Timeline and History of Cave of Lascaux

On 12th September, 1940, four teenagers Georges Agnel, Marcel Ravidat, Jacques Marsal, and Simon Coencas, went hunting in the commune of Montignac, southwestern France. Their dog Robot, sniffed out the presence of the caves. The Cave of Lascaux is actually a huge group of different caves that contain the paintings by the Stone Age man.

History of Cave of Lascaux

The Cave of Lascaux lies in the western edges of the Massif Central plateau. The Pyrenees mountain range is known for the existence of Paleolithic caves, that date back to the Stone Age. The cave paintings by the Upper Paleolithic man were preserved for many centuries due to the rock shelters. The trees and forests on the hills preserved the caves from weathering. Carbon tests show that the paintings in the caves are about 16,000 years old. The paintings are predominantly about animals and nature.

The timeline of the Cave of Lascaux is rather curious, due to the presence of artworks of many cultures in the cave. A culture was a settlement that led to the concept of villages or a large group of families living together.

Timeline of Cave of Lascaux

• 35,000 B.C. to 30,000 B.C.: During this period the Chatelperronien culture started the work of painting in the La Ferrassie cave and the Chauvet cave. Towards the beginning of 30,000 B.C., the work was taken over by the Aurignacien culture.
• 30,000 B.C. to 25,000 B.C.: The Aurignacien culture not only completed the work on the sites at La Ferrassie and the Chauvet caves, but also started three more sites, La Greze, Cosquer and the site which is referred to as, Pair Non Pair.
• 25,000 B.C. to 20,000 B.C.: The sites of La Greze and Pair Non Pair were completed by the Gravettien culture. During this same time period, the Gravettiens completed another cave art, which is known as the Laussel.
• 20,000 B.C.: Existing for a very short period, around 20,000 B.C., the Solutrean culture worked on a site by the name Laxc aux. This culture also worked on the expansion of the site at Cosquer. It is known as the Cosquer II.
• 20,000 B.C. to 10,000 B.C.: The Magdalenien culture completed its work on the sites of Cosquer II, Laxc aux, Les Toris Freres, Cap Blanc, Niaux and La Mairie. The Magdalenien culture was the greatest contributor to the Cave of Lascaux.
• 10,000 B.C.: The Azilian culture completed the site of La Marie.

After the extinction of the Azilian culture, the Cave of Lascaux, concealed from the prying eyes of mankind, till they were rediscovered in 1940.

On 12th September, 1940, mankind stepped into the art gallery of the Stone Age man, when the four boys discovered the cave. Several years before, a huge pine tree had crashed in the woods near the Lascaux manor. The fall of the tree and the plants nearby left a huge hole in the ground, which was the entrance to the Cave of Lascaux.

The first narrow passage of the cave led to the first painted gallery of the cave. This gallery, the Great Hall of Bulls, contains beautiful paintings of bulls, stags and horses. The huge painting on the wall is spread out over 20 meters. One of the stags in the hall, depicts the spark of imagination of the Stone Age man. It distinctly shows the horned horse, as we know today, as the unicorn. In the middle of the painting, herds of bulls and groups of horses and stags meet where an outline of a bear is also seen. The continuation of the Great Hall of Bulls is the Painted Gallery. The paintings here are spread over 30 meters. The Lateral Passage, to the right of the Great Hall of Bulls, leads to the Chamber of Engravings and the Main Gallery. The Main Gallery is connected to the Chamber of Felines.

The Chamber of Engravings leads to the Dead Man's Shaft, a few meters below. The painting in the shaft depicts man's encounter with the bison. The painting is euphemistic and depicts death of the hunter at the hands of an enraged bison.

Archaeologists carried out many excavations and works on the cave after the Second World War. The Cave of Lascaux has about 1,200 visitors everyday. However, in 1955, deterioration and damage was observed on the painting. The reason for the deterioration of the caves was said to be the vast quantity of carbon dioxide released in the cave by the visitors. The water vapor in the cave acidified due to the presence of the carbon dioxide. In spite of the precautions taken, by the end of the 1950s, biological growth in the form of algae, appeared on the paintings.

For the purpose of preservation, the cave was closed for public viewing on 20th April, 1963 and in March 1980, construction for a replica of the caves was initiated. The construction of the replica was completed and opened to the public in 1983. The original cave is now only accessed by scientists and archeologists. Since 2000, the atmospheric conditions in the original cave are being monitored by specialized systems to curb any further damage due to weathering.

The Cave of Lascaux is one of the oldest examples of the art of painting. The subject of the paintings, nature, shows man's dependence on it. Any attempt to preserve these ancient and magnificent cave paintings is justified.