Assignment 7: Claire Telfer

On September 12, 1940, near Montignac, France, four teenagers chased after their dog into a cave and stumbled across ancient cave paintings. The Lascaux cave paintings were determined to be 17,000 years old and included 600 paintings and over 1,500 engravings of animals. Tourists were able to see the cave paintings for 15 years, but the cave then closed to the public due to decay of the artwork from artificial lighting and carbon dioxide. 

This event allowed archaeologists to see into the lives of Paleolithic humans and their religious rituals. It's crazy that there was still some of the world that was undiscovered over 70 years ago. The fact that it was so well preserved and people had the ability to see the original work is astounding. The painters displayed such artistic abilities in a limited environment and without any natural light. These cave paintings showed astronomical charts, religious beliefs, and sacred animals. 

I appreciate the fact that you can stumble upon ancient paintings by chance and that it can captivate the minds of so many people. We still discover new things every day about the past and the people who've lived in the world. The Lascaux paintings showed that even 17,000 years ago, a society could have complex ideas about religion and be able to translate occurrences and rituals in their world into artwork.