A high-precision chronological model for the decorated Upper Paleolithic cave of Chauvet-Pont d'Arc, Ardèche, France - PubMed (original) (raw)

. 2016 Apr 26;113(17):4670-5.

doi: 10.1073/pnas.1523158113. Epub 2016 Apr 11.

Hélène Valladas 2, Hervé Bocherens 3, Emmanuelle Delqué-Količ 4, Evelyne Kaltnecker 2, Johannes van der Plicht 5, Jean-Jacques Delannoy 6, Valérie Feruglio 7, Carole Fritz 8, Julien Monney 6, Michel Philippe 9, Gilles Tosello 10, Jean Clottes 11, Jean-Michel Geneste 12

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A high-precision chronological model for the decorated Upper Paleolithic cave of Chauvet-Pont d'Arc, Ardèche, France

Anita Quiles et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016.

Abstract

Radiocarbon dates for the ancient drawings in the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc Cave revealed ages much older than expected. These early ages and nature of this Paleolithic art make this United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) site indisputably unique. A large, multidisciplinary dating program has recently mapped the anthropological evolution associated with the cave. More than 350 dates (by (14)C, U-Th, TL and (36)Cl) were obtained over the last 15 y. They include 259 radiocarbon dates, mainly related to the rock art and human activity in the cave. We present here more than 80 previously unpublished dates. All of the dates were integrated into a high-precision Bayesian model based on archaeological evidence to securely reconstruct the complete history of the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc Cave on an absolute timescale. It shows that there were two distinct periods of human activity in the cave, one from 37 to 33,500 y ago, and the other from 31 to 28,000 y ago. Cave bears also took refuge in the cave until 33,000 y ago.

Keywords: Bayesian modeling; Chauvet-Pont d'Arc cave; Upper Paleolithic; radiocarbon dating.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.

Map of the Chauvet-Pont d’Arc Cave with localization of 14C samples: cave floor charcoal (71 analyses), drawings and charcoal marks (42 analyses), and animal bones (30 U. spelaeus, 5 other species, and a burned bone specimen).

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2.

High-precision Bayesian model obtained for the Chauvet-Pont d’Arc Cave. Modeled boundaries for the start and end of each occupation phase are represented in red for the Cave Bear model (postulating a continuous occupation), in blue for the Cave Floor Charcoal model, and in orange for the Parietal model. Two distinct human occupations are clearly identified, extending from 37,000 to 33,500 y ago for the first one, and from 31,000 to 28,000 y ago for the second one. Cave bear presence in the cave is attested until 33,000 y ago.

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References

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