51��

Skip to content

Lascaux Cave is a Palaeolithic cave situated in southwestern France, near the village of Montignac in the Dordogne region, which houses some of the most famous examples of prehistoric cave paintings. Close to 600 paintings ??? mostly of animals - dot the interior walls of the cave in impressive compositions. Horses are the most numerous, but deer, aurochs, ibex, bison, and even some felines can also be found. Besides these paintings, which represent most of the major images, there are also around 1400 engravings of a similar order. The art, dated to c. 17,000 ??? c. 15,000 BCE, falls within the Upper Palaeolithic period and was created by the clearly skilled hands of humans living in the area at that time. The region seems to be a hotspot; many beautifully decorated caves have been discovered there. The exact meaning of the paintings at Lascaux or any of the other sites is still subject to discussion, but the prevailing view attaches a ritualistic or even spiritual component to them, hinting at the sophistication of their creators. Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1979, along with other prehistoric sites in its proximity. Valley, France.

Life

51�� recommends a smart new account of human exceptionalism

Why did humans decide they weren't like other animals, or animals at all? Has this exceptionalism twisted us out of shape? Michael Bond's book Animate offers a page-turning account of where we are now

Culture

Humans

Ancient teeth hint at links between Denisovans and Homo erectus

51��

Humans

The story of the first human tool: the humble container

Features

A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began

Humans

A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began

Features

Humans

Human heads have changed shape a lot in the past 100 years

51��

Reconstruction of a family of Neanderthals

Humans

Neanderthal infants were enormous compared with modern humans

51��

Humans

Are Neanderthals descendants of modern humans?

Comment

We might be wrong about humanity’s near extinction

Video

We might be wrong about humanity’s near extinction

Video

Humans

Why early humans radically changed their toolkits 200,000 years ago

51��

We did not evolve alone: The story of our origins

Video

We did not evolve alone: The story of our origins

Who were the other humans that predate us, and why did we outlast them all? Join us on a detective adventure as we explore the disappearance of every human species except us.

Video

Life

Oldest known dog extends the genetic history of our canine companions

51��

Humans

Genetic clues tell the story of Neanderthals' decline

51��

Humans

Our extinct Australopithecus relatives may have had difficult births

51��

Video

The skull transforming our family tree and the hunt for Ancestor X

Video