Lucille Richardson

On Dec. 4 the meeting of the Fredonia Shakespeare Club took place at the home of Lucille Richardson with Joan Larson hosting. Richardson presented her paper on the Caves of Lascaux. The presentation was very informative. After the paper was presented, we were treated to a variety of appetizers. Leanna McMahon poured the tea.

A summary of the Caves of Lascaux topic follows.

The Paleolithic caves of northern Spain and southwestern France, namely those of Lascaux, Altimira, and Chauvet hold some of the world’s most significant Upper Paleolithic rock art. Featuring stunning animal paintings and engravings, (bison, horses, and many other now extinct mammals), they were created by early humans, our ancestors, between 40,000 and 11,000 years ago, offering insights into prehistoric life and spirituality and are recognized as UNESCO world heritage sites.

Lascaux, in southwestern France, the most visited by tourists, is famous for its exceptionally sophisticated paintings of diverse animal life, showcasing complex, artistic techniques and symbolic scenes estimated to be to 20,000 years old. This enormous cave at Lascaux was discovered in 1940 by four teenage boys when their dog became stuck in a crevice while hiking, thus uncovering an opening to the cave which was subsequently studied by pre-eminent French archaeologists. It consists of a main cavern some 66 feet wide and 16 feet high and several subsidiary steep galleries. Each is magnificently decorated with engraved, drawn and painted figures, in all some 600 painted and drawn animals and symbols and nearly 1500 engravings.

The paintings were done on a light background in various shades of red, black, brown and yellow. In places, an ingeniously crafted scaffolding was clearly used to reach high walls and the ceiling. Among the most remarkable portrayals are four huge ancient bull like animals some 16 feet long, their horns depicted in a twisted perspective; a curious, two horned animal, perhaps intended as a mythical creature; red deer with fantastic antlers; numerous horses; the heads and necks of several stags, 3 feet tall, which appear to be swimming across a river; a series of six felines; two male bison; and a rare composition located at the bottom of a steep shaft, that has been variously interpreted as a hunting accident or as a shamanistic scene.

All told, a fantastic array and display of the flights of the imagination! It is but one, but the most renowned of about two dozen other painted caves representing the height of human artistic activity during that extremely early period, often referred to as the Stone Age. So impressed with the artistic quality of what he had seen after having visited this particular site, Picasso is quoted as having stated: “We have invented nothing! And none of us can paint like this.”

Although receiving less attention, the Paleolithic cave at Altimira, Spain bears great significance, dating equally from extreme antiquity, telling a segment of humanity’s story from nearly 37,000 years ago (the oldest such dated example). Discovered in 1868, long before any others amongst this genre, it was initially perceived as having been a publicity seeking hoax, and was highly contested, only some 10 years later being authenticated by a host of anthropological, archeological, and ethnological scholars. It radically and in one bold stroke permanently altered the conception of the capabilities of our ancestors. Smaller in scale with one main hall and several linking caverns, it demonstrates the same sophisticated expertise in its execution. Renowned for its polychrome bison ceiling, it claims to be the “Sistine Chapel” of Paleolithic art. It contains primarily horses and bison with no attempt at human representation even in the most elemental sense.

The prehistoric cave at Chauvet, France, located in proximity of Lascaux, discovered only recently in 1994, preserves its reputation as one of the chief representatives of sophisticated cave art. Dating from a period of 35,000 years ago, it is noted for its figurative paintings; it is particularly noted for its “Gallery of the Lions.” Containing individual handprints and depictions of now extinct animals, it demonstrates the same degree of technical expertise, one of great ingenuity and resourcefulness of its now more famous brethren.

Although the three caves that are the subject of this presentation are the heart of the Franco-Cantabrian art style, representing the pinnacle of Upper Paleolithic art in Europe and have received the most attention from paleontologists, several hundred additional such caves, revealing humanity’s long history, that of extreme antiquity, have been discovered and have received comparably subsequent extensive study. All reveal impressive artistic and intellectual capacities and the basis for abstract thought — in all probability also what enabled them to survive. That our ancient forbearers, those who were hunter gatherers and without agriculture or fixed settlements, who were yet inspired to explore and to so highly realize this part of humanity’s make up, is still a mystery and subject to much speculation. There are a host of theories: having no writing skills, was it a matter of communication (for the present and perhaps for posterity), for the incorporation of ritual ceremonies, perhaps shamanistic in nature — specific caverns were chosen for their acoustic characteristics in which conceivably drumming would be enhanced — or in addition to all of the former, humanity’s innate desire to express himself esthetically and emotionally, so intrinsic to our nature. The why, what was the intended meaning, is still the subject of intense research on the part of our community of anthropological, archaeological, and ethnological scholars.

Fortunately, for those of us of the lay population, given that most of the original sites are closed for reasons of preservation, replicas in great detail are available for public viewing — Lascaux IV is now in its current reiteration and regularly receives thousands of viewings each year.

Richardson’s presentation was enhanced by the incorporation of a highly illustrative DVD on the topic, one devoted to a collection of World Heritage Sites (part of the immense library of the “Great Courses”).