Upper Paleolithic Cave Site of Lascaux - Essay Example

Upper Paleolithic Cave Site of Lascaux Upper Paleolithic Cave site of Lascaux A discussion of two panels/rooms One of thewall panels is the Apse (Abside). It is a partly spherical room, estimated about 5 meters in diameter. The Apse is highly decorated with thousands of entwined, intersecting and imprinted illustrations all through to the ceiling. It is believed to function as a sacred room, for spiritual endeavors. One of the highly coveted divisions of the cave is the Great Hall of the Bulls (Dubowski, 2010).

This is a distinctive part where illustrations of bulls, stags and equines are evident on the walls. In particular, the 4 black bulls are the common illustrations surrounded by about 30 animal illustrations. Also, in this part, there is a drawing of a large bull, which is estimated to be about 5 meters tall. The artist behind this illustration shows an impressive artistic skill where the bull appears to be moving. Types of figures or animals depicted The Upper Paleolithic Cave presents approximately 2000 illustrations that can be clustered into 3 major groups, which includes animal, human and nonfigurative illustrations.

It is also apparent that the drawings do not depict any illustrations of the immediate environment or vegetations of that period. Many illustrations have been inscribed on the walls by use of mineral stains. However, many sketches have been engraved on the stone (Lascaux, n.d.). Also, some illustrations appear faded and cannot be visible. They could be wearing off with time. Many of the illustrations can be categorized as animals. Some drawings are equines and stags. Cattle and bison can be seen, including birds, felines, bear, human beings and rhinos.

It is a bit surprising that the cave lacks drawings of reindeers regardless of the fact that it formed part of their main sources of food. Ultimately, geometrical illustrations were also evident in the walls. Illustrative skills of the AMHS The cave entirely shows an out of the ordinary piece of art and skills of the AMHS, who created them. In particular, a painting known as The Crossed Bison, inscribed in the Nave panel is a significant result of skilled Paleolithic cave painters. This piece of art introduces a wonderfully painted bison where its hind legs present a false impression that one bison is nearer to the viewer than the other one (Lascaux, n.d.).

This creates a remarkable and illustrative depth that expresses a prehistoric aspect that was distinctively way ahead of the period. This extent of dexterity is also apparent in the Great Hall of the Bulls where some bulls appear moving to a viewer. Functions of the paintings The paintings symbolized many functions where many believe that they represented beauty, hunting techniques or magical power. Most of all, one of the most compelling functions of the paintings is spiritual fulfillment (Dubowski, 2010).

Lascaux is a sacred sanctuary where people were believed to converge for religious rites. It is ideally secluded and isolated which makes it a preferred location for conducting traditional ceremonies. This is supported by some of the rooms or wall panels being profoundly adorned with paintings than others. This shows that some isolated quotas were used for highly sacred activities than others, such as the Apse (Abside). This is typical of sacred premises. References Dubowski, M. (2010). Discovery in the cave (Childrens early reader).

New York, New York, USA: Random House. Lascaux. (n.d.). Lascaux. Retrieved 23 June 2015 from: http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/?lng=en#/en/00.xml