Indigenous cave art lecture kicks of 2022 Zahner series

The annual Zahner Conservation Lectures will return to the Highlands Nature Center in July, with a series of nine free lectures planned for 6 p.m. Thursdays from July 7 to Sept. 1. 

The series will kick off July 7 with a lecture titled “Precontact Native American Cave Art in the Southeast” from Dr. Jan Simek, a Distinguished Professor of Science in the University of Tennessee Department of Anthropology. 

The indigenous peoples of the Appalachian region saw their homelands as sacred places, connected to the spiritual world at every turn. In nearly 100 caves in the region, they made cave art to materialize some of those connections. This art has great antiquity, beginning some 7,000 years ago and continuing into the historic period. This lecture will provide an overview of the ancient cave art of Appalachia and how it relates to both early and living Native American cultures in the region.

Nearly 100 caves in the region are known to hold Native American cave art. Jan Simek photo