Archaeology
Archaeologist
Magazine
Archive
British
Archaeology
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Home | Norman on Archaeology |
Young Archaeologist Magazine |
YAC Pass | YAC Branches | Awards Archive |
Festival of British Archaeology |
Factsheets |
This issue of the magazine is a Time Team special. You can read about the day that our Celebration Challenge winners spent with Time Team, there's a special Time Team time line and loads of other great features.
Jorvik 3 Coin Competition:
The Jorvik coin competition is now closed. The winner will be revealed soon, so keep watching this space!
Just for Fun Quiz Grid:
Did you have a go at the Quiz Grid on the Just for Fun page? If you did then you will know that the mystery archaeological place is Lascaux.
Well done for solving the puzzle in Young Archaeologist now it's time to find out more about your mystery word!
What is Lascaux?
Lascaux is a very special cave near the river Vezere in the Dordogne in South West France.
How was Lascaux discovered and why is it special?
Lascaux cave was discovered in September 1940 by four teenagers, Marcel Ravidat, Jacques Marsal, Georges Agnel and Simon Coencas. The entrance to the cave had been covered for thousands of years but a big tree had blown down revealing a large hole. They climbed through this hole and made one of the biggest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century!
Inside, the cave the walls and ceilings were covered with paintings of horses, bears, aurochs (large wild cattle), deer, ibex (a type of mountain goat), rhinoceroses, dots and rectangles and even what looked like a human. As well as paintings there were engravings of animals carved into the walls and ceilings too. When archaeologists began to study the paintings and engravings in more detail they discovered that the images had been created during the Palaeolithic period over 17,000 years ago! The paintings and engravings at Lascaux are considered to be some of the best Palaeolithic art ever discovered.
How were the paintings made?
Palaeolithic people made paint by grinding down natural minerals found in the soil and rocks around them. Archaeologists have studied the make up of these paints and found that iron oxide was used to make red, charcoal or manganese dioxide to make black and a special type of clay to make ochre which is a yellowish brown colour.
Caves are obviously very dark so how did the people who made the paintings see? At Lascaux archaeologists found carved, stone lamps. By hollowing out the middle of a stone, animal fat could be poured in and then used to make a portable lamp. Fires could also be lit but it would still have been a gloomy environment to work in.
Some of the paintings and engravings were very high up, so how did people reach these places? By studying the cave in detail, archaeologists found hollowed out sockets in the cave walls. Beams of wood could have been placed in these sockets to make a Palaeolithic scaffold! People could then climb to the hard to reach places and carry on with their beautiful art work.
What do the paintings mean?
Nobody can be 100% sure what the pictures at Lascaux mean or what they meant to the people who painted and carved them. Some people think they may just have been for decoration, just as we like to decorate our homes today. Others disagree with this as the caves would have been very dark and it would have been hard to see the decorations; don't forget some were very high up too! Other people think it might have been a safe way to teach children how to recognise and hunt animals. Some think that by painting and engraving the scenes Palaeolithic people were hoping to use magic to ensure they had a successful hunt. Perhaps the caves were decorated as they were special places for particular ceremonies. What do you think the paintings were for? We'd love to hear your ideas, email us at yac@yac-uk.org
How did the paintings survive?
Caves are very special as they often have their own local climate and they are protected from what is happening in the environment outside. Lascaux is a limestone cave which means that it has alkaline, not acidic, conditions; this allows good preservation of materials. In fact Lascaux's climate was so good for preservation a piece of ancient rope was found in the cave; it was so well preserved that archaeologists could tell from the way the fibres had been twisted that it was made by a right handed person!
Once Lascaux had been discovered many people wanted to visit and look at the art for themselves. This caused problems for the paintings and engravings as it changed the cave's climate. All of the visitors breathed out lots of carbon dioxide and water vapour. These combined together and attached to the cave's walls and started to eat away at the rock; it also allowed algae and moss to start to grow. In 1963 it was decided to close the caves to protect the precious paintings and engravings. This returned the cave back to its original conditions and the paintings and engravings are now safe again. People can visit a carefully built replica of the cave and can also take a virtual tour of the cave (see below).
Where can I find out more?
If you'd like to find out more about Lascaux and take a virtual tour of the cave you can visit:
http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/#/en/02_00.xml