Cave of Forgotten Dreams Page #6

as evidence,

the number of positions

the individual assumed

and his movements.

He started by crouching,

and then he stretched out

to reach all the way

to his highest palm prints.

This panel is comprised

of the prints of a single man

who must have measured

roughly six feet tall.

A single human.

- 1 meter 80 tall, that's big.

Was it only one person?

- Une personne, une personne.

One person,

a person measuring six feet.

And you'll notice

on these prints

that there is

a very significant detail.

He has a slightly crooked

little finger.

And that's extraordinary,

because it gives

a physical reality

to a prehistoric individual

who, 32,000 years or more ago,

came to the cave before us.

And what is even more surprising

is that you'll find traces

of him deeper in the cavern.

We'll be able to recognize him

by his crooked little finger,

because he printed his hand

farther in the cave.

So we can follow

this man's path.

Madame Baffier

took us on a tour.

She serves as the custodian

of the cave,

and her rules of engagement

are strict

but entirely reasonable

given the precious

and fragile nature

of this unique place.

- You have cave bear tracks,

the forepaws and hind paws.

These are the longest

cave bear tracks

currently known in any cave.

It's very sparkly.

There are crystals

that glitter.

Here at this junction, we have

the panel of the panther.

You can see the drawing

of a panther,

which is the only one known

in Paleolithic wall painting

to date.

Here we've arrived at a place

where concretion growth

has been very important.

On the ground and walls,

you can see

that rimstone calcite ridges

have covered everything

in sparkling formation,

a kind of cascade...

With waves.

Here you have... - take a look... -

a bear vertebra

which is entirely coated

in calcite

and held by calcite crystals.

In front of us, on the wall,

you also have an overflowing

drapery-like concretion

and here a kind of niche

where you can see the traces

of ancient red paintings,

which have been washed away

by water seepage.

And this is where you find

extremely original images,

like this insect-shaped one

or this one shaped like

a butterfly

or a bird in flight,

that you also find

on this rock pendant

hanging from the ceiling

large and very small

coupled with two vertical

ocher stripes

that follow

the pendant's contours.

So here we are in front of

the large panel

of red paintings,

also an extremely

intriguing item:

this mound of stones.

You can see that it didn't fall

from the ceiling.

It was prehistoric man

who grouped the stones here,

but we do not know why.

On this panel, you have,

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