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How old are the cave murals at Lascaux?
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Western painting
Self-Portrait, oil on canvas by Judith Leyster, c. 1630; in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
The cave murals at Lascaux are estimated to be approximately 17,000 years old.12
While radiocarbon dating of charcoal found at the site supports this date, the exact chronology of the prehistoric art remains a subject of debate among experts. The orthodox view suggests the images were created over a relatively short period spanning a few centuries around that time. However, other specialists argue that the collection represents a complex accumulation of artistic episodes that may have occurred over a much longer duration.2