From Chauvet to Lascaux: 15,000 Years of Cave Art

Paleolithic cave art in Western Europe, spanning from Chauvet (36 ka BP) to Lascaux (21 ka BP), reveals significant evolution in symbolic language, animal representation, and spatial layout over 15,000 years. Chauvet's Aurignacian phase (37–33.5 ka BP) showcases early black zoomorphic paintings, while Lascaux, though closed to the public due to tourist-induced microclimate disruption, preserves later artistic expressions. This study identifies key changes in artistic expression during the Upper Paleolithic, linking them to the socio-cultural behavior of anatomically modern humans in glacial environments.

Geneste, J.-M. (2017). From Chauvet to Lascaux: 15,000 Years of Cave Art. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia, 45(3), 29–40. https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2017.45.3.029-040