![]() (Credit: photograph by Stephen Alvarez/illustration by Jan Simek) Many of the etchings were anthropomorphs, resembling human beings, which the researchers inferred were depictions of underworld spirits.Īn anthropomorph in regalia, from the 19th Unnamed Cave. Cave Art, Close UpĪn unknown Native American artist used either their fingertip or an etching tool to create designs in the layer of mud that covered the cave ceiling. When they lowered the cave floor, a wider view of the ceiling opened and the researchers were able to see hundreds of etchings that were not visible in person. Their software allowed them to not only recreate the cave in three dimensions, but also to move the distance between the floor and the ceiling. To study the 19th Unnamed Cave, the researchers spent two months taking 16,000 photographs. ![]() “The potential of photogrammetry for discovery and analysis through the digital manipulation of spaces, however, has not yet been explored in archaeology,” wrote the study’s authors. In the past, the method has been used to document artifacts or provide virtual-reality experiences for temples and other sites around the world. ![]() The aim is to take photographs that overlap by 60 to 80 percent then, a computer program blends these images and allows the user to manipulate the distance to add dimension. The 3D photogrammetry used in the newest study was first introduced in 2017. Read More: What the Oldest Known Cave Painting Reveals About Early Humans (and What It Doesn't) It was here that researchers set up a camera and began taking pictures of what appeared to be a typical cave ceiling. The chamber also had no natural light, so flashlights were used to explore the space. Researchers crawled or crouched just to get through and the tightest spots were only two feet tall. The chamber where scientists first observed cave art, in the late 1990s, had an extremely low ceiling. Photographer Stephen Alvarez in the glyph chamber of the 19th Unnamed Cave. Beyond the entrance is a large chamber - and further beyond, the cave winds into three miles of underground passageways. ![]() Years of this flowing water explain the absence of any artifacts or etchings. Underground ArtĪnthropology professor Jan Simek of the University of Tennessee and his colleagues focused on a cave they referred to as Alabama's “19th Unnamed Cave.” The cave is located on private property, but the exact location was not revealed in order to protect it from vandals or those of us who simply can’t resist seeing ancient art for ourselves.Ī small stream flows out of the cave’s entrance, which is about 32 feet tall and 50 feet wide. Now, the research team is calling on other scientists to use the same technology and discover what else lies hidden from sight. Unlike the petroglyphs seen in the Southwest’s canyon walls or rock formations, ancient rock art in the Southeast was often done deep inside caves because Native Americans viewed the sacred spaces as pathways to the underworld. But no one noticed until a software program showed researchers what they had been missing.Ī new study in the journal Antiquity details how a team of scientists used 3D photo mapping to recreate the tight crevices of an Alabamian cave and reveal previously unnoticed etchings. The ancient cave art had been there all along - possibly 2,000 years. ![]()
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