Cave near Montignac, Fr.
, that contains perhaps the most outstanding known display of prehistoric art. Discovered in 1940, it consists of a main cavern and several steep galleries, all magnificently decorated with engraved, drawn, and painted animals, some of them portrayed in a "twisted perspective." Among the most notable images are four great aurochs bulls, a curious unicorn-type animal that may represent a mythical creature, and a rare narrative composition involving a bird-man figure and a speared bison. About 1,500 bone engravings have also been found at the site, which has been dated to the late Aurignacian period ( 0441; 15,000 BC). Because of heavy tourist traffic, the cave was closed to the public in 1963, but a full-scale facsimile, Lascaux II, was opened in 1983. See also rock art .