Introduction

This blog considers Upper Paleolithic cave art at Lascaux and Chauvet.  Lascaux is located in the southwest of France in the lower Vézère River valley.  Chauvet is in the southeast of France near the Pont d'Arc, at the origin of the Ardèche gorge.

The paintings at Lascaux have been dated through radiocarbon tests of charcoal found at the site, as well as the dating of other artifacts located in the cave.  The dates have ranged from 15,500 years before the present (the Magdalenian period) to 18,790 years before the present, which would place the paintings between the Upper Solutrean and Badegoulian periods (Aujoulat, 58-59).

At Chauvet, the currently accepted dating of the parietal art is about 30,000 years before the present, which would place the paintings in the Aurignacian period (Clottes, 195).  If this dating is correct, the parietal art at Chauvet would be the earliest known to us.

The people who decorated the caves did not live there.  Evidence from contained fires within the caves indicates that they were not used to cook food, but rather were a source of both light and charcoal, which may have been used as a black pigment for drawing (Clottes, 212).

However, the black pigment used in the parietal art at Lascaux does not derive from charcoal, but from oxides of manganese.  The pigments used for the paintings were primarily powders ground from iron oxides as well as manganese oxides.  The colors in the paintings at Chauvet and Lascaux are blacks, browns, yellows, and reds.  The art found at Lascaux also includes the rare color mauve (Aujoulat, 198-199).



 

Map of Upper Paleolithic Cave Sites in the South of France

Image source: http://kmjantz.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/map01-01.jpg
(accessed April 16, 2014)

Owl

Representations of the owl are extremely rare in parietal art.  This long-eared owl engraved at Chauvet may be the unique example (Clottes, 195)

Long-eared Owl, Hillaire Chamber, Chauvet
Image source: http://www.originsnet.org/upgallery1animals/images/k)chauvetowl.jpg
(accessed April 14, 2014)

Archaeologist Jean Clottes discusses parietal art at Chauvet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DjatiDgq-w

Sources

Author and page number citations within this blog refer to the following sources:

Aujoulat, Norbert.  Lascaux: Movement, Space, and Time.  New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2005.

Clottes, Jean, ed.  Return to Chauvet Cave: Excavating the Birthplace of Art: The First Full Report.  London: Thames & Hudson, 2003.

Cave Bear

This is a rarely depicted species, with only 15 portrayals at Chauvet (Clottes, 192)


Cave Bear, Brunel Chamber, Chauvet
Image source: http://www.theslideprojector.com/images/prehistoric/chauvet/cavebear.jpg
(accessed April 14, 2014)

Ibex

The ibex is less commonly pictured at Chauvet and Lascaux than many other animals.  At Chauvet, there are 20 depictions of ibex (Clottes, 188)


Ibex, Panel of the Falling Cow, Lascaux
Image source: http://donsmaps.com/images26/ibexlascauxsm.jpg
(accessed Aptil 14, 2014)

Mammoth

Although the mammoth is less frequently portrayed at Lascaux, there are 66 depictions of mammoths at Chauvet (Clottes, 180)


Mammoth with both carved and painted tusks, Chauvet
Image source: http://www.phaidon.com/resource/caveart-52-53.jpg
(accessed April 14, 2014)

Lions

While the six engraved felines at Lascaux "have a very inconspicuous presence" (Aujoulat, 259), the 71 lions at Chauvet (Clottes, 177) are depicted with vivid naturalism.


Lions, Chauvet
Image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Lions_painting,_Chauvet_Cave_(museum_replica).jpg
(accessed April 14, 2014)


Engraved Lion, Chamber of Felines, Lascaux
Image source: http://www.american-buddha.com/lascauxnor.96.gif
(accessed April 14, 2014)

Hand stencils, hand prints, and dots 

Hand stencil, Red Panels Gallery, Chauvet
Image Source: http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/chauvet/gallery/hand_mammoth.jpg
(accessed April 13, 2014)


The Panel of the Dotted Animal, the Brunel Chamber, Chauvet
Red dots were made by coating the palm with red ochre, then pressing the palm against the cave wall.  Traces of ochre on the fingers caused their imprint to occasionally be visible (Clottes 64, 70).
Image source: http://www.phaidon.com/resource/caveart-33-02.jpg
(accessed April 13, 2014)


Panel of Hand Prints with semi-circle of dots, Red Panels Gallery, Chauvet
Image source: http://donsmaps.com/images22/handprintspositive.jpg
(accessed April 14, 2014)

Menagerie

Both Chauvet and Lascaux feature complex compositions portraying many animals of varying species in close proximity.


Panel of the Horses, Chauvet: horses, rhinos, aurochs
Image source: http://www.elixirofknowledge.com/search/label/Chauvet%20cave
(accessed April 12, 2014)


Ensemble of horses, aurochs, red deer, and other animals, Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux
Image source: http://www.sculpture.prehistoire.culture.fr/sites/default/files/styles/zoom/public/02_01_00.jpg?itok=ddPCHDVs
(accessed April 14, 2014)

Bovines

The Great Black Bull, Lascaux
Image Source: www.naderlibrary.com/lascauxnor.169.gif
(accessed April 12, 2014)

Bison

The frequency of depiction of bison is fairly equal at Lascaux and Chauvet; much more so than is the case with other animals.  Lascaux has 26 depictions of bison (Aujoulat, 259), and 31 bison are portrayed at Chauvet (Clottes, 186-7). 

The painting of the bison in the End Chamber at Chauvet has been dated to approximately 30,340 years ago (Clottes, 144).

The Crossed Bison, The Nave, Lascaux
Image Source: www.lascaux.culture.fr/content/images/fonds/02_04_00_09.jpg
(accessed April 12, 2014)


Bison, The End Chamber, Chauvet
Image source: http://www.haut-thorenc.com/en/images/projet_ecologique_les_grottes_ornees/projet_eco_photo12.jpg
(accessed April 14, 2014)

Horses

There are 364 depictions of horses at Lascaux (Aujoulat, 257-9)
In contrast, there are 40 portrayals of horses at Chauvet (Clottes, 183)

Chinese horse, Axial Gallery, Lascaux
Image source: http://www.american-buddha.com/lascauxnor.200.gif
(accessed April 12, 2014)


Panel of the Horses (detail), Chauvet
Image source: http://s3.amazonaws.com/presspublisher-do/upload/2697/horses2.jpg
(accessed April 14, 2014)

Rhinoceros

Representations of the rhinoceros are scarce at Lascaux.  In contrast, there are 65 representations of rhinoceroses at Chauvet (Clottes, 174)


Rhinoceros, Lascaux
Image source: www.lascaux.culture.fr/content/images/fonds/02_07_00_02.jpg
(accessed April 12, 2014)


Rhinoceros with long horn, The Horse Sector, Chauvet
Image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Rhinoc%C3%A9ros_grotte_Chauvet.jpg
(accessed April 14, 2014)

Homo sapiens

There is only one representation of Homo Sapiens at Lascaux.  At Chauvet, the sole portrayal of Homo sapiens does not show a complete human.  This is the Sorcerer Panel, in which a partial depiction of a woman is shown with a composite individual whose lower body and hand are those of a man, but whose head and upper back are those of a bison.

Fallen hunter and wounded bison, The Shaft Scene, Lascaux
Image source: www.baroquepotion.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Lascaux-Birdman-Bison.jpg
(accessed April 12, 2014)


The Sorcerer Panel (on the pendant feature at the right of the photo), The End Chamber, Chauvet
Image source: http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/chauvet/images2/pan-sorcerer-chamber.jpg
(accessed April 16, 2014)

A closer view of the painting on the pendant, seen from a different standpoint:
http://www.phaidon.com/resource/caveart-2.jpg

Red Deer and Reindeer

There are 90 stags represented at Lascaux (Aujoulat, 259)
In contrast, there are depictions of 12 reindeer and 2 red deer at Chauvet (Clottes, 192)


Frieze of Swimming Stags, Lascaux
Image Source: http://www.sculpture.prehistoire.culture.fr/sites/default/files/styles/zoom/public/02_04_01.jpg?itok=s8mRtujb
(accessed April 12, 2014) 




Frieze of Small Stags, Lascaux Hall of Bulls
Image source: http://www.naderlibrary.com/lascauxnor.131.gif
(accessed April 12, 2014)





Signs and Blazons

Some signs painted in the caves have the appearance of familiar living creatures, such as butterflies, bats, or birds (see the image from Chauvet below).  However, "the presence of very similar but more geometrical shapes [led the archaeologists researching the site] to classify these paintings with the abstract motifs" (Clottes, 80-82). 


Quadrangular Blazons, Panel of the Great Black Cow, The Nave, Lascaux
Image source: http://i34.tinypic.com/339ssh1.jpg
(accessed April 12, 2014)


Signs, Red Panels Gallery, Chauvet
Image source: http://donsmaps.com/images29/eagleimg334sm.jpg
(accessed April 15, 2014)

Parietal Art as Naturalistic Representation of the Late Upper Paleolithic

Although "long thought by many as possible abstract or symbolic expressions as opposed to representations of real animals, the famous paleolithic horse paintings found in caves such as Lascaux and Chauvet in France likely reflect what the prehistoric humans actually saw in their natural environment," as revealed by a recent study of DNA data.  http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/september-2011/article/prehistoric-cave-paintings-of-horses-were-spot-on-say-scientists  (accessed April 9, 2014)   

Painting of horses at Chauvet:

Image source:   http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/september-2011/article/prehistoric-cave-paintings-of-horses-were-spot-on-say-scientists

Megaloceros

The painting shown below is from Lascaux, but there are also 7 megaloceroses depicted at Chauvet (Clottes, 192)


Megaloceros, The Axial Gallery, Lascaux
Image source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Lascaus%2C_Megaloceros.JPG

The megaloceros "is an extinct genus of deer whose members lived throughout Eurasia from the late Pliocene to the late Pleistocene and were important herbivores during the Ice Ages ... Most members of the genus were extremely large animals that favoured meadows or open woodlands ..."  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaloceros (accessed April 9, 2014)

The Debate Concerning the Dating of Parietal Art at Chauvet

Archaeologist Paul Pettitt throws a fascinating light upon the idea of comparing the paintings of Chauvet and Lascaux by challenging the currently accepted dating of the former.  In his 2008 paper (full citation below), Pettitt calls for a thorough scientific inquiry into the currently accepted Aurignacian dating for the parietal art at Chauvet.  He explains that this issue is critically important because it influences our interpretation of the state of development of Homo sapiens at the time of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition.  Pettitt notes that the majority of charcoal samples collected for radiocarbon dating were taken from the Chauvet cave floor, and therefore may not be contemporary with the paintings, but rather may derive from an earlier visit to the cave by a population which did not create parietal art.

Pettitt, P.  2008.  Art and the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Europe: Comments on the archaeological arguments for an early Upper Paleolithic antiquity of the Grotte Chauvet art.  Journal of Human Evolution, 55, 908-917.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248408000845

Cave of Forgotten Dreams film clip

Image source: http://wearereplicants.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/cave.jpg?w=640

Link to a clip from the Werner Herzog documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcAwlnhRn2g&list=PL8uWDLT-ej-8XR6RzeZCRHQ3UKIOTHg0M