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Waste matters

12 August 2000

The History of Shit is scatological in every sense. Dominique Laporte’s
decidedly Left Bank, tongue-in-cheek 1978 essay, “Histoire de la Merde”,
is newly translated into English. His central idea is that manners in the
matter of excrement maketh man. Savages shat in the woods. We have largely
organised our lives and our cities around the need for its clean, odour-free
disposal. Bullshit? Well, maybe. But fun. Published by MIT Press, £13.50,
ISBN 0262122251.

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Lascaux Cave is a Palaeolithic cave situated in southwestern France, near the village of Montignac in the Dordogne region, which houses some of the most famous examples of prehistoric cave paintings. Close to 600 paintings ??? mostly of animals - dot the interior walls of the cave in impressive compositions. Horses are the most numerous, but deer, aurochs, ibex, bison, and even some felines can also be found. Besides these paintings, which represent most of the major images, there are also around 1400 engravings of a similar order. The art, dated to c. 17,000 ??? c. 15,000 BCE, falls within the Upper Palaeolithic period and was created by the clearly skilled hands of humans living in the area at that time. The region seems to be a hotspot; many beautifully decorated caves have been discovered there. The exact meaning of the paintings at Lascaux or any of the other sites is still subject to discussion, but the prevailing view attaches a ritualistic or even spiritual component to them, hinting at the sophistication of their creators. Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1979, along with other prehistoric sites in its proximity. Valley, France.

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