LASCAUX -- MOVEMENT, SPACE, AND TIME |
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In this section we deal more specifically with the dynamic aspect of the iconography of the site - that of the 'layout' of the figures. The aim is to identify the many episodes represented by the works in the different sectors of the cave and to evaluate the respective roles of space and time which determined man's activities at Lascaux. The studies conducted by Max Raphael, [52] and then by Annette Laming-Emperaire [53] and Andre Leroi- Gourhan, [54] showed that, despite the apparently random distribution of the figures, it was possible to identify a certain spatial structuring. firstly at me level of the panel and then, by extension, the site as a whole. The overall reading of the panels very often masks the modes of their organization. Their identification is not immediately obvious, because it complicated the grouping and association of animals of different species. Separating the elements of the bestiary theme by theme enables us to see the layout of the families (or monothematic groups) and to recognize their spatial structuring. In this way, alignments of motifs, symmetrical or superimposed constructions emerge, which may be repeated from one panel to the next or even in the same composition. Noticeably, within these monothematic groups, the figures have the same dimensions. This feature appears to be significant. Nevertheless, several grouped aggregations often do not conform to any of these defined layouts. We have also noted the existence of a close agreement between the geometry of the work and the shape of the wall, something which once more confirms the existence of intimate connections between the natural setting and the modes of association of the figures. These may be distributed horizontally, vertically or in the form of a cluster. The themes represented in these groups are in each case uniform (one animal species per group). The repetition of this phenomenon shows that the art at Lascaux is not fortuitous but the result of precise layouts and preconceived concepts. HORIZONTAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE FIGURES There are two forms of distribution of figures on the horizontal axis: the most common is in a frieze, the other is symmetrical. In a frieze, the represented animals extend along the same level, most often following the line of a natural formation, a discontinuity between strata or a fault. The number of individuals varies from three to a maximum of fifteen in the case of the long procession of horses on the panel of the Great Black Cow (ill. 181). The figures of the group may possess all of their anatomical elements (such as the animals in the frieze of the Small Horses and the Chinese Horses) or be limited to the head (such as the frieze of the Swimming Stags and those of the Ibexes in the Nave and the aurochs overlain by the Great Black Bull in the Axial Gallery). Nevertheless, entire animals may be associated with reduced examples of the same species, such as the black horses of the Hall of the Bulls and those of the panel of the Great Black Cow. It should be noted that, in most cases, the most detailed subjects of such a group occupy a central position, whereas one or several heads are found at the margins, The same is true of incomplete animals when they are associated with a polythematic composition. In these cases they occupy either the upper part of the panel or its base. The panel of the Chinese Horses illustrates this through an equid head in its lower part. The same can be said for an isolated horse head to the right of the panel with the Unicorn. To these properties of the friezes (alignment along the same level, identical size of the motifs) can be added a third: orientation. All the animals of the simple groups face in the same direction. With mixed associations, on the other hand, the disconnected heads often face in the opposite direction to that of the more complete figures (the frieze of the black horses in the Hall of the Bulls, panel of the Great Black Cow in the Nave, or the single equid head painted at the far left facing the other representations of horses). This inversion of the orientation of the animals, which can be observed in many monothematic compositions, can also be applied to the complete animals. Here it suggests confrontation. Up to six subjects may be associated on the same horizontal line. The large bulls of the Hall of the Bulls are the model for this. Their distribution is asymmetrical, with both complete figures and others limited to the forequarters or reduced to a head, the latter located at each end of the long panel. This distribution is not a frieze, nor is it symmetrical, but it represents an intermediate situation. There are only a few symmetrical constructions. The Confronted Ibexes in the Axial Gallery are distinguished only by their colour, and the stags engraved on the left wall of the Apse ate also symmetrical. By contrast, the Crossed Bison in the Nave are painted with very slightly overlapping outlines in a diverging position. Vertical expansion can be related to constraints of topography or perspective, or a combination of the two. The constriction at the locality of the Upside-down Horse prevented any horizontal expansion over the left wall, but the Red Panel is on the facing tight wall. The Upside-down Horse takes the form of an interface. Avery large branching sign extends regular limbs on to each surface of the wall and forms the ridge between them. These surfaces are taller than they are broad, and encouraged the representation of a vertical composition with pairs of superimposed figures, on both the left and the right panels, thereby giving this composition a certain symmetry. Once more, under these conditions the incomplete figures occupy a position at the edge. As we have mentioned in the chapter relating to perspective, the vertical element is also employed for representing staggered depictions. This distinctive form of depiction was generated by a multiplication of the number of planes and leads to an alteration of outlines which becomes progressively more pronounced the further away the observer is from the subject. The examples of the frieze of the Small Stags or that of the group of horses located in front of the Falling Cow illustrate this type of layout. In some cases the walls of the cave present highly varied conditions which permit a diversification of parietal patterns in contrast with the uniformity of the majority of the galleries. These irregular forms cover the Passageway, the Chamber of the Felines and the Apse in their entirety. The Passageway, a straight gallery in general form, nonetheless presents a meandering shape, with a succession of alcoves separated from each another by vertical ridges. This arrangement divided the available space into as many useable surfaces as there are concavities. The sense of discontinuity was increased by difficulties of movement, the height of the ceiling varying between 1 and 1.5 metres, which limited the view of the gallery as a whole and exaggerated the segmentation of its space. In terms of the gallery as a whole, the figures are not arranged geometrically, but on the smaller, more regular surfaces they return to a more formal composition. The overall irregular character of the motifs appears to dominate. One can say the same of the figures in the Chamber of the Felines.
181 Lascaux or the art of the frieze. The frieze of the Small Horses, Axial Gallery, is a model example, with a development along a single horizontal line, subjects of similar dimensions, the same orientation and, often, a simplification of the outlines of the lateral motifs. The Apse has an almost ovoid form. Certain surfaces, particularly at the base, might have lent themselves to an organization of figures similar to those of the Hall of the Bulls, but the steep slope of the floors was a major obstacle. The desire to produce works of imposing dimensions could restrict the creation of a frieze with multiple elements. The sequence of the large stags might be identified as such a composition, but their movement, which is very different from one subject to the next, would suggest that this procession is made up of a number of individuals. On the other hand. some compositions of this type do exist, but with subjects of much more modest proportions (the confronted horses on the ceiling, the confronted stags of the middle level, the frieze of the engraved and painted Small Stags of the Apsidiole and the Crossed Bison). The rather restricted dimensions of the Apse (with only a few tens of square metres of surface) contrast with the high density of painted or engraved figures. In this confusion of figures it is difficult, with the possible exception of the largest figures, to recognize any organization of motifs comparable to that of the immediately adjacent and similarly formed Hall of the Bulls or Nave. With its highly irregular distribution of figures, in the sense that this does not respect any geometrical rules, the Apse must have played a specific role very different from that of the other sectors. The shapes and the surfaces of the walls materialize in rough outlines, attracting their attention and dictating in some way the organization and the geometry of the compositions. This interplay of the natural environment and human creation is continuous. It is a true symbiosis. Nevertheless, it seems difficult to know whether Palaeolithic people wanted to rake up all the available surface with an unlimited number of themes, or restrict their different compositions to a preconceived message. This final discussion introduces the notion of time in the construction of the various compositions in order to identify their relative chronology and attempt to determine the major sequences that led to the positioning of the iconography. The high number of figures per panel and the impressive size of some of them lead to numerous overlaps. Most of these remain partial, limited to very short sections (ill. 182), but some cover a large part of the underlying images, or indeed hide almost the entire subject. The superimpositions, which are sometimes inconvenient for the interpretation of the works, have an obvious advantage when it comes to identifying and classifying the different episodes during which they were executed. This path of research was followed by Andre Glory. [55] He concluded that the whole ensemble was realized in six periods, defined by their themes and by the techniques employed, which revealed several occupations of the sire during part of the Upper Palaeolithic. We analysed the figures stratigraphically in order to determine the order in which the different animal motifs within each panel were positioned, no longer looking at them from a technological angle, bur rather a thematic one. The great alteration of the walls in the Apse and the Passageway, together with the absence of relevant examples in the Shaft and the Chamber of the Felines, prompted us to take into consideration only the Hall of the Bulls, the Axial Gallery and the Nave. Furthermore, with very poorly represented themes such as the bird, the rhinoceros or the feline, it is not possible to record any superimposition. The analysis is therefore based on the equids. the cervids and the bovines, but also on special cases such as the Unicorn and the bear. We limited the study to eight themes: bull, cow, bison, ibex, horse, stag, bear and undetermined (the Unicorn). Forty-seven superimpositions were recorded involving these figures. They are distributed in approximately equivalent numbers in each of the three areas, but in unequal proportions in relation to the number of animal figures. We counted sixteen cases in the Hall of the Bulls, sixteen in the Axial Gallery and fifteen in the Nave. Of all the potential superimposition of the different themes we identified only fourteen. This imbalance derives both from the limited number overall and from a very important numerical disparity between the different themes. Exceptional subjects, such as the bear and the Unicorn, lie next to the more common species, such as horse, aurochs or stag. On their own, these three species make up 97 per cent of the bestiary of the Hall of the Bulls, 93 per cent in the Axial Gallery and 71 per cent in the Nave. There are remarkable repetitions in the positioning of the different themes. They are regularly found across all the panels, which has enabled us to demonstrate that the horse came first. In fact, its image is always below that of the aurochs, just as the latter is always below the stag. This is true of all the analysed superimpositions. This repetition of the sequences is based on a precise thematic order, horse-aurochs-stag, and reveals a very strict arrangement of the figures, which had already been suggested in 'the study of spatial structuring. Moreover, the uniformity of the works at the centre of the monothematic groups is remarkable, not only in terms of their formal characteristics but also their techniques and colours. The fact that the animals of the same group have an identical orientation, that they are regularly spaced and that they show a similar animation suggests that extremely close links existed between them. The numerous examples include almost all the figures of the Hall of the Bulls, the Axial Gallery and the Nave. There are other examples in the test of the cave, although less conspicuous.
182 The numerous superimpositions of images have allowed recognition of the order in which the different subjects of the panels were painted, drawn or engraved. Here, the antler of one of the red Stags covers the muzzle of the second bull, Hall of the Bulls. In the majority of cases, the similarities of the animals are the result of the underlying form given to the outline to be reproduced. The artists thus had a pre-existing virtual shape in their minds. This is recognized in the overall perception of the works and serves as a guiding framework, on to which the anatomical details are later grafted. The construction of the frieze of the Swimming Stags, for example, relies upon a series of 'X'-shaped forms, the upper branches of which replace the two antlers, and the lower ones marking out the line of the neck and the forehead. In the same way, the position of the engraved and painted frieze of the Ibexes on the facing wall reveals a similar preliminary sketch in a series of alternating, sub-parallel arcs for the horns of these animals. There is less variability in the formal, technical, chromatic and ethological characteristics of animals of a group. This homogeneity indicates that the assembly of figures in a monothematic group was created at the same time and by the same person. The construction of the panels is therefore not limited to a simple juxtaposition of motifs - it translates the desire to treat all the elements of a monothematic group in an integrated fashion and give them great cohesion. This reasoning, based on the stratigraphic analysis of the figures on the one hand and the observation of the thematic uniqueness of the groups on the other, allows us to define the modalities of the construction of the compositions and to recognize a sequence of events for each panel, in each space studied. The composition of figures in the Hall of the Bulls is the prime example. The positioning of the groups was carried out in several successive phases. The first consists of the long frieze of the black horses (ill. 183), including the isolated head on the left and the two sketches on the right. Then the Unicorn enters the composition, followed by the second series of red and brown equids, spread Out in a sloping line (ill. 184), including the large polychrome horse, with motifs sketched on its flank, and the horse on the right between the horns of the two great bulls. Next is the group of bovines (ill. 185) with, in order, the large black bulls, then the red cows and the calves. Later, the space between the second and third bulls was filled by the frieze of the Small Stags (ill. 186). The bear took its place during this final phase, although we are unable to define when this was relative to the cervids.
183 The construction of this composition begins with the frieze of the black horses.
184 After the Unicorn, a second frieze of horses, this time coloured, takes its place on the wall. X 185 The very segmented image of the second bull represents a period of enhancement following that of the horses.
186 During a final stage in the construction of this panel, the space left free between the two large confronted bulls is filled with the group of the Small Stags, Hall of the Bulls. In the first third of the Axial Gallery, the animals respond to the same logic. The two friezes of three horses - that of the Chinese Horses and its pendant on the facing wall- are earlier than the group formed by the four female aurochs. An identical chronology is seen on the panel of the Swimming Stags, with precedence of the horse relative to the stags, and on the panels of the Great Black Cow and the Imprint. upon which the bovines (aurochs and bison) came later than the horses.
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