Lascaux Cave, located near the village of Montignac in the Dordogne department of southwestern France, is a group of caves. More than 600 wall paintings cover the walls and ceilings inside the cave. The paintings mostly show large animals that lived in the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, as shown by the fossils found there. These artworks were created by many people over many years. There is still debate about their exact age, but most experts believe the paintings are between 17,000 and 22,000 years old, from the early Magdalenian period. Because of the important prehistoric art found there, Lascaux Cave was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 as part of the Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley. The original caves were closed to the public in 1963 because their condition was getting worse. However, several replicas of the cave now exist for visitors to see.
History since rediscovery
On September 12, 1940, the entrance to the Lascaux Cave was found on the La Rochefoucauld-Montbel lands by 18-year-old Marcel Ravidat. His dog explored a hole created when a tree was uprooted. Ravidat later added details to this story, saying the dog had fallen into the cave. Ravidat returned with three friends—Jacques Marsal, Georges Agnel, and Simon Coencas. They entered the cave through a 15-meter-deep (about 50-foot) shaft, believing it might be a secret passage to the nearby Lascaux Manor. Inside, they saw that the cave walls were covered with animal drawings. The cave’s sections, such as the Hall of the Bulls, the Passageway, the Shaft, the Nave, the Apse, and the Chamber of Felines, were named based on their features. On September 21, 1940, the Abbé Henri Breuil visited the cave with Ravidat and others. Breuil made many sketches of the cave, some of which are still used for study today because many paintings have deteriorated over time. Breuil was joined by Denis Peyrony, curator of the National Museum of Prehistory at Les Eyzies, Jean Bouyssonie, and Dr. Cheynier.
The cave was opened to the public on July 14, 1948. Archaeological studies began the following year, focusing on the Shaft. By 1955, damage from 1,200 daily visitors—caused by carbon dioxide, heat, humidity, and other pollutants—was visible on the paintings. As air quality worsened, fungi and lichen began growing on the walls. In 1963, the cave was closed to the public. The paintings were restored to their original condition, and a daily monitoring system was introduced.
Conservation challenges, such as protecting crystal growth and preserving the paintings in the original cave, have made creating replicas for public display more important.
Lascaux II is a copy of the Great Hall of the Bulls and the Painted Gallery. It was first shown at the Grand Palais in Paris and later moved to a location about 200 meters (660 feet) from the original cave in 1983. This was an effort to let people see the paintings’ size and design without harming the originals. A full display of Lascaux’s cave art is available at the Centre of Prehistoric Art, Le Parc du Thot, a few kilometers from the site. This location also features live animals that represent Ice Age species.
The paintings at this site were copied using the same materials—such as iron oxide, charcoal, and ochre—believed to have been used 19,000 years ago. Other copies of Lascaux have been made over time.
Lascaux III includes five exact reproductions of the cave art (the Nave and Shaft). Since 2012, these replicas have been shown in different countries, helping share knowledge about Lascaux far from the original site.
Lascaux IV is the most recent replica, made to the same scale as the original Lascaux Cave. It is located on the same hill overlooking Montignac, about 400 meters (440 yards) from the original site. It is part of the International Centre for Parietal Art, which opened in December 2016. The museum, designed by Snøhetta, includes digital technology, workshops, and film displays in nearby rooms.
Geographic setting
The Vézère drainage basin covers one fourth of the Dordogne département, which is the northernmost area of the Black Périgord. Before reaching the Dordogne River near Limeuil, the Vézère River flows in a southwesterly direction. In the middle of its path, the river follows a series of curving paths next to tall limestone cliffs, which shape the surrounding landscape. Upstream from these steep slopes, near Montignac and close to Lascaux, the land becomes less steep. The valley floor becomes wider, and the riverbanks are no longer as steep.
The Lascaux valley is far from the main areas where decorated caves and human settlements were found. Most of these sites were discovered farther downstream. Near the village of Eyzies-de-Tayac Sireuil, there are 37 decorated caves and shelters, as well as many more habitation sites from the Upper Paleolithic period. These sites are located in open areas, under natural overhangs, or at the entrances of karst caves in the region. This area has the largest number of such sites in Europe.
Images
The cave has about 6,000 figures. These can be grouped into three main categories: animals, human figures, and abstract signs. The paintings do not show the surrounding landscape or plants from that time. Most large images were painted on walls using red, yellow, and black colors made from minerals like iron oxide (ochre), hematite, and goethite, as well as pigments containing manganese. Charcoal may have been used, but less often. On some walls, the color was mixed with animal fat or water from the cave and applied with a sponge or cloth instead of a brush. In other areas, the paint was sprayed through a tube. When the rock was soft, some designs were carved into the stone. Many images are too faint to see clearly, and some have completely faded.
Over 900 figures are animals, and 605 of these have been clearly identified. Of these, 364 are horses, and 90 are deer. Other animals include aurochs and bison, each making up about 4 to 5% of the images. A few other animals are also shown, such as seven cats, a bird, a bear, and a rhinoceros. In the deepest part of the cave, near a 9-meter-deep well, there is only one human figure. This image is different from the others. No pictures of reindeer or fish are found, even though reindeer were the main food source for the artists. Geometric shapes are also painted on the walls.
The most famous part of the cave is called the Hall of the Bulls. Here, bulls, horses, aurochs, deer, and the only bear in the cave are shown. Four black aurochs are the main focus among the 36 animals here. One bull is 5.2 meters long, the longest animal in cave art. The bulls seem to be moving.
A painting called "The Crossed Bison," found in a chamber called the Nave, shows early use of overlapping and transparency in art. Two bison are shown facing each other, one in front and one in the back. The legs of the front bison overlap the back one, creating the illusion of depth. Their sides also overlap, showing some transparency. Similar techniques are found in other Lascaux paintings, as well as in older works from Chauvet Cave, and in Egyptian art. These artistic skills led to the development of perspective in Renaissance art. In the mid-20th century, Pablo Picasso visited Lascaux and said, "We have learned nothing in twelve thousand years."
The Hall of the Bulls has the most impressive artwork in Lascaux. The walls are made of a type of rock called calcite, which is not suitable for carving, so only paintings are used. Some paintings are as long as five meters. Two rows of aurochs face each other, with two on one side and three on the other. On the north side, two aurochs are with ten horses and a large animal with two straight lines on its head, called the "unicorn." On the south side, three large aurochs are next to three smaller ones, painted red, along with six deer and the only bear in the cave, which is hard to see.
The Axial Diverticulum has aurochs and horses, along with deer and ibex. A drawing of a running horse was made with manganese pencil 2.5 meters above the ground. Some animals are painted on the ceiling, appearing to move from one wall to another. These images required scaffolding to paint and are mixed with signs like sticks, dots, and rectangles.
The Passage has mostly faded artwork, likely due to air movement.
The Nave has four groups of images: the Empreinte panel, the Black Cow panel, the Deer Swimming panel, and the Crossed Buffalo panel. These are surrounded by mysterious geometric signs, including colored squares that H. Breuil called "coats of arms."
The Feline Diverticulum is named for a group of cats, one of which seems to urinate to mark its territory. This area is hard to reach and has simple carvings of wild animals. There are also images of a horse seen from the front, which is rare in Paleolithic art, where animals are usually shown from the side or in a twisted view.
The Apse has more than 1,000 carvings, some on top of paintings. These show animals and signs. It is the only place in Lascaux where a reindeer is depicted.
The Well has the most mysterious scene in Lascaux: a man with a bird’s head lying on the ground, possibly knocked down by a buffalo pierced by a spear. Next to him is an object with a bird on top, and a rhinoceros moving away. A horse is also shown on the opposite wall. Two groups of signs are present in this scene.
Understanding Paleolithic art is difficult because it may be influenced by our own beliefs. Some researchers think the paintings show past hunting successes or were part of rituals to improve future hunts. This idea is supported by overlapping images of animals in the same area, suggesting that part of the cave was a good place for hunting.
By studying the position, size, and arrangement of the figures, as well as the painting techniques and colors, Thérèse Guiot-Houdart tried to understand the meaning of the animals and the themes in the art.
Julien d'Huy and Jean-Loïc Le Quellec found that some signs in Lascaux, like sharp lines, might represent weapons or wounds. These signs appear more often on dangerous animals like big cats, aurochs, and bison, possibly showing fear of the images coming to life. Another finding suggests that some animals are shown as half-alive. For example, bison, aurochs, and ibex are not shown together, but other combinations, like bison-horses-lions and aurochs-horses-deer-bears, are common. This may reflect the animals’ real-life habitats. Bison and lions live in open plains, aurochs, deer, and bears live in forests and wetlands, ibex live on rocky areas, and horses
Threats
After World War II, Lascaux Cave was opened to the public, which changed the environment inside the cave. Each day, about 1,200 visitors entered the cave, and their breathing, the use of lights, and changes in air movement caused problems. By the late 1950s, lichens and crystals began growing on the cave walls, leading to the cave's closure in 1963. After this, only a few visitors were allowed to enter the real cave each week, and a replica cave was built for tourists. In 2001, the air conditioning system was updated to control temperature and humidity. However, after the system was installed, a type of white mold called Fusarium solani began growing rapidly on the cave ceiling and walls. This mold was likely already in the cave soil and became active due to work done by workers. It was treated with quicklime. In 2007, a new type of fungus appeared, causing dark spots on the cave walls.
By 2008, black mold was present in the cave. In January 2008, the cave was closed for three months, even to scientists and preservationists. Only one person was allowed to enter the cave once a week for 20 minutes to check the climate. Today, only a few scientists are permitted to work inside the cave for a few days each month. However, efforts to remove the mold have caused damage, leaving dark patches and harming the pigments on the cave walls. In 2009, the mold problem was considered stable. In 2011, the fungus seemed to decrease after a stricter conservation program was introduced. Two research projects at the CIAP focused on treating the mold, and the cave now has a climate control system to reduce bacteria.
In 2009, an international symposium titled "Lascaux and Preservation Issues in Subterranean Environments" was held in Paris, organized by the French Ministry of Culture and led by Jean Clottes. Nearly 300 participants from 17 countries attended to share research and experiences related to preserving caves. The symposium's findings were published in 2011, with contributions from 74 experts in fields such as biology, archaeology, and geology from countries like France, the United States, and Japan.
In May 2018, a new fungus species, Scolecobasidium lascauxense, was officially named after the Lascaux Cave, where it was first found. This followed the discovery of a related species, Scolecobasidium anomalum, in the cave in 2000. By 2009, black spots began appearing on the cave paintings. No official updates on the effects of treatments have been shared.
The mold problem continues, and efforts to control microbial growth in the cave are ongoing. These issues have led to the creation of an International Scientific Committee for Lascaux and a reevaluation of how much human access should be allowed in caves with prehistoric art.
In popular culture
In 1982, the British classical music composer Alan Bush visited the cave. He was inspired by the cave and wrote his fourth and final symphony, called "Lascaux Symphony." The symphony shows how early humans might have started creating art and expressing themselves through artistic forms.