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Sunday, March 18, 2012 , 2:00–4:00 PM THE GREAT CAVE PAINTINGS OF BAJA CALIFORNIA at Concordia University
This
lecture will discuss the remote caves and overhangs in Baja California
that have sheltered and preserved a veritable treasury of large
prehistoric paintings. These great murals, created by an unknown
people, are not only major cultural artifacts from Baja California’s
past but also probably the most distinctive trove of rock art in North
America. They are among the most important concentrations of parietal
art on earth.
The scale of the paintings and their sensitive renderings of animals and people are unmatched in the New World. Parallels are often drawn between these works and the Paleolithic cave paintings of southern France, northern Spain, northwest Africa and outback Australia. In 1991 a team from the University of Barcelona reported the first radiocarbon dates for Great Mural pigments at Cueva del Raton. The black mountain lion gave a date of 4,845 BP plus or minus 60 years. In Cueva Pintada the discovery of a fragment of textile proved to be 3,000 years old. It shows unmistakable signs of having been painted in red ochre and black pigment. As a result, our perceptions of pre-Columbian nomadic cultures in Mexico have been irrevocably altered. In December of 1993, UNESCO designated the caves and caverns of the Sierra de San Francisco a World Heritage Site. Refreshments will be served after the meeting. Admission:
Location:
Directions:
 Park in visitor parking opposite Grimm Hall (see campus map)
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