Evolution of prehistoric cave art

Valladas, Hélène; Clottes, Jean; Geneste, Jean Michel; García, Manuel Altamirano; Arnold, Maurice; Cachier, H.; Tisnérat‐Laborde, Nadine

doi:10.1038/35097160

Cited by 158 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…More than 50 dates have been obtained on charcoal samples collected on the soil of the different chambers or on the wall (punctuations and torch rubbings) of the Chauvet cave. Most of the 14 C dates, including the dated drawings, range from 30,000 to 32,500 y BP (uncalibrated), whereas a younger occupation occurred between 26,000 and 28,000 y BP (29)(30)(31). We present here (Table 4) only direct dates on wall paintings that fall within the known range of dates for the Aurignacian culture.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Context and dating of Aurignacian vulvar representations from Abri Castanet, France

White

Mensan

Bourrillon

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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We report here on the 2007 discovery, in perfect archaeological context, of part of the engraved and ocre-stained undersurface of the collapsed rockshelter ceiling from Abri Castanet, Dordogne, France. The decorated surface of the 1.5-t roof-collapse block was in direct contact with the exposed archaeological surface onto which it fell. Because there was no sedimentation between the engraved surface and the archaeological layer upon which it collapsed, it is clear that the Early Aurignacian occupants of the shelter were the authors of the ceiling imagery. This discovery contributes an important dimension to our understanding of the earliest graphic representation in southwestern France, almost all of which was discovered before modern methods of archaeological excavation and analysis. Comparison of the dates for the Castanet ceiling and those directly obtained from the Chauvet paintings reveal that the "vulvar" representations from southwestern France are as old or older than the very different wall images from Chauvet.Paleolithic art | Vézère Valley | vulva | rock engravings

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Context and dating of Aurignacian vulvar representations from Abri Castanet, France

White

Mensan

Bourrillon

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…far earlier than previously suspected. This means that instead of a steady linear development over millennia, there must have been several periods of intense artistic activity (Clottes et al 1995(Clottes et al , 2001Valladas et al 2001Valladas et al , 2005Geneste 2003). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chauvet Cave (Ardèche, France), discovered in 1994, is one of the most important sites for the study of the earliest manifestations and development of prehistoric art at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic.The cave is being studied by an interdisciplinary team set up and directed by J Clottes (see Clottes et al 1995;Clottes 2001) from 1998 to the end of 2001 and since then by J-M Geneste (see Geneste 2003). The cave contains more than 420 very well-preserved animal representations including engravings and red and black drawings; some appear isolated and others form parts of large compositions including several figures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiocarbon Intercomparison Program for Chauvet Cave

et al. 2007

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We present the first results of an accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon intercomparison program on 3 different charcoal samples collected in one of the hearths of the Megaceros gallery of Chauvet Cave (Ardèche, France). This cave, rich in parietal decoration, is important for the study of the appearance and evolution of prehistoric art because certain drawings have been 14C dated to the Aurignacian period at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic. The new dates indicate an age of about 32,000 BP, which is consistent with this attribution and in agreement with the results from the same sector of the cave measured previously at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE). Six laboratories were involved in the intercomparison. Samples were measured in 4 AMS facilities: Center for Isotope Research, Groningen University, the Netherlands; the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, UK; the Centre de datation par le carbone 14, Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France (measured by AMS facilities of Poznań University, Poland); and the LSCE, UMR CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, France (measured by the Leibniz-Labor of Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Germany).

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“…This cave (44°23Ј N, 4°26Ј E; 240 m above sea level) was discovered in 1994 and contains the oldest rock art pictures ever found, with charcoal drawings dating back to 32,000 years before present (B.P.) (15). The numerous drawings and engravings of the cave are part of a well preserved environment that appears as a reservoir for the analysis of natural (speleothems, grounds), anthropogenic (fireplaces, footprints, carved flints) and animal (bone remains, coprolithes, tracks) material (16).…”

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confidence: 99%

Deciphering the complete mitochondrial genome and phylogeny of the extinct cave bear in the Paleolithic painted cave of Chauvet

Bon

Caudy

Dieuleveult

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Retrieving a large amount of genetic information from extinct species was demonstrated feasible, but complete mitochondrial genome sequences have only been deciphered for the moa, a bird that became extinct a few hundred years ago, and for Pleistocene species, such as the woolly mammoth and the mastodon, both of which could be studied from animals embedded in permafrost. To enlarge the diversity of mitochondrial genomes available for Pleistocene species, we turned to the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus), whose only remains consist of skeletal elements. We collected bone samples from the Paleolithic painted cave of Chauvet-Pont d'Arc (France), which displays the earliest known human drawings, and contains thousands of bear remains. We selected a cave bear sternebra, radiocarbon dated to 32,000 years before present, from which we generated overlapping DNA fragments assembling into a 16,810-base pair mitochondrial genome. Together with the first mitochondrial genome for the brown bear western lineage, this study provides a statistically secured molecular phylogeny assessing the cave bear as a sister taxon to the brown bear and polar bear clade, with a divergence inferred to 1.6 million years ago. With the first mitochondrial genome for a Pleistocene carnivore to be delivered, our study establishes the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc Cave as a new reservoir for Paleogenetic studies. These molecular data enable establishing the chronology of bear speciation, and provide a helpful resource to rescue for genetic analysis archeological samples initially diagnosed as devoid of amplifiable DNA.ancient DNA ͉ pleistocene ͉ Ursus spelaeus

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Evolution of prehistoric cave art

Cited by 158 publications

References 3 publications

Context and dating of Aurignacian vulvar representations from Abri Castanet, France

Context and dating of Aurignacian vulvar representations from Abri Castanet, France

Radiocarbon Intercomparison Program for Chauvet Cave

Deciphering the complete mitochondrial genome and phylogeny of the extinct cave bear in the Paleolithic painted cave of Chauvet

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