The Manganese In Lascaux

The cave contains nearly six thousand figures
Which can be grouped into three main categories
Animals, human figures, and abstract signs
The paintings contain no images
Of the surrounding landscape
Or the vegetation of the time
Most of the major images
Have been painted onto the walls
Using red yellow and black colors
From a complex multiplicity
Of mineral pigments
Including iron compounds
Such as iron oxide, hematite, and goethite
As well as manganese containing pigments
The Hall of the Bulls
Presents the most spectacular
Composition of Lascaux
It's calcite walls are not suitable for engraving
So it is only decorated with paintings
Often of impressive dimensions
Some are up to five meters long
A painting referred to as The Crossed Bison
Found in the chamber called the Nave
Is often submitted as an example
Of the skill of the Paleolithic cave painters
The crossed hind legs create the illusion
That one leg is closer to the viewer than the other
This visual depth in the scene
Demonstrates a primitive form of perspective
Which was particularly advanced for the time