The Lascaux caves in France contain many petroglyphs from the Upper Paleolithic time period. Archaeologist used radiocarbon from fragments of charcoal and “placed Lascaux in the Magdalenian culture” (Aujoulat). The artwork in these caves gives insight into the lives of the anatomically modern Homo sapiens (AMHS) who drew these paintings by demonstrating the types of animals they were living with, and why they were important to them. Furthermore, these paintings give insight into the intellect of the AMHS living in Lascaux, especially considering that the AMHS would have needed light to paint the animals. Indeed, an artifact from Lascaux “revealed the presence of animal-fat based combustibles,” indicating this artifact was a portable lamp (Aujoulat). Much can be learned about human ancestry through the artwork in the caves at Lascaux.
The Unicorn Panel in the Hall of the Bulls shows amazing artwork of many large animals, including horses, bulls, and stags. …show more content…
The Frieze of the Swimming Stags in the Nave shows a lot of detail regarding the behavior of the stags. Most obviously, the stags are shown swimming, indicating that the artists understood that stags will enter bodies of water. What is more interesting is the artist drew the stags with closed eyes, demonstrating that the artist had a deep understanding of the behavior of the stags while they swim; they close their eyes to avoid getting water in them. Perhaps the artist drew this to teach the behavior of the stags to others and to develop hunting techniques. There are other theories behind the reasoning for the cave art that support hunting: “Relying primarily on a field of study known as ethnography, Breuil believed that the images played a role in ‘hunting magic’” (Looney). This theory indicates that the AMHS of this time were more religious and drew these images as a hunting
The Unicorn Panel in the Hall of the Bulls shows amazing artwork of many large animals, including horses, bulls, and stags. …show more content…
The Frieze of the Swimming Stags in the Nave shows a lot of detail regarding the behavior of the stags. Most obviously, the stags are shown swimming, indicating that the artists understood that stags will enter bodies of water. What is more interesting is the artist drew the stags with closed eyes, demonstrating that the artist had a deep understanding of the behavior of the stags while they swim; they close their eyes to avoid getting water in them. Perhaps the artist drew this to teach the behavior of the stags to others and to develop hunting techniques. There are other theories behind the reasoning for the cave art that support hunting: “Relying primarily on a field of study known as ethnography, Breuil believed that the images played a role in ‘hunting magic’” (Looney). This theory indicates that the AMHS of this time were more religious and drew these images as a hunting