caves of Altamira

[Jim Farmer]

Scott Andrew Borton wrote:

> In alt.music.steely-dan Tim Shoppa <sho...@alph02.triumf.ca> wrote:
>
> > > Before the fall
> > > When they wrote it on the wall
>
> > I think trying to be that specific about this may be going just a
> > bit too far. Probably these lyrics were picked because "fall" and
> > "wall" rhyme :-).
>
> In Judeo-Christain theology, the events leading to the exile from the
> Garden
> of Eden are commonly referred to as the "fall of humanity" or the
> "fall of
> mankind." The thinking behind this is that humanity became irrevocably

>
> tainted after eating the apple of knowledge, etc.
>
> The reference to "before the fall" indicates (to me, at least) that
> the
> lyricist realized that the cave markings were created more than five
> or six
> thousand years ago, the usual limit given to Biblical time. Indeed,
> IIRC the
> Altamira cave drawings are attributed to the Magdalenian culture,
> which
> flourished between 18,000 and 12,000 years ago.
>
> --scott

________________________________________________________

...or "the fall" could simply refer to the decline of the Magdalenians'
own civilization.

- Jim