We know that ancient artists were exacting observers of the natural world. But it is mind bending that they may have had a written time keeping system 20,000 years ago.
Comedian Michael Che offered up his opinion about our recent discovery of massive cave art in Alabama during an early May 2022 Saturday Night Live show: “Archaeologists have discovered thousand-year-old drawings in caves in Alabama. Guys, they’re bad,” he joked during his segment of Weekend Update. We appreciate the joke! The laugh line comes in at about 1 minute 15 seconds in the video below.
Scientists took thousands of high-tech photos to scan the ceiling of the cave in Alabama to create a 3D model. Photographer Stephen Alvarez explains that thanks to 3D modeling, “a story that was laid down a thousand plus years ago and has been invisible can now be seen in its entirety." Read the full USA Today article here
Researchers using 3-D technology brought to light an array of art in an Alabama cave, including a serpent, flying creatures and humanoid figures in regalia. Read the full The New York Times article here
In a study published on Tuesday in the journal Antiquity, researchers revealed that a cave in the northern Alabama countryside is home to carvings dating back about 1,000 years. Read the full The Guardian article here
The five large figures discovered include three anthropomorphs (humanlike figures), one swirling, enigmatic figure, and a snake, most likely an eastern diamondback rattlesnake that was sacred to southeast Indigenous people of the time. Read the full ARTnews article here
The 19th Unnamed Cave “allows a brief glimpse into the genius of these artists,” said Stephen Alvarez, the founder of the Ancient Art Archive and the producer of an animated model of the cave available to view online. Read the full ArtNet article here
The newly described figures share characteristics with other rock art formations in the southeast, like cliff drawings at Alabama’s Painted Bluff, and also in the Southwest, like the humanlike pictographs in Canyonlands National Park. The figures are also similar to those found on Woodland-style pottery. Read the full Science article here
Massive Native American drawings – which remained unseen in an Alabama cave for more than 1,000 years – have been unveiled by a team of scientists. The large artwork was discovered in the 19th Unnamed Cave in Alabama, which has been kept anonymous to protect the site from vandalism. Read the full CNN article here
The carvings in this Alabama cave, which may show spirits of the dead, are almost invisible. Photographer Stephen Alvarez has revealed them using advanced photographic techniques. Read the full NBC article here
