Palaeolithic Cave Art (Radio Edit)
You're Dead to Me
BBC
4.7 • 10.9K Ratings
🗓️ 6 December 2024
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Greg Jenner is joined in the Palaeolithic era by Dr Isobel Wisher and comedian Seán Burke to learn about cave art.
Tens of thousands of years ago, human ancestors all over the world began drawing and painting on cave walls, carving figurines, and even decorating their own bodies. Although archaeologists have known about Palaeolithic art since the late 19th century, cutting-edge scientific techniques are only now helping to uncover the secrets of these paintings and the artists who created them.
From a warty pig painted on a cave wall in Indonesia, to a comic strip-like depiction of lions chasing bison in France, this episode explores the global phenomenon of cave art, and asks why humans have always felt the need to express their creative side.
This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed.
Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Jon Norman Mason Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: James Cook
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy. |
| 0:05.4 | My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:10.8 | The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that. |
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| 0:22.4 | helping you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put |
| 0:28.3 | together by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life, |
| 0:34.9 | check out BBC Sounds. |
| 0:41.3 | BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts. |
| 0:47.6 | Hello and welcome to Your Densamy, the Radio For Comedy Podcast, that takes history seriously. |
| 0:50.5 | My name is Greg Jenner. I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster. |
| 0:54.3 | And today we are cracking out our crayons and journeying back tens of thousands a years into the deep past to learn all about the Paleolithic and Cave Art. |
| 0:59.5 | And to help us paint an audio picture, we have two very special guests. |
| 1:03.4 | In Archaeology Corner, she's a postdoctoral researcher at Arhus University in Denmark, |
| 1:08.1 | where she's researching the evolution of early symbolic behaviour. |
| 1:11.2 | Usefully for us, she has a PhD from Durham University in Upper Paleolithic Cave Art. |
| 1:15.5 | It's Dr Isabel Wisher. Welcome, Izzy. |
| 1:17.5 | Hi, thank you for having me. |
| 1:18.9 | And in Comedy Corner, he's a rising star of sketch and stand-up. |
| 1:21.9 | You may have seen his recent Edinburgh Fringe show, Burke in Progress, a fine title, or caught him on the hilarious sketch show. No worries, |
| 1:28.1 | if not, the Michael Frye Show or Hollywood hijack. If you've got the internet, I recommend it, |
| 1:32.9 | it's very good. You've probably seen one of his many viral comedy sketches, but you'll |
| 1:36.5 | definitely remember him from our episode on medieval Irish folklore. It's Sean Birk, welcome back, |
... |
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