In the Paleolithic Vanitas series, I explore the vastness of time and the inevitability of death in contrast to the shortness of individual lives. I often reference Paleolithic cave art, especially imagery from Chauvet cave, to reflect on this temporal contrast. Paleolithic art is both impenetrably ancient and relentlessly current. Humanity today would not exist without the foundational contributions of the paleolithic people; in that sense, cave art constantly overshadows the current era in spite of its age. It prompts us to ask what our place is within the larger story of humanity.