Today in History

September 12, 1940
Prehistoric Paintings
Four teenagers, following their dog, stumble upon a cave filled with nearly 2,000 paintings, drawings and engravings of animals—horses, red deer, stags, bovines, felines, mythical creatures and one human figure—dating back 15,000 to 17,000 years. The cave, believed by archaeologists to have been used for hunting and religious rites, opens to the public in 1948, but closes 15 years later because heavy visitor traffic and artificial lights had caused the artwork to fade and spurred the growth of algae. A replica of the cave, which opens in 1983, receives thousands of visitors each year.



Today's Feature History Article

Christopher Henshilwood

The Great Human Migration

Why humans left their African homeland 80,000 years ago to colonize the world




 



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