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America's biggest cave art discovered in Alabama

The science behind May the Fourth; remembering ‘The Shark Lady’

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May 4, 2022 3:48pm EDT

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THESE TREASURES ARE HIDDEN NO MORE

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

In today’s newsletter, we discover a giant array of rock art in an Alabama cave, mark a commemorative stamp for this pioneering ‘Shark Lady,’ gaze at remnants of Halley’s Comet ... and zoom through the science of Star Wars. Plus, what exactly is the multiverse?

PHOTOGRAPH BY STEPHEN ALVAREZ; ILLUSTRATION BY JAN SIMEK

Celebrant? Warrior? The 1,000-year-old portrait above of a person or deity with a feathered headdress, just revealed on the ceiling of an Alabama cave, is part of one of the largest examples of cave art discovered in North America.

To the naked eye there are only a few hints (above, left) of the giant artwork. Many of these treasures were hidden through narrow passages and on ceilings just two to three feet high. The art-filled ceilings are “the southernmost manifestation of what we now recognize as a widespread prehistoric artistic tradition” in North America, archaeologists Jan Simek and Alan Cressler have written.

How were the artworks discovered? In a word, technology. A 3D scanner and thousands of photographs by co-researcher and Nat Geo Explorer Stephen Alvarez created an illustration (above right) in collaboration with Simek of the initial art, which had worn over time, Erin Blakemore reports. The photo at center (above) overlays the illustration on the stone. (The research was funded in part by a National Geographic Society grant.)

Read the full story here.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALAN CRESSLER

Tight quarters: With less than three feet of space, photographer Stephen Alvarez of the Ancient Art Archive (pictured above) works to produce a high-resolution, photorealistic 3D model of artwork etched into the mud of the ceiling.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY @DAISYGILARDINI

It takes time: One difference between sea ice and freshwater ice is that sea ice takes much longer to form. This image is from Franklin Strait in the Canadian Arctic. In polar regions, sea ice differs from icebergs and glaciers, which are formed by freshwater and snow. Here’s a look at the animals underneath the Arctic ice.

ETHEREAL CREATURES

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

What exactly is the multiverse? Does it even exist?

The 1,500-mile journey of a bat that weighs a quarter of an ounce

How did today’s fruits and vegetables become less nutritious?

As Kenya’s drought deepens, can people coexist with native wildlife people?

Women’s medical concerns are dismissed more, studied less

American women are still dying at alarming rates while giving birth

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY BERTHOLD STEINHILBER, REDUX

May the Fourth be with you: On this unofficial Star Wars Day, we look at the real science in the film series—and report how it has inspired scientists. “There’s a lot of scientists who would say that these movies gave [them] the mental attitude that maybe it can be done,” materials scientist Elizabeth Holm tells us. “They kept me thinking outside the current—the ‘now’—and toward the future.” (Pictured above, Lake Como, where parts of the fictional planet Naboo were filmed.)

INSPIRED BY 'STAR WARS'

THE NIGHT SKIES

ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW FAZEKAS

Halley’s Comet, still: A meteor shower formed by a dust cloud left by the most famous comet may be visible before dawn on Friday. That’s the peak of the Eta Aquarid shower, formed by falling remnants of Halley’s Comet. The waxing crescent moon will set late the night before, leaving behind ideal dark skies for best views of even the faintest shooting stars. The individual showers appear to originate close to the eastern horizon in the Aquarius constellation. Under a pristine sky away from city lights, 10 to 20 shooting stars per hour may be visible in the Northern Hemisphere—along with a beautiful planetary lineup nearby. On Sunday and Monday evenings, look for the waxing gibbous moon pairing with bright blue star Regulus in the constellation Leo. — Andrew Fazekas

HALLEY'S COMET RAINS FIRE

LAST GLIMPSE

It’s amazing to look at a skull and realize I’m the first person to see that face in 2,000 years. They’ve been plowed under, covered by buildings, forgotten. ... So it’s like I’m saying to them, ‘Don’t worry. I will tell the world about you, publish about you, describe what your life was like, and prove it had meaning.’”

Christine Lee

Bio-archaeologist, Nat Geo Explorer

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID DOUBILET, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Honoring Eugenie Clark: The legendary marine biologist and former Nat Geo contributor, who was known as “The Shark Lady,” is being honored today by the U.S. Postal Service with a commemorative stamp. When the researcher began, she and fellow Nat Geo Explorer Sylvia Earle were among the few women in the field. Clark discovered a form of shark repellent, had several species named after her, and sought to dispel preconceptions about sharks, Andrea Stone wrote upon her death in 2015 at age 92. (Pictured above, Clark on a dive off Egypt in 1977, photographed by frequent collaborator and Nat Geo Explorer David Doubilet. An artist based the stamp—see it here—on that image.)

THE SHARK LADY

This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, Monica Williams, and Jen Tse. Have an idea for us? Let us know. And thanks for reading.

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America's biggest cave art discovered in Alabama

The science behind May the Fourth; remembering ‘The Shark Lady’

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