“…To understand Lascaux, first go and visit Bara-Bahau…”

All of us were taken by surprise – dumbstruck, so to speak - when the impressive Bara-Bahau engravings were found: a bear, a bison, a phallus, a reindeer, horses, ibexes, aurochs and, on either side, a hand engraved over claw marks left behind by bears… the hand of man had touched up the bear traces as the artists crawled along in those very same places where bears hibernated a long, long time ago. For those of us living in Le Bugue « Bara-Bahau » had always conjured up the sound of huge blocks of stone crashing down into the gallery where kids of all ages liked to come and play. But the events of April 1 1951 changed all that when the well known explorer, Norbert Casteret - a sort of Jules Verne style hero dressed up like a cosmonaut from down below – arrived on the scene with his children, Raoul and Maud, aged 25 and 23.

THREE MEN AND A LONG-LOST COUSIN
Centenary of the discovery of “The Old Man” of La Chapelle-aux-Saints

The smallest village in Corrèze recently organized the most impressive centenary event ever in celebration of the most illustrious Neanderthal: “The Old Man” of La Chapelle-aux-Saints. On the discovery of his skeleton all the members of his family rejoined the vast family of Humankind – causing quite an uproar. He was buried by his companions about 45,000 ago – and only human beings bury their dead. The great ape label that had been stuck on him had now to go. He remains, a hundred years on, a key figure in the history of prehistory as we trace back to our origins. He may not, as yet, enjoy the status of “ancestor”, but he does have the status of “cousin” with the same ancestor as us somewhere down the line.

Perpetual mating season at Lascaux cave

Norbert Aujoulat, the eminent cave art expert, tells us the conclusion he has reached after years of meticulous study in Lascaux Cave: the Sistine Chapel by no means advocates chastity! There on the walls before our eyes it’s all about roaring and rutting and lust for life. His findings have been revealed in a beautiful book, a sort of “goodbye to Lascaux”, entitled “LASCAUX le geste, l’espace et le temps” published by “Editions du Seuil”. He has allowed us to show you a few pictures from it and to briefly outline his scientific and philosophical approach to the mysteries of this sanctuary of prehistory in the Périgord Noir.