Exhibit C: Taurus and the Pleiades in Lascaux
Fig. 7. The largest of the bulls in Lascaux (detail). Ca. 23,000 BP.
Fig. 8. The constellation Taurus with the Hyades and the Pleiades.
Discussion: The identity of the giant aurochs bull in Lascaux and the historical Taurus constellation—including the Pleiades cluster--was first acknowledged in print in a Spanish thesis from 1991, and it has since been confirmed by the observation that the eye of the bull relative to the "V" of the Hyades matches the position of Aldebaran 20,000 years ago—more so than its present position. Given the meticulous execution of the enormous image, these similarities may not be dismissed as incidental. Critics are also wrong to argue that the Lascaux specimen remains unique; as shown below (Exhibit D) a comparable case is found in the cave of Cosquer.
Exhibit D: Taurus and the Pleiades in Cosquer
Fig. 9. Schematic cross-section of Cosquer, showing the locations of the large bull
and the seven dots. Ca. 23,000 BP.
and the seven dots. Ca. 23,000 BP.
Fig. 10. Map of the Pleiades including the southernmost star, HD23753.
Discussion: Just like the mentioned bull of Lascaux, the aurochs bull of Cosquer (Fig. 9, left) is both the largest figure of the cave and the one located at the highest point within the cave. The artists even went to the trouble of engraving the figure in a hard-to-reach ceiling (about 9 feet from the floor). Like in Lascaux, the extreme size and the location in a tall ceiling suggest that the Cosquer figure is a celestial character, a likely image of Taurus.
This reading is confirmed by Cosquer’s rendition of the Pleiades (Fig. 9, right). In addition to the six stars shown in Lascaux, the Cosquer version includes the southernmost star of the cluster (named HD 23753), an outlier that is as bright (magnitude 5.4) as several others among the dozen stars in the Pleiades that are visible to a person with good eyesight. The coexistence of Taurus and the Pleiades in the same cave is beyond mere chance. True, the Pleiades panel is located in the innermost cave and the Taurus figure in the outer cave; but in this manner, the Pleiades announce the emergence of Taurus in the night-sky in accordance with the Pleiades’ perennial role as heralds of Taurus and, universally, as harbingers of seasonal changes.
This reading is confirmed by Cosquer’s rendition of the Pleiades (Fig. 9, right). In addition to the six stars shown in Lascaux, the Cosquer version includes the southernmost star of the cluster (named HD 23753), an outlier that is as bright (magnitude 5.4) as several others among the dozen stars in the Pleiades that are visible to a person with good eyesight. The coexistence of Taurus and the Pleiades in the same cave is beyond mere chance. True, the Pleiades panel is located in the innermost cave and the Taurus figure in the outer cave; but in this manner, the Pleiades announce the emergence of Taurus in the night-sky in accordance with the Pleiades’ perennial role as heralds of Taurus and, universally, as harbingers of seasonal changes.
Selection from iceageiconology.net, Chapter XI, Part One.
©2023 Jesper Christensen, Art Historian, Ph.D.
©2023 Jesper Christensen, Art Historian, Ph.D.