Explain why cave paintings are so well preserved in prehistoric caves?

Stable climatic conditions in caves

Prehistoric caves offer a hyper-stable environment, with cool and constant temperatures generally around a dozen degrees, regardless of what happens outside. This climatic stability limits large variations in humidity and temperature, thus preventing the paintings from cracking or crumbling over time. The atmosphere inside is also quite humid, but not excessively so, allowing the pigments used to adhere well to the rock walls. Essentially, this rather mild and stable climate acts as a sort of natural preservative, protecting the drawings that date back thousands of years. It's a bit like a closed room where nothing really moves, frozen in time, perfect for preserving all these prehistoric works.

Techniques and materials used in cave paintings

Prehistoric artists primarily used natural pigments for their creations: charcoal or manganese to achieve black, ochre for red, yellow, or brown tones, and kaolin for white hues. They reduced these minerals to powder, which they mixed with water, animal fat, or saliva to form a kind of paint that adhered well to rock surfaces. To paint, they simply used their fingers or made sort of brushes with twigs, sharpened bones, or even animal hairs. They could also spray their paint directly, blowing the pigments through a hollow tube or with their mouths, thus producing sharp outlines or blurred shadows. These simple yet effective mixtures largely explain the remarkable preservation of images in the caves.

Protection offered by the geographical isolation of the caves

Some prehistoric caves, like Chauvet or Lascaux, are located in remote, hard-to-reach places. This isolated relief, somewhat lost in the middle of nowhere, made it difficult for past populations to discover the paintings. Without obvious paths, and sometimes with hidden or naturally concealed entrances, these caves were long protected from curiosity or human degradation. For centuries or even millennia, no one set foot inside, leaving these artistic testimonies almost intact until their modern discovery in the 20th century. This isolation protected them from exposure to the elements, pollution, or frequent visits that could have deteriorated them.

Permanent darkness and absence of direct sunlight

In the deep caves reigns a total and constant darkness, ideal for preserving the colors and patterns of rock paintings. The absence of sunlight prevents the chemical degradation of pigments, as often happens with works exposed to daylight. Since the colors are not subjected to any UV radiation, they maintain their hues for millennia. The result: the drawings remain fresh, intact, and incredibly visible even today, almost as they were on the day of their creation.

Low disturbance from human activities over the centuries

Prehistoric decorated caves long remained quiet, away from curious humans. Many of these caves were difficult to access or simply ignored for hundreds or even thousands of years, allowing the rock paintings to be perfectly preserved without being damaged or altered by visitors. The absence of regular human intervention therefore prevented the usual historical degradations such as graffiti, smoke from fires, or damage caused by wars or mining. When these sites were finally rediscovered, they were almost intact, as if frozen in time.