Lascaux Cave Constellations

Shaman Constellation

The so-called "Shaman" or "Sorcerer" figure is from a cavern at Trois-Freres in France, Figure 1, was first interpreted to be a human in a shaman's costume, performing a dance or ritual.  It is clear, however, that the same constellation that represents the Great Lion on the Gobekli Tepe page is also the basis of this Sorcerer cave painting.  This is shown in Figure 2.  Such a connection has not been considered previously as the source of this image. Figure 1. Drawing of Trios-Freres "Sorcerer" cave painting Figure 2. Trois-Freres cave painting compared to modern star chart, with Shaman constellation shown Here there are a few things to notice or consider, first that this figure was made about 15,000 BP, which is roughly 4,000 years older than the Gobekli Tepe site.  So here represents another era of time and star position from intervening star movements.  There is no reason to believe there is a connection between them, since they appear to be entirely different artistic representations of largely the same star constellation.  It is certainly clear that within the cave there could have been no attempt to directly represent the stars by copying them, so it was either done from memory or through some portable means.  The depiction shown is itself a drawing made of the figure on the cave wall, which is shown in photograph in Figure 3.  Any of these things, in addition to stylistic rendering could explain how the artwork might not match the stars precisely. Some of the main features are the representation of the eyes with the Gemini stars Castor and Pollux, that the lower half of the body is Orion and the forelimbs are Canis Minor.  The antlers appear as lesser stars beyond the eyes and the tail is the bow of Orion.  This is not the only possible fit, but it is certain that the two eyes are aligned to the Gemini stars, while the body size and orientation might be varied a bit. Figure 3. Photograph of the Sorcerer Cave Painting as it appears today Some notable things about the actual cave wall are the little marks right above the figure that correspond to the constellation Auriga, but it also appears that other marks present in the drawing also are locations of stars in and around the figure, which might otherwise have been ignored by anthropologists.  The rear foot is shown with greater prominence with emphasis placed upon the heel, which corresponds to the star Rigel and its adjascent star. More cave art representations from Lascaux cave in France have also been linked to constellations.  However, this shaman figure was one of the initial motivations for support of the notion that such depictions were magical in nature.  Surely there is no reason to imagine that they aren't still magical even if they are known to be constellations.  The heavens were a real mystery to ancient people, who approached it with a combination of curiosity and wonder in their initial attempts to explain what it all meant, which is the basis of most myth and religion.

Lascaux Cave Constellation

What follows is derived from the work of others; William Glyn-Jones' website is my principle source for this, his work on the “Birdman” suite of paintings at Lascaux within which he also mentions that Luz Antequera Congregado followed by others have identified the constellation “Taurus” among the artworks that exist within that cave network, which is shown in Figure 1.   Figure 1. “Taurus": the Pleiades and Hyades shown around an Auroch          There is absolutely no question about this identification, showing the long horns of an auroch corresponding to the bull, Aldebaran as the eye, the Hyades just above the eye, the Pleiades above the back.  It also shows the three stars known today as Orion’s Belt to the left.  There are perhaps other subtle correspondences that contribute to the surrounding landscape.  However, here as elsewhere, merely because the auroch matches the Taurus constellation does not mean that there is a direct historical link between the two, it is far more likely to be merely a recognition of the appearance of the stars rather than knowledge passed along for over 10,000 years.  It is not out of the question that something could have survived transmission over such a long time, but other substantiating evidence and correspondences would be required to suggest it more fully.   Figure 2. Birdman suite of paintings associated with Gemini, Orion, Taurus, and Leo          The “Birdman” suite is shown in Figure 2.  William Glyn-Jones shows that the “Birdman” is Gemini and Orion, with the belt matching the feet of the figure, the bird-like head to the Gemini stars Castor and Pollux.  He associates the Buffalo with the same Taurus constellation, but it appears that the Buffalo is primarily based upon Auriga, the eye star is rather Alnath, Aldebaran might well have corresponded to the beast’s heart.  This association is shown in Figure 3.  The short horns of the buffalo are not the same as those long horns clearly resembling those of the Taurus constellation.  So it can be viewed as an altogether different constellation, although a regional association of this part of the sky with a horned animal might have permitted different interpretations through time.   Figure 3. Matching the Birdman’s Buffalo to the Constellation of Auriga          Associated with this suite is the rhino that Glyn-Jones identified with the constellation of Leo, with the “sickle” shape corresponding to the curled upward tail.  There is little question, however, that this particular painting represents this region of the night sky, even if there can be different interpretations as to exactly which stars comprise the represented constellations.      It is possible to make a less convincing match between the pictographs and the stars, aligning the horns of Taurus with the horns of the Buffalo, which would make the feet of the Birdman correspond to Rigel.  In this case the constellation is somewhat larger, but loses the correspondence between the bird-on-pole figure and the star Sirius, shown in Figure 4.   Figure 4. Alternate but imperfect fit to Gemini, Orion, Taurus, and Sirius

Conclusion

These new identifications have illustrated how much the nighttime skies have held significance throughout human prehistory, while representations of them were significant enough to become the subject of artwork, from early caves to later buildings.  It merely reinforces further the importance of the heavens giving rise to the manifestations of religion, the understanding and explanations of objects, what they might mean, what significance they have, and their importance throughout the history to our species, as a subject and inspiration for artistic rendering and mythical telling that were the ancestors to the later abstracted forms of religious practice today.

Notes: For more on Neolithic constellations from the Lascaux caves visit the Lascaux Twin link on the Links page. The star charts are taken from David H. Levy's "Guide to the Stars", Northern Hemisphere, Latitudes 30 to 60 North, that adds this note about their projection: "Any planisphere tries to project the sphere of stars onto a flat surface.  There are many types of projections, which all result in some stretching of star patterns, especially in the south.  Our projection is designed to minimize this effect, but the southern constellations are stretched somewhat and others appear squeezed." As always, you can take the opportunity to look upon these constellations yourself on a clear night away from city lights.  Not only can it be as interesting to locate them but to know also that these are the same stars that were gazed upon so many thousands of years ago by early humans, a direct and real link from their world to ours.