The 16 Places Where Human Evolution Was Discovered

It was Robot the Dog, who first discovered Lascaux in 1940—or so the legend goes—disappearing down a hole after a rabbit, four French teenagers trailing behind him. But at the bottom of the shaft, 50 feet below ground at the edge of the forest outside the southwestern village of Montignac, France, the kids found more than just their pet: More than 6,000 paintings of animals, human figures and abstract symbols decorated the cave walls, a spectacular stone canvas in shades of red, yellow and black. Included among the images, which are estimated to be around 17,000 years old, are the paintings of 364 horses, 90 stags, seven felines, a bear and a rhinoceros. Opened to the public in 1948, the combined carbon dioxide, heat, and contaminants produced by 1,200 visitors per day had damaged the paintings so badly that authorities decided to shut down the caves. Lascaux has been sealed to the public since 1963.