Volcanic eruptions are among Earth’s most dramatic events, and it appears humans have been chronicling the fiery blasts for much longer than thought.
Researchers examining the prehistoric drawings in the famed Chauvet-Pont D'Arc cave believe they have found evidence of the oldest known depiction of an angry mountain.
The imagery in question has confounded experts for decades, as it is quite abstracted, showing simply conical shapes capped with light, outward curving lines. Further, the enigmatic forms are situated amidst a plethora of animal depictions, and in some cases partially concealed by them.
Support for the theory they depict volcanic eruptions comes partly by way of a geological study of area rocks. Analysis showed the roughly 37,000-year-old drawings coincide with a period of volcanic activity observable from the cave region.
Outside of this discovery, the oldest known depictions of such blasts exist in Turkey’s Çatalhöyük ruins and date back to about 7500 BC.
