The Discovery of the Chauvet Cave

To locate a hidden pocket or hollow, speleologists watch the limestone walls breathe. In winter, when the outdoor temperature is cool, condensation occurs. At locations where this takes place, warm air is emitted from inside the rock. This brief, natural event is most visible at dawn, when the sun's rays hit the sides of the Ardèche gorges at a tangent. Usually, it's a little pocket measuring just over 30 cubic feet. Once a century or so, it turns out to be a sanctum. That is what happened on December 18, 1994.

Eliette Brunel, Jean-Marie Chauvet and Christian Hillaire had found tracks of prehistoric man in the immediate vicinity of the Chauvet Cave. Three caves: Planchard, Charmasson and Vacheresse. In these hollows, the three companions had identified engraved figures, in particular a female human figure measuring eight inches high at Planchard (1993) and fingermarks at Charmasson (early 1994). These remote pockets located just a few dozen yards apart had therefore been visited by Paleolithic people. Doubts persisted about this natural corridor that apparently didn't lead to anything, despite the existence of an air current.

There was a very narrow space for the speleologists to enter the cave. Equipped with a sledgehammer and a bradawl, Eliette Brunel slipped in, her arms stretched out forward, face down. She began the task of unblocking it. The other two stayed outside, pulling her back up by her legs. Eliette brought up armfuls of debris and then went back down. This way, they cleared a 30-foot length of stones. The three speleologists uncovered a natural ventilation hole that must surely lead somewhere, they thought. 

After a lot of effort, Jean-Marie and Christian managed to join Eliette. Eliette had also helped out with a few more blows of the sledgehammer to allow her friends to slip into the tunnel. They were on the edge of a big black void. Their headlamps swept the cave and in doing so lit up a few calcite crystals for a moment. Something was there. " Thank you, Jean-Marie, for insisting on following that air current, " said Eliette. " You deserve to have it named after you, since you insisted on it, this could be the most beautiful one, the Chauvet Cave!"

Once they were back at the entrance to the ventilation hole, Eliette was the first to slip in, hands first. The three of them gripped the rock with their fingertips to move forward, pressing down on their tiptoes. They reached the promontory. The conversation turned to deciding who would be the first to set foot in this seemingly immense space. Jean-Marie was carrying the spelunking ladder. He descended first and waited for the other two to do the opening. Their headlamps struggled to find the walls, the space was so big.

So, the speleologists took off their shoes and moved forward in single file to avoid trampling all over the ground. The discoverers found a wonderful cave. Their heartbeats accelerated when they saw the first bones and dozens of cave bear nests. This meant bears had spent time in the place. Clearly, there is a natural entrance, no longer visible, that is bigger than the one discovered by the speleologists.

They all knew what the pronoun " they " alluded to. Our ancestors had been there. Until then, the three speleologists hadn't noticed, but they had passed right by Paleolithic figures decorating the walls. The way they looked at the cave had now changed. They were in another space, until then unknown, and they were now experiencing another time—the time of our Paleolithic ancestors. And so the Chauvet Cave was born.