Chauvet Cave, discovered in 1994, contains the world's oldest known figurative cave paintings, dating to roughly 36,500 years ago during the Aurignacian period. The artists depicted at least 13 different animal species, many now extinct, including cave lions, bears, and woolly rhinoceroses. Notably, the most elaborately decorated chambers show little evidence of daily habitation, leading experts to theorize the space was used for symbolic or ritual purposes. The site's exceptional preservation,

🇫🇷 Three decades ago, three #French explorers discovered the #Chauvet caves, home to prehistoric #cave paintings dating back to nearly 36,000 years ago. FRANCE 24's Joanna Cockerell and Jonathan Walsh got to meet the handful of scientists who are unlocking the secrets of the caves, for #FranceInFocus ⤵️ | FRANCE 24 English

The Chauvet cave, France, the art of prehistory. In 1994, three friends discovered in the south of France a cave with magnificent cave paintings, more than 30,000 years old. Under the ground of the Ardèche region, an invaluable treasure is hidden for its antiquity, its conservation and the pictorial quality of the representations; one of the oldest and most splendid examples of Arieñaciense parietal art, dating approx. between 40,000 and 30,000 B.C. | Archeology and art