The paintings at Lascaux were immediately recognized as the work of Stone Age man. Carbon-dating, a scientific method which dates the age of plant or animal remains by the amount of carbon 14 left, was used to date the pictures at Lascaux. In this case, carbon-dating placed the paintings at about 17,000 years old - even older than Altamira. The cave was covered with a thin transparent layer of calcite, which served as a kind of protective coating over the limestone rock walls. This protective covering kept the paintings from fading in the thousands of years since they were drawn. The paintings at Lascaux were in several sections. These were later designated as six galleries:

1. The Painted Gallery
2. The Great Hall of the Bulls
3. The Chamber of Felines
4. The Chamber of Engravings
5. The Main Gallery
6. The Shaft of the Dead Man

Lascaux “Visite de la Grote”