When Native Americans inhabited the land, they too explored the deep , dark, rock  caves and leaving meaningful messages uncovered thousands of years later. Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia are the richest areas for caves anywhere in North America

A team recently uncovered hundreds of images of prehistoric cave art in Tennessee. The team discovered within the Cumberland Plateau which cuts across Tennessee between Chattanooga and Nashville was drawn 6,000 years ago – which WAS the oldest to date in North America.

Also along the treacherous trails are artifacts of those who traveled before. In the cave, the team found cane river torches that people used scattered all over the place, gourds that they used to pick things up with, basketry.  The team also discovered images of animals, figures, and symbols meant to record tribal events and spiritual transformations.

Closer to home, the oldest cave art in America! You can experience this kind of wonder up close in Clarksville at Dunbar Cave.  There is a very large archaeological site with art that had accumulated in the mouth of that cave. Scientist know it that goes back 10,000 years.