1. Black Bull at the Lascaux Caves
Biography (history lesson)
Grade: Kindergarten
Activity: Stone Age Art
Key Words: Stone Age
Earth Colors
Texture
Prehistoric Art/ Stone Age
Who were the very first artists? The Cavemen lived some 30,000 years ago. Prehistoric artists drew wild animals that they hunted. To see in the cave they used the light from oil lamps. They used charcoal to trace outlines of bison and mammoths on the cave walls. For Paint, they ground lumps of earth into colored powder. Their paint brushes were made of leaves, or wads of fur. These cave paintings are thought to be the first examples of man as an artist.
Background of the Lascaux Caves in France:
In 1940, a cave was accidentally found by children and their dog. The ball they were throwing was accidentally thrown into a complex underground cave. Looking for their ball they found wonderful cave paintings on the wall. Drawings of people, animals and hand prints cover the walls and they are said to be about 30,000 years old. Scientists believe that the handprints were their signatures.

2. Questions: (included in power point)
What do you think a cave wall feels like?
What did the cave artist paint on the walls?
What animals do you see?
What animals do you see around your house?
Why do you think they drew what they drew?
Did they use lots of different colors?
Why not?
Revised July 2014