New Thoughts on Europe's Cave Paintings - Archaeology Magazine
New Thoughts on Europe’s Cave Paintings TEL AVIV, ISRAEL— Haaretzreports that Yafit Kedar and Ran Barkai of Tel Aviv University suggest that Europe’s Paleolithic artists may have experienced hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, while painting by torchlight in remote areas of caves. The researchers simulated deep caves entered through narrow mouths and long corridors with software created to plan ventilation for underground parking lots. They found that use of fire deep in a cave would have caused a significant drop in oxygen levels. The dark cave spaces may have been chosen, the researche...