Cave Lasko: Sistine Chapel of Prehistoric Art

Cave Lasko (or Lysko) - a complex of underground galleries, famous for rock paintings, which were created in the period from the eighteenth to the fifteenth millennium BC. It was discovered by accident by four teenagers who came upon a narrow passage, pierced by a pine tree, fallen from a lightning strike. The first to seriously study the art of the Upper Paleolithic in Lysko was the specialist on the history of primitive society Henri Breuil. It was he who established the authenticity of the oldest paintings.

Lascaux cave is located in the south-west of France, near the village of Montignac, in the department of the Dordogne. It is located in the valley of the Weser River, where other caves with rock paintings, mainly representing large animals, such as Combarel, Fon de Gom and Bernifal, were discovered in the early twentieth century. In such places, in which engraved and picturesque drawings are located along walls and ceilings, primitive people, most likely, did not live. They were meant for ceremonial purposes.

The Lascaux cave is one of the most impressive examples of art created by the man of the Paleolithic era. It contains about 2000 images that can be grouped into three main categories: animals, human figures (human images, as a rule, are very rare in Paleolithic art) and abstract symbols. Drawings of large size are written using mineral pigments, images of a smaller size are cut with a stone. Many images are erased and difficult to distinguish.

But in any case, this cave in France represents the first creative masterpiece of mankind, deserving the name of the Sistine Chapel of primitive art. The most famous part of the cave is the "Hall of the Bulls", on whose calcite walls are depicted bison, horses and deer (at a height of two meters from the ground level and on a natural ceiling curtain). Five black bisons are the dominant figures among the accompanying horses and other animals. They are organized in two flocks, located opposite each other (two bisons - on the north wall, three on the south).

Each of the two sides is named according to the animal represented on it. The wall on the north side is known as the "unicorn" panel because of the mysterious animal depicted here with a long and perfectly straight horn. On the southern side is the "bear" panel. Here, the breast of one of the bison is partially covered with a small bear pattern, in which ears and clawed feet are particularly prominent. One of the bison in height of 5.2 meters is the largest figure representing a rock painting.

The Lascaux cave was definitely a sacred space. Animals played an important role in the life of Paleolithic hunters. For a long time it was believed that such drawings were associated with primitive magic, which caused a spell of potential prey. In fact, of the depicted animals, only deer were the basic diet of primitive people.

Painting in the gallery "Nave", called "crossed bison", demonstrates the ability of the Paleolithic ancestors to work with perspective. Of course, this is only its primitive form. Crossed legs in bison create the illusion that one of the figures is closer to the viewer than the other.

Of course, the cave Lyasko has not yet revealed all its secrets, but its illustrated bestiary makes an indelible impression, it unites the modern man with his distant ancestors and helps to realize how she began to create the human essence.