Restoring Lascaux cave paintings replica. The original Lascaux cave was closed to the public in 1963,with the Lascaux II replica opening nearby in 1983. Here,Valerie Thomas (left) is restoring a horse figure in the central gallery,assisted by the original replica artist Monique Peytral (right,born 1926). The Lascaux cave paintings in south-western France,around 17,000 years old,were painted by Cro-Magnon man,an early European culture of modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens),using red,brown and yellow ochre,and black manganese dioxide. They may have had religious and artistic significance. Photographed in 2010 |