Borneo Cave Art
The Discovery of Artifacts Art deep in the jungle forest of Borneo really an eye opener for archaeologist, anthropologist, speleologist, photographer alike to come and examine the people who lives these part of the world.
The 10,000.00 year old paintings featuring the hands of the artists which may give detail clues about the ancient migration.
It was reported in National Geographic Magazine and also on their website, "The Hand Across Time, Exploring the Rock Art Of Borneo"
Hands Paintings On the Cave Wall
Ilas Kenceng cave discovered by Fage in 1998, two days trek from Gua Tewet.
©Luc-Henri Fage
The hands paintings or 'Ghostly hands are mostly decorated with dots, dashes and other pattern in the wall of Gua Tewel in the rain forest of eastern Borneo which is known as Kalimantan, which is part of Indonesia.
Lead by Luc-Henri Fage, the Speleologist, a Frenchman. He formed a team of french-indonesia expedition team to set out and explored the cave in Borneo. 1988, he discovered some remarkable drawings in caves by these ancient people using tools like charcoal to paint the wall cave. Amazing!
Luc-Henri Fage, the author of this story, wrote on the occasion of this, his ninth expedition: "I'd thought back to my first expedition here 17 years ago. A documentary filmmaker and magazine editior. I had set out on 700-mile (1,100-kilimeter)trek from one end of Kalimantan to the other with a few caving friends. Halfway across the island,taking shelter under a rock, we found ancient charcoal drawings on the ceiling. When I return to France, I was surprised to learn that no such rock art had ever been reported in Kalimantan.
The Hands Art Painting inside the Cave
Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc
At the foot of a cliff in the Ardèche Gorges, in south-eastern France, amateur cave explorers discovered the world's oldest painted prehistoric cave. The art in here is 31,000 years ago, and includes painting and engraving that show extraordinary skill and dexterity ... and genuis.
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Sacred Summit
@Photo by Luc-Henri Fage
Rising above the rain forest in eastern Borneo, the Marang Mountains contain 25 caves with paintings that date from the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago. To document the art work, speleologist Luc-Henri Fage and archaeologist Jean-Michel Chazine first had to ascend the mountains' sheer sides to caves near the summits, then climb to the caves' ceilings. Chazine believes prehistoric hunter-gatherers chose to make their paintings in these hard-to-reach places precisely because getting there was a challenge-and would prepare would-be shamans to survive the isolation and deprivation of initiations.
Missing Pieces
@Photo by Carsten Peter
Squatting in Gua Tengkorak, Chazine puzzles over fragments of a pottery vessel that once held human bones. Made about 3,500 years ago, the pottery is more recent than the cave paintings. What remains a mystery is what connection, if any, exists between these two cultures-the painters and the potters-and what role these groups may have played in the peopling of Pacific islands to the east.
Magical Journey
@Photo by Carsten Peter
A painting in Gua Tewet records a shaman's trek into the spirit world, Chazine says. The lizard in the center represents the shaman. The jagged line under the lizard-a sort of stairway-stands for the shaman's difficult path. The smooth lines on the right symbolize the successful completion of the journey, when the shaman attains an altered state of consciousness that affects all parts of his body and allows him to communicate with spirits. The hand stencils themselves evoke traditional healing rituals in which a shaman lays his hands on a sick person, then sprays medicine from his mouth onto the patient to cure him.
Expedition Trip
What did Luc-Henry Fage have to say on his journey trip
When he wrote about his vivid journey to the eastern borneo on his ninth expedition: this is what he have to say, "I thought back to my first expedition 17 years ago. A documentary filmmaker and magazine editor, I had set out on a 700 mile (1,100 Kilometer)trek from one end of Kalimantan to the other with few caving friends. Halfway across the island, taking shelter under a rock, we found ancient charcoal drawings on the ceiling. When I returned to France, I was surprised to learn that no such art had ever been reported in Kalimantan. I returned in 1992 with Jean-Michel Chazine, a french archaeologist and specialist in Oceanian prehistory.
Two years later we discovered prehistoric paintings in East Kalimantan. In 1995 Pindi Setiawan, an Inonesia anthropologist, joined our team and together, year after year, we found dozens of caves with paintings throughtout the region, some with unique designs hinting a myterious forgotten people." They have found about 1,500 hand prints in 30 caves.
Fage and his team have noticed there is no archaeological material found in the caves, leading them to believe that they were probably used as sanctuaries.They have found two parallel cave site during last fall, located above the other and containing about 60 hand stencils each. They name that site as Gua Masri after their guide name. The caves have 3 panels with hand stencils purposely arrangement alternating left and right hands are arranged in fan like design.
"Gua Masri"
These Symbol or hands paintings are under threat
As excited as these scientist to find these invaluable treasure left by these ancient people and the recurring hand designs for instance at Gua Tewet, where it left some form of communication code with a symbolism that could possibly identify or signify membership of a clan or social group, or initiation rites or shamanic rituals. (The researcher were stumble upon another major discovery in June 2001, in Gua Tamrin, such as painting of long,thin human figures, many of them wearing masks and long, elaborate head dresses), they also realized one thing, even though these art has been survived for thousand of years, it now faces man threats such as the potential risks that foreign art collectors will commission people to remove from the caves sections of the limestone walls bearing paintings such as happened in Guatemala Threat posed by businessmen which want the quantities of limestone such as that in the karst to manufacture cement. Threat from tree loggers who want to exploit the abundant forest also leaves the region vulnerable.
Stone Gallery
@ Photo by Carsten Peter
Prehistoric Kitchen
@Photo by Carsten Peter
Gunadi Mum, an Indonesian archaeologist (foreground), sifts through dirt holding the remains of meals eaten in Gua Tengkorak 2,500 to 8,000 years ago: bones of deer, boars, turtles, and fish, as well as mollusk shells. His colleague Nasruddin works in the pit. These leftovers show that Gua Tengkorak was one of the few painted caves that was probably later inhabited by other communities.
Information Link To Borneo Art Cave
- National Geographic EdNet--About National Geographic Magazine ...
- Borneo Cave Art: Hands Across Time. Get the Classroom Companion >> · Rate and Review Individual Resources >>. China's Fossil Marvels ...
- EXPLORATION
- Some of Borneo's cave art is at. least 10000 years old,and some. could be as ancient as 25000 years. old.Fage,a 44-year-old speleologist ...
- Discovering Kalimantan Rock-Art/summary
- Lastly, such an analysis could form the basis for a protection policy of Borneo's caves paintings, by studying the various degrading agents: wind, rain, ...
- Niah Caves - Original Photography
- Niah Caves - Borneo. Look closely and you will see my traveling companion in the lower right. The Niah caves are the largest caves in the world - ...
- press release
- Unlike other examples of rock art in the world, the cave paintings recently discovered in Borneo by a CNRS team are not only evidence of rituals; ...
- Cave Painting Art Prints at AllPosters.com
- Stenciled Hands Over 10000 Years-Old Adorn a Cave Wall in Borneo Photographic Print by Stenciled Hands Over 10000 Years-Old Adorn a Cave Wall in Borneo ...
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Rock Art
Rock Art (Love Endures Forever)
Filmed on Cape York the Laura Aboriginal Rock painting's are in the TOP 10 rock art sites in the world. mainly never seen by visitors as it is many kilometers. The most beautiful rock art I've ever seen. Words & Music Paul Webster LYRICS I felt in my heart, not much but it's a start well money's gonna come and go, love endures forever There's only one truth I need to know, love endures forever and it's plain reality, love endures forever for all humanity, love endures forever
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ART - PREHISTORY - CONTEMPORARY ART
Prehistoric Man and his Art: Many reproductions of ancient drawings and carvings fron all over the world, with descriptions. By artist Daniel Verdejo; in Barcelona Spanish
art, prehistory, contemporary, rock, art, antropology, painting, arte, prehistoria, antropologia
Category:
http://www.arterupestre-c.com
Posted September 14, 2008
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WorldTravelers916
cave art is the first symbols if literature known to man, its amazing how developed we have become! Posted July 17, 2008 |
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backhoeloader
wow! Posted June 16, 2008 |
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thomasz
I like this lens. 5 stars to you. Posted February 13, 2008 |
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LeslieBrenner
Nice lens! You ought to describe how you became interested in the Borneo caves? I'd be curious to know for one. Posted January 27, 2008 |
