It was late afternoon in my home country of France, I was out in a large,open field finding red berries and pieces or charcoal to make the pigments that I would use for the next days painting I planned to create. After packing many things into my bag, I started my journey back to my tribes shelter. As the shelter came into view, I could see women cooking what the men had brought in for the days hunt. If only we had better luck,I thought to myself, and could have enough to for fill every one's hunger.
That night I thought of ways that I could improve the hunting and food that was being brought in for the tribe. I wasn't a great hunter myself, so I couldn't help very much in that way. So I decided that tomorrow, when I went to the Lacaux Caves, I would paint a bison, which would allow the hunters in my tribe to soon find one and be able to bring it back to use as food, clothes and also, to put into our stone lanterns to make them burn.
I woke up at the crack of dawn, packed my bags, and headed toward the caves.
I was almost there when I stopped, light my lantern and began my long journey into the cave.I walked for about 15 minutes, with the smell of burning animal fat sticking on my skin, making me smell like I myself a burning lantern. The cave walls were rough and cold. Paintings that other people had created on both sides. There were many animals, some with spears sticking out of them, as if other tribes had already tried the same thing that I was about to attempt. Just as my feet began to ache with great pain, I reached a opening where the cave ended and many narrow tunnels surrounded me. I chose one, hoping I chose right.
I climbed up into it, and realized that it was much, much small then it looked while I was standing there looking at it. I could barely stand on my knees and walk. So I decided that the easiest, and only way to get through this, would be to get down on my hands and knees and crawl. After about and hour of being down on my hands and knees struggling through this narrow tunnel, I finally reached a area where I could stand and even though there wasn't very much room, I was thankful. My hands, ached and felt that my skin could burst open at any moment. Once I stood up, I didn't think that my knees could hold me up, after having so much pressure on them for such a long amount of time. But once I was up, I was determined to paint the picture and which would bring food and health to me and my tribe.
I emptied my bag, and laid out everything I would need to complete the painting. I began engraving a large bison with a flint tool that I had found a few days before. As I dug the flint into the rock, it gave off a large screeching sound, making the small animals living in the cave stir around. A large bird flew past my head scaring me and almost knocking me off my already weak knees. I finished working with the flint, and packed it away back in my bag, so that it was out of my way and gave me more room to move around. I took out my darkest pigment made of charcoal, mixed with clay and animal fat. I dipped my finger into the color and started going over the line that I had engraved it the wall to make the animal strong, more bold, and more life like.
Finally after what seems like half an hour of perfecting the dark lines, I also put that make in my bag. As I went to reach for my red pigment, that I would use to fill the entire bison, I heard a loud rumbling come from the direction that I had come from. I reached for the stick that was lying closest to me, the one I had brought as my only protection. I slug it over my back like a baseball bat, right to strike at whatever may come at me. As the creature got loser and closer, it sent out a signal reassuring me that I was in no harm. It was just another of my kind, also trying to create luck. We exchanged a few words, then we both got back to work. Him continuing on, and me filling in my strong bison with my red pigment.
After the engraved animal was filled with red, I started adding other details. I darkened the areas around it's legs, making it look more muscular. I gave it eyes, and facial features that made it seem like it was alive. I was satisfied. My painting was complete, and in the near future, I could sense that my tribe, the family, would have great luck with hunting.
I finished packing everything that wasn't already in my bag. I slug it over my shoulder, grabbed my lantern and started crawling back through the narrow tunnel. It was about the same as on the way in, nowhere to get lost because is was a straight shot, one path, no way out of it until you reached the end. One thing that was different was the temperature. It was much colder then it was when I first entered the cave. And because it was colder, more bugs and small insects were swarming around me, also trying to get warm. I reached the end, the part where I could stand up and walk out of the cave. As I made my way out, I discovered that I had spent most of the day painting. The sun was almost completely out of the sky. Hopefully I would make it home, before my lantern ran out of fat to burn, because with all the dangers out here, I would be food for sure.
I finished packing everything that wasn't already in my bag. I slug it over my shoulder, grabbed my lantern and started crawling back through the narrow tunnel. It was about the same as on the way in, nowhere to get lost because is was a straight shot, one path, no way out of it until you reached the end. One thing that was different was the temperature. It was much colder then it was when I first entered the cave. And because it was colder, more bugs and small insects were swarming around me, also trying to get warm. I reached the end, the part where I could stand up and walk out of the cave. As I made my way out, I discovered that I had spent most of the day painting. The sun was almost completely out of the sky. Hopefully I would make it home, before my lantern ran out of fat to burn, because with all the dangers out here, I would be food for sure.
