Cave of Altamira

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Photos, Excellent Text
Review: I ordered the book as a present for my wife, an anthropologist and artist. But, when it arrived, I couldn't help but sit down and read it immediately. Beautifully done photos of the cave images, together with a series of excellent essays on the history, layout, content, and "meaning" of the cave. A lovely production, an excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning Photos and Essays of Great Prehistoric Cave Art
Review: Prior to Darwin, there was relatively little interest in prehistoric art. Then the theory of evolution and the discovery of many wonderful caves jammed with art, almost like museums, conspired to change all of that. Altamira's art dates back around 15,500 years (due to radioactive dating techniques), but it originally drew little attention because it was too wonderful to be real. The psychology of disbelief stall led all but a few scholars to dismiss this gem. It took almost 20 years for its authenticity to be established, and subsequent evidence has only strengthened its claims. Many people feel that Altamira is the most wonderful collection of prehistoric art in existence. The other famous cave is Lescaux in France. In between these caves geographically, many other caves with drawings have been found.

After being initially ignored after its discovery in 1879, it soon experienced a crush of visitors (eventually approaching 200,000 in a single year). But cave art isn't going to last with that much extra heat and humidity, so the caves have now been closed except to the occasional scholar. The good news is that this cave (located near the seacoast in Spain) is being reproduced so that one can visit and get a sense of the place without harming the art.

Altamira is an extensive series of caves (about 270 yards long) with many different sections. The entrances and exits have mysterious masks. In one section with a low-hung ceiling are many wonderful large paintings of bison (many of these you will recognize). Another area features engravings in the soft stone that are remarkable in their detail and delicacy. Yet other areas have different features. The photographs are magnificent and capture both the beauty of the individual images as well as giving a sense of the part of the cave they are in.

The essays in the book are remarkably complete. They describe the history of the cave, the evolution of theories about what the art means, descriptions of how the art was probably created, and the difficulties of preserving and recording the cave's contents. The only drawback was that the discussions of the theories were somewhat redundant, and would have benefited from a stronger editorial hand or more preplanning.

Anyone who loves art, is interested in prehistoric life, or is fascinated by cave art would love this book. Anyone who loves a good mystery will, too.

Open your mind to the possibilities that exist, and use this book as an excellent example of how often we underestimate the potential of what is in front of us.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning Photos and Essays of Great Prehistoric Cave Art
Review: Prior to Darwin, there was relatively little interest in prehistoric art. Then the theory of evolution and the discovery of many wonderful caves jammed with art, almost like museums, conspired to change all of that. Altamira's art dates back around 15,500 years (due to radioactive dating techniques), but it originally drew little attention because it was too wonderful to be real. The psychology of disbelief stall led all but a few scholars to dismiss this gem. It took almost 20 years for its authenticity to be established, and subsequent evidence has only strengthened its claims. Many people feel that Altamira is the most wonderful collection of prehistoric art in existence. The other famous cave is Lescaux in France. In between these caves geographically, many other caves with drawings have been found.

After being initially ignored after its discovery in 1879, it soon experienced a crush of visitors (eventually approaching 200,000 in a single year). But cave art isn't going to last with that much extra heat and humidity, so the caves have now been closed except to the occasional scholar. The good news is that this cave (located near the seacoast in Spain) is being reproduced so that one can visit and get a sense of the place without harming the art.

Altamira is an extensive series of caves (about 270 yards long) with many different sections. The entrances and exits have mysterious masks. In one section with a low-hung ceiling are many wonderful large paintings of bison (many of these you will recognize). Another area features engravings in the soft stone that are remarkable in their detail and delicacy. Yet other areas have different features. The photographs are magnificent and capture both the beauty of the individual images as well as giving a sense of the part of the cave they are in.

The essays in the book are remarkably complete. They describe the history of the cave, the evolution of theories about what the art means, descriptions of how the art was probably created, and the difficulties of preserving and recording the cave's contents. The only drawback was that the discussions of the theories were somewhat redundant, and would have benefited from a stronger editorial hand or more preplanning.

Anyone who loves art, is interested in prehistoric life, or is fascinated by cave art would love this book. Anyone who loves a good mystery will, too.

Open your mind to the possibilities that exist, and use this book as an excellent example of how often we underestimate the potential of what is in front of us.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful photographs, interesting essays about an old cave.
Review: THE CAVE OF ALTAMIRA, edited by Antonio Beltran, tells the story of the famous paintings found in a cave in Spain in 1879. The book indicates the Altamira paintings date from the Solutrean period of the Paleolithic. Recent radiocarbon dating shows art in the Polychrome Chamber to be between 18,000 and 19,000 years old, placing it around 16,500 B.C. Pedro Saura Ramos, the photographer has a distinguished reputation. A number of prominent art historians have contributed interesting essays.

From the high elevation of the Altamira cave, one can see the 'Picos de Europa' - a range of mountain peaks which must have appeared awesome to Paleolithic humans. Judging by the remains of creatures found in pits in the cave chambers as well as portraits of animals on cave walls, the countryside around Altamira must have been a virtual Eden. Evidence shows that great park-like settings near the cave held deer, roebuck, and wild boar, while open areas favored large bovines like horses and bison, rocky areas provided shelter for goats and chamois, and the nearby sea and fresh water lakes and streams were filled with shellfish and other marine life. Charcoal used in the wall paintings and found around the hearths reveal a coastal ecology where willow, juniper, chestnut and pine grew. The discarded bones indicate the cave was probably used as a gathering place for a relatively large number of people.

Pedro Sauro Ramos says it is impossible to convey the impression one receives standing on the cave floor looking up at the wall and it's illustrations. His photos are unusual in that he has held the camera in non-conventional ways and shot angles not normally seen in print. He provides wide-angled, then close-up shots of many of the animals so the reader can see detail revealed at close range. He notes that artists often took advantage surface features when creating an animal. Natural bosses were used to round out forms. A ledge provided the line of a deer jaw. Cracks and crevices highlighted horns and hinds.

As is the case with Lascaux, many of the paintings have been damaged by exposure to human bacteria and some of the photographs reveal black fungus. In addition, ceilings and walls have been reinforced to support badly damaged sections of the cave. In some cases the human supports interfere with the lighting or alter the appearance. For example, natural lighting from the cave entrance that once illuminated the numerous bovines of the famous "Great Panel" and that would have been seen on entering the chamber have been blocked by a concrete wall. For his photographs, Saura Ramos provided natural lighting to show how the painting would have appeared to Paleolithic humans.

The text includes reasonably good essays by a number of noted experts. My favorite is entitled, "Techniques, Individual Artists, and Artistic Concepts in the Painting of Altamira", by Matilda Muzquiz Perez-Seoane. In this essay, Perez-Seoane explains how bone marrow was used to illuminate the areas of the wall the artist painted in the dark interior recesses. Apparently, animal knee caps were filled with marrow which was lighted and provided a flame which illuminated without filling the chamber with smoke and choking the artist and/or blackening the ceiling or walls.

Rating:
Summary: Our mysterious ancestors
Review: This beautiful book explores the cave of Altamira in Spain, called "The Sistine Chapel of Quaternary Art" for the splendour of its drawings, engravings and paintings. The cave was first occupied 18 450 years ago and its early history ended about 13 000 years ago when the entrance vault collapsed. It was discovered again in 1879.

The text comprises an introduction by Antonio Beltrán and various articles: The Cave And Surroundings by José Lasheras Corruchaga; Altamira: Art, Artists And Times by Federico de Quirós; Techniques Individual Artists And Artistic Concepts by Matilde Pérez-Seoane; Photographing Altamira by Pedro Ramos; Conservation Problems by Corruchaga and a Conclusion: The Future by Beltrán.

This great monument to prehistoric art is documented by impressive color and black and white photographs of the area, the artworks and the tools found in the caves, including a portrait of the discoverer Sautuola. There are maps of the cave, a bibliography, notes and an index.

This magnificent book offers an exhaustive study of the wonderful and mysterious cave complex of Altamira and also deals with a number of theories about cave art around the world that casts some light on our ancient ancestors.