[Script Info] Title: [Events] Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.57,0:00:22.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1879, amateur archaeologist\NMarcelino Sanz de Sautuola Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.88,0:00:27.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and his young daughter Maria\Nexplored a dark cave in Northern Spain. Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.97,0:00:32.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When Maria wondered off by herself,\Nshe made an amazing discovery. Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.53,0:00:36.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were standing inside \Na site of ancient art, Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.10,0:00:40.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the walls and roofs decorated with\Nprehistoric paintings and engravings, Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.30,0:00:46.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ranging from 19,000 to 35,000 years old. Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.07,0:00:51.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Similar marks of our ancestors have been\Npreserved in caves all over the world. Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.12,0:00:55.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The oldest we've found were made up to\N40,000 years ago. Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.23,0:00:59.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do these images tell us\Nabout the ancient human mind Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.50,0:01:02.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the lives of their creators? Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.42,0:01:09.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These early artists mixed minerals, clay,\Ncharcoal, and ochre with spit or animal fat Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.12,0:01:11.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to create paint. Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.66,0:01:18.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They drew with their hands and tools,\Nlike pads of moss, twigs, bones, and hair. Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.43,0:01:22.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In many instances, their images follow\Nthe contours of the cave Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.48,0:01:25.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to create depth and shade. Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.19,0:01:27.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The most common depictions\Nare of geometric shapes, Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.96,0:01:35.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,followed by large mammals, like bison,\Nhorses, mammoths, deer, and boars. Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.01,0:01:40.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Human figures appear rarely,\Nas well as occasional hand prints. Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.06,0:01:44.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some have theorized that these artworks\Nare the creation of hunters, Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.06,0:01:47.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or of holy men in trance-like states. Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.54,0:01:52.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we've found examples created by\Nmen, women, and even children. Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.59,0:01:54.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And why did they create this art? Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.63,0:01:57.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Perhaps they were documenting \Nwhat they knew about the natural world, Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.93,0:01:59.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like modern scientists, Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.70,0:02:02.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or marking their tribal territory. Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.81,0:02:06.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe the images were the culmination\Nof sacred hunting rituals Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.19,0:02:08.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or spiritual journeys. Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.85,0:02:15.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or could they be art for art's sake,\Nthe sheer joy and fulfillment of creation? Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.08,0:02:17.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As with many unsolved mysteries\Nof the ancient world, Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.63,0:02:19.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we may never know for sure, Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.92,0:02:23.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,barring the invention \Nof a time machine, that is. Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.16,0:02:25.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But while the answers remain elusive, Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.41,0:02:29.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these images are our earliest proof\Nof human communication, Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.97,0:02:32.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,testifying to the human compacity \Nfor creativity Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.80,0:02:36.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thousands of years before writing. Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.14,0:02:41.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are a distinct visual language \Nthat imagines the world outside the self, Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.55,0:02:43.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just like modern art forms, Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.25,0:02:47.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from graffiti and painting\Nto animated virtual-reality caves.