Painted Caves

The area of southwest France that includes the Lot and the Dordogne has been inhabited by man for thousands of years. Evidence of this appears in the many prehistoric paintings found in numerous caves throughout the area. This is one such painting from Pech Merle, a cave found in the Lot along the River Cele. All of the plateau that the river runs through is included in the French regional park, parc naturel regional des Causses du Quercy.This is one of the few prehistoric caves in France that is still open to the public. There are several other smaller caves in the vicinity of Pech Merle which also contain wall paintings done by prehistoric man. If you click here, you can see a map with their general location. Since they are closed to the public, the map is intentionally vague to preserve their secrets.

I'm fascinated by the image of a prehistoric man...or maybe woman?...holding their hand on this rock wall and tracing around it with some sort of paint. Why did they do this? Did they have any idea that people thousands of years later would marvel over their art? If I touched this rock, would I be able to discern their ancient energy and life force?