Welcome to Litsy!

"...these people didn't have the shoulders of any giants to stand on -- they were the original shoulders."

This quote about our ancient ancestors gave me chills. #paleoanthropology #archaeology

Von Petzinger gave an engaging performance at #VWF16 last night. To hear her passion for Paleolithic art, check out her Ted talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/genevieve_von_petzinger_why_are_these_32_symbols_found...

I'm at the Vancouver Writers Fest right now and about to get into an event with this author about her book. It sounds super interesting and I am excited! Going to see if I can pick up the book this week, too.

#VWF16 #writersfestival

Explores graphic communication among Paleolithic humans. Intriguing research (300 hours underground!). Astounding finds (by author and others). Conversational style. Plates of colour photos. No answers; lots of possibilities and questions.

"put crushed ochre in your mouth, add a bit of water, swish it around, and then spit it back out in a controlled manner to coat the wall evenly"
"I can attest from experience that this is not as easy as it sounds!"
[If readers decide to try spit painting, Von Petzinger recommends not scheduling important meetings for the rest of the day.]

"put crushed ochre in your mouth, add a bit of water, swish it around, and then spit it back out in a controlled manner to coat the wall evenly"
"I can attest from experience that this is not as easy as it sounds!"
[If readers decide to try spit painting, Von Petzinger recommends not scheduling important meetings for the rest of the day.]

This book is really tempting me to go back to the National Museum of Prehistory at Les Eyzies-de-Tayac (seen built into the cliff, above right) and to revisit cave art sites in that area. Paintings at Font de Gaume moved me to tears. I'm seriously considering a trip to northern Spain to see cave art there. El Castillo looks amazing!

I'm not saying that there are no vulvas represented in Ice Age art [...] But I don't think that they were plastered all over the cave walls. And even more than that, a lot of the supposed vulvas don't look very vulva-like. And really, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

"I repositioned myself on my side in order to jackknife my body feet first around the curve. Inch by inch, my back brushing the wall, I squirmed my way around the bend, my stomach tight against the column..."

[Yikes! The small dark places this author crawls through to find cave art!]

Usually listen to audiobooks while cooking, but too engrossed to put this down while also attending to rice pudding that needs constant stirring.

As Pablo Picasso said about modern art after seeing the art in Lascaux Cave in France, "We have invented nothing."

As Pablo Picasso said about modern art after seeing the art in Lascaux Cave in France, "We have invented nothing."

Ice Age artists included binders to make their paint easier to apply and stick (water, animal fat, egg white, urine, milk, blood) and extenders to increase the coverage of a single batch (powdered talc, feldspar, biotite, clay etc). Distinct recipes identified at multiple cave art sites "may well signal the presence of a cultural paint-making tradition." Cool!

At Dzudzuana cave in Georgia, archeologists found 36,000-year-old worked flax fibres dyed all sorts of colours. Von Petzinger: "conjures up a mental image of these distant ancestors strolling around the tundra in their new winter collection with stylish pink and turquoise detailing."

I first heard of Von Petzinger because she's among the authors coming to the Vancouver Writers Fest in October. Watched her TED talk. Now I'm starting her book. "More than any other type of imagery, geometric signs may hold the key to unlocking some of the mysteries of our ancient past."