Page 66 - A Historical Lie: The Stone Age

A HISTORICAL LIE: THE STONE AGE

In the French Pyrenees, the Niaux Cave is filled with most impressive pictures
drawn by people who lived in prehistoric times. Carbon dating performed on these
paintings show that they were completed around 14,000 years ago. The Niaux
Cave paintings were discovered in 1906 and have been examined in great detail
ever since. The most decorated portion of the cave is a side chamber formed by a
high cavity, in a dark section known as the Salon Noir. In his book The Origin of
Modern Humans, Roger Lewin makes the following comment about this section,
with its images of bison, horses, deer and ibexes: ". . . arranged in panels and giving

the impression of foresight and deliberation in their execution." 11
One important element about these pictures that has attracted the most in-
terest of scientists is the painting technique employed. Research has shown that the
artists obtained special compounds by mixing natural and local ingredients. No
doubt that this indicates an ability to think, plan and produce far beyond the reach
of any beings still in a primitive state. Lewin describes this painting technique thus:
The painting materials—pigments and mineral extenders—were carefully se-
lected by Upper Paleolithic people and ground to within 5 to 10 micrometers to
produce a specific mix. The black pigment, as had been suspected, was charcoal
and manganese dioxide. But the real interest was in the extenders, of which there
seemed to be four distinct recipes, which the researchers number one through
four. Extenders help to bring out the color of the pigment and, as their name im-

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