Chauvet Gris Cave

The paintings in the Chauvet cave date back to the Aurignacian period (35,000 to 28,000 BCE), so designated by prehistorians in reference to the artifacts and tools from this period found in Aurignac (Haute-Garonne). They are almost contemporary with the appearance in Europe of Cro-Magnon man (homo sapiens) and almost twice as old as those of Lascaux. Two thirds of the thousand animals represented here are potentially dangerous species that were not hunted by prehistoric man. These animal figures, of great stylistic beauty, show that parietal art reached a very high level of artistic refinement from its beginnings. They are drawn in charcoal, taking advantage of the crevices and variations in color of the clay and calcite wall.