On 4 August 2011 22:33, Jim Andrews <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

and the enigma remains - what was the enchantment, the magic mimesis,  the
thought-process?

well, yes, the enigma remains.

in many of the places where the drawings/paintings were done, the artist first scraped the rock to provide a suitable surface. so there was some planning involved. and some of the drawings exploit the curves and fissures of the rock itself so that the shape fits in with the shape of the rock itself. and some of the drawings are likened to a kind of 'proto-cinema' in that we see eight legs, indicating motion.

but i think the most prominent thing to me is that the chauvet paintings are almost all of animals, not of humans. though there are some hand-prints--and one particular person with a crooked little finger has hand-prints in several places in the cave.

'to understand me, let me show you what i see.' the cave is at once a place of deep connection with our past and the old people making paintings showed their deep connection with the animals.

ja