Le sanctuaire secret des bisons. Il y a 14 000 ans dans la caverne du Tuc d’Audoubert …
... These spoors were destroyed after discovery, but they were the first evidence accepted as spoor of Pleistocene people. Further discoveries followed at the beginning of the twentieth century at Tuc d'Audoubert, Pech-Merle and Montespan (Bégouën et al. 2009;Trombe & Dubuc 1947;Vallois 1928;1931). In 1948 Denis Cathala shed light on the 'Galerie des Pas' at Aldène with hundreds of human footprints (Pales & Vialou 1984). ...
... It was in October 1912 that Max and Louis Bégouën, with the help of François Camel, opened a naturally grown closure of siliceous sinter and shed light on the intact upper gallery of the cave with its hundreds of footprints and the spectacular two clay bison at the end. The imprints in the 'Salle des Talons' and the two clay bison probably belong together because clay from the adjacent room was used to mould the bison (Bégouën et al. 2009). ...
... Vallois is much more cautious in his in-terpretation: he saw young individuals walking on their heels deliberately and not forced by local circumstances, such as low ceiling or texture of floor (Vallois 1931). Bégouën's recent publication on Tuc d'Audoubert summarizes the former interpretations and supplements them with some summary statements: 183 imprints from five individuals were counted and it is an open question as to why no complete footprint is present in the 'Salle des Talons' (Bégouën et al. 2009). ...
Some of the painted caves in southern France preserve human footprints from the Ice Age of 17,000 years ago. Research has so far dealt with them sparsely and through a morphometric approach only. In 2013 three indigenous hunters/trackers from the Kalahari had an opportunity to read several spoor accumulations in four caves on the basis of their indigenous knowledge. As a result of this morpho-classificatory approach to track reading they produced new hypotheses on prehistoric cave visitors. Most spectacular is the narrative which the trackers generated from the footprints not far from the clay bison at Tuc d’Audoubert. Further research is planned to inspect more tracks and look into the epistemological status of the indigenous tracking method.
http://journals.cambridge.org/repo_A96suOhuy.bgac
... There is no systematic differentiation between the activities. Classifications such as aires des se´jours, simple frequentation, se´jours prolonge´s (Bégouën et al. 2009;Sauvet 2007), and Il fallait bien nourrir les artistes (Bégouën et al. 2009) are terms that are used intuitively. ...
... There is no systematic differentiation between the activities. Classifications such as aires des se´jours, simple frequentation, se´jours prolonge´s (Bégouën et al. 2009;Sauvet 2007), and Il fallait bien nourrir les artistes (Bégouën et al. 2009) are terms that are used intuitively. ...
... Cave sites not only contain rock art but, in favorable conditions, also have yielded other types of remains left behind by their prehistoric visitors (e.g., Arias Cabal 1999;Arias Cabal et al. 2003;Bégouën and Clottes 1981;Bégouën et al. 2009). These could be used as a frame of reference for artwork. ...
Investigations of prehistoric cave art have long neglected the surrounding context: space, archaeological objects, and imprints.
As a result, an integrative structural approach that analyzes cave art as part of an anthropomorphized landscape has not been
available. This article draws on urban planning and the physiology of the human eye to provide an innovative archaeospatial
analysis of cave sites. A set of relevant features from the caves of Bédeilhac, Fontanet, and Le Portel was selected and defined
(light zone, chamber type, path network, mode of movement, and available space). An analysis of the prehistoric remains in
the caves allows the reconstruction of different concentrations of human activities (cave art, archaeological objects, and
imprints). The projection of these concentrations onto the structured map of the caves results in four types of locations:
drawing location, supply location, drawing location with substantial activities, and drawing location with consumption activities.
This approach opens new avenues for the archaeological perception of caves and their inhabitants: Upper Paleolithic humans
were very familiar with caves and probably followed a master plan during their stay in the dark.
... Uno de los rasgos más destacables, inédito en la península Ibérica, son las bandas de trazos paralelos realizadas de una sola vez arrastrando un utensilio dentado con cuatro o cinco puntas. Son pues una suerte de escariaciones de la pared, similares formalmente a los macarroni, y más aun a los « lacis » definidos en el Tuc d´Audoubert (Bégouën et al. 2009), también realizados con útil dentado. Lo especifico de Armintxe es el complejo juego establecido entre estas bandas y las figuras de animales y signos del sector 1 ( fig. ...
... La extinción de esos grandes carnívoros en la región parece vinculada al mismo factor clave que explica, en nuestra opinión, la más fluida interacción en materia gráfica entre las poblaciones cantábricas y del SO de Francia durante ese Magdaleniense reciente: el incremento más acelerado de la población humana albergada en esas regiones, de sus contactos y de la posibilidad de establecer usos gráficos comunes. Un fenómeno especialmente explicitado en el conjunto parietal de Armintxe (composición faunística, presencia de signos claviformes, de escariaciones de la pared con utensilio dentado similares a los lacis descritos en Tuc d´Audoubert) (Bégouën et al. 2009), y que entendemos como el contrapunto a la situación demográfica y artística de la región Cantábrica durante los tiempos, más rigurosos climáticamente, de finales del Gravetiense al Magdaleniense antiguo, cuando la gráfica regional muestra unos rasgos más específicos (distribución particular de animales representados, signos "cantábricos", procedimientos técnicos sino específicos, sí muy característicos y extendidos como el trazo tamponado y los rellenos mediante estriado…), y algo más diferenciados de los de las poblaciones de Aquitania y región pirenaica francesa. Nota *IIIPC-Universidad de Cantabria. ...
... In Tuc d'Audoubert, the two well-known bison were modelled and engraved in high-relief. Because of the well-preserved context we can even deduct where the clay came from, a few metres away (Bégouën et al., 2009). In Montespan and Labouiche small clay statuettes could had been placed against the wall, but they were found fallen on to the floor. ...
... Some specialists have proposed the involvement of children in making these artworks, as they may have played at moulding clay figures, whether as part of formal learning of an artistic skill or simply as an amusement (Langley, 2017). However, despite the association of human footprints made by children or people of small stature in Tuc d'Audoubert (Bégouën et al., 2009), the Magdalenian modelled clay animal figures are always located in zones with difficult access (very deep into the cave in some cases), so in principle, they are not zones suitable for children, at least if they are not accompanied by an adult (in Tuc d'Audoubert there are also adult footprints). Currently, Erberua, Montespan, Tuc d'Audoubert and Labouiche are active cave-systems, so to reach the modelled clay figures, it is necessary to cross rivers, even diving in some cases. ...
Aitzbitarte hill is a classic archaeological site for the Upper Palaeolithic in the Cantabrian Region. Excavations in caves III and IV were started at the end of the 19th century and continued during the next, revealing broad sequences of human occupations. The first very modest evidence of parietal art was located in 2012 in Aitzbitarte IV, and shortly after in 2015, more clear evidence of Gravettian and Magdalenian rock-art manifestations were reported for caves III, V and IX. In 2017, Felix Ugarte Elkartea speleologists located a new decorated gallery in a chimney inside the main gallery of Aitzbitarte IV. The preliminary study, presented in this paper, reveals a unique rock art composition where the natural clay from the walls was engraved and modelled in some cases to create low-relief bison, horses, reindeer and vulvas. This uncommon technique, totally unknown in the archaeological record of the Iberian Peninsula, the formal conventions (horns and legs in perspective, closed eyes in bison, scapular quarterings in the horses, etc.) and the presence of vulvas engraved in clay (as in Bédeilhac, Montespan or Oxocelhaya), relate this cave to Middle Magdalenian rock-art sites in the French Pyrenees region.
The new data from Aitzbitarte IV, together with data recently obtained from the surrounding caves, provide insights into symbolic networks at the end of the Upper Palaeolithic in Western Europe.
... Извлечение глины, перемещение и использование крупных камней -следы практик, имеющие также аналогии во франко-кантабрийских пещерах с настенными изображениями, со всей очевидностью показывают существование комплекса сложных взаимосвязанных хозяйственно-бытовых и символических действий в подземных верхнепалеолитических святилищах с настенными изображениями (например, Житенёв 2015; Bégouën et al. 2009;Clottes et al. 2005). ...
... Извлечение глины, перемещение и использование крупных камней -следы практик, имеющие также аналогии во франко-кантабрийских пещерах с настенными изображениями, со всей очевидностью показывают существование комплекса сложных взаимосвязанных хозяйственно-бытовых и символических действий в подземных верхнепалеолитических святилищах с настенными изображениями (например, Житенёв 2015; Bégouën et al. 2009;Clottes et al. 2005). ...
... Остальные раковины могут происходить из напластований самой пещеры. Allain, 1979;Taborin, 1979Bégouën et al., 2014Bégouën et al., 2009Щелинский, 1997Котов, 2010;и др. Peyroux, 2012Peyroux, 2012Peyroux, 2012Capitan, 1923, Peyroux, 2012 В пещере Труа Фрер обнаружено восемь изделий из кости: три фрагмента -проксимальный, медиальный и дистальный -наконечников копий/дротиков (при этом два из них -медиальный и дистальный, по всей видимости, являются частями одного предмета); три фрагмента лощил (два изготовлены из ребер), следы использования на одном из предметов свидетельствует о «первоначальной фазе использования» орудия; шило с обломанным дистальным концом, следы на котором «свидетельствуют об интенсивном использовании»; фрагмент иглы с ушком [Bégouën et al., 2014, p. 182]. ...
... Остальные раковины могут происходить из напластований самой пещеры. Allain, 1979;Taborin, 1979Bégouën et al., 2014Bégouën et al., 2009Щелинский, 1997Котов, 2010;и др. Peyroux, 2012Peyroux, 2012Peyroux, 2012Capitan, 1923, Peyroux, 2012 В пещере Труа Фрер обнаружено восемь изделий из кости: три фрагмента -проксимальный, медиальный и дистальный -наконечников копий/дротиков (при этом два из них -медиальный и дистальный, по всей видимости, являются частями одного предмета); три фрагмента лощил (два изготовлены из ребер), следы использования на одном из предметов свидетельствует о «первоначальной фазе использования» орудия; шило с обломанным дистальным концом, следы на котором «свидетельствуют об интенсивном использовании»; фрагмент иглы с ушком [Bégouën et al., 2014, p. 182]. ...
The article gives a review of the Upper Paleolithic objects made of solid organic materials, which were found in the Kapova Cave (Southern Urals, Russia) in different years of research. Formation of the cultural layers discovered in some parts of the cave dates back to the period between 13,900±190 BP and 16,710±800 BP. The essential point is almost complete absence of fossil remains of large and medium-sized classes of animals in the studied areas of Paleolithic man’s activity in the cave. The bone industry is represented by several categories, such as an arrow, a knife, an awl, needles, a trowel-like tool, ornamented bones, and personal ornaments. These objects were mostly made of bone, including the bones of large rodents and fish. There are also articles made of ivory and mollusk shells. It should be noted as well that there are no traces of wastes of producing bone inventory (in contrast to the stone industry). The only exception is untreated fossil shells from Volga used as material for making personal ornaments. The data comparison shows similarity in the tool kit from the collections of the sites with wall paintings in Western Europe and the Southern Urals. The human activity in such caves was much more diverse than it is commonly supposed to be. The archaeological study of different points of distribution of cultural layers in the caves, as well as the findings on the floor of chambers and galleries, leave unanswered the question of synchronicity of material accumulation. Different types of bone tools which were found in different parts of the same cave suggest different specific and certain activities and events held in separate areas in order to develop underground cavities; whereas all the types of activities are likely to have single and essentially permanent general sense. In the Kapova Cave, as well as in other sites with wall paintings, the entire archeological ensemble, including the bone industry, gives evidence of the complex and diverse practices carried out in underground conditions. For the moment, the content and nature of these practices transcend our understanding.
... Cave sites not only contain rock art but, in favorable conditions, also have yielded other types of remains left behind by their prehistoric visitors (e.g., Arias Cabal 1999;Arias Cabal et al. 2003;Bégouën and Clottes 1981;Bégouën et al. 2009). These could be used as a frame of reference for artwork. ...
... The imprints of both objects and humans are of considerable significance for archaeological research. One of the best known places to have yielded this type of evidence is the upper gallery at Tuc d'Audoubert, where a very diverse spectrum of imprints is preserved, including removed or moved bones and stalagmites, projectiles, feet, heels, toes, fingers (including a fingernail), and knees (Bégouën et al. 2009). With due respect to the very particular circumstances contributing to preservation of this type of evidence, in the following, imprints are designated as an independent group of prehistoric remains. ...
... of anthropic structures dating back to the Upper and Middle Palaeolithic in the caves of La Garma (Spain), Aldène, Les Trois Frères, Chauvet-Pont d 'Arc, and Bruniquel (France) and the profound transformations made by the past communities that occupied archaeological sites in Australia (Nawarla Gabarnmang, Borologa) has substantially changed the way we look at the engagement of human communities with spaces that have been considered as remote or not very conducive to use or visit (Arias & Ontañon, 2020;Bégouën et al., 2007Bégouën et al., , 2009Delannoy et al., 2012Delannoy et al., , 2013Jaubert et al., 2016;Ontañon, 2003;Rossoni-Notter et al., 2016;Urwin et al., 2022;Verheyden et al., 2017). ...
The cave of Saint-Marcel is known for its extensive network (64 km of galleries) and its history of human occupation (Middle Palaeolithic and Neolithic) in the entrance area. Close observation of the main network reveals areas with high concentrations of broken speleothems, which are usually attributed to the first tourist visits of the nineteenth century. However, archaeo-geomorphological mapping of the broken speleothems, many of which are lying on the floor and sealed by stalagmite regrowth or crust, indicates intentional organisation of the underground space into speleothem supply zones and zones in which the speleothems were used to build structures. Age estimates of the stalagmite seals on these human-made structures suggest that the structures were a result of human activity that occurred between the end of the Upper Palaeolithic and the European Mesolithic. These age estimates radically change the way we look at the broken speleothems in the cave of Saint-Marcel and the structures associated with them. They bring to light the engagement of past human communities with the deep underground environment, at more than 1.5 km from the cave entrance, which can only be accessed by crossing obstacles (pits) that, today, are considered as difficult to be crossed. Our findings and ongoing research stress the unequivocal archaeological significance of the cave.
... Over the past twenty years, research on the modi cations of natural cave systems by early human communities has received much attention. The identi cation of anthropic structures dating back to the Upper and Middle Palaeolithic in the caves of La Garma (Spain), Aldène, Les Trois Frères, Chauvet-Pont d'Arc, and Bruniquel (France) and the profound transformations made by the past communities that occupied archaeological sites in Australia (Nawarla Gabarnmang, Borologa) has substantially changed the way we look at the engagement of human communities with spaces that have been considered as remote or not very conducive to use or visit (Ontañon, 2003;Bégouën et al., 2007Bégouën et al., , 2009 Evidence of human activity in cave areas that are far from the entrance brings to light past communities' incursions into underground spaces, sometimes beyond obstacles that are di cult to get around (narrow or vertical sections, lakes), and people's desires to mark these spaces. These actions, sometimes minimal (moving a block, a speleothem, or a skull), sometimes signi cant (building structures made of blocks or speleothems, removing material, gutting out of rimstones or gours) are unequivocal evidence of past societies' appropriation of underground spaces. ...
The cave of Saint-Marcel is known for its extensive network (64 km of galleries) and its history of human occupation (Middle Paleolithic and Neolithic) in the entrance area. Close observation of the main network reveals areas with high concentrations of broken speleothems, which are usually attributed to the first tourist visits of the 19th century. However, archaeo-geomorphological mapping of the broken speleothems, many of which are lying on the floor and sealed by stalagmite regrowth or crust, indicates intentional organisation of the underground space into speleothem supply zones and zones in which the speleothems were used to build structures. Age estimates of the stalagmite seals on these human-made structures suggest that the structures were a result of human activity that occurred between the end of the Upper Palaeolithic and the European Mesolithic. These age estimates radically change the way we look at the broken speleothems in the cave of Saint-Marcel and the structures associated with them. They bring to light the engagement of past human communities with the deep underground environment, at more than 1.5 km from the cave entrance, which can only be accessed by crossing obstacles (pits) that are considered to be difficult to cross today. Our findings as well as ongoing research highlight the unequivocal archaeological significance of the cave.
... The authors suggest that this single episode of exploration of a deep cave with poor lighting was potentially dangerous, but also involved playful activities, with one of the children manipulating clay. Footprints in Tuc d'Audoubert (France) dated to ca. 16,000 calBP show that a child of around three or four years old was present at the entrance to the chamber where a clay bison was manufactured (Bégouën et al. 2009;Fritz et al. 2016). In a review paper, Fritz et al. (2016) propose that this child played a role in the making of the sculpture. ...
Theoretical engagement and methodological innovations geared towards identifying the presence and activities of children in archaeological contexts has increased in pace over the last decade. This paper presents a systematic review of the literature pertaining to the archaeology of hunter-gatherer children (H. sapiens). The review summarises methods and results from 86 archaeological publications, and finds a number of research areas that show material culture relating to hunter-gatherer childhood, including children’s playthings and tools, learning to flintknap, and their involvement in the making of marks, art and footprints. The results demonstrate a diversity of evidence from all inhabited continents covering an extensive time frame. Following a thematic synthesis, we further explore the implications of these data for our understanding of the cultural variability and patterning of hunter-gatherer children in the deep past. We discuss possible interpretative pathways that can shed light on children’s learning processes, agency, minds and bodies, use of space, and how they were embedded in social worlds. The paper closes by proposing potential improvements to archaeological and anthropological research that will further progress our understanding of children as active and engaged members of their societies.
... This single exploratory episode was potentially dangerous, but also involved playful activities. Footprints in Tuc d'Audoubert (France) dated to ca. 16,000 calBP show that a child of around three or four years old was present at the entrance to the chamber where a clay bison was manufactured (Bégouën et al. 2009;Fritz et al. 2016). In a review paper, Fritz and colleagues (2016) propose that this child played a role in the making of the sculpture. ...
Theoretical engagement and methodological innovations geared towards identifying the presence and activities of children in archaeological contexts has increased in pace over the last decade. This paper presents a systematic review of the literature pertaining to the archaeology of hunter-gatherer children. The review summarises methods and findings from 72 archaeological publications in a number of research areas that show material culture relating to childhood, including children’s playthings and tools, learning to flintknap, and their involvement in the making of marks, art and footprints. By drawing on diverse evidence from all inhabited continents, we explore the implications of these data for our understanding of the cultural variability and patterning of hunter-gatherer children in the deep past. The paper closes by discussing potential improvements to archaeological and anthropological methodologies which would progress our understanding of children as active and engaged members of their societies. Preprint: https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/hz9a3/
... Despite the fact that these inferences must be taken with caution, owing to the absence and low representativeness of anthropological remains in these chronologies (LUP), we believe that they serve to establish valid criteria when estimating the cost of transit in caves, as shown by recent comparisons with ancient DNA (Cox et al., 2019). However, despite the indisputable frequentation and decoration of caves by children or small people, as evidenced by footprints discovered in such sites as Tuc d'Audoubert, Fontanet, Niaux and Pech-Merle (Bégouën et al., 2009;Pastoors et al., 2015;Ledoux et al., 2018), Chauvet (Garcia 2005) and Bàsura (Citton et al., 2017), in addition to painted hand stencils as in Fuente del Salín (Moure et al., 1984), these age ranges were not included in the experimentation to avoid possible damage or accidents to minors. ...
The systematic evaluation of accessibility to different sectors in caves with Palaeolithic rock art is crucial to interpret the contexts of prehistoric human activity that took place inside them, especially if focused on the areas that are harder to reach. 3D models have been employed in a GIS to process spatial information, calculate numerical cost values and estimate optimal transit routes or needed times to reach several sectors inside a cave, based on morphological features and movement types. These have been obtained through empirical observations and experimental archaeology. Previous geomorphological studies are necessary to determine any geological or anthropic changes that may have occurred in the endokarst since its use in the Upper Palaeolithic. The method has been applied in Atxurra Cave, with satisfactory results, and the accessibility to different archaeological sectors has been compared objectively. This will enable the objective and quantitative assessment of accessibility to the deep sectors of other prehistoric caves in the future, and thus establish recurring or specific patterns among the human groups that created the Ice Age art.
... We have also introduced mean stature during the Late Upper Palaeolithic (Holt, 2003) to simulate as closely as possible the scenario in which the rock art of ensemble of Atxurra was created -and preferably observed-, in the Upper Magdalenian. This stature −1.60 m-has only been taken as a reference to perform our test, and it must be regarded as provisional, since the anthropological record in these chronologies is limited and it only takes into account adults -when we know that children or people of small stature also entered caves (Bégouën et al., 2009)-and in an upright position (when they could be sitting, lying down, etc.). In any case, we believe that this reference serves to establish valid criteria when estimating potential viewsheds, as proven by the recent comparisons with ancient DNA (Cox et al., 2019). ...
Visibility has been the subject of study in Palaeolithic rock art research ever since the discovery of Altamira Cave in 1879. Nevertheless, until now, the different approaches have been based on subjective assessments, due to computational limitations for a more objective methodology. Nowadays, cutting-edge technologies such as GIS allow us to address spatial studies in caves and overcome their geomorphologically complex and closed characteristics. Here we describe an innovative methodology that uses computing tools available to any researcher to study the viewsheds of the graphic units in decorated caves. We have tested its validity on the recently discovered rock art ensemble of Atxurra Cave, in Northern Spain. We demonstrate that this technology (GIS), widely used in other fields of archaeology, especially in outdoor studies, is also usable in caverns, taking into account the complex morphologies -ceilings and diverse floor-levels, for example. These programmes have also allowed us to consider the lighting systems used by the prehistoric groups inside the cave, as well as various data previously estimated by other authors, such as the height of individuals during the European LUP. The dynamism of these tools −2.5D-, as well as the advancement of new 3D GIS technologies, will allow in the future remarkable progress in these types of structural studies for a better understanding of Palaeolithic cave art phenomena.
... Research in the Pyrenees has focused mainly on the restudy of classic decorated sites, such as Marsoulas (Fritz et al., 2017), Tuc d'Audoubert (Bégouën et al., 2009) and Trois-Frères (Bégouën et al., 2014) in Ariège, and at sites in the western Pyrenees, like Isturitz, Oxocelhaya (Garate et al., 2013a), Etxeberri, Sinhikole and Sasiziloaga (Garate and Bourrillon, 2017), and Sainte-Colome (Garate et al., 2013b). Collections of portable art from large Pyrenean sites have been reassessed, particularly the assemblages from Isturitz in the Musée de l'Archéologie Nationale in Paris, which has given rise to a recent series of publications Garate, 2014, 2016). ...
The geographical distribution of Upper Palaeolithic cave art in Western Europe has changed throughout the
history of research. In addition to the initial nuclei that gave rise to “Franco-Cantabrian” art (Cantabria, Périgord
and Pyrenees), new regions with remarkable concentrations, such as the Rhône in France or Andalusia and the
Iberian Plateau in Spain and Portugal, have now appeared. This new reality favouring the emergence of other
territories is probably the reason for certain lack of attention to the classic regions in the last two decades.
However, since the beginning of the 21st century new discoveries especially on the Cantabrian side of the
Pyrenees (Atxurra, Armintxe, Aitzbitarte IV, etc.) but also in the Périgord (Cussac), together with the revision of
the Pyrenean “great sanctuaries” (Tuc d'Audoubert, Trois-Frères, Marsoulas, etc.) and large collections of portable
art, have forced a reformulation of artistic interactions between these territories around the Bay of Biscay,
during the whole Upper Palaeolithic.
... Research in the Pyrenees has focused mainly on the restudy of classic decorated sites, such as Marsoulas (Fritz et al., 2017), Tuc d'Audoubert (Bégouën et al., 2009) and Trois-Frères (Bégouën et al., 2014) in Ariège, and at sites in the western Pyrenees, like Isturitz, Oxocelhaya (Garate et al., 2013a), Etxeberri, Sinhikole and Sasiziloaga (Garate and Bourrillon, 2017), and Sainte-Colome (Garate et al., 2013b). Collections of portable art from large Pyrenean sites have been reassessed, particularly the assemblages from Isturitz in the Musée de l'Archéologie Nationale in Paris, which has given rise to a recent series of publications Garate, 2014, 2016). ...
... comm., May 2016) has suggested that perhaps some finger flutings, lines drawn in soft sediment on cave walls and ceilings (quite literally the residue of touch), may have been created during dance. At one time it was thought that 183 heel prints in the French cave Tuc D'Audoubert were the product of young individuals dancing, perhaps as part of an initiation ritual (Bégouën et al. 2009). A recent study that relied on the expertise of three professional trackers from the Ju/'hoan San failed to corroborate this initial interpretation (Pastoors et al. 2015). ...
... During the XXth century, many prehistoric decorated caves suffered from degradations due to growing touristic exploitation and invasive archeological operations. The belief that the age of the remains was associated with robustness caused general mismanagement apart from notable exceptions, for example in the Volp caves where the Begouën family well understood the cave fragility as soon as its discovery in 1912 (Begouën et al., 2009). Dominant cultural interests have also led to the negligence of the natural environmental aspects of these sites. ...
... k Abb. 1 Struktur einer Höhle auf Grundlage der Verteilung der Höhlenbilder 4 vgl. Fritz – Tosello 2007 5 Lorblanchet 1997 6 Bégouën – Clottes 1981 7 Bégouën 1926 8 Clottes 2001; Geneste 2005. 9 Bégouën et al. 2007; Bégouën et al. 2009. 10 Bégouën – Clottes 1981. 11 Malvesin-Fabre et al. 1953; Sauvet 2007. 12 Delteil et al. 1972 ; Vialou 1986 . 13 Beltrán et al . 1967 ; Vézian 1955 . 14 Arias Cabal 1999 ; Arias Cabal et al . 2003 . 15 Aujoulat 2002 . 22 | Andreas Pastoors und Gerd - Christian Weniger 23 Höhlenbilder in ihrem Kontext : Methoden der Raumplanung bei der Analyse eiszeitlicher Bilderhöhlen | nur durch rote Farbe zu erregen . Die visuelle Wahrneh - mung im lichtlosen Bereich einer Höhle wir ...
Höhlen sind »[…] weitgehend von festem Gestein umschlossene, mit Luft, Sediment oder Wasser gefüllte, natürliche Hohlräume in der Erdrinde […], die eine Min-destgröße erreichen, die dem Menschen Zugang erlaubt« 1 . Aber die Welt der tiefen Höhlen ist dem Menschen fremd. Der Struktur gebende Kreislauf der Sonne fehlt; es gibt weder Tag noch Nacht. Im Gegensatz zur Welt draußen ist die Welt im Inneren von Höhlen konstant: Temperatur und Luftfeuchtigkeit verändern sich innerhalb eines Tages für den Menschen kaum spürbar. Im lichtlosen Teil der Höhle herrscht absolute Dunkelheit. Das menschliche Auge kann hier auch bei noch so langer Gewöhnungsphase keine visuellen Signale mehr wahrnehmen. Trotz und vielleicht auch gerade wegen dieser lebensfeindlichen Bedingun-gen haben Höhlen zu allen Zeiten eine besondere Anzie-hungskraft auf Menschen ausgeübt. Zahllose Beispiele belegen diese Attraktivität: Höhlen dienten und dienen als Versteck, Unterkunft, Bestattungsplatz, Schutzraum, Kult-und Initiationsstätte, Forschungsobjekt, Werkhalle, Konzertraum, Sportstätte und sicherlich zu noch vielem mehr 2 . In diesem Beitrag wird das Beziehungsgeflecht zwi-schen Mensch und Höhle im Jungpaläolithikum diskutiert und systematisch mit dem methodischen Instrumenta-rium der Raumplanung analysiert. Ziel ist es, herauszu-finden, wie Menschen sich die fremde Welt der Höhle angeeignet haben und inwieweit ihre Nutzung wieder-kehrende Muster erkennen lässt. Untersuchungsgegen-stand ist die Höhle Lascaux (Dordogne, Frankreich). Erste Untersuchungen in den Höhlen Bédeilhac, Fontanet und Le Portel (Ariège, Frankreich) ließen unterschiedliche Nut-zungsmuster erkennen und machen die Existenz eines Masterplans für den jeweiligen Höhlenaufenthalt wahr-scheinlich 3 . PROBLEMSTELLUNG
... During the XXth century, many prehistoric decorated caves suffered from degradations due to growing touristic exploitation and invasive archeological operations. The belief that the age of the remains was associated with robustness caused general mismanagement apart from notable exceptions, for example in the Volp caves where the Begouën family well understood the cave fragility as soon as its discovery in 1912 (Begouën et al., 2009). Dominant cultural interests have also led to the negligence of the natural environmental aspects of these sites. ...
In decorated caves, remains must be considered together with their complex natural environment when actions for protection are needed. Most of these caves are included in larger karst systems which buffer the outside influences. Rainwater and soil air are continuously transferred by slow infiltration to large voids and as a result cave atmospheres are chemically different from surface air. When caves are not submitted to outside direct influences through large (generally man made) openings, microclimates are characterized by an underground confinement associated with optimal conservation conditions. Matter and thermal fluxes reaching the cave and exchanged in natural openings have to be quantified and carefully preserved to ensure the stability of the inner climate required for conservation. From Chauvet cave, considered as a reference for protection and equipment, to the highly disturbed environment in le Mas-d’Azil, we present examples of achieved or ongoing site remediation actions (Pech Merle, Gargas, Marsoulas) considering present karst dynamics.
... During the XXth century, many prehistoric decorated caves suffered from degradations due to growing touristic exploitation and invasive archeological operations. The belief that the age of the remains was associated with robustness caused general mismanagement apart from notable exceptions, for example in the Volp caves where the Begouën family well understood the cave fragility as soon as its discovery in 1912 (Begouën et al., 2009). Dominant cultural interests have also led to the negligence of the natural environmental aspects of these sites. ...
During the last 150 years, many prehistoric decorated caves suffered from growing touristic exploitation and invasive archeological operations. This resulted in irreversible destructions and in uncontrolled degradations of the remains, associated with permanent or temporary destabilization of cave microclimates. We propose remediation strategies able to restore satisfactory conservation properties in these sites.
Multisite, multiparametric monitoring in cave and at the surface provides information on karst dynamics and cave microclimates. These data are compared with in situ observations of the evolution of the remains and of their rock support. The identification of multiple buffering mechanisms responsible of stable condition in karstic caves and former work in Chauvet cave led to define underground confined state, which possesses optimal conservation properties.
In le Mas d’Azil and Marsoulas caves, exchanges conditions with outside had been dramatically changed by modifications of the entrance and even internal geometry of the cave, resulting in open microclimatic conditions expanding to most of the decorated zones. Restoration of confined zones in le Mas d’Azil reduced the thermal impacts due to visits and to the outside climate influence, preventing condensation on parts of the decorated walls. Further improvements are needed in this site. In Marsoulas, remediation is expected in the future with a double door structure whose buffering properties will mimic those of the initial scree removed by archeologists in 1931. In Pech Merle tourist cave, recurrent painting fading was related to natural seasonal drying of walls. Comparing microclimate studies achieved 30 yrs ago and present ones lasting since 1998, allows to assess the effects of improvement of the cave closure system which restored a confined state insuring a permanent stable and optimal visibility of the paintings. In Gargas, starting from a completely open state with documented degradations, optimization of the closure and of the lightning system as well of the number of visits, allowed to reach gradually a semi-confined state that improved the conservation properties of the cave.
Remediation operations in decorated caves have to be based on the identification of regulation processes that should be re-established. A particularly important point is to refer to a realistic “initial state” of the cavity, which often has to be reconstructed from documents, archeology, geology, or geomorphology. Remediation consists of restoring progressively natural buffers or introducing new ones, and should be assessed by monitoring physical and chemical parameters of the cave atmosphere especially near archaeological remains.
... During the XXth century, many prehistoric decorated caves suffered from degradations due to growing touristic exploitation and invasive archeological operations. The belief that the age of the remains was associated with robustness caused general mismanagement apart from notable exceptions, for example in the Volp caves where the Begouën family well understood the cave fragility as soon as its discovery in 1912 (Begouën et al., 2009). Dominant cultural interests have also led to the negligence of the natural environmental aspects of these sites. ...
In the last 150 years, some prehistoric painted caves suffered irreversible degradations due to misperception of conservation issues and subsequent mismanagement. These sites presented naturally an exceptional stability of their internal climate allowing conservation in situ of outstanding fragile remains, some for nearly 40,000 years. This is for a large part due to exchanges of air, CO2, heat and water with the karstic system in which these caves are included. We introduce the concept of underground confinement, based on the stability of the inner cave climate parameters, especially its temperature. Confined caves present the best conservative properties. It is emphasized that this confined state implies slow exchanges with the surrounding karst and that a stable cave cannot be viewed as a closed system. This is illustrated on four case studies of French caves of various confinement states evidenced by long term continuous monitoring and on strategies to improve their conservation properties.
The Chauvet cave presents optimal conservation properties. It is wholly confined as shown by the stability of its internal parameters since its discovery in 1994. In Marsoulas cave, archeological works removed the entrance scree and let a strong opening situation of the decorated zone. Remediation is expected by adding a buffer structure at the entrance. In Pech Merle tourist cave, recurrent painting fading was related to natural seasonal drying of walls. Improvement of the cave closure system restored a confined state insuring optimal visibility of the paintings. In Gargas tourist cave, optimization of closures, lighting system and number of visitors, allowed it to gradually reach a semi-confined state that improved the conservation properties. Conclusions are drawn on the characterization of confinement state of caves and on the ways to improve their conservation properties by restoring their initial regulation mechanisms and to avoid threats to their stability.
... With the exception of the unique/anomalous Vero Beach incised mammoth, the early portable art from the Americas bears no real resemblance to the well-developed stone, bone, and ivory carving traditions of the European Upper Paleolithic. These were significant components of Solutrean and Magdalenian assemblages, notable for their artistic detail and realism (e.g.,130131132133). Although incised cobbles are common at the Gault site, portable art is otherwise rare at early New World localities, and, in either case, this art emphasizes simple geometric patterns rather than the naturalistic portrait style that characterizes much (though not all) of the portable art in the European Upper Paleolithic. ...
The peopling of the Americas is both the oldest and most frequently researched question in American archaeology. Although rarely considered, early art has the potential to provide insight into questions that may be obscured by other kinds of evidence, particularly stone tools. What part did art play in the peopling of the Americas? This question is addressed starting with a reconsideration of rock varnish chronometrics as applied to Great Basin, eastern California, petroglyphs. This demonstrates, conservatively, that the petroglyph tradition began before 11,100 YBP, probably before 12,600 YBP, and potentially in the 14,000 years range. Comparison of these ages with evidence from other regions in the hemisphere demonstrates substantial artistic and stylistic variation in rock art by the Paleoindian period (circa 10,000–11,000 YBP). This suggests that, while art may have been part of the baggage of the first immigrants, regional cultural traditions had already been developed by the Terminal Pleistocene, if not earlier. The result is evidence for the development of regional cultural diversity in the Americas by Paleoindian times.
The creation of rock art in the deep areas of caves was one of the most unique symbolic activities of Magdalenian societies in southwestern Europe between 13.5 and 21 thousand years ago. Previous research has suggested that these works of art were not placed in caves at random but rather their location corresponds to a pre-established structure. However, despite the suggestive idea of pre-planning the decoration of the endokarst, it is challenging to demonstrate the relationship between different works and between them and their immediate spatial context due to the lack of common objective criteria. In this study, we have examined the iconographic and spatial characteristics of 500 Magdalenian graphic units in nine caves in the Cantabrian and Pyrenees mountain ranges (southwestern Europe) to identify patterns of graphic construction based on their cave location. We designed a workflow that includes geomorphological analysis for a virtual reconstruction of the state of the caves during the Magdalenian, analysis of graphic units (GU) through geographic information systems (GIS) using a Python script, and multivariate statistical study of the spatial and iconographic parameters of these figures. This has allowed us to identify different groups of figures: some were specifically created to be seen, using various techniques and selecting locations with good visibility, accessibility, or capacity to accommodate people, while others sought the opposite. There is also a correlation between the techniques used and their location in caves, perhaps aiming for resource economization. These data support the existence of different uses for the deep sectors of caves during the Magdalenian period.
This chapter presents the chronological, cultural and palaeoenvironmental context as well as the species studied (Rangifer tarandus) and the object of the study (archaeological faunal remains). In Sect. 2.1 the notion of culture, based for the Palaeolithic on lithic industries, is criticised, before explaining why it is nevertheless referred to, for want of an alternative. Section 2.2 presents the chrono-environmental framework of the study area through a critical perspective of multidisciplinary data and underlines the important differences between the environment of the present-day Far North and that of the Upper Pleniglacial and Tardiglacial period in France. Section 2.3 summarises the main characteristics of the reindeer from the anatomical, physiological and ethological points of view, as well as its annual cycle and the history of its settlement in Europe. The corpus of study selected is specified in Sect. 2.4. It is composed of 256 archaeological assemblages from 117 French sites, occupied between the beginning of the Gravettian and the end of the Upper Magdalenian periods, classified into seven chrono-cultural periods and 10 geographical zones in order to allow comparisons.
In prehistoric societies children comprised 40-65% of the population, yet by default, our ancestral landscapes are peopled by adults who hunt, gather, fish, knap tools and make art. But these adults were also parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who had to make space physically, emotionally, intellectually and cognitively for the infants, children and adolescents around them. Growing Up in the Ice Age is a timely and evidence-based look at the lived lives of Paleolithic children and the communities of which they were a part. By rendering these 'invisible' children visible, readers will gain a new understanding of the Paleolithic period as a whole, and in doing so will learn how children have contributed to the biological and cultural entities we are today.
Les empreintes de pieds d’hominines représentent des vestiges uniques ouvrant une fenêtre sur de brefs moments de vie de groupes disparus. Leur étude donne des informations directes sur la taille et la composition de ces groupes, paramètres essentiels à leur succès adaptatif mais rarement accessibles à partir du registre fossile. Toutefois, l’étude des empreintes est rendue complexe par le nombre de facteurs (caractéristiques corporelles et biomécaniques, nature du substrat, taphonomie) impactant leur morphologie et leur relative rareté au sein du registre fossile. Depuis 2012, plusieurs centaines d’empreintes de pieds potentielles attribuables à des néandertaliens ont été découvertes associées à un riche matériel archéologique dans 5 niveaux datés à 80 000 ans de la paléodune du Rozel (Manche, France). La découverte de ces empreintes offre l’opportunité de s’intéresser à la taille et à la composition des groupes sociaux néandertaliens, problématique centrale de ce doctorat. Dans un premier temps, l’analyse des empreintes potentielles découvertes entre 2012 et 2017 a permis d’identifier 257 empreintes de pieds et 8 empreintes de mains ce qui représente à ce jour le plus gros corpus ichnologique associé aux Néandertaliens. Puis, grâce au développement d’une approche combinant morphométrie et expérimentation, la taille et la composition des groupes a été estimée à partir des empreintes numérisées en 3D. Les empreintes de pieds étudiées reflètent ainsi différentes classes d’âge allant du très jeune enfant (à partir de 1 an) à l’adulte. Les empreintes issues du niveau le plus dense ichnologiquement représentent un groupe de petite taille, probablement composé de 10 à 13 individus, dont 90% étaient des enfants et des adolescents. Les empreintes de pieds du Rozel fournissent ainsi des informations uniques sur la taille et la composition des groupes néandertaliens permettant de mieux comprendre les occupations paléolithiques au Rozel il y a 80 000 ans.
Mobile devices for on-field DNA analysis have been used for medical diagnostics at the point-of-care, forensic investigations and environmental surveys, but still have to be validated for ancient DNA studies. We report here on a mobile laboratory that we setup using commercially available devices, including a compact real-time PCR machine, and describe procedures to perform DNA extraction and analysis from a variety of archeological samples within 4 hours. The process is carried out on 50 mg samples that are identified at the species level using custom TaqMan real-time PCR assays for mitochondrial DNA fragments. We evaluated the potential of this approach in museums lacking facilities for DNA studies by analyzing samples from the Enlène (MIS 2 layer) and the Portel-Ouest cave (MIS 3 deposits), and also performed experiments during an excavation campaign at the Roc-en-Pail (MIS 5) open-air site. Enlène Bovinae bone samples only yielded DNA for the extinct steppe bison (Bison priscus), whereas Portel-Ouest cave coprolites contained cave hyena (Crocuta crocuta spelaea) DNA together, for some of them, with DNA for the European bison sister species/subspecies (Bison schoetensacki/Bb1-X), thus highlighting the cave hyena diet. Roc-en-Pail Bovinae bone and tooth samples also contained DNA for the Bison schoetensacki/Bb1-X clade, and Cervidae bone samples only yielded reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) DNA. Subsequent DNA sequencing analyses confirmed that correct species identification had been achieved using our TaqMan assays, hence validating these assays for future studies. We conclude that our approach enables the rapid genetic characterization of tens of millennia-old archeological samples and is expected to be useful for the on-site screening of museums and freshly excavated samples for DNA content. Because our mobile laboratory is made up of commercially available instruments, this approach is easily accessible to other investigators.
Significance
The limited knowledge we have of the size and composition of Neandertal social groups is usually based on indirect approaches using archeological or osteological data. In contrast, footprints provide more direct information about group size and composition. However, they are scarce in the fossil record, particularly for Neandertals. The discovery of 257 footprints at Le Rozel (Normandy, France) opens up a new approach for studies of the composition of Neandertal groups. By applying a morphometric method to a sample of fossil footprints made during a single brief occupation event, our analysis shows that they represent a small group with a majority of children and thus provides direct evidence of the composition of a Neandertal group.
Actes du colloque international "L' art au quotidien, objets ornés du Paléolithique supérieur", Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, 16-20 juin 2014
The Magdalenian (20,500–13,000 cal. BP) is an important period for the cultural evolution of societies in the European Upper Palaeolithic. It is characterized by a great increase in settlements and products, probably reflecting demographic growth. Along with other material evidence, symbolic products (art and ornaments) clearly expand. In association with the multiplication of representations, some of them become highly normalized (included geometric signs) whereas others develop a great diversity of forms (such as human depictions).
The density of sites and more-or-less normalized products make possible an original spatial interpretation, that is probably unprecedented for Palaeolithic societies. Beyond highlighting the diffusion of some concepts over long distances, these rich data allow a deeper analysis of exchange, influence, and non-influence connections. Consequently, the question arises of the identification of what can be called “territories” (spaces built and delimited by human occupations) or “symbolic territories”. We define “symbolic territories” as spaces without visible material frontiers, symbolic through the weight of the ideas, the shared social norms and the installation of concepts by the societies in their close environment.
We propose to examine this question through the prism of symbolic productions: body ornaments, portable art, rock art. Thousands of pieces of symbolic evidence assigned to the Magdalenian and a better stratigraphic definition for this period offer a favourable context for discussing the social implications of the results of several analyses: the distribution of themes in space, the presence of types of sign or figurative subjects contained in a narrow space, the identification of individual images and collective graphic norms. Comparing these approaches to series from the Middle and Upper Magdalenian, in which the evidence is the most abundant, will allow us to consider the nature of perceptible “territories”. Then we will question the relationships between human groups through identity and mechanisms of otherness in Magdalenian societies.
The earliest art of Western Europe was evolving along with the Homo sapiens population of hunter-gatherers in the glacial environment of the northern hemisphere over the entire Upper Paleolithic (36-13 ka BP). The most important rock art sites (such as Altamira and La Garma in Spain, and Lascaux, Niaux, Cussac, and Chauvet in France) are relevant to the socio-cultural behavior and needs of anatomically modern humans. In this article, we intend to identify certain changes in the symbolic language, in the ways animals are rendered, and in the layout of artistic space over 15,000 years separating the two key rock art galleries with the best preserved representations: Chauvet (36 ka BP) and Lascaux (21 ka BP). Chauvet, discovered in 1994, is located in the Ardèche Valley, near the Mediterranean coast. In this large cave, numerous new kinds of Upper Paleolithic rock art have been documented, spanning two distinct occupation-periods between 37,000 and 30,000 years ago. The early stage is the Aurignacian, with black zoomorphic paintings, dating to 37,000-33,500 BP. Lascaux, discovered in 1940, is situated in the Vézère Valley, 120 km away from the Atlantic coast, among a large cluster of other sites of rock art in caves and rock shelters. Today, the cave is closed for the public, because intense tourist activities through the many years from its discovery until 1963 have disrupted the microclimate of the cave and endangered the paintings.
La vallée de l'Erve, en Mayenne, et particulièrement le « canyon » de Saulges, ont accueilli des groupes de chasseurs-cueilleurs durant tout le Paléolithique supérieur. Le dynamisme économique dont ils ont fait preuve se retrouve dans la sphère du symbolique. À côté des deux grottes ornées, Mayenne-Sciences et Margot, la grotte Rochefort, site d'habitat solutréen, nous livre quantité d'ossements et de plaquettes gravées. Fouillées suivant des techniques modernes, bien datées, les couches solutréennes permettent de se faire une idée du contexte de la réalisation de ces gravures et (peut-être) peintures sur objets mobiliers. Nous nous intéresserons ici aux oeuvres sur supports minéraux (grès, schiste, calcaire). Nous réfléchirons aux liens qu'il serait possible de tisser avec le mode d'occupation de la cavité et proposerons différentes pistes de réflexion sur le comportement symbolique des Solutréens de la grotte Rochefort. Abstract: Familiar rites, recycled stones. The engraved Solutrean plaquettes of the Erve valley (Mayenne, France). During the whole Upper Paleolithic, the Erve valley, in Mayenne (France), and in particular the Saulges "canyon", welcomed groups of hunters-gatherers. The economical dynamism they showed is mirrored in the area of symbolism. Next to the art of Mayenne-Sciences and Margot caves, Rochefort cave, a Solutrean settlement site, has delivered many bones and engraved plaquettes. The Solutrean layers have been excavated with modern techniques and are well dated; they allow us to get an idea of the execution context of engravings and (maybe) paintings on portable pieces. In this paper we take an interest in representations on mineral supports (sandstone, schist, limestone). By precise description and inventory of graphic units, we try to establish links with the type of occupation of the cave as to propose different thoughts concerning Solutrean people's symbolic behavior of Rochefort cave.
Los signos en la gama de diseños gráficos, juegan un papel esencial, no sólo por el número. El papel
de algunos de ellos se ha presentado, como elemento trazador de los grupos, casi emblemáticos de una región o territorio. Simbolizan a través de su repetición y distribución dimensión colectiva de la expresión gráfica de las sociedades paleolíticas.
Contra ellos, son el número disponible de variedades formales, más o menos elaborado, desde la búsqueda de la construcción original, por lo general rara o única: lo expuesto, el significado y la naturaleza de extrañar, sobre todo el lugar que ocupan en relación con los signos complejos territoriales, o de estado dentro de los dispositivos parietales. ¿Son siempre ellos representativos de la expresión de las personas, especialmente en los diagramas gráficos altamente codificadas?
Para la heterogeneidad de su morfología, arrestamos a estos motivos ajenos al análisis formal, la detención de su procesamiento de gráficos, es decir, las opciones técnicas y su organigrama en las paredes y en la cueva, y su distribución cultural y territorial a lo largo del Paleolítico Superior. El producto de este estudio puede arrojar una luz diferente sobre un aspecto novedoso de la creación gráfica de las sociedades paleolíticas.
L’étude des convergences et des divergences graphiques dans l’art Paléolithique est utilisée pour comprendre la culture, les territoires et les systèmes d’interaction des groupes humains. L’ensemble rupestre de la grotte de La Covaciella contient quinze représentations d’animaux et d’autres motifs linéaires, géométriques et des points. La présence de représentations de bison est remarquable. Certains sont exécutés avec des procédés techniques très complexes. Deux d’entre eux ont été datés par la méthode du C¹⁴AMS et deux dates ont été obtenues : 14 260 ± 130 BP (17 733–16 973 cal BP) et 14 060 ± 140 BP (17 503–16 260 cal BP). Chronologiquement, ces résultats correspondent au début du Magdalénien moyen ou à la fin du Magdalénien inférieur. D’autres figures similaires à celles des bisons de La Covaciella ont été retrouvées dans d’autres sites d’Europe occidentale. Le nombre de bisons qui possèdent des ressemblances graphiques avec les deux morphotypes de bisons présents dans la cavité, pyrénéen (morphotype Niaux) et périgourdin (morphotype Font-de-Gaume), est très élevé. Une première considération qui résulte de la recherche de comparaisons suppose une nouvelle interprétation de la valeur territoriale qui implique le terme « style Pyrénéen » (Asturies, Cantabrie, Pays Basque, Navarre, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne, Ariège, Dordogne, Lot, Ardèche et Vienne). Le morphotype pariétal Font-de-Gaume est le plus commun en Dordogne. En outre, dans quelques cas, il existe une complémentarité spatiale entre les deux morphotypes graphiques. Cet article propose différentes hypothèses chronologiques et anthropologiques pour expliquer la distribution et la coexistence des deux modèles graphiques.
Ice Age art: arrival of the modern mind - Cook Jill . Ice Age art: arrival of the modern mind. 288 pages, numerous illustrations. 2013. London: British Museum Press; 978-0-7141-2333-2 hardback £ 25. - Volume 87 Issue 337 - Paul Bahn, Paul Pettitt
This Companion to Rock Art has been inspired by an effl orescence in rock art studies over the past decade. Advances in critical thinking, the explicit pursuit of methodo-logical rigor, and improved technological capacity in the digital age have seen rock art studies move to center stage in a number of archaeological and, indeed, broader social contexts. Our mandate for this volume has been to defi ne new research issues and directions and critique existing research paradigms, and we have explicitly sought theoretically pluralist approaches. It has been more than a decade since an edited volume has explored various theoretical approaches or focused on technical and scientifi c advances (e.g., Conkey et al. 1997 ; Chippindale and Ta ç on 1998 ; Helskog 2001 ; Whitley 2001). It is similarly some time since any anthology has explored particular rock art thematics, such as landscapes (David and Wilson 2002 ; Chippindale and Nash 2004) or gender (Gero and Conkey 1991 ; Casey et al. 1998). There have been more recent collected works that have focused on the rock art of specifi c regions or on a particular topic (e.g., Loendorf et al. 2005 ; Bahn 2010 ; Goldhahn et al. 2010), but none in the past decade that has aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of different approaches from around the world and from a range of theoretical perspectives. The resurgence in rock art research around the world has been spurred by national funding cycles, advances in technology, and, in many cases, the serendipitous coalition of different personalities and projects. For instance, in Australasia the Australian Research Council (ARC) has funded a number of major projects around the region
Certain types of Paleolithic perforated batons possess the characteristics of a type of composite tool, a spinning device, used to fabricate cords of different diameters. These devices are composed of a rotor (the perforated baton) made of antler and a stator or crank-shaft made of wood, examples of which have not yet been found. The batons’ knoblike projections can be seen as the point of attachment by which horse hair is twisted into strings and then laid up into larger-diameter cordage. These observations and analyses, partly based on the expertise of Texas cowhand B. Brett and partly on H. Glory's writings about the Lascaux rope, indicate other possibilities of cordage production and the use of ropes during the Upper Palaeolithic. Resuming work begun by E. Piette on possible Palaeolithic bridles and halters (“les chevêtres”), a new analysis of engravings and paintings shows the possible use of ropes extended on poles in the manner of lassos, hunting nets with square mesh or vertical strands, and prompts a hypothesis about the possible use of certain parts of these batons as fids. Distinctions between perforation types seen in perforated batons (type A and type B) demonstrate their possible employment as belaying devices. These objects could have used friction to safely and efficiently control ropes used in the hunting of large game animals.
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