Cave Painting and Hunting Rituals

Students should write an essay in which they inform readers about the Lascaux caves in France, explain the significance and difficulty of hunting for primal people, describe the nature of sympathetic or imitative magic, and interpret the Lascaux caves in light of primal hunting rituals found among the Pygmies in the Congo of Africa and the Pueblo of Native America. Students should describe the Lascaux caves and address the following questions. Why might hunting have been an important yet mysterious endeavor for primal humanity? To what does sympathetic or imitative magic refer? How does the Pygmy hunting ritual, from the Congo in Africa, relate to the cave painting, entitled The Hall of Bulls, in France? What, in other words, do the Pygmies do in their hunting ritual that the cave dwellers of Lascaux might have done? How does the Pueblo Indian hunting ritual relate to The Hall of Bulls, in France? What, in other words, do the Native Americans do in their hunting ritual that the cave dwellers of Lascaux might have done? In your opinion, did the cave dwellers, in a manner similar to the Pygmies and the Pueblo, release weapons at their images in an effort to secure a better hunt? Defend your opinion.