What Were They Thinking? Cracking the Cave Art Code
Monday is “Darwin Day,” the anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, the British naturalist who changed how humans understand the living world. Cave-art researcher Genevieve von Petzinger last week spoke at The University of Alabama at Birmingham to help mark the occasion. Von Petzinger studies geometric patterns found in caves all over Europe. As she tells WBHM’s Dan Carsen, in college she’d excavated Roman artifacts … but that wasn’t quite right for her. A few highlights:
Von Petzinger decided Roman artifacts weren’t old enough. “Which sounds really funny, right? Something 2,000 years old was too young. But I was like, this already feels like things have happened. I’m more interested in the origins of things. So I study some of the oldest art in the world — the art from caves in Europe from the Ice Age, between 10,000 and 40,000 years old.”
Genevieve von Petzinger
It’s Not Just the Deer and the Spears
“What fascinates me are the little squiggly marks, what we call the geometric signs — is there a pattern? Are they repeating them? How many signs are there? And, you know, do the same ones appear across space and time? Can we figure out things with them? And the answer is yes.”
The Signs that Repeat
“We have 32 signs, which is actually a very small number, that repeat at caves all across Europe for like 30,000 years … I think what we’re probably dealing with is some important ideas or concepts, almost like putting the one word on the wall as opposed to the whole sentence … what I’m digging into now is I think a thematic level: we might be able to start saying, “maybe this is a weapon, or maybe this is their house.”
Cave Wall, Window, and Computer?
“It’s a really unusual window into their minds. This is like trying to understand how they’re making sense of the world around them. And doing something like making graphic marks is actually a very mentally sophisticated thing to do because they’re actually storing information outside their body, which sounds funny but, I mean, what is a computer? So it’s that mental shift to understanding that information isn’t just in your head, or in your verbal words, but that you can actually store it and share it — a hugely important concept.”
Neanderthal Lineage
“We used to think that Neanderthals and humans weren’t related. And then we’ve realized now that they’ve interbred. And according to my genome, I’m almost 4 percent Neanderthal on my mother’s side. So there we go.”
Web Extra: Cave Art in Pop Culture
Genevieve von Petzinger’s thoughts on the film Prometheus, in which cave art figures prominently:
Crowds in Railroad Park protest Trump administration for “No Kings” day
The event was part of protests across the country under a theme of "No Kings in America." The protests, organized by the 50501 movement, was held on April 19, the 250th anniversary of the battle of Lexington and Concord, an early fight in the Revolutionary War.
She grew up believing she was a U.S. citizen. Then she applied for a passport
Among those fearful of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown are adoptees who grew up thinking they were U.S. citizens — only to find out years later, in adulthood, they're not.
Alabama to honor wastewater sanitation projects despite losing federal backing
The Alabama Department of Public Health says it will honor its wastewater contracts for Lowndes County in spite of the Department of Justice’s recent decision to cancel its two-year-old agreement with the state supporting septic system improvements in the region.
Iran and the U.S. plan expert-level talks over Tehran’s nuclear program
The two countries will begin having experts meet to discuss details of a possible deal over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program, the top Iranian diplomat said after a second round of talks.
Putin calls an Easter ceasefire as Russia and Ukraine swap hundreds of POWs
The Russian president announced a temporary ceasefire, citing humanitarian reasons, as Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds of captured soldiers.
White House solicits corporate sponsors for its Easter Egg Roll event
Corporate sponsors for the usually apolitical event held on the White House South Lawn include tech giants Meta, YouTube and Amazon.
