When another old cave is discovered in the south of France, it is not usually news. Rather, it
is an ordinary event. Such discoveries are so frequent
these days that hardly anybody pays heed to them. However,
when the Lascaux cave complex was discovered in 1940,
the world was amazed. Painted directly on its walls were
hundreds of scenes showing how people lived thousands
of years ago. The scenes show people hunting animals,
such as bison or wild cats. Other images depict birds and,
most noticeably, horses, which appear in more than
300 wall images, by far outnumbering all other animals.
Early artists drawing these animals accomplished
a monumental and difficult task. They did not limit
themselves to the easily accessible walls but carried
their painting materials to spaces that required climbing
steep walls or crawling into narrow passages in the
Lascaux complex.
Unfortunately, the paintings have been exposed to the
destructive action of water and temperature changes, which
easily wear the images away. Because the Lascaux caves have
many entrances, air movement has also damaged the images inside.
Although they are not out in the open air, where natural light would have
destroyed them long ago, many of the images have deteriorated and are barely
recognizable. To prevent further damage, the site was closed to tourists in 1963, 23 years after
it was discovered.