The Cave Paintings of Lascaux and Possible Meanings

The paintings in the Caves of Lascaux are a very important discovery, not only for art but also for history. The meaning behind them can be interpreted in many different ways, but the true meaning behind them is unknown. Many theories surround their meaning and according to the article "Significance of Lascaux Cave Paintings," they were used not for decoration, but to pass along knowledge. My opinion is that the caves is where they had a school type session for the younger kids or adults on how to hunt. For the younger generation learning how to survive would've been the most important thing. The paintings that depict movement seem to communicate how the animals traveled in packs and maybe how they can be hunted. The cave paintings were created to pass on knowledge and communicate with future generations the animal life around the area. Some of the paintings were done deep inside the cave that was uninhabitable, according to the "Paleolithic Painting" article in week 1. This leads me to think that maybe there was a person that was banished from the rest of the group and passed the time growing insane and painting what he/she remembered. I also think that the artist/s could've been worried that his/her people were driving the animals into extinction and capturing them on the cave walls might have been a way to preserve what once lived. According to the Paleolithic Painting" article they could've been used as "a sort of magic through image transference" in order to "help in the hunt."

Sources:

Borade, Gaynor. "Significance of Lascaux Cave Paintings" Buzzle. 26 May 2012

"Paleolithic Painting" Online Lectures: History of Art in Early civilization ART1020. 26 May 2012 http://myeclassonline.com/.