PART 1: THE ARTICLE

A translation of
LASCAUX PLANETARIUM PREHISTORIQUE? by Pedro Lima
The incredible discovery
of a paleo-astrononomer
SCIENCE & VIE,
December 2000

Translators note: The subject matter of this article was taken from a research study that was conducted in 1999-2000 by an independent paleo-astronomer (a scientist who studies the stars of the ancient sky) by the name of Chantal Jegues-Wolkiewiez.

The FALLING HORSE in the Axial Gallery was found to align with the Winter Solstice

(continued)

JUNE 19 AT 21 HOURS GMT

There was only one way to confirm this: to observe the direction of the light of the setting Sun on the following Summer Solstice on June 19, 1999. The point on the horizon where the Sun sets on the Solstice is a point which does not vary significantly from year to year and century to century. (see horoscope)

Jegues-Wolkiewiez then verified her hypothesis that the rays of the setting sun at the Summer Solstice 17,000 years ago could have penetrated into the cave at Lascaux. She concluded that it was possible that these rays lit up the painting of the Red Bull on the back wall in the Hall of Bulls with an experiment. On the Summer Solstice June 21, 1999 Jegues-Wolkiewiez went to the Lascaux cave. At 21h GMT she observed the last rays of the setting Sun hitting the entrance to the cave for 15 minutes.

“On June 19 at 21 h we saw the solar rays lighting, little by little, for l5 minutes, the large opening which marked the entrance of the cave” said Chantal Jegues-Wolkiewiez. She also stated that 17,000 years ago the last rays of the Sun during other Summer solstices lit the paintings of Lascaux! The discovery constitutes a revolution of all previous knowledge on the subject of prehistoric caves and on the art of the times.

Cro-Magnon Man's dominating theme of bulls is explained by the constellation Taurus being dominant in the ancient sky during that period. These FACING BULLS are said to align with the constellations of Taurus and Scorpio. FACING BULLS also correspond to the rising and setting opposition of the Fixed Stars of Alderbaran, the eye of the bull in Taurus, and to Antares in Scorpio.

THE HALL OF BULLS
In order to explain the predominance of bulls in the prehistoric zodiac, Chantal Jegues-Wolkiewiez says that it was precisely the constellation Taurus that culminated in the Summer Solstice sky and was of primary importance to prehistoric painters. The entire Hall of Bulls is proposed to correspond to the constellation Taurus. The eye of the Bull is in alignment with the supergiant Alderbaran in the center of the constellation. While there are also stars configured that make up the Hyades which encircle the eye of Alderbaran. The Pleiades are above his shoulder.

Further examples are found in the Facing Bulls who stand opposite each other. According to Jegues-Wolkiewiez these bulls align with the constellations of Taurus and Scorpio. That these constellations are not visible in- the same sky at the time of the opposition strengthens her theory that Cro-Magnons possessed a direct knowledge of astronomy. Parts of these same bulls also correspond to the rising and setting opposition of the fixed stars of Alderbaran (the eye) in Taurus and to Antares in the Scorpio Bull.

THE FALLING HORSE

At the end of the Axial Gallery is an animal unique to Lascaux- the upside down or Falling Horse. The legs and the head of this horse are visible in the passageway and raised towards the sky while the lower half of the body is hidden behind a fold of the wall. “I have measured the direction indicated by this horse and found it to be the point where the Sun rises on the first day of winter”, explains the scientist.

This hypothesis is strengthened by the presence above the Falling Horse of another horse that is identical to the one in the main Hall of Bulls. This second horse is placed above the bulls and corresponds to the constellations of Leo and Scorpio. The rnane of this horse points to the brilliant star Arcturus and is exactly visible at the end of winter at the point above the horizon where the Sun rises. As the horse above in profile corresponds to the Sun at Spring Equinox, so below, the Falling Horse relates to the Sun at Winter Solstice.

Art historians have long been delighted that the cave paintings are accurate to a minute degree in their knowledge of animal anatomy and seasonal habits of each species. But that is not what is important. What is implied is that each painting in the Hall is aligned with a corresponding zodiac constellation. “This is what we hold to be true”, said Chantal Jegues-wolkiewiez. It is the positions and relationships of the animals that indicate astronomical knowledge of the solstice positions, the constellations and the fixed stars.

Her computer simulations, her measurements and the experiment at the cave itself, all led her to conclude that Cro-Magnon man did indeed possess the mathematical abilities to calculate and project the positions of the stars regardless of their visibility. In other words, she puts forth the theory that Cro-Magnon man was not only an artist but also an astronomer and a mathematician.

CONCLUSION:

In the interests of objectivity, author Pedro Lima ends the article with the comments from several French scientists who say that Jegues-Wolkiewiez's discoveries at the cave at Lascaux should be viewed as one isolated incident and that they must be verified by other studies and measurements in other caves of the same period. The scientists also argued that with the millions of stars in the sky there would always be some that could be found to be in correspondence to the paintings or to anything.

Lima's final statement is that perhaps other researchers will confirm the conclusion for themselves, by statistical studies on many caves using a multi-dimensional approach. Perhaps further research will prove that prehistoric men were also astronomers and that, in the Magdalenian Period, ancient men held religious beliefs that were contained and revealed in the sky, and were of primary importance to them. Perhaps Cro-Magnon man did look to the stars for answers to the deepest human questions.