The Lascaux Cave Paintings

Discovered in 1940, the images show hunts, animals and wars. One of the most interesting things about Lascaux is “the hunts were drawn on the wall like a comic strip. … These pictures were obviously used to tell stories.” So can we really say that this was pre-historic? We can, because history didn’t start until the invention of the written word. But, accompanying the drawings were lines and tallies thought to be migration routes. The idea of keeping track of migration routes has been with us for much longer than we thought.

The Lascaux II cave was built near the original cave to protect the original cave’s paintings from outside elements. The two portions that were re-built, the Bull’s Room and the Central Corridor, contain most of the paintings.

For some perspective, some people think that 17,000 years is a long time. In the time it took to form an inch of soil, the Lascaux Caves were painted AND Richard Leaky discovered Lucy in northern Kenya.

As early as we know, humans have communicated their deepest feelings through art. The discovery of Lascaux proves that point.

NASA Quest has been taking people back to Lascaux II “to see how the art of the Ice Age lets us explore the mind, beliefs and society-styles on early humans.” These society-styles may give us an interesting look into the era of the Lascaux Cave Painters.