. And yes, since it was released in 1976 it was indeed an album. Absolutely love this song and for me it stands up so well to the test of time.

My closing thought - it's really very simple: leave the caves alone, people.