Coffee break commentary: 13,000 year old finger painting

Give the girl a hand! (Image from Dordogne, but not the art mentioned below).

The BBC reports on  the recent discovery of ancient cave art in the Dordogne region of France. While any glyph/ancient human art is a big deal, this find has archaeologists excited. Why? Well, it's a bit of a human interest story.

Based on analysis of the artist's finger strokes, the most prolific artist represented is a five year old girl.

Beyond the snarky implications of "kids have always wanted to draw on the walls of their house", an interesting point in this story is that some of the young prodigy's designs are seven feet off the ground, meaning that the little one had to be lifted up to reach her "canvas" by an encouraging family or clan member.

Jess Cooney in the The Guardian's piece says:

"The art shows us this is not an activity where children were running amok. It shows collaboration between children and adults, and adults encouraging children to make these marks. This was a communal activity."

What a great visual picture.

It's easy for me to imagine my family living in a cozy French cave. When we do, I'm positive that (as  a lovely  stew of mushrooms and mammoth flesh simmers on the coals) Emily and I will be lifting our little girl up to decorate our dwelling with her grubby little fingers, just like great grandpa did.

Is it odd that I find this incredibly heartwarming?