1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,240 Speaker 1: a show that demystifies history one day at a time. 4 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:21,480 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Louisier, and today we're pulling back the curtain 5 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 1: on a treasure trove of prehistoric art that some researchers 6 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: have lovingly nicknamed the sixteen Chapel of the Ancients. The 7 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:44,240 Speaker 1: day was September twelfth. Four teenagers from the nearby village 8 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: of Montignac, France, discovered the Cave of Lasco and the 9 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: more than two thousand ancient drawings that adore in its walls. 10 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: The illustrations, which mostly depict animals and arcane symbols, are 11 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: more than seventeen thousand years years old and are considered 12 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: some of the finest examples of prehistoric art ever found. 13 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 1: The details of the boys discovery very a little from 14 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 1: one account to the next, but one constant is the 15 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: involvement of an apprentice garage mechanic named Marcel Ravida. In 16 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: some versions of the story, Marcel discovered the cave by 17 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: himself while walking through the woods, and then brought his 18 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:27,040 Speaker 1: three friends to see it at a later date. In 19 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: other accounts the four boys found the cave together by 20 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 1: following their dog Robot, after it chased a rabbit down 21 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: a narrow hole that led into the cave. However they 22 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: found it, we know the boys explored the cave together 23 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: on September twelve. First they dropped stones into the hole 24 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 1: to get an idea of its depth, and then they 25 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: climbed down the narrow shaft one at a time. After 26 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,800 Speaker 1: descending fifty feet or so, the boys emerged in a 27 00:01:54,800 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: central cavern sixty six ft wide and sixteen feet high. 28 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: Several steep galleries branched off from the main chamber, and 29 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:08,519 Speaker 1: each one was decorated with engraved, drawn, and painted figures. 30 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: Among the animals depicted were horses, bulls, red deer, bison, 31 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,920 Speaker 1: some kind of cat, and even what looks like a rhinoceros. 32 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: There are also depictions of human tools, including arrows and traps, 33 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:27,400 Speaker 1: but the closest thing to an actual human is a 34 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:30,920 Speaker 1: painting of a bird headed man, which may represent some 35 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: kind of shaman. The true purpose of the cave is unknown, 36 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: but some archaeologists think it may have served as the 37 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: site of religious rights or rituals. Marcel later described the 38 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: paintings as quote, a cavalcade of animals larger than life 39 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 1: that seemed to be moving. This is because the animals 40 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 1: weren't drawn standing still, but in motion, moving as they 41 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: would in real life. This perspective is amplified when the 42 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: paintings are viewed by firelight, as the flickering light makes 43 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: the figures appear to move. The most famous section of 44 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: the cave is the Hall of the Bulls. It shows 45 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 1: four giant black bulls in mid charge. One of the 46 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: bulls is seventeen feet long, making it the largest cave 47 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: art animal discovered. Yet strangely, most of the animals depicted 48 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 1: are not the ones that people of the region would 49 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: have hunted. For instance, reindeer was the most consumed animal 50 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,839 Speaker 1: of the Late Stone Age, but that animal is completely 51 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: absent from the last co walls. Another curious omission is landscapes. Plants, trees, 52 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: and mountains are all absent from the scenes, which has 53 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: led some researchers to speculate that the paintings don't depict 54 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: tableaus of daily life, but ancient star maps with the 55 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: line aren't animals representing constellations like Taurus. The boys who 56 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: found the cave made up hacked to keep it secret, 57 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: but they only lasted a week or so before telling 58 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 1: a teacher who happened to be an expert on prehistoric art. 59 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: From there, news of the discovery soon reached prominent French 60 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: archaeologist Abe Bruhl, who came to study the paintings and 61 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: quickly vouched for their authenticity. Then words spread throughout Europe 62 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:25,279 Speaker 1: and around the world. In the family that owned the 63 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: land decided to capitalize on the excitement. They began holding 64 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: daily tours of the cave, drawing thousands and thousands of 65 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: visitors each year. The tourists didn't mean to harm the paintings, 66 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 1: but they did. A layer of chalk had made the 67 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 1: cave water tight, and this, along with it being closed 68 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: to the air for thousands of years, had preserved the 69 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:54,839 Speaker 1: pigments used in the artwork. After all that time, the blacks, browns, reds, 70 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: and yellows used in the paintings were still vibrant, but 71 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: that changed quickly when people began visiting the caves. Their 72 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: breath caused condensation to form on the walls and ceiling, 73 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: which then ran down onto the paintings. Algae and mold 74 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: began to develop and to make matters worse, the tour 75 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,840 Speaker 1: guides had installed high powered lights in the cave, which 76 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,919 Speaker 1: made the vivid art begin to fade. Pristine artwork that 77 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: had been preserved for millennia was being destroyed in just 78 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 1: a handful of years. Thankfully, the French Ministry of Culture 79 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 1: recognized what was happening and closed the cave to the 80 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 1: public in nineteen sixty three. Lasco became a UNESCO World 81 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: Heritage Site in nine seventy nine, and today only one 82 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: person is allowed to enter at a time, and only 83 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,640 Speaker 1: for a brief period in order to monitor the caves preservation. 84 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: While the Lasco Cave will likely never be open to 85 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:59,599 Speaker 1: the public again, visitors can explore the next best thing 86 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: less than a quarter mile away. In three a replica 87 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: of the site was built close by for public viewing. 88 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 1: Dubbed Lasco Too. The replica cave contains reproductions of about 89 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,600 Speaker 1: eight percent of the original artwork, and it attracts a 90 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: few hundred thousand visitors each year. If you don't think 91 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 1: you'll be in the neighborhood anytime soon, you can also 92 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:28,479 Speaker 1: take a virtual tour by visiting Lasco dot culture dot 93 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: f R. I'm Gabe Louisier and hopefully you now know 94 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 95 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 1: And if you have any comments or suggestions, you can 96 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: send them to me at this Day at i heart 97 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 98 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 99 00:06:50,200 --> 00:07:00,280 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in History class. For more 100 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,840 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 101 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,480 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.