In a reversal of the infamous Lassie trope, an 18 year old boy discovered the now famous Lascaux cave paintings when his dog fell into a cave eighty years ago yesterday near Montignac, France. The proper term today is actually “rediscovered,” which recognizes that many Western European discoveries are of things taken for granted by those from an area not then appreciated by the rest of the world.
Cave paintings, we have learned, existed around the world and have been dated as tens of thousands of years old. Some are “primitive” and others deemed artistic to modern tastes. I find it interesting that we find such artists’ talent, insight and self-awareness surprising today, as if we deem only our modern minds capable of such lasting forms of communication and the “discovery” of their creations so shocking.
The humans who painted these works of art, whatever historical species we ascribe to the persons, were apparently capable of expressing thought and communication in ways as complex and meaningful as we do today. They didn’t speak our languages, but it is fair to conclude that they could communicate in their ways much as we do today with our Tik Tok and other “advanced” media. How advanced can we actually be if the most commonly used languages today have only two characters: 1 and 0?
Looking at these and other “prehistoric” paintings makes me wonder if other species, perhaps dolphin, whales, elephants, horses have some form of sentience and self-awareness hidden from us largely because we don’t have a way to communicate across the species divide. They probably would warn us of our self-destructiveness, as if we don’t have the sense to know ourselves, which perhaps we don’t.
As it is, my dog has come to remind me it is time for her breakfast, which must have the perfect proportion of leftovers and dog food to meet her exacting standards. Perhaps I’ll ask her what she thinks.
