Paleolithic Europe

In class, we will be watching Werner Herzog's fantastic film, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, which provides the world's only glimpse into the wonders of the Chauvet caves in the south of France (well, until the French Ministry of Culture can re-create it nearby). This film is, in my opinion, truly a treasure; my only regret is that I can't show it to you in 3D, as it should be seen. Below is a brief sampler of the scenes we watched in class:

The Chauvet Caves are not the only location for these kinds of cave paintings--although they are, by far, the oldest. Scientist believe the Chauvet Cave painting were made between 32,000 to 35,000 years ago; by comparison, the nearby caves at Lascaux are only half as old. The Lascaux cave was discovered in 1940. After the war, it became an extremely popular tourist attraction--until they discovered that the condensation from visitors' breath was causing mold to form on the cave wall, which was deteriorating the paintings. The link above takes you to a tour of Lascaux II, a recreation of Lascaux.