Cave paintings

Prehistoric Cave Paintings

An Exploration of the Discovery at Lascaux, and Themes of Paleolithic

Era Cave Paintings

By Shivang Mehta

Cave Paintings: The Prehistoric Novel

• As you may already know, before man had a written language, stories and history were passed down in other ways. We will explore cave paintings today as the prehistoric way of recording important events.

By Shivang Mehta

The Discovery at Lascaux

• On September 12, 1940, four teenagers stumbled upon a major discovery. When an old pine tree fell down, it showed a hole in the ground under its roots. The teenagers discovered the hole, went down inside of it, and found the historic cave paintings at Lascaux. It was thought that these paintings had been done originally more than 17,000 years ago.

By Shivang Mehta

The Exploration Continues

• Over the next days and weeks, months and years, the caves were explored, and several separate themes and caves were found. They are The Great Hall of the Bulls, The Painted Gallery, The Lateral Passage, The Chamber of Engravings, The Main Gallery, The Chamber of Felines, and the Shaft of the Dead Man.

By Shivang Mehta

A Painting From the Hall of the Bulls at Lascaux

By Shivang Mehta

An Image From the Painted Gallery at Lascaux

By Shivang Mehta

The Closing of the Cave

• In 1955, mold and plant life was noticed growing on the cave walls, which was dangerous for the cave paintings. In 1963, after several studies were done, it was decided that the cave would be closed to visitors. Once the visits to the cave had been cancelled, the causes of the changes were eliminated, and the original climate was restored. The Lascaux cave art returned to the state it was in on the day of its discovery. A life sized model, Lascaux II was to be opened, so visitors could still experience the cave. It remains open today.

By Shivang Mehta

Interpreting Cave Paintings

By Shivang Mehta

Cave Painting Themes

• Most cave paintings have these major themes: – Animals

– Human representations

– signs

By Shivang Mehta

What Do You See in This Picture?

• People• Animals• Spears/Weapons• What do you think

this picture might represent?

By Shivang Mehta

What Story Do You See in This

Painting?

By Shivang Mehta

Other Cave Painting at Lascaux

By Shivang Mehta

More Images From Lascaux

By Shivang Mehta

Resources

• This slide show was compiled using the resource:

• http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en/index.html

• For more information and great activities, as well as extra credit, visit this website, and write a one page summary of what you learned, in your own words.

By Shivang Mehta