The Cave of LascauxA remarkable archaeological discovery.

By looking at these pictures can you explain what is happening in the lives of the children who drew them?

How are we able to know so much about them without any written words?

In September 1940, four boys and a dog set out on an adventure in southwestern France. They were intrigued by an old legend about a tunnel running under the Vezere River.

As they walked through the woods the little dog, Robot, ran ahead toward a deep depression in the ground covered with overgrowth and began sniffing the sunken hole. The depression had originally been created by an uprooted tree. The boys hurried to catchup with Robot. When they saw the deep hole, they immediately thought it might lead them to the legendary tunnel where hidden treasure was said to be found.

After trying to determine the depth of the hole by tossing rocks in the opening and listening for contact with the bottom, they decided to explore it. They enlarged the opening by removing a few stones around the edges. Each of the four boys slid through the hole in turn and went down 15 meters into a dark underground chamber. They used their oil lanterns to light up the darkness inside. What they found changed what we knew about history.

The paintings found inside the vast cavern date back 20,000 years. At the time of discovery, they were the earliest cave images ever discovered, and one of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries in history.

https://vimeo.com/40849516http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/lascaux/

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN YOUR NOTEBOOK1) What type of images are drawn upon the walls of the Lascaux cave?2) What colors were used to create the images/how do you think the ancient people created these colors?3) Based on the images, how would you describe the lives of the early humans who drew them?4) Other cave art sites have been discovered all over the world dating back tens of thousands of years. Do you think the images in those caves would be the

same as Lascaux? Explain.