Thursday, November 10, 2011

New DNA analysis reveals what cavemen were really painting 35,000 years ago

If you saw Cave of Forgotten Dreams (in 3D) you might be more interested in this report from io9. New DNA analysis reveals what cavemen were really painting 35,000 years ago "Some key pieces of evidence in this debate are paintings of white horses with black spots. These distinctive markings are known as "leopard" spotting in modern horses, but researchers weren't sure if such horses actually existed in Paleolithic times. If these black spots were in fact an invention of the ancient painters, that suggests a level of abstraction or symbolism that we would not have otherwise expected in our ancient counterparts."

Turns out that yes, horses did have spots at that time and therefore cavemen (or women) were painting what they saw and weren't doing anything abstract.

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