Annette Laming-Emperaire’s analysis of the cave paintings at Lascaux, particularly the methodology she used, is very logical and brilliant. In anthropology, it is the tendency of those studying phenomena that is difficult to explain to reach the extraordinary, mythical, or magical. Laming-Emperaire is directly criticizing the previous analysis of cave paintings in France, as well as the methodologies that have developed these speculations. The archaeological approach, the one that she proposes as the best suitable means of discovering facts about the paintings and the people whom created them, is the best method of discovering facts about these artifacts, rather than mere speculations based on ethnographic interpretations.
The archaeological method involves gathering information on how these works were created, one aspect is the materials that were selected and the tools used to adorn these walls with the beautiful representations of animals that were roaming the earth at that time. The most crucial analysis of these works of art comes as one interprets them as a collection of artifacts. How were they composed? Is there a method behind the chaos in which the images were arranged? Is there an association between certain animals being used in a specific artwork? Is there a connection between the associated animals and sexes of members of the groups, could they have served a ritual purpose? Are the arrangement and distribution crucial to their understanding?
All of these questions can be answered through methodological analysis, it doesn’t have to necessarily be through trolling into the ground and discovering further artifacts, although this practice is greatly helpful because you may find evidence of a speculative theory surrounding the societal purpose of these artworks/artifacts. What Annette Laming-Emperaire was trying to impose on the analysis of these works is that there is an obvious need for speculation, but it should be grounded in archaeological and methodic research. She directly attacks that theory of the paintings having a magical hunting association. Laming-Emperaire debunks this theory by highlighting the fact that very little of these works have spear or arrow markings indented in the artworks, and, if these artworks/artifacts were used for the purpose of magically taking down prey, there would be some markings on the paintings where the group would prod the image, releasing the magic. This is speculative, but seems reasonable based on evidence of magic cross-culturally. Laming-Emperaire sees the repetitive appearance of symbols in multiple locations as the only true evidence of a cohesive set of beliefs. This would provide the evidence for totemism and confirm the mythological speculations surrounding the purpose of the cave paintings.
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| This is from Chauvet |
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| Also from Chauvet |
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| This is the Great Hall of Bulls in Lascaux |
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| This is also from Lascaux |
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