Cave dweller
Acave dweller,ortroglodyte,is ahumanwho inhabits acaveor the area beneath the overhanging rocks of acliff.
Prehistory
[edit]Someprehistorichumans were cave dwellers, but most were not (seeHomoandHuman evolution). Such early cave dwellers, and other prehistoric peoples, are also calledcave men(the term also refers to the stereotypical "caveman"stock character type from fiction and popular culture). Despite the name, only a small portion of humanity has ever dwelt in caves: caves are rare across most of the world; most caves are dark, cold, and damp; and other cave inhabitants, such asbearsandcave bears,cave lions,andcave hyenas,often made caves inhospitable for people.
TheGrotte du Vallonnet,a cave in theFrench Riviera,was used by people approximately one million years ago. Although stone tools and the remains of eaten animals have been found in the cave, there is no indication that people dwelt in it.
Since about 750,000 years ago, theZhoukoudiancave system, inBeijing,China, has been inhabited by various species of human being, including Peking Man (Homo erectus pekinensis) and modern humans (Homo sapiens).
Starting about 170,000 years ago, someHomo sapienslived in some cave systems in what is now South Africa, such asPinnacle PointandDiepkloof Rock Shelter.The stable temperatures of caves provided a cool habitat in summers and a warm, dry shelter in the winter. Remains of grass bedding have been found in nearbyBorder Cave.[1]
About 100,000 years ago, someNeanderthalsdwelt in caves in Europe and western Asia. Caves there also were inhabited by someCro-Magnons,from about 35,000 years ago until about 8000B.C.Both species built shelters, including tents, at the mouths of caves and used the caves’ dark interiors for ceremonies. The Cro-Magnon people also maderepresentationalpaintings on cave walls.[2]
Also about 100,000 years ago, someHomo sapiensworked inBlombos Cave,in what became South Africa. They made the earliest paint workshop now known, but apparently did not dwell in the caves.[3]
Ancient and premodern examples
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Especially during war and other times of strife, small groups of people have lived temporarily in caves, where they have hidden or otherwise sought refuge. They also have used caves for clandestine and other special purposes while living elsewhere.
Writers of the classicalGreekandRomanperiod made several allusions to cave-dwelling tribes in different parts of the world, such as theTroglodytae.[4]
Perhaps fleeing the violence ofAncient Romans,people left theDead Sea Scrollsin eleven caves nearQumran,in what is now an area of theWest Bankmanaged by Qumran National Park, inIsrael.The documents remained undisturbed there for about 2,000 years, until their discovery in the 1940s and 1950s.
From about 1000 to about 1300, somePueblopeople lived in villages that they builtbeneath cliffsin what is now theSouthwestern United States.
TheDeSoto Caverns,in what becameAlabamain the United States, were a burial ground for localtribes;the same caves became a violentspeakeasyin the 1920s. TheCaves of St. Louismay have been a hiding-place along theUnderground Railroad.
Modern examples
[edit]Asia
[edit]In the 1970s, several members of theTasadayapparently inhabited caves nearCotabato,in thePhilippines.
In Hirbet Tawani, nearYatta Village,in theSouthern Hebron Hills,in an area contested by thePalestinian AuthorityandIsrael,there arePalestiniansliving in caves. People also inhabited caves there during the time of theOttoman Empireand ofthe British Mandate for Palestine.In recent years some have been evicted by the Israeli government and settlers.[5]
At least 30,000,000 people in China live in cave homes, calledyaodongs;because they are warm in the winter and cool in the summer, some people find caves more desirable than concrete homes in the city.[6]
Australia
[edit]In the Australian desert mining towns ofCoober PedyandLightning Ridge,many families have carved homes into the undergroundopalmines, to escape the heat.[citation needed]
Europe
[edit]In Greece, some Christian hermits and saints are known by theepithet"cave dweller" (Greek:Σπηλαιώτης,romanized:Spileótis) since they lived in cave dwellings; examples includeJoseph the Cave Dweller(also known as Joseph the Hesychast) andArsenios the Cave Dweller.[7]
In England, the rock houses atKinver Edgewere inhabited until the middle of the 20th century.[8]
Caves atSacromonte,nearGranada,Spain, are home to about 3,000Gitanopeople, whose dwellings range from single rooms to caves of nearly 200 rooms, along with churches, schools, and stores in the caves.[citation needed]From 2021–2023Beatriz Flaminispent 500 days alone in a cave in Granada in an experiment on the effects of social isolation.[9][10]
Some families have built modern homes in caves, and renovated old ones, as inMatera,Italy[11][12]and Spain.[13]In theLoire Valley,abandoned caves are being privately renovated as affordable housing.[14]
North America
[edit]In her bookHome Life in Colonial Days,Alice Morse Earlewrote of some of the first European settlers in New England, New York, and Pennsylvania living in cave dwellings, also known as "smoaky homes":
In Pennsylvania caves were used by newcomers as homes for a long time, certainly half a century. They generally were formed by digging into the ground about four feet in depth on the banks or low cliffs near the river front. The walls were then built up of sods or earth laid on poles or brush; thus half only of the chamber was really under ground. If dug into a side hill, the earth formed at least two walls. The roofs were layers of tree limbs covered over with sod, or bark, or rushes and bark. The chimneys were laid of cobblestone or sticks of wood mortared with clay and grass. The settlers were thankful even for these poor shelters, and declared that they found them comfortable. By 1685 many families were still living in caves in Pennsylvania, for the Governor's Council then ordered the caves to be destroyed and filled in.[15]
In 2003, a Missouri family renovated and moved into a 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) sandstone cave.[16]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Wadley, Lyn; Esteban, Irene; de la Peña1, Paloma; Wojcieszak1, Marine (2020)."Fire and grass-bedding construction 200 thousand years ago at Border Cave, South Africa"(PDF).Science.369(6505): 863–866.Bibcode:2020Sci...369..863W.doi:10.1126/science.abc7239.PMID32792402.S2CID221113832.
{{cite journal}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^Butzer, Karl W.(1983). "Cave dwellers".World Book Encyclopedia.Vol. 3. Chicago: World Book, Inc. p. 245.
- ^Wilford, John Noble (13 October 2011)."In African Cave, Signs of an Ancient Paint Factory".The New York Times.Retrieved3 June2020.
- ^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)..Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 298–299.
- ^Cave dwellers defy Israeli eviction bid,September 24, 2004 (The Guardianwebsite)
- ^Demick, Barbara (18 March 2012)."In China, millions make themselves at home in caves".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved3 June2020.
- ^Monk Joseph Dionysaitis.Elder Arsenios the Cave-dweller (1886–1983): Fellow Ascetic of Elder Joseph the Hesychast.Transl. Angela Georgiou. 2005.
- ^"Restored Kinver Rock House opens".BBC. 2 March 2012.Retrieved3 June2020.
- ^"Beatriz Flamini: Athlete emerges after 500 days living in cave".BBC News.14 April 2023.Retrieved14 April2023.
- ^Rodriguez, Elena (14 April 2023)."Spanish athlete emerges into daylight after 500 days in cave".Reuters.
- ^Guiffrida, Angela (18 June 2017)."The miracle of Matera: from city of poverty and squalor to hip hub for cave-dwellers".The Guardian.Retrieved3 June2020.
- ^Perrottet, Tony (February 2014)."How Matera Went From Ancient Civilization to Slum to a Hidden Gem".Smithsonian.Retrieved3 June2020.
- ^Lewine, Edward (2 October 2008)."Cave Living? Cool!".New York Times.Retrieved3 June2020.
- ^Malone, Luke (22 July 2014)."This Converted Cave in France Cost $1.35".Vocativ.Retrieved3 June2020.
- ^Earle, Alice Morse, ' 'Home Life in Colonial Days' ', Ch. 1, pp.2-3.
- ^"Really Extreme Makeover".New York Times.Archived fromthe originalon 23 March 2010.Retrieved3 June2020.
External links
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