Niaux Cave

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Introduction and Objective

As we said before, Niaux Cave was discovered in the late 1800s and was a result of glacial melting millions of years ago. It encompasses a number of distinct chambers connected by a winding passageway. The artwork is some of the most vivid and distinctive rock art in the world.

For first 400 meters or so after entering the cave, there is no rock art whatsoever. It finally appears in the form of abstract signs. They are grouped together like landmarks or navigation aids. Some seem deliberately placed next to a fissure or other feature.

Overall, the Niaux Cave is an excellent example of prehistoric cave art. Let’s learn a little more about this art and it’s amazing features.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lascaux,_replica_05.JPG>

The art above is one example of how distinctive the rock art at Niaux can be.

Today’s lesson objective is: The student will analyze the images found within the Niaux Cave, identify specific images, and hypothesize the interpretation of the images.

Take a moment to think about this objective. What learning skills will you use to achieve this goal? Why do you think these paintings were so important to the Stone Age artists? What did they feel was conveyed through these paintings that they wanted to share with the world?

Open your digital notebook and describe your strategy and the learning skills you will use to succeed in this lesson.

Instruction, Modeling, and Student Activities

So, what kind of art can you see in Niaux?

- There are 100 red and black dots, dashes, lines, and claviforms. These are all symbols, rather than defined objects.
- The Entrance Gallery contains the first animal paintings and engraved drawings.
- In the huge cathedral-like “Salon Noir,” there are drawings of two fish (which could be salmon or trout, based on the kind of fish that were available at the time.
- An ibex and an auroch are also visible. These are animals we don’t see much now, but were very common then.
- Twenty-one engravings are carved into the cave floor.
- The animal paintings are not spread evenly around the walls, but are clustered together on separate panels.

Now, imagine you were one of the Niaux cave artists.

Why do you think you’d have art clustered together?

Could it be to create scenes?

Could it be because it was easier?

Or maybe it was to communicate with the others around you?

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_human_figure_and_wallaby_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

Art like the piece above is an example of how the rock art is often detailed, but subtle.

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So, the art was discovered, but do you think that was enough for the explorers?

Would it be enough for you?

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cave_painting,_Anthropos_(1).jpeg

These animal paintings show an example of the clustered artwork.

Since the initial discoveries at Niaux, many years of exploration have revealed more than 14 miles of underground passages and chambers in the Niaux cave systems. Here’s what we know for sure:

1. The decorated sections are seemingly confined to the outermost 2 miles or so.
2. Previously unrecorded galleries have been found as recently as 1970.
3. Radiocarbon dates suggest at least two phases of painting are represented: one around 11,850 BC, the other about 1,000 years later.

So, all the paintings fit comfortably within the artistic traditions of the Magdalenian Culture. But this is clear proof that you should never be satisfied with an initial discovery. You should always dig deeper—no pun intended!

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So there are paintings. A LOT OF THEM.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lascaus,_Megaloceros.JPG

Some of them, like this one, are a combination of styles and types – here we can see animal symbolism, but also dots and shapes.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cave_painting_in_Doushe_cave,_Lorstan,_Iran,_8th_millennium_BC.JPG

The paintings were the primary type of rock art in these particular caves, unlike others that often focused on engravings and petroglyphs.

But, how were they made, exactly?

Well, Niaux’s wall paintings have many indicative features. They are outlined in black or red pigment—a style typical of the Magdalenian era. The “paint” used had three main ingredients: a color pigment, either red-ochre/hematite (iron oxide), or black manganese dioxide or charcoal; a binder, such as animal fat; and an extender, like biotite and feldspar, or ground quartz and calcium phosphate (from crushed, heated animal bones).

To apply the paint, Magdalenian artists used their fingers or brushes made from different animal hair, moss, or vegetable fibers. Sometimes, charcoal was used for preliminary sketching purposes in preparation for the final painting or drawing. An array of animals are represented: bison, horse, ibex, deer, and even a weasel. There are also symbols—dots, lines, and squiggles—painted in black, red, and brown. Much of the paintings’ beauty and appeal lies in their simplicity and economy of line.

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Summary

In the mid-1900s, archeologists first established that the Niaux cave painting in the “Salon Noir” dated back to Magdalenian art. This was the final period of the Stone Age and you know what that means—it was super-old and super-precious!

This triggered an official campaign to preserve the cave and its art. A number of investigations followed. In 1970, local spelunkers discovered the Reseau Rene Clastres network of galleries and, in 1971, a major scientific examination of the cave was undertaken by Jean Clottes and Robert Simonnet. Most recently, in 1980–1981, a team of scientists made tracings of all the pictures in the cave—tracings we’ll take a closer look at in your next lesson!