Spectroscopy Around the Globe, Episode 3: The Lascaux Caves

“Spectroscopy Around the Globe” takes viewers on a journey to some of the most popular tourist attractions and most famous landmarks around the world. In our first episode, we traveled to Egypt, where we learned about how spectroscopic techniques are helping us learn more about how the Giza pyramids were constructed. In the second episode, we ventured to England, where we explored how spectroscopy has been used to help us uncover some of Stonehenge’s most guarded secrets.

In the third episode of “Spectroscopy Around the Globe,” we're heading underground and into a hillside in southwestern France to talk about one of the greatest art discoveries of the 20th century: the Lascaux Caves.^1–3

If you're not familiar with the story, it starts in September of 1940, when four teenagers and a dog went looking for a legendary tunnel rumored to lead to a nearby manor house.^1–3 What they found instead was a network of caves covered in Paleolithic paintings, nearly 6,000 individual images of horses, deer, and a scattering of abstract signs and human figures, most of it created around 17,000 years ago.^1–3 It's often called the Sistine Chapel of prehistory, and it's one of the finest records we have of Upper Paleolithic art and, by extension, Upper Paleolithic minds.^1–3

But Lascaux isn't just a place to look at. It's a place to analyze. For decades now, spectroscopic and microanalytical techniques have been central to answering three big questions about the cave: What were the paintings actually made of? How did the artists prepare and apply their materials? And, more urgently in recent years, how do we keep the cave from destroying itself?

Let's take those one at a time, starting with the pigments.

You can watch our previous “Spectroscopy Around the Globe” episodes by clicking on the links below.

Episode 1: The Giza Pyramids

Episode 2: Stonehenge

References

1. Chalmin, E.; Farges, F.; Vignaud, C.; Susini, J.; Menu, M.; Brown, G. E., Jr. Discovery of Unusual Minerals in Paleolithic Black Pigments from Lascaux (France) and Ekain (Spain). AIP Conference Proceedings 2007, 882, 220–222.
2. Chalmin, E.; Vignaud, C.; Menu, M. Analysis of Rock Art Painting and Technology of Palaeolithic Painters. Measur. Sci.Technol. 2003, 14 (9), 1590–1597.
3. Chalmin, E.; et al. Minerals Discovered in Palaeolithic Black Pigments by Transmission Electron Microscopy and Micro-X-Ray Absorption Near-Edge Structure. Appl. Phys. A 2006, 83, 213–218.