![]() Different shades can be observed, ranging from black to brown and from red to yellow as well as the designs being mainly done in black and red. On the one hand, we have lifelike painted bison treated with bi- or polychromy, where painting and engraving are associated with the relief effects of the wall for an exceptional rendering. Therefore, this numbering is adopted in this publication.įrom a technical and a stylistic perspective, two types of animal representations can be distinguished. 3 is lacking accuracy with respect to our current practices, it is still the only one published on the whole cave to our knowledge. Although the identification and numbering of the figures present at Font-de-Gaume by Capitan et al. Mainly bison (N 80), mammoths, deer, horses and two negative hands are represented, which is why Font-de-Gaume is also called “Bison Cave” 3. A little over two hundred figurative depictions were counted and can be divided in approximately two thirds to animal art and one third to signs (tectiforms) 4, 5. The décor of the Font-de-Gaume cave shows naturalist mono-, bi- and polychrome paintings as well as engravings of different animals and signs in their main galleries. The discovery of C-based cave art is therefore not only crucial for the Font-de-Gaume cave but for the whole Dordogne region. ![]() The decoration recognised in 1901 by Capitan, Peyrony and Breuil was known to be created using different iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) oxide-based coloring matters, thus preventing direct radiocarbon dating 3. The Dordogne is one of the world’s richest regions in terms of decorated Paleolithic caves such as the famous Lascaux cave 1, 2. Similar content being viewed by othersĪ large number of Carbon (charcoal)-based black graphical entities was discovered by our team between the 27th and the 29th of February 2020 in the décor of the main galleries of the Font-de-Gaume cave, Dordogne, Southern France. ![]() The discovery opens new research possibilities for re-reading of the complex panels and absolute radiocarbon dating. Our new results contribute to a better understanding of the organisation of the ornamentation and thus of the imaginary language of our Prehistoric ancestors. The creation periods of the cave art at Font-de-Gaume are mainly attributed to the Magdalenian period and probably more complicated constituted of at least two creation phases than commonly established as shown by the direct or partial superimposition of carbon-based and iron- and/or manganese-based figures. Using in-situ non-invasive Raman spectroscopy combined with portable X-ray fluorescence analysis as well as visible and infrared imaging of the decor of the Font-de-Gaume cave, we show the presence of a large number of charcoal-based Paleolithic figures besides others made of iron and manganese oxides in the main galleries for the first time. The Dordogne region, one of the richest regions in terms of Paleolithic cave art in the world with more than 200 cave sites, is currently known to provide figures of cave art solely made with mineral coloring matters that cannot be dated directly. Archaeologists have long been puzzled by the exact age of Paleolithic cave art in Europe especially in the Franco-Cantabrian region with hundreds of decorated caves because the creation of this parietal art (paintings, drawings and engravings) is closely tied to the appearance of first modern humans in Europe and their ways of life. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |