Prehistoric Astronomers

Today on Far Future Horizons we explore a controversial theory concerning the Sistine Chapel of prehistory – Lascaux Cave and its astronomical connection.

Engraved bone points marking the phases of the Moon

Thirty five thousand years ago in Europe, tribes of hunter gatherers invented a fascinating art form. An art populated with animals, emerging from the depth of the earth. Some eighteen thousand years later in the heart of Périgueux region in France they created their most fabulous masterpiece: Lascaux.

Prehistorians have offered all sorts of explanations for the paintings. But an independent French researcher has come with an exciting new hypothesis. She thinks the Lascaux cave paintings represent a map of the sky: The sky as seen by the world's first prehistoric astronomers, seventeen thousand years ago.

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