Academia, Animals, International, Science

Study: Cavemen Did Indeed See Spots

Scientists have made an amazing discovery that has answered a long-standing question: where cavemen who drew the spotted horses in Pech Merle, France taking artistic license? The answer appears to be no. The horses were indeed spotted, according to new DNA analysis of horse teeth from 25,000 years ago.

Of course, for creationists who insist the Earth cannot be more than 5000 years old, you can stood reading. These drawings occurred 10,000 years earlier than the creation of the Earth.

Scientists analyzed the bones and teeth of 31 horses that lived in Europe and published the results yesterday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. The team, headed by Arne Ludwig, a geneticist at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, found that six of the ancient horses had a gene associated with the spotting pattern.

The finding seems to contradict the views of French archaeologist Jean Clottes, president of the International Federation of Rock Art Organizations, who argued that the paintings were shamanistic or religious in nature. He, however, is not ready to give up the ghost — noting that the ancient artists included dots both inside and outside the outlines of their horses.

Source: LA Times

24 thoughts on “Study: Cavemen Did Indeed See Spots”

  3. Pete,

    I wasn’t there…so I would not know…the only things I know are what I have read…and you are correct as well….

    1650 Horses Stolen from Spanish 1 of 3
    The Spanish offered many wonderful things that Native Americans found useful or beautiful — iron for tools, weapons, glass beads, mass produced pottery — but the most prized possession of many Indians was the horse.

    In ancient North America, horses had become extinct, probably during the Paleo-Indian period around 10,000 years ago….

    http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0300/frameset_reset.html?http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0300/stories/0301_0111.html

  4. AY

    there were horses here prior to the die off at the end of the last ice age

    camels too.

  6. We Americans should be happy that the Spanish came here….Or else we would not have Horses…not indigenous to the Americas….

  7. yes, reminds me of 1 of my favourites…

    Pied Beauty~ By Gerard Manley Hopkins 1844–1889

    Glory be to God for dappled things –
    For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
    For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
    Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
    Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough;
    And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

    All things counter, original, spare, strange;
    Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
    With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
    He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
    Praise him.

  8. It is amazing the lengths that God went through to convince us sinners that Darwin was right. Clever that deity.

  9. the ancient artists included dots both inside and outside the outlines of their horses.
    ========================================================

    maybe it was snowing when the horses were painted. there was an ice age going on.

  11. Jill 1, November 8, 2011 at 2:38 pm

    Might have been the toxic gas in the chambers Dredd. After a while, the lines just kind of blurred!

    In seriousness though, we have no idea why the drawings are there. They are some of the most incredible paintings I’ve ever seen!
    ================================
    Indeed. Perhaps there needs to be some revision to the books of art that tell us impressionist paintings began circa Monet, then ended just before van Gogh?

    Most of the time I can spot a horse, but I have also been know to kick over the traces to spot other things, evidently like those early French imbibers likewise did.

    PS. I doubt the gas, if any, was Jumpin’ Jack Flash … 😉

  15. Also. the Lippizans in Europe are part this spotted horse gene pool. But instead of spots they are born black and turn white with age.

  16. Might have been the toxic gas in the chambers Dredd. After a while, the lines just kind of blurred!

    In seriousness though, we have no idea why the drawings are there. They are some of the most incredible paintings I’ve ever seen!

  17. “noting that the ancient artists included dots both inside and outside the outlines of their horses”

    Ok, so the ancient shamans drank their fair share of French wine too???

  18. In America they are called Appaloosas and were highly prized by the Nez Pierce Indians in Idaho.

    This selective breeding stock enabled the Nez Pierce to out run the US Army, they were only captured when they mis-judged the Canadian border.

  19. @Jean Clottes: Give it up, dude, there is no shame in having a guess proven wrong, as long as you didn’t claim certainty.

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