Word: lascaux
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...more than 17,000 years, the bestiary of the Lascaux cave in southwestern France survived the ravages of history, unseen and undiscovered. Entering it now is like walking into a time capsule, where 12-foot-long bulls and plump yellow horses appear to float across the vaults like religious apparitions. Although the draftsmanship is strikingly Modernist--on exiting the cave in 1940, Pablo Picasso is said to have remarked, "We have invented nothing"--these creations are remnants of the Upper Paleolithic Age, when our hunter-gatherer ancestors acquired the gift of consciousness and a knack for nature drawing...
...despite its robust longevity, Lascaux is surprisingly fragile. Five years ago, after the ill-conceived installation of new climatic equipment, Lascaux suffered a fungal infection that threatened to destroy in a few years what thousands of years had left largely unscathed. The cave's custodians are still struggling to eradicate this scourge, a nasty fungus called Fusarium solani. Access is strictly limited; TIME was allowed to visit the cave because its keepers feel they finally have the outbreak under control. But to keep the fungus in retreat, a team of restorers enters the cave every two weeks--dressed, as everyone...
...Battling to Save the Cave Thank you for shining a worldwide light on the crisis in Lascaux, France [May 15]. Clearly the cave and its irreplaceable paintings are still at grave risk. The French government must end its secretive handling of the cave, the crisis and attempted treatments. A truly international, independent group of scientists and experts in cave art and conservation should be allowed to monitor and report to the world on the cave and its health. Lascaux is not an heirloom of French or even Western culture. It is an expression of the earliest experience of being human...
...cover story on the fragile state of the Lascaux cave caused readers to wonder anew at the treasures in southwestern France, and to worry over the threats posed both by natural damage and by the French authorities, who at times have seemed most concerned with protecting themselves Thank you for shining a worldwide light on the crisis in Lascaux, France [May 15]. Clearly the cave and its irreplaceable paintings are still at grave risk. The French government must end its secretive handling of the cave, the crisis and attempted treatments. A truly international, independent group of scientists and experts...
...southern France and northeastern Spain. Some cultural impulse drove the early Homo sapiens of that region not only to venture deep into caves but also to paint and engrave them. Though some of the caves have been known for centuries, most were discovered - or rediscovered - in the 20th century. Lascaux is the most famous: its grandeur makes it exemplary. But so do its travails, as José A. Lasheras, the director of the museum and cave of Altamira in Spain, acknowledges. "Altamira had the great luck that Lascaux had problems before we did," he says. Like Lascaux 16 years before...