What the Lascaux Cave Paintings Tell Us About the Nature of Human Desire
The ups and downs of always wanting what we can’t have
Abstract: Humanity has a problem living in the now. If we aren’t lost in our memories of the past, we’re fantasizing about what the future might bring. But if we re-examine what we know of our earliest ancestors, we can see two things:
- We’ve had this problem for a long time. And,
- It doesn’t have to be such a bad thing.
About 17,000 years ago, early man started doodling on cave walls in eastern France. Today, it’s a site we call Lascaux. It’s not the earliest example of humans making art. Not by a long shot. But that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most famous finds of our prehistoric past.
The caves were discovered by teenagers shortly after Paris fell to the Nazis in 1940. They were opened to tourists in 1948 and saw about 1,200 visitors daily. But as people marveled at the ancient artwork, they also contaminated it. Mold started to grow, leading to the caves being closed in 1963.
But in that time, what a buzz they stirred. People would gaze in wonder, lost in thought about how different it must have been back then.
