Lascaux Cave

ancient art · prehistory · France · cave paintings

Walls and ceilings covered. Over 600 paintings of animals cover the inside of Lascaux Cave near a village called Montignac in southwestern France. The paintings decorate almost every surface, including high up on the ceilings.

Pictures of local animals. The paintings show large animals that actually lived in that area during the Upper Paleolithic period, like horses, bison, and deer. Scientists know these animals were really there because they found their bones in the fossil record.

Made by many generations. One person didn't paint all 600 images. Instead, many different groups of ancient people created these paintings over hundreds and hundreds of years, adding their own art to the cave walls.

Incredibly ancient artwork. The paintings were created during the Upper Paleolithic period, which means they are tens of thousands of years old. This makes Lascaux one of the most important examples of ancient human creativity we have ever discovered.