Lascaux Cave
Lascaux II · Grotte de Lascaux
Upper Paleolithic (Solutrean/Magdalenian, ~17,000–15,000 BCE)·Cro-Magnon hunter-gatherer (Magdalenian)·🇫🇷 Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Dordogne, France
About
About Lascaux Cave
Sealed Upper Paleolithic cave on the Vézère renowned as the 'Sistine Chapel of Prehistory' for about 600 parietal paintings and nearly 1,500 engravings executed with astonishing naturalism. The Hall of the Bulls presents four aurochs over 5 m long in polychrome, and the Axial Diverticulum crowds horses, stags and ibex in a single composition. Closed since 1963 for conservation, the art is experienced through the exact Lascaux II–IV facsimiles.
Why it mattersSealed Upper Paleolithic cave on the Vézère renowned as the 'Sistine Chapel of Prehistory' for about 600 parietal paintings and nearly 1,500 engravings executed with astonishing naturalism. The Hall o
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Unusual perspective distortion calibrated for torchlight flicker
- 02Function of narrow Shaft Scene with bird-headed man and wounded bison
Theories
- 01Hunting magic or mythic cosmology narrative
- 02Initiation cave encoding seasonal aggregation and clan emblems
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.17,000 BCE
- Period
- Upper Paleolithic (Solutrean/Magdalenian, ~17,000–15,000 BCE)
- Culture
- Cro-Magnon hunter-gatherer (Magdalenian)
- Purpose
- Decorated sanctuary and perhaps initiation/aggregation cave
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.17,000 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1258 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
45.0539° N · 1.1692° E · 180 m · 2 mapped features
Hall of the Bulls
painted hallFour monumental aurochs accompanied by horses and stags
45.0540° N · 1.1685° EShaft Scene (Puits)
painted shaftBird-headed ithyphallic man, disemboweled bison and rhinoceros
45.0536° N · 1.1695° E
Gallery