22 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



instance of paleolithic modeling in clay has thus far come to light, the 

 discovery being made only last October in the newly found (July 20) 

 cavern of Tuc d'Audoubert. I visited this cavern only five days after 

 its discovery by Count Begouen and his sons, who in continuing their 

 researches less than three months later came upon two clay figures of 

 the bison, a female 61 centimeters long followed by a male 63 centi- 

 meters in length. These figures were never wholly separated from the 

 matrix out of which they were so deftly fashioned. They seem to stand 

 out of the sloping clay talus that flanks a fallen rock (Figs. 7 and 8). 

 They are far removed from any known entrance to the cave and were 

 discovered only after Count Begouen had broken away huge stalagmite 

 pillars that blocked the narrow corridor leading to that particular gal- 

 lery, which was evidently a paleolithic shrine since mercifully guarded 

 from unhallowed hands by Nature's own silent white sentinels. On the 

 walls of another gallery of this same cavern are engravings of favorite 

 game animals: a horse, with arrows sticking in his side (Fig. 9) ; a 

 reindeer with a club-shaped figure across its head (Fig. 10). 



In visiting a long series of paleolithic caverns with mural decora- 

 tions one is struck not only by the number of figures of animals wounded 

 by arrows or associated with claviform representations (Fig. 11), but 

 also by the evident desire of the artist to leave his work in a secluded 

 spot difficult of access. Among the most remarkable art works found in 

 the floor deposits of caves and rock shelters are the spear throwers orna- 

 mented with gracefully carved figures in the round or in high relief of 

 the animal to be hunted. 



These facts would seem to point to one of the cogent reasons for the 

 phenomenon of cave art. To be sure, many of the figures are so meri- 

 torious as to make their execution well worth while for the simple satis- 

 faction they must have given to the artist or the chance beholder. 

 Beading between the lines, one may detect other reasons. The art 

 might well have served another purpose. It was called forth no doubt 

 in a large measure to meet an economic need. As the population in- 

 creased — and no one familiar with the Vezere valley, for example, can 

 fail to be impressed by the evidences of a relatively dense population — 

 as this increased, the food supply of game and fish decreased in inverse 

 ratio. In order to adjust the supply to the ever-increasing demand, 

 recourse was had to magic, to the aid of the spirit world. The female 

 bison closely followed by the male (Fig. 7), the wounded horse and bison 

 (Figs. 9 and 11), the clubbed reindeer (Fig. 10) are votive offerings 

 for the multiplication of game and for success in the chase. In the 

 end magic was bound to fail as it always will. Then passed away the 

 picturesque paleolithic culture, superseded by the neolithic, capable of 

 meeting the demands of an increased population, based as it was on the 

 domestication of animals and plants as well as on the utilitarian pot- 

 ter's art. 



