Thread by @before_art

Good Morning! Today is not a #NovemberRain-y day, but it is #FridayPaleoart, so we are going to visit a sheltered place in... ☂️
Cave: #Etxeberri
Place: Camou-Cihigue, Zuberoa, Pays Basque, Nouvelle Aquitaine (France)
Motif: Black bison and red stains
Chronology: #Magdalenian

Etxebarri is a pyrenean cave with #Magdalenian rock art, placed in the beautiful massif of Arbailles, in the hearth of #Zuberoa, #BasqueCountry.

The bison we have presented here is not especially wonderful, but it stands out because of its location deep inside the cave. 👇😉

The rock art is placed 150 meters away from the entrance. It is not a big distance, but one must cross dry lakes, climb dangerous, slippery and steep flowstones, and very narrow crawlways. 😖📸

In Etxeberri, caving security-installation and techniques are really necessary...

This narrow crawlway was opened in 1938 to reach the final part of the cave (where the most part of the graphic ensemble is located).

But perhaps also was opened before by Magdalenian societies, using flints to break columns🔬👀: academia.edu/15349338/RIOS_…

After crossing this claustrophobic crawlway, there is a jump of 2 meters to reach the "Salle des Peintures", where in addition to some panels, an archaeological context related with the artists (ochre stains, fires,...) was dated in #MiddleMagdalenian🔖:
researchgate.net/publication/26…

To reach the bison, there is another jump of 7 meters(!), maybe able to be descended using a narrow cornice.

It is striking that there is located a black horse, as well as a big red stain. Perhaps the artists clothes or bodies were painted in red? researchgate.net/publication/31…

Finally, a vertical fissure with 6 meters deep must be descended. It is possible to made this using opposite forces in walls (traversing caving-technique).
The other possibility is to descend directly over big shaft (16 meters) using ropes, to reach the cornice of the bison👇😖

Really this is a crazy case. We must remember that we are talking about Palaeolithic societies. This #Paleospeleological operation had to be carefully planned by Magdalenians to be overtaken with success... or at least without casualties 💀.

In any case, this is not a single case. There are other ensembles with difficult access (e.g. Atxurra, Aitzbitarte ...), so a method to assess this type of accessibility with objective criteria is needed. #Paleospeleology

I. Intxaurbe (@inaki_intxaurbe)

End of thread! 👋😜