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[[File:Lascaux2.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Cave painting at Lascaux.]]

'''Lascaux''' is the name given to a [[cave]] in the [[Vézère Valley]] of southwestern [[France]]. The Lascaux cave is famous for its [[cave painting]]s. 

There are a number of caves near the village of [[Montignac, Dordogne|Montignac]], in the [[Dordogne]] ''[[département in France|département]]''. One of these caves contains some of the best-known [[Upper Paleolithic]] art. Most of the paintings are realistic images of large animals. Many of these animals are known from [[fossil]] evidence to have lived in the area at the time. The site of Lascaux was added to the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s list in 1979, under the name of the Vézère Valley.

Montignac is about {{convert|40|km}} from [[Périgueux]], and about {{convert|25|km}} from [[Sarlat-la-Canéda]]

== Dating ==
Unfortunately, none of the colors used in Lascaux are coal based. Therefore, a direct dating of the paintings is not possible. Despite this, Lascaux was one of the first sites where [[radiocarbon dating]] was used. That way, the coal in the fireplaces was dated to about 17,000 years ago. H.Breuil himself thought that the site was older, about 31.000 to 22.000 years old.<ref>Breuil, H., (1954), « [http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/bspf_0249-7638_1954_num_51_11_3123 Les datations par C14 de Lascaux (Dordogne) et Philip Cave (S.W. Africa)] », ''Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française'', t. LI, 11-12, pp. 554-559.</ref>

Norbert Anjoulat looked at the style and the theme of the paintings, and found these were close to [[Solutréen]], rather than [[Magdalénien]].<ref name="Aujoulat">N. Aujoulat, (2004), ''Lascaux - Le geste, l'espace et le temps'', Seuil.</ref>  

There are some disagreements about dating the site. The paintings seem to date from 17,000 to 15,000 years ago. Artifacts were also found in the cave, which seem to be older.  The original dating was to about 26,000 years ago.  

Most archaeologists believe that the age of about 17,000 years is accurate for the following reasons:  
* All the paintings seem to have approximately the same age  
* No object has been found that would allow to date the paintings to 22,000 years or older  
* The tools that were found in the cave correspond to those used 17,000 to 15,000 years ago  
* All radiocarbon datings show an age of about 17,000 years, which corresponds to the findings above.

== Discovery and problems ==
The caves were discovered on [[12 September]] [[1940]]. By 1955, about 2000 people visited them every day. In 1968, the original cave was closed to the public, and a system of [[air conditioning]] was installed. The cave paintings were restored and  replicas of several paintings were created in other caves nearby, known as Lascaux II and Lascaux III. Today, the original cave is no longer accessible to the public. 

In 2000, another problem emerged: Certain kinds of [[fungi]] started to grow in the original cave. These are extremely resistant to the usual [[fungicide]]s used, even to [[formaldehyde]]. The fungus lives in [[symbiosis]] with a [[bacterium]] which is capable of destroying the fungicide. Therefore, the fungicide needs to be combined with an [[antibiotic]] to kill the bacterium as well.

As of 2006, the situation is more or less under control. The original caves are now sprayed with the fungicide/antibiotic every "fortnight". Special workers need to clear the cave walls by hand, removing the [[mycelium]] which grows despite the treatment.<ref>J. Graff, [http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901060515-1191806,00.html « Saving Beauty »] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704202055/http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901060515-1191806,00.html |date=2008-07-04 }}, ''Time'', 2006, vol. 167, N° 20, p. 36-42</ref><ref>[http://www.hominides.com/html/actualites/lascaux-danger-fusarium-solani-0001.html Lascaux toujours victime du Fusarium solani] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010040614/http://www.hominides.com/html/actualites/lascaux-danger-fusarium-solani-0001.html |date=2009-10-10 }}, article de Hominidés.com</ref><ref>M.-A. Sire, [http://www.cndp.fr/revueTDC/879-73324.htm « Lascaux : la rechute »] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120729080842/http://www.cndp.fr/revueTDC/879-73324.htm |date=2012-07-29 }}</ref> 

== References ==
{{Commonscat|Lascaux}}
{{reflist}}

{{WHSite}}

[[Category:Caves of Europe]]
[[Category:Dordogne]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in France]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in France]]

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