William sent in this fascinating linke – www.yahoo.com/news/man-discovered-worlds-only-prehistoric-170923922.html … a French diver, back in 1991, found a submerged entrance into a cave near Marseille. He claimed it had prehistoric paintings of penguins and seals, something never recorded from previous cave art. It seems that so called experts based in Paris dismissed the idea of marine life depicted on cave walls, considering it provincial fancy. However, the metropolitan specialists now have egg on their face as the diver was speaking the truth. The entrance to Cosquer Cave lies 120 feet beneath the surface of the sea near Marseille, an under water version of Lascaux. Here we have evidence that the Mediterranean Sea was much lower in the past, particularly during the Late Glacial Maximum. There is also a nice touch as the cave is now named after the diver.
Some 500 drawings of 11 different species -such as horses, bison, aurochs, ibex, saiga antelope, chamois, red deer, and even a lion, most of which are horned creatures, as well as penguins, auks, seals and jellyfish. Hand stncils and geometric signs or symbols are also found in large numbers. Pengins are something of a problem as they inhabit the southern polar region whereas seals and auks may have been local during the LGM. At this time the Mediterranean would have been much closer to northern climes.
Staying on the archaeology front, at www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/uoo-rdm031121.php … recent archaeologicl research has shown that malaria was a problem for humans as early as 7000 years ago, earlier than the onset of farming in most regions. The evidence comes from SE Asia.