Providing a guided tour of European prehistoric caves, this book reveals some of the world's oldest and remarkable art. It takes the reader into these deep and often no longer accessible caves, which shelter spectacular and beautiful wall paintings of mammoths, bison and horses as well as mysterious rock engravings.

The author also raises questions about this art in relation to modern sensibilities - why do we find it so compelling? The core of the book is a carefully selected and organized sequence of 300 images, presenting the finest examples of cave art, including not only the most famous caves such as Lascaux, Altamira, Pech-Merle and Niaux, but also dozens of others that have yielded remarkable finds. A wonderful range of animals is presented, as well as the mysterious abstract signs, and the puzzlingly crude and schematized representations of human beings. Some examples of portable art and sculpture are also included in order to make important comparisons and links.

The book is arranged chronologically and geographically, by caves. It is divided into four parts. The first three chapters correspond to three major periods of time, each named after a famous cave:
Time of Chauvet (35 000 - 22 000 BP), Time of Lascaux (22 000 - 17 000 BP) and Time of Niaux (17 000 - 11 000 BP Within each chapter, the first section is devoted to the emblematic cave of that period, which often yielded spectacular finds, and is followed by a guided tour of other caves of that same period. In total 85 caves are explored. The last chapter examines examples of similar prehistoric artistic expressions around the world after the ice age.Time of Chauvet 35 000 - 22 000 BPTime of Lascaux 22 000 - 17 000 BPTime of Niaux 17 000 - 11 000 BPAfter the Ice Age 11 000 -