Exploring the Unexplored 
by Arielle S.

    I was at my sisters’ house in the south of France for a month during summer. We just got a new dog and we didn’t want to leave her home with our nanny so we brought her with. When I was walking along a trail with my dog, I accidentally took the wrong path. Now I did not know where I was going or where I was.

     All of a sudden, I heard a scream. I was looking for a hole because there was no one around. The scream was faint and it sounded like an echo from the ground. There wasn’t a hole anywhere so I was confused about what I should do. Then I heard it again. I still looked for something that would show me the person who was screaming, but I found nothing. Then all of a sudden I stepped in a hole that was about 10 or 12 yards long. It felt like it was forever until I fell to the bottom. When I landed, there was a small room and a winding tunnel. It was almost lunch time, so I was glad I brought my lunch with me.

     When I opened my back pack, along with my lunch I found a flashlight and a camera. I was so lucky. When I turned the flashlight on I saw a two-way passage. Again I heard the scream and it was coming from the right hand tunnel. So I crawled through the tiny opening. As I was walking through, since the tunnel got bigger, I shined my flashlight ahead of me and saw many skeletons and spears just lying around. I heard the scream again; it was closer than ever. I walked a few more yards. There was a woman, about 20 or 25 years old, standing in a corner of the cave and she was trapped between five or more rocks from a rock slide. I helped her up, then I turned my flashlight to the right and saw magnificent cave art. It looked like a bull and some horses. I think the person who could have drawn it could have been a hunter because a spear is right next to the drawing. If a hunter had drawn it, then it was probably a memory of what that person caught that day. I took a picture of the cave art with my camera, then I left the cave and helped the person out. She told me a little about herself and what she was doing there. She said she was there because she was an archeologist and wanted to be famous for finding a cave.

     I told no one of what I had seen so it will be there forever undisturbed. Other people might have found it and told about, but I never told anyone. If everyone started coming, then the place would be disturbed and the picture would be ruined.

The Robust Bison

By Brandon T.

     Welcome.  I am referred to as Johoboth.  I am a mere peasant in the cave.  I make the paints and other tools for the extravagant art work that envelops the cave walls.  One of my favorite images captures the true chakra (spiritual energy in the body) of the highly sought after buffalo.  It was illustrated by a brave warrior who was the first ever to kill a buffalo and bring it to the tribe. This was exalted so much we all decided to paint a picture to remember this feat.  As many years pass, this colossal piece of art still stands.                                               

    The best description I can relay at the present time is the following:  Two bison overlap in an array of power and a flurry of rage.  They stampede over a seemingly lax rhinoceros in their florescent fury.  I am truly flabbergasted beyond my wildest imagination!

     After listening to my prolific description of this elaborate piece of art in the main area of the cave, my cavemates laugh out their guts.  They are not as aware as I that they are in the presence of the great spirits.  Regardless, I find it to be baseless lampoonment of me and the spirits.  Astounding!  The gods will serve due punishment to these treasonous dogs!  Those who dare deface the religion of the cavemen shall suffer.

     I, for one, appreciate the gifts the gods granted us.  I and all my clan respect the culture we were given by them.  Though there are many of us now, we, along with our beliefs, will ultimately become extinct and those who succeed us will learn of our creed.  Surely, they will attempt to gain knowledge of us.  I am old and my time will soon come, so I hope for the best of my tribe and imagine what is to come.

My Lucky Kill

By Brock L.

    YES!  It’s huntin’ time!  And today were eatin’ bull.  That’s my favorite dinner.   My tribe has to leave the cave now and go to the large prairie fields where the bull live… but not for long!  Wow, it is cold! I am going to get my bull coat out - it keeps me warm and it disguises me around the bulls. I am going to try my hardest at catching one tonight.  I think I see one… yes!  I do and I am going for it.  Getting closer, almost to it, I swing out my spiked club and WHAMO!!!!!!  I repeatedly stab it and whack it until it drops dead.  I am so popular now; everyone is super stoked on me, even if they don’t know it.  When I get back to the cave I add another check to my bull column on the huntin’ chart.  So far I have killed ten animals: three boars, two bears, four bulls, and one sheep.  That is the third best in the tribe!  Now that it’s night-time we will feast on my prize.  We set bonfires and have rituals to thank the food god – Foodiumfsh.  Fu-de-um-f-sh. 

     After the dinner I go over to the wall and draw my description of my bull with coal from the fire.  It isn’t that good compared to all of the other thousand paintings, but in my opinion it is good.  Tomorrow it is the new month; we know that because we look at the moon.  My new month’s resolution is to kill more animals because I want to become the best hunter in the tribe.  It is a big deal when you are the best hunter because there are not a lot of hunters in my tribe – a lot of them moved to Paris.  Even though that place is nice I still don’t know why they left us here to work harder and slowly suffer.  At least that’s what I think is happening.  News is slow here, there is no way to get around easily even though there are lots of fields where the bull live.  There are also lots of mountains that we live in.             

First Hunt

By: Caroline B.

     It was the first I had ever seen. It was large, brown, and seemed graceful. It all started earlier that morning. The young boys in the tribe of the age of 12 (and I, a girl) were to go out for the first time and hunt. It was an exciting day for me because I was of the age when we began hunting. I took my new spear (a gift of the tribe) and was ready to go. The whole thing was a type of contest: whoever had the most and the biggest animals killed at the end of the day would get to be the chief’s assistant for the day. Girls were allowed to participate but they didn’t, except for me. Not a single person in the tribe believed in me, not even my brother, Cumchaka, who had taught me to hunt and won two years before.

    The hunt was about to start. The chief yelled, “Hiyeeny motakdya tiyrgliyona apoptrescawdo,” which meant, “Go forth as a child, come back as an adult. Your mistakes are now your fault, no longer your parents’.” Then we were off. Boys were running everywhere calling the animals theirs before they even threw their spear. Then and there I realized I had no chance. So I wandered off to an area where it was quiet, and a place where I could sit and enjoy the beauty of the mountains and trees around me, until an animal came to me.

     I heard a noise—a noise I don’t normally hear. So I got up and I walked toward it. Through the bushes there was a lake where animals I had never seen before were grazing in the water. I thought to myself, yes, now I will surely win, but then I took another step towards the animals and felt pain and sorrow for all of these creatures I was about to kill. So I didn’t kill them. I took a few of the strange animals back with me by using my hunting rope to gather them. I named them, “Horse.” I called the first few Spirt, Chuaga, and my favorite, Melinakiy. She was beautiful. Melinakiy was all brown with black hair. All day I played with them, but they were a little rough to handle. I didn’t bother going on with the competition. I thought, let some boy win who wants it more than I do.

     When I got back that night everyone was cheering and excited to see what was caught. They all looked at me and wondered what was following me and why they weren’t dead. The chief came over to me. He asked what I had killed, and I replied, “Nothing.”

     Then he asked, “What is behind you?” with a confused look on his face.

     I said, “I call them horses.” He then told me I could make a painting of the strange animals on the wall, something sacred only the chief and a few other people were allowed to do.

     I was proud of myself and so was my family. Now my painting will be there forever.

Bison is the name

by Jessie W.

1) What type of materials did early man use to paint on the walls of the caves? 

They would use blood and rocks or coal.

2) What colors were used the most in their cave art? 

The colors I see mostly are red, black and gold or yellow.

3) In what part of the world is most cave art found?

Many pictures were sighted in the caves of  Lascaux, France.

Explore:

4) Which was your favorite painting?  Why?

My favorite cave art is Bison. This is because first of all, I like bulls. Second, in this picture, I can sense the feeling, the fear of these bulls.

Analyze:

5) Why do you think early man chose the subjects (i.e. the objects of the paintings) they did for their painting/drawings? So that in the future we can know about the times before writing.

6) How realistic or abstract are the paintings of early man?  What could this tell us about them?

The Wolves, The Paintings, The Artists

By Chad B.

     Hi, I’m Howler. I am a wolf. I am one of many wolves that live in this cave. Many bears live here too. My fur is white and my eyes are blue. People try to kill us. Some are able to but some are killed by us. Artists come and paint, I guess they learned if they don’t bother us we won’t bother them. They paint pictures of all kinds of animals. A couple of artists came and went. I think they painted pictures to show future generations about the animals they tried to kill for food.

     Rats and mice also live here. Then one day some of us left. Other animals also started to leave. One day three explorers came. They made it through half of the cave and went back to change their flashlights. The older wolves told me that our family lived here for three hundred years, so when the explorers went to change their flashlights we left as well, because there where no animals to eat. We watched through a small hole in the cave. They threw a rope down and came down cautiously. One after the other they came down. Their flashlights were very strong but they still struggled making their way through the twists and turns. They started to see some paintings and some bones. As they made their way, more paintings and more bones started to appear. Then the next thing they knew they were in the room where the artists painted and where we lived. They told the government and the officials made a museum out of it. The government closed the cave because the air and oxygen people breathe was disturbing the paintings and the bones.

     Sometimes we visit where we used to live and stay for a day. No more artists come and paint so it’s not the same as before.        

The Red Bull

By Daniel H.

     My name is Elbissecca. I belong to the tribe of Zhengo. We live in caves in the mountains in France. Since I am training to be an artist for the tribe, I was walking to a cave to paint a picture. It was pitch black so I had to light a fire and my pet fox was dancing around it. I was painting a bull on the wall of the cave with a stick and blood. Suddenly, my fox let out a loud yelp and I saw a gigantic, fierce bull with two calves in the corner of the cave. I picked up my fox and threw my spear at the biggest bull. Oh, no! I missed and now the bull is about to charge. I was terrified and I felt like my life was going to be over in a few short seconds. Then, I had an inspiration. I heard somewhere that there was a great hunter that killed huge animals with only a small knife. I took my knife out of my pocket and hurled it at the enormous bull. She groaned and fell down even though she wasn’t dead yet. The two calves ran away and I let them go. I went and got my spear and killed the bull with ease now that it was on the ground and helpless.

     I thought it was kind of funny that I was painting a bull and then a bull came and I killed it, but, I continued painting. It got late and I didn’t want to go all the way back to my tribe so I fell asleep on the floor of the cave with my fox. Finally, the next morning I completed my painting. It was my masterpiece. Now I could go back to my tribe to be an artist. Then, I remembered the bull. I ran over to it and tried to drag it out of the cave. It was too heavy so I just walked back to my tribe. When I got back everyone congratulated me about killing the bull. I told them that someone had to come help me drag it home. Someone offered to go when he was done repairing his spear. I asked him how long it would take and he said only about twenty minutes. After a while, someone remembered why I went to the cave in the first place, so he asked about my painting. I told him to follow me, and then I ran back to the cave. When I showed him the red bull shining in the firelight, he said it was the best art he ever saw and that everyone had to see it.  We ran back to the tribe to bring everyone to the cave. That night we ate the bull I killed around a fire next to my painting and I retold my story over and over again.

Jack’s Wild Adventure
By Gal M.

     My name is Jack and I am an archaeologist. A couple of years ago I found a cave. It was huge and all of it was covered with all kinds of things, including animal skulls and bones. There were claw marks on the walls, and best of all, tons of pictures in the cave. They were amazing. They were the most creative pictures I ever saw in my life. But before I tell you everything I saw, I have to tell you how I got there. I was at a very old place in Turkey. When I went home, I saw a big rock I had never seen on the road before, so I went off the road and looked at it. I found a very small hole in the ground. I went home because I had no tools and went to sleep, but the next day I went to work with all my tools.

     Afterwards I went back and dug and made the hole open up, and the hole just kept getting bigger. I had brought everything I needed, so I went down the hole with my rope helmet flashlight and all my other equipment. All I did was jump in, and I began falling down. It was so deep I could not see anything. Then I just hit the ground so hard I could not remember anything after that. When I finally looked at my watch, I realized I had been unconscious for eight hours. I was very tired but I kept going. I took baby steps because I didn’t want to disturb the many things that were there. I found tons of bones and rocks. The air was so smooth. Everything felt like it had never been touched. I still could not see everything because the place was so big. I went to the side until the light from my flashlight started hitting the wall. And I was so amazed by what I found. There were pictures on the cave walls everywhere. I found one that was really weird looking. It was a animal that looked like a kangaroo/rat/buffalo. It looked like it was made out of carving on the walls and then filled in with berries. I saw a man’s skull next to it but I don’t think a man could carve back then, so it had to be a bear and a man’s work. I kept going until I got out somehow from the other side of the cave. I went home where my wife had waited for me all night. I fell asleep while talking to her. 

Red Bull

By Jeremy G.

     The sun was coming up and my son and I were hungry. I decided to go out of my cave, which is situated in the mountains of Lascaux in France, and go hunting with him. As my son and I left the cave we heard some noises coming from the bushes. We didn’t know what was there, but it sounded like a big animal. I said to my son, “Stay here. I shall go into the bushes and find out what that sound is.” As I walked closer to the bushes the noise grew louder and louder. I was determined to find out what it was. Suddenly, a crazed bull jumped out of the bushes and on top of me! I didn’t know what to do. I screamed, “Son! Get in the cave quick!”

     As my son ran in the cave, the bull jumped off of me and chased after him. My son ran even faster and faster deep into the cave but not fast enough. The bull jumped on his back and they both fell to the ground. I ran into the cave to get a knife. Quickly, I rushed back to try and help my son, but by the time I got to him another bull came. I tried to stab the bulls but they were moving too fast and I didn’t want to stab my son. Finally, I stabbed one of the bulls and it fell off my son and hit the ground. The other bull didn’t stop trying to kill my son, so there was only one thing I could do. I ran to get my bow and arrow and shot one arrow right into the bull’s heart. I shot another and the bull fell to the ground. Miraculously my son was OK.

     Afterward, my son and I cooked the bulls over a fire and had a very delicious dinner. The next day my son said to me, “Dad don’t you think that we should draw a painting of the bulls on the wall of the cave so our descendants know how we killed them?”  My son and I took coal and blood from the bulls and we drew the story of the bulls on the walls of the caves.    

To Become a Man

By Leah S-H.

     OK, son, I will tell you the story again. It is time to go hunting by yourself. Ready?

     I think so.

     Remember, don’t come back until you catch a horse.

     Mom, don’t start crying. I’ll come back soon [Mom sobs]. Bye Mom and Dad.

     Be careful.

     I will.

     I went off hunting and saw so many different things than what I’m used to, like people and tamed animals. I’m so confused.

     Ahhhhhhhhhh, I screamed.  All of a sudden I saw a big ugly bull ready to charge. It missed and ran into a tree.  I ran off wondering if I should go back home, but I wanted to become a man. So I went on.

     A few hours later night fell so I set up camp imagining that my mom was there saying, “Go to sleep, tomorrow will come soon.” A couple of minutes later I fell asleep.

     I woke up at dawn and packed up and started to look for a horse. I saw everything but a horse. I was starting to give up hope when all of a sudden I saw a horse and took out my rope to catch it so I could kill it in front of the village men. My dad would be so proud. It took longer to get back because I wasn’t in as big as a rush   I was calm but when I was a day away from the village I got very sick, and when I got to the village the killing had to be postponed until I was better.

     I did not get better for a few months but when I did we had our big ceremony for the killing of the horse. And with berries I drew my first horse, and that felt so good to do after waiting so long. It was the best day of my life. I now tell my children about it and I know that in the future I will be as proud of them as my dad was of me.

Wolf Pup

By Leksey M

     It was the first day of my first spring and being an eager wolf pup as I was, I couldn’t wait to leave the cave for the first time. I opened my eyes and couldn’t believe what I saw: my mother and brothers and sisters had left me alone, sleeping in a cave owned by a human. The boy was using berries to paint a picture of a bull. I tried my best to sneak as quietly as I could out of the cave. Uh Oh!!!! THUMP. I slipped on ice left from the winter. The boy turned around. I made a dash for the door, but, he got there first. I slid to a stop. He scooped me up. I squirmed and yelped but he wouldn’t let me go. The boy kept on saying, “It’s okay little pup, it’s okay.”  

     Finally I settled down. He sat down with me in his arms and said, “Your name is now Spring.” He sat me down on the floor and stood up. He walked over to the wall and picked up a berry. The boy squashed his berry and the juice flowed out. He looked over at me to make sure I would stay. He then started to draw a picture with his finger, of a bull that he was hoping to catch during the hunt in the next few weeks.

     It has now been ten months since he found me, and this is a day I will never forget. My owner was out hunting with his tribe, and I stayed back in the cave. It is the first day of winter. I was sleeping and I heard a big thump and then warm breath on the back of my neck. I thought that it was just my owner back lighting a fire. I opened my eyes and there I saw a big grizzly bear leaning over me with his mouth open. I sprung up and with all my might I scratched him. He fell back. I jumped on his stomach and bit him. He then threw me back. The pain was great but I had to defend myself. The fight lasted at least half an hour until the bear fell back dead. When my owner came back he looked at me and looked at the bear and was very pleased with me. My owner took the bear to the leader of the tribe and I was honored that night with a great feast.

The end

The Hunt…

By: Lindsay P.

     The hunt is coming up and my brother is sharpening his spear. My dad, the chief, is putting the finishing touches on my brother, Maciao’s (Brave One), gift, his first knife. It is my brother’s first time out hunting. My mother is painting a picture on the wall; it is of my brother killing a bison, in hope of him killing an animal. Me, well I’m just sitting on the floor next to my brother listening to him talk about what he is going to kill. Before this gets too confusing, let me tell you a little about my brother and me.

     Maciao is now 15 and I am 10. Every 40 years the boys that turn 15 that year go on a hunt. The one who hunts an animal first and comes home with the animal becomes the next chief. My brother is one of the boys hunting to become chief. Today is the day that they are doing that hunt.

     Now back to the story.  My father, Matiya (Courageous Man) gives Maciao his gift. Maciao thanks him and stares at the knife. Dad helps Maciao paint his face with berries. Dad, Mom, and Maciao walk out of our cave and I run after them.   Right before Maciao and the rest of the boys start hunting I say, “Kunjay samko oona” (I wish you good luck).

Dad says, “Kunjay mishkoon samko oona” (I wish you all good luck), and then he says, “Hunsko watio runta etonin tunka mishco”( come back with the animal you killed). “Soonka moshika tunato rishcoaco  foosha hungita unjaka” (go into the mountains and kill your prey).

Dad says that the boys will be finished hunting at moonlight and will not hunt again until suntime (from the time sun sets to the time sun rises). Maciao is the first to come back; he comes back with a bear. Dad announces to the tribe once all the boys have come back that Maciao will be the next chief! I go back to our cave and help my mom make a painting on the wall. It’s of the bear, my

brother killed.

     A few days later the boys go out to sharpen their spears and Somia (Maciao’s best friend) realizes that one boy is missing! Before the men of the tribe can decide what to do, Maciao goes out with Somia, yelling, “Smona detay chafay woota” (I am the next chief. I’m going to save him). A day later, Maciao and Somia return with the boy; he got lost and just waited until someone came.  Maciao is now a tribe hero and he will definitely become chief. That is my story. If something else happens, I will write that story on the wall too.

Sokay

The Girl Who Becomes a Hiker

By Shoshana F.

     The fist time I saw the cave art I was amazed. I was nineteen and visiting France.  I always dreamed of going to Paris for the fashion, but before I could travel to that part of France my parents wanted me to experience hiking in the mountains.  I was not sure of this; I was scared of heights and unsure of how safe hiking is. I hate heat and hate humidity.  Lucky for me, although it was hot and humid, I felt a small amount of wind. I was suspicious though, because I knew that could not be wind--it was too hot--but the tour guide was aware the breeze was coming from something. We kept hiking in the direction of the breeze and saw a cave. It was fairly large and wide but we did not go in because I had heard the story of the 19-year-olds who went into a cave and could have died because no one knew they were there. We hiked back to our hotel and the next day the tour guide gathered equipment for us to investigate. However, before we investigated we consulted the French government and they sent specialists to help us. We easily went in to the cave and we realized there were paintings. I was stunned.

     One picture stood out for me. It was a really pretty horse. This horse was beautifully painted and amazingly executed. There were other animals too, bucks, bears, deer, bull buffalo but they weren’t as meticulous as the horse. Afterwards we went farther down and there were more paintings they were the same animals, but different drawings. We hiked back up the cave and went back to the hotel.  I had to let it all sink in to my brain, who drew these? How long have they been here? What did people use to make them? After a French dinner I thought, maybe Indians created these, and maybe there were only animals drawn because they used animals as inspiration because they were the natural surroundings. They could have used the natural resources they had for drawing for instance leaves, berries, blood from animals they had killed and anything else. The cave was later named by the French Government in my tour guide’s name, John Claude, because he found the cave. The Claude cave is beautiful but no one can go in it except for researchers so the paintings won’t wear away because of human carbon dioxide.

     Hiking is now more important to me than fashion, although I did make it to Paris, but that was not as adventurous as finding cave art and hiking down an unknown cave.