1. PREHISTORIC ART

3. PRE-HISTORIC ART NOTES
When?
Where?
What?
Why?
How?

4. CHRONOLOGY Prehistoric = before writing
Paleolithic Period (Paleo =old, lithos = stone)
(Ice Age/Old Stone Age) c. 40,000 – 8,000 BC
Lower, Middle, Upper (most recent) – based on relative position of objects found in the layers of excavation

5. Lascaux, France Altamira, Spain Artist: n/a Title: Prehistoric Europe
Medium: n/a
Size: n/a
Date: n/a
Source/Museum: n/a

6. Pre-Historic Cave Art

7. Interesting Cave Facts
In 1940, 4 French teenagers accidentally discovered a cave.
The cave contained more than 600 paintings and 1500 engravings that are carved into the walls.
No one knows why they created these images – maybe magic, stories, religious reasons….
The most popular animal is the horse, followed by the bison. They are 20,000 years old.
The images were done in charcoal & animal blood/fat mixed with natural earth pigments
“Lascaux” is pronounced Lascow!

8. Science and the Cave
In 1948, the Cave was open to daily tours for thousands of people.
This created a huge problem for the Cave!
The breath of the tourists created carbon dioxide that caused the paintings to deteriorate.
Another problem was carried in by the shoes of the tourists - algae - that began to grow on the walls and cover the paintings.
Calcite crystals also began to cover some of the paintings due to the high temperatures, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels caused by all of the tourists.

9. Lascaux II
In order to save Lascaux from destruction, the Cave was closed to the public in 1963.
In 1983, Lascaux II was opened to the public – technology re-created the original cave and artwork. It is nearby the original site.
Today, only a small number of scientists and researchers are allowed to visit the original Lascaux Cave.

10. Did cave painters live with dinosaurs?
Movies and cartoons often show early humans and dinosaurs living at the same time.
This is a myth (a popular belief that is false).
The dinosaurs were extinct, or no longer alive, before people lived. The dinosaurs lived 65 million years before humans!

11. Title: Spotted Horses and Human Hands
Date: Horses 25,000–24,000 BCE; hands c 15,000 BCE
Medium: Paint on limestone

12. Title: Hall of Bulls
Date: c. 15,000 BCE
Medium: Paint on limestone
Size: length of the largest auroch (bull) 18'
Source/Museum: Lascaux Cave, Dordogne, France

13. Title: Bison
Medium: Paint on limestone
Size: length approx. 8'3" (2.5 m)
Date: c. 12,500 BCE
Source/Museum: Ceiling of a cave at Altamira, Spain