Prehistoric Cave Paintings

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Prehistoric Cave Paintings

• An Exploration of the Discovery at Lascaux, and
  Themes of Paleolithic Era Cave Paintings

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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.

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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.

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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.

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A Painting From the Hall of the Bulls at Lascaux
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An Image From the Painted Gallery at Lascaux
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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.

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Interpreting Cave Paintings
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Cave Painting Themes

• Most cave paintings have these major themes
• Animals
• Human representations
• signs

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What Do You See in This Picture?

• People
• Animals
• Spears/Weapons
• What do you think this picture might represent?

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What Story Do You See in This Painting?
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Other Cave Painting at Lascaux
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More Images From Lascaux
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Other symbols
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Where did the colors come from? Paint pigments
came mostly from minerals. Red was made from an
iron oxide called hematite, or red ochre. White
came from gypsum or diatomaceous earth. Black was
made from charcoal or from manganese oxide. These
ground-up pigments were mixed with a binder --
water, animal fat, or plant juices -- to make
them into paint, which was applied to the rock
with the fingers or with brushes made from animal
tails. Chalk-like lines made with dry lumps of
pigment can also be seen at some sites.
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Lascaux Caves Video
Video