Exploring Lascaux Caves - Assignment Example

Exploring Lascaux Caves Early Homo sapiens who were preceded by the Neanderthal man drew the paintings at Lascaux.This generational gap is illustrated by the painting, as they are more elaborate and rich than past prehistoric art (McCully 5). Being an artist during the Palaeolithic Era was among the hardest tasks in those societies. The materials were not in supply as they are nowadays. McCully notes that early man used pigments developed from natural substances such as the clay ochre, and charcoal produced black color (12).

The clay ochre could have produced a myriad of colors such as red, brown, yellow amongst others. Other pigments were derived from animal bone and vegetable sources. With these components, developing a color palette from these materials seems to be a difficult undertaking. In addition, to be regarded as an artist during this time one had to either be self-trained or apprenticed from a painter in the tribe. The art depicted in the cave is primarily about the fauna that early man knew, for this reason, the sole purpose of painting was for ritualistic sake.

In terms of societal status, others would adore a painter due to their expertise and their ability to decorate caves and other ritualistic locations (McCully 19). As stated earlier, the Lascaux was painted during the Palaeolithic time during the emergence of the modern man, Homo sapiens. The Lascaux cave is located near the French village of Montignac and was discovered in 1940 by a group of boys who were hiking the woods (McCully 3). The Palaeolithic period dates back to 40,000 to 14,000 B.C.

, existing in this timeline, early humans only worried about basic needs, food and shelter. Life seems to have been simple then and painters, in my opinion, were celebrated because they were able to add richness to the then simple life. The painters made rituals, around communal fires, more enticing with enhanced experience due to the paintings. The main materials used in these descriptive wall paintings are already listed above and include pigments from clay ochre, animal bone, vegetable among other natural sources.

According to McCully, the technique utilized in developing the drawings and engravings was through the spraying of pulverized color pigments from the listed materials (15). The pigments were fitted inside a tube, created from bone, wood or plant materials. This technique was successful due to the painting lasting a long time and it was effective across all surfaces throughout the Lascaux cave comprised of subterranean complex.The paintings in the cave are thematic, to say the least. They are broadly divided into three: animals, humans and signs.

The animals include aurochs, oxen, horses, bison, deer, felines and other animals (McCully 4). The animals depicted in the paintings, together with the symbols, comprise of the things that early man interacted with on a daily basis. They symbolize the daily life and the social structure that existed during the Palaeolithic period. In terms of preservation, the Lascaux paintings have withstood the test of time until their discovery in 1940. They were preserved mainly due to the use of natural materials such as clay ochre, which are high in calcium carbonate.

The compound exists freely in the environment thereby increasing the life of the paintings. The presence of this compound led to the eviction of people from the caves 1963. Visitors in the caves increased the levels of carbon IV oxide in the caves resulting in the deterioration of the caves. The paintings were influenced by the daily lives of the painters and their interaction with the environment, especially the fauna. Works CitedMcCully, Emily A. The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010. Print.