20,000 Years-Old Cave Paintings' Mysterious Dots and Marks Indicate Ice Age Hunter-Gatherers Used a Lunar Calendar
Cave drawings have always been an intriguing subject for history aficionados. They are believed to be the messages left by human predecessors about their time and culture. The drawings are not easy to examine and often contain elements that completely bounce off the heads of even experts.
Several cave paintings across Europe featuring animals like reindeer, fish, and cattle as subjects, sported mysterious dots and other marks, BBC reported. Experts could not figure out the meaning and it became a source of intrigue for enthusiasts worldwide. In 2023, a London man named Ben Bacon surprised everyone by figuring out the answer.
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The cave paintings in question have been dated back to 20,000 years and were possibly made by hunter-gatherers of the Ice Age, The Standard reported. Some of these paintings were found in places like the caves of Lascaux (France) and Altamira (Spain). Bacon analyzed hordes of these drawings from the British Library and the Internet. During his observations, he noted a Y sign in which one line was growing out from another. He speculated that it could be a symbol for giving birth.
This made him think the markings could be reflections from the lunar calendar highlighting important yearly events. Bacon decided to collect as much data as possible about the subject and contact experts. He contacted professors from Durham University and University College London, who agreed to help him validate his claims.
Examinations proved Bacon's assertions to be correct. The experts concluded that the three dots next to animals in various paintings referred to the subject's reproduction cycle in alignment with the lunar calendar. For Bacon, the whole process was "surreal."
Experts believe that these findings will enhance their knowledge about the achievements of Ice Age communities, The Standard reported. "The results show that Ice Age hunter-gatherers were the first to use a systemic calendar and marks to record information about major ecological events within that calendar," Professor Paul Pettitt, of Durham University said.