Flyer Stone Age Cave - Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald

VISITOR FACILITIES
Stone Age Cave
Return to the Bavarian Forest Ice Age
Truly natural, thinly populated forest landscapes - home of the
red deer. The proud herbivores are the last specimens of a once
plenteous variety of large animals in Central Europe. Since the
early Middle Ages, their habitats and their expansion, that
nowadays merely takes place in isolated sectors, have been influenced
by man. But that was not always the case! For millions
of years it was the climate that determined the course of events
on Earth! Warm periods produced profuse plant and tree
growth and rich wildlife as well. Tropically warm temperatures
caused rocks to be worn away quickly and soil to be eroded .
Flora change - Fauna change
Under these arctic conditions only the hardiest plant and animal species can
survive. The forests that up to this time have been present here, move to warmer,
more southerly regions. Frugal and cold-resistant types of grasses, dwarf shrubs and
lichens migrate to regions freed from ice. A tundra of a myriad of species spreads
across wide sections of the landscape.
Along with the arrival of the cold steppe, other species of animals also enter our
area: wild horses, reindeer, musk ox, wooly rhino and mammoth now roam through
the largely treeless plains. Their seasonal migrations even lead them in the inner
part of the present Bavarian Forest. Thanks to their thick hide and massive layers of
fat it is easily able to withstand the icy cold spells and food shortages during the
winter months.
Ice Age Man
Globetrotter and survival artist
The early humans that had been roaming Europe for hundreds
of thousands of years also knew how to survive in this cold
climate. Rock caves frequently serve them as living quarters
and sites for spiritual activities. Because they know how to
utilise fire, the human beings of the Ice Age are better equipped
to cope with the hostile climate. Reindeer and aurochs, wild
horses an mammoths are coveted prey and provide them with
energy-rich food. They use the furs, hides and bones of these
animals to make clothes and tools. New hunting techniques
and more effective weapons enhance their hunting success.
The reproduction of a section of the famous Chauvet Cave in the Ardèche Valley in
Southern France opens a window to the past. We`ve built a living bridge between the
Ice Age and the Present with the wild horses and ancient cattle grazing in the
enclosure outside.
Presentation boards and 3D animations illustrate how the climate, landscape and
animal kingdom changed in the last Ice Age and the immediate post Ice Age period,
as well as how man responded to these environmental and climatic changes with
innovative new hunting techniques.
About two million years ago the climate changes drastically: In
the centuries to come, long periods of cold weather would
alternate with short warm phases. During the cold periods
temperatures start falling. Precipitation occurs ever more
frequently in the form of snow. The ice layers in the polar
regions begin to grow and in the Alps as well glaciers advance!
At the height of the last ice epoch - around 20.000 years ago -
the highest mountains in the Bavarian Forest even have ice
caps. Small glaciers glide down from them into the valleys.
Homo sapiens
appears in Central Europe
About 40.000 years ago, Homo sapiens sapiens - anatomical
“modern man” - appears on the scene in Central Europe! Our
direct ancestors were not only highly specialised in the art of
survival, but they were also the first representatives of the
species Homo sapiens, that produced the oldest “works of art”
in the history of mankind in Europe: small sculptures, cave
paintings and rock engravings! Such caves and other traces of
human settlement dating back to the Old Stone Age are missing
in the Bavarian Forest. The acidic primary rock in the lower
stratum does not conserve the bones of men and animals.
Stone Age Caves with Permanent Exhibition
What was it like for our ancestors when they could still meet the Bavarian Forest`s
large indigenous animal fauna? This is the thrilling situation we try to recreate in the
Wildlife Enclosure Area (Tier-Freigelände) near Ludwigsthal. Aurochs and wild horses -
imposing hoofed animals that were indigenous here during the Ice Ages can be
observed from the visitor trail, which takes you to a dark rock cave where impressive
cave paintings of life-like wild animals have been reconstructed. Images of fleeing
herds of cattle and transitory wild horses on the dimly-lit rock faces demonstrate the
extraordinary powers of observation of the “old masters” and illustrate the special
relationship between Stone Age man and the animal kingdom of the time.
Impressum
Nationalparkverwaltung Bayerischer Wald
Freyunger Straße 2
94481 Grafenau
Telefon 0 85 52 / 96 000
Telefax 0 85 52 / 96 00 100
poststelle@npv-bw.bayern.de
www.nationalpark-bayerischer-wald.de
Illustrationen © Burkard Pfeifroth, Reutlingen
Supported as part of
EU-Gemeinschaftsinitative
INTERREG III A

STONE AGE CAVE
The Horse Panel
from the Chauvet Cave, Southern France
On 18th December 1994, a few cavers in the Ardèche
region of Southern France couldn't believe their eyes.
They had just made a sensational discovery - the Chauvet
Cave with the oldest known cave paintings in world to
date. The age and advanced artistic quality of these
representations put current assumptions regarding the
origins of art into question. Featuring scuffling rhinoceros,
wild horses, bison, lions and a herd of wild aurochs, the six
meter long "Horse Panel" in the Chauvet Cave is
considered a masterpiece of pre-historic art.To the right, a
cave lion sniffs the rear of a crouching companion. Both
animals belong to an extinct, mane-less species and are
possibly about to mate. These are just two of the
numerous paintings in the Ardèche cave that were
created probably over 35,000 years ago and bear amazing
witness to the creativity of Old Stone Age man.
Given their enormous value for research into the history of
mankind, the treasures of the Chauvet Cave are not open
to the public. That's why we invite you to visit the
reconstructed "Stone Age Cave" at the entrance to the
Wildlife Enclosure Area (Tier-Freigelände) near Ludwigsthal
where you can admire a small piece of this pre-historic art
treasure up close.
You can take a virtual tour of the original cave on the
Internet at: www.culture.fr/culture/arcnat/chauvet.