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- The work of Norbert Aujoulat. 1988-1999
Norbert Aujoulat carried on this work, and added the figures in the Hall of the Bulls and in the Axial Gallery. The goal was to identify the sequence of construction and the factors involved not only of the figures, but also the iconographic ensembles. Aujoulat's research revealed, among other things, the fundamental role played by the cave's architecture in the distribution of the parietal works, and also how the mechanical, optical and morphological properties of the walls influenced the adaptation of the techniques of painting and engraving.
Concurrently, Aujoulat researched pigment beds and discovered why only manganese was used for the black sections of the cave's paintings and drawings. He also explored every accessible underground zone in the Vézère drainage basin in order to find out the criteria that led the men and women of the Palaeolithic to choose the Lascaux cave. This approach revealed geological criteria that influenced the choice of habitation sites with respect to decorated sites – and led in time to the identification of territories. Aujoulat's work on seasonality characteristics in the animal figures proves the presence of annual biological cycles connected to the conventions that were defined in the implementation of the various animal species.