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HELL WALKS AND STAR TREKS
Figure 7.2 Detail of north wall of the reproduction of Lascaux cave, depicting a bird-headed
shaman. Photo courtesy of April D. DeConick.
midnight on the day of the summer solstice—not 16,500 years ago, as art
historians had estimated, but 14,500 years ago, as astronomical records
reveal (Rappenglück 2004).
The cave is a microcosm, an entire universe in a bottle. It was created
and used by shamans for their initiation ceremonies, during which they
believed they were transformed into birdlike creatures. Other shamanic
rituals were performed in the cave as well. Like the initiation ceremonies,
these were performed on occasions fixed by the celestial phenomena represented
on the walls, on the days of the solstices and equinoxes, or at
times when the constellations were aligned in particular ways. At these
fixed times, these prehistoric shamans believed, paths through the stars
opened up, enabling them to fly into the skies on their arrows, piercing