Lascaux Cave Paintings
In 1940, four French teens followed one of the boy’s dog Robo into a cavern. Deep inside the cave, they found paintings and engravings dating back to about 15,000 to 17,000 years ago. The paintings they found depict animals like deer, horses, cows, cats, and bovine animals using brown, black, red, and yellow hued paints. There was only one human-like form, a man with a bird’s head and an erection. There are about six hundred images on the Lascaux cave walls and 1,500 individual engravings in the 16-foot high, 66 feet wide space, which may have been a religious venue and hunting center. The caves were rigged with lights so people could visit the cave and gaze at the original artwork. The site opened to tourists in 1948, guided by Marcel Ravidat, whose dog found the paintings. It soon saw up to 1,500 people visiting the caves every day.