http://dmf.culture.fr/culture/respp-en.htm (Einblicke ins Internet, 10/1995)

Research into prehistoric wall paintings elsewhere

Version française: La recherche en art pariétal préhistorique, c'est aussi...

The emphasis today is quite rightly placed on the discovery of the cave paintings of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, which are particularly notable for their number, their diversity and their aesthetic quality. But it is as well to cite some examples of research work at sites which are sometimes less spectacular but are of no less interest.

These include :

The studies of prehistoric paint carried out at the Research Laboratory of the Museums of France (Michel Menu and Philippe Walter), in conjunction with archaeologists, firstly on art on portable objects, then on sites with prehistoric paintings in the Pyrénées, followed by the extension of this work to the Ardèche, the Périgord and abroad (Australia, Brazil etc.).
The detailed work on the mineral part of the paint, mainly conducted using an electronic microscope and in some cases AGLAE, has shown that in the Ariège the paint is made up of a mixture of coloured pigments (black : manganese oxide, ground charcoal ; red : hematite) ground up with a mineral present in large quantities which acts as an extender (potassium feldspar and a mixture of this with biotite). The investigation methods used also enable advances on our knowledge of the chronology.
The Cosquer cave (Marseille): the 1994 series of dives have provided an opportunity to complete the scientific study undertaken. The work was mainly led by Messrs Jean Courtin and Jacques Collina-Girard, from the C.N.R.S., in close collaboration with a specialist in cave paintings , Mr Jean Clottes, from the French Ministry of Culture.
The historians have taken a maximum number of samples from amongst the intact charcoal. They have also sampled minuscule amounts from a dozen drawings made with charcoal, for dating using the radiocarbon method, on the Tandetron at the Low Radioactivity Laboratory at Gif-sur-Yvette (C.N.R.S.-CEA). When these analyses have been completed, the Cosquer cave will be a unique case amongst painted caves, with more than two dozen datings.
As a result of the systematic examination of the walls, a number of engravings and additional paintings have been discovered, including several stencilled hands. The two major phases, already established in the art of the Cosquer cave, have now been confirmed.
In phase 1 can be seen thousands of finger tracings left on the soft wall surface, including some in recesses or in almost inaccessible corners, or even at heights (3 to 4m) which would have required the use of artificial means (ladders, tree trunks). This phase, of undetermined length and dating from around 27,000 years ago, includes stencilled hands, at least 55 up to now, and perhaps some animals and geometrical signs drawn with fingers.
Phase 2 was between 18,000 and 19,000. It comprises the majority of animals represented, about 125 to date. Horses are the dominant animal by far, followed by caprids (ibex, chamois), bovids (bison, wild ox), cervids (megaloceros, red deer) and marine animals (seals and penguin). Most of the animals are engraved, less than a third painted. A number of geometrical signs were discovered in 1994, several of them, rectangular and having a sort of appendage being quite original in franco-cantabrian art.
The dives also provided an opportunity to install instrumentation to assess the evolution of climatological characteristics in the cave. In addition, the latest survey techniques have been used to enable the future creation of a replica of the cave. These photographic surveys have been made possible through a partnership with the city of Marseille and the sponsorship of the E.D.F.
The cave at Arcy-sur-Cure (Yonne): in the vicinity of caves occupied from the Mid-Palaeolithic to the end of the Upper Palaeolithic, which have been studied by Professor Leroi-Gourhan, the Great Cave was considered to be merely a natural curiosity in which only a few Neolithic, early historic and Gallo-Roman remains had been found. It was only after cleaning the wall with acid and then pressurised chlorinated water to remove centuries of smoke stains in 1976 that Palaeolithic paintings were discovered. From 1991 onwards, a series of surveys and excavations have been carried out under the direction of researchers from the C.N.R.S. (Dominique Baffier, Michel Girard). The studies have revealed several dozen drawings (representations of animals, primarily mammoths but also animals rarely represented in Palaeolithic art ; bears, rhinoceros, lions, birds, abstract graphic elements, stencilled hands, a positive hand) in the form of paintings (mainly in red ochre, some in black tint) and engravings. The paintings are in variable states of preservation.
As a result of test excavations , the archaeological ground, sealed beneath chalky silt deposits on which stalagmites now form the present day floor of the cavern, have produced some evidence of the activities of Palaeolithic man : a hearth for light, burnt particles, piles of red ochre, blocks of yellow ochre, pieces of bone and minerals for preparing pigments, drops of paint and remains of reindeer, horse and bear.
at À Angles-sur-l'Anglin (Vienne), the rock shelter of the Roc-aux-Sorciers, on the right bank of the Anglin river has been excavated since 1947. An exceptional collection of low-relief sculpture has been brought to light, which is unique in size : the figures comprise horses, bison, ibex, and a group of three women. They are attributed to the Magdalenien (last part of the Upper Palaeolithic).
The rock shelter has been bequeathed to the State by the owner, Mlle de Saint-Mathurin, who died in 1991 and who had led the excavations without, however, undertaking comprehensive scientific publication.
Because of the wish to complete the presentation of such an important site to the scientific world, the impossibility of showing the wall sculptures to the public owing to the clauses of the will , and the emergence of the requirements of tourism, a photogrametric survey and a cast have been made with a view to producing amongst other things, a replica
Relying on the authoritative opinions of consultative organisations (the Upper Commission for Historic Monuments, inter-regional commissions and the National Council for Archaeological Research) and calling on the scientific and technical skills of its staff and of the staff of other institutions (C.N.R.S., Universities...), the Minister of Culture is doing his utmost to reconcile, in an area which is particularly sensitive owing to the rarity and the fragility of the evidence preserved, the requirements of conservation with the needs of scientific research and the desire to provide access to the general public.

See also:

L'archéologie sur Internet ( = Archeology on Internet)

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Creation: 1995-02-22
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