The Sorcerer (cave art)

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The Sorcerer is a figure depicted on an Upper Paleolithic cave painting found in the Sanctuary at the Cave of the Trois-Frères in Ariège, France. The date of its creation has been estimated around 13,000 BCE. The figure's significance is unknown, but has been interpreted as a shamanic "great spirit" or master of animals. The unusual nature of the Sanctuary's decoration may also reflect the practice of magical ceremonies in the chamber. A single prominent human figure is unusual in the cave paintings of the Upper Paleolithic, where the great majority of representations are of animals. In his sketches of the cave art, Henri Breuil drew a horned humanoid torso and the publication of this drawing in the 1920s influenced many subsequent theories about the figure. However, the accuracy of Breuil's sketch has also come under significant criticism in recent years.

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