ABSTRACT
While the dating of the paintings is a matter of science tout court, and the entire complex is a patrimony of mankind, understanding the meaning of these paintings requires the efforts of all social and human scientists. Receding in the dating of Chauvet makes more evident the need to situate cave art in the context of an interaction between Neanderthal and Cro Magnon cultures. Bataille traces the difference between human and animal existence to the emergence of prohibitions, concerning death and sexuality. Central for Bataille's argument is the recognition of the unique, path-breaking importance of cave art, and its literal emergence from the void – if not out of absolute nothingness, given that important aspects of human culture, which he connected to prohibitions, existed before. As the Atapuerca fossils 'are now the oldest reliably dated hominins to show clear Neanderthal apomorphies' (1361), Neanderthals considerably extend back in time.
