Ludovic Slimak, back to the future

Published on November 13, 2024 at 12:40 p.m. / Modified on November 13, 2024 at 2:06 p.m.

He lives southwest of Toulouse, and it’s a struggle to get there. First, overcome an endless series of hills and roads as narrow as a point of flint. Once in the village, go through one last gate, one last tree to finally find the ruined presbytery that he renovated with his partner – it’s superb, it oozes mysticism and indestructibility. It is hardly easier to find in summer, when it goes into exile for two months in the Mandrin cave, very close to Montélimar. His hobby: sweeping everything with a brush and tweezers to unearth vestiges of the past. And with his Captain Cave-style hair and beard look, he seems to tick all the boxes of the hermit who wants to escape the world. But it’s actually quite the opposite.

Ludovic Slimak is interested in both the living today and those who came before us. His desire to share led him to publish three books, for a journey that combines archeology and ethnography. And since the adage is that this counts more than the destination, let us reveal here the outlines of its conclusion: Sapiens would have arrived much earlier than expected in Europe, around -54,000 years ago, and it would have cohabited for millennia with Neanderthal. A probably peaceful coexistence between the two humanities, which apparently exchanged in the opposite direction to official history. Interpretations following the discovery of milk teeth and flint, and the analysis of soot from the Mandrin cave which now make it possible to date the population passages to within six months.

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