PAINTERS OF THE CAVES

From Lauber (Flood, 1996, etc.), an introduction to cave painting that is sturdy and thorough, but oddly workmanlike, never betraying a real sense of awe for the mysterious artwork adorning the cave walls at such locales as Lascaux, Chauvet, and Trois- Fräres. First comes a brief survey of Neanderthal and early modern cultures, in particular how the early moderns gradually pulled ahead of the Neanderthals, with better dwellings and finer clothes, and, significantly, in the measure of leisure. Lauber speculates sensibly about what the art may have meant to the early humans and how they went about painting it. But the real selling point here is no mystery: Excellent full-color photographs, cartography, and illustrations deliver the energy and excitement missing from the text. (appendix, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 9-11)