Rock Markings Dismissed a Century Ago Are the Real Deal
Newser • • world
Key Points:
- Markings discovered in 1912 by Professors William Sollas and Henri Breuil were initially identified as prehistoric paintings but reclassified in 1928 as natural red oxide mineral deposits.
- An international team led by Dr. George Nash has now confirmed through uranium-thorium dating and lab analysis that the pigment is a human-made mixture of calcite and clay, deliberately applied by finger in horizontal lines.
- The cave containing the markings may have served as a shelter for hunter-fisher-gatherers, with the red bands possibly functioning as a communication system or tally marks indicating years of use.
- These findings, suggesting intentional symbolic behavior by early humans, have been published in the journal Quaternary.