Indigenous people used these caves as their canvas, leaving behind a wealth of cave art.
But anew studyhas shown how 3D technology can help reveal these mysteries.
The 19th Unnamed Cave is a little over three miles long and is located on private land in Alabama.
5.9-foot-tall anthropomorph in regalia (Photo: Stephen Alvarez; Illustration: Jan Simek)
Its exact location is kept secret to prevent vandalism.
First, the ceilings are low.
I could not make an interesting image of that ceiling, heshared.
Stephen Alvarez photographing the 19th Unnamed Cave (Photo: Alan Cressler).
There would be no way in Gods green Earth a magazine was going to publish one of those pictures.
Stephen Alvarez photographing the 19th Unnamed Cave (Photo: Alan Cressler).
The cave art was also difficult, if not impossible to see.
Serpent figure with a round head and diamond-shaped body markings (Photo: Stephen Alvarez; Illustration: Jan Simek)
Mud glyphs are markings made in wet clay.
Thankfully, by 2017 the technology to overcome these challenges had been developed.
Images include many depictions of human figures in regalia, as well as snakes.
6.8-foot-tall anthropomorph in regalia (Photo: Stephen Alvarez; Illustration: Jan Simek)
While the exact meanings of the art remain elusive, Simek feels that they are likely spiritually significant.
