Lindström, Emmy
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Tales from the Caves ∙ Score
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Tales from the Caves ∙ Parts
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In the autumn of 2023, I traveled with the archaeologist Richard Holmgren and a group of similarly inquisitive people to the South of France to behold the incredibly beautiful cave paintings and carvings left behind by Stone Age people up to 32,000 years ago.
I was deeply moved by what I encountered deep within the cave systems. Entering these dark and dank cores from the origins of mankind changed me in ways I cannot explain. It was as if time ceased to exist and I felt undeniably connected to the individuals who created these incomparable works of art. Their presence became palpable, giving me a deeply spiritual experience.
It is easy to become blinded by the feeling that we who live in modern times have little in common with Stone Age people, but here it became obvious that, spiritually, we are, and were, exactly the same.
In some cases, such as in Rouffignac, the caves were cramped with low ceilings, while others were like giant halls, such as the cave in Niaux. The most commonly depicted animals were mammoths, bison, ibex and horses. People were rarely depicted, apart from the man with the face of a bird in Lascaux. In Peche Merle, however, we saw a number of handprints left by those who painted. In Pair-non-Pair, the cave that held the oldest images we saw, the animals had been carved along the limestone walls, almost coming alive for the viewer when the light was right.
We can only guess what the paintings meant to those who created them, but considering how deep into the caves some of them are located, they cannot have been observed every day. One can assume that the images were an important part of spiritual life and carried profound significance for many generations.
Emmy Lindström
