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The birth of human creativity, the Vaisseur Valley's decorated caves.

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The Vaisseur Valley is on a limestone plateau in southwestern France.

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It is home to several hidden calcareous caves.

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This is Lascaux Cave, the most well-known.

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The drawings here date back to the Paleolithic period, around 17,000 years ago.

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The cave was closed in 1972 for preservation work.

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Subsequently decorated grottoes of the Vaisseur Valley, including this Lascaux Cave, have been inscribed on the list of World Heritage.

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In this drawing, the front foot of the horse was drawn over the bulky rock surface to give a solid impression.

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The technique is used to express a galloping horse.

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This drawing of cattle has many layers.

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The front red figure is a cow, and behind her is a black ox with large horns.

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Why did man start to draw?

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Dr. Michel Lorblanchet has proposed a new theory through practical archaeology that takes account of the painting materials and artistic techniques of the time.

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He puts charcoal in his mouth and sprays it onto the wall, exactly as people during the Paleolithic period used to do.

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By blowing onto the rock, they believed that it would breathe life into something inside it.

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People in those days believed that some kind of supernatural power existed inside the rocks.

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They tried to capture this great power by projecting images of wild animals onto them.

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Signs of human imagination have been found here.

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This unicorn is drawn on the closest wall from the entrance of the Lascaux Cave.

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People stopped painting in these caves about 10,000 years ago.

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Once they had mastered the skills of stock farming, they started to regard themselves as superior to other animals.

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And with that change, the great spirit in the caves was gradually forgotten.