COLLINA-GIRARD, J (2004).-prehistory and coastal karstic area : cosquer cave and the “calanques” of marseilles. Speleogenesis Journal.Speleogenesis and Evolution of Karst Aquifers 2 (2) (original) (raw)
Related papers
Prehistory and coastal karst area: Cosquer Cave and the
The Cosquer Cave is a French Palaeolithic painted and engraved cave (27.000-18.500 BP), which is located under the sea, in the Urgonian limestones of Cap Morgiou ("Massif des Calanques", Marseille). The entrance was submerged at the end of the Last Glacial Stage and is presently 37 m under sea level. A synthesis about the Cosquer Cave environmental studies is presented here. Structural studies show that caves planimetry is determined by Cap Morgiou jointing (mainly NW-SE and N-S vertical faults). Through archaeological studies, a speleothem breaking period can be dated between 27.000 and 18.000 BP. Geomorphologic study of the continental shelf at the foot of the Cosquer Cave area shows fossil shorelines at-36 m,-50/55 m,-90 m,-100 m depth. Radiocarbon dating from shells collected in-100m sediments yielded a date of 13.250 BP. Direct scuba diving observations and submarine cliff profiles sketching show several eustatic still stand levels between-36m and the current sea surface indicating a probable tectonic stability during the last 10.000 years.
World Geomorphological Landscapes, 2013
In the south of France, the Cosquer Cave with its famous prehistoric paintings is located in a karstic area located between Marseilles and Cassis. This emerged and submerged karst is typical ofkarstic coasts submerged after the Late-Glacial Maximum. Ail the forms observed in the hinterland can be observed directly by scuba divers and indirectly on bathymetrie charts: lapiaz, karstic archs, sinkholes, uvala and polje. The emerged and submerged landscapes are mainly the heritage of specifie lithological conditions (Urgonian limestones) and tectonic conditions (vertical faulting network leading to coastal eollapse in the Mediterranean Sea). üther elements of this submerged Iandscape are given by the traces of the last sea level rise (palaeo-shorelines and erosion platforms and notehes). AIl the area between Marseilles and La Ciotat is now established as the Calanques National Park, inc1uding the Cosquer Cave with its upper Palaeolithic rock art paintings, which adds an international archaeological interest to this exceptional natural area. ₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉₉ Continental shelf • Karst • Prehistory • Cosquer Cave • Marseilles M. Fort and ₉₉₉₉₉ André (eds.), Landscapes and Landforms of France, World Geomorphological Landscapes,
New insights into the Cosquer art cave hydrogeological functionning (France)
2018
The Cosquer cave supports and protects some paleolithic paintings and engravings, dated to more than 31,000 years (Cal BP, Valladas et al. 2016). It’s a coastal cave, located in the Calanques massif, near Marseille in south of France. This area is well-known for its karstic landscape, in the white urgonian limestones (Barremian, early cretaceous). Nowadays, the cave has no water-free entrance. The only way to access to the cave is to dive to a submarine entrance giving access to a karst conduit connected with the non-flooded part of the cave. During paleolithic times, the seawater level was lower (down to 135 m). The access to the cave to the paleolithic men was flooded by the Mediterranean Sea rise around 10,000 years (Cal BP, Lambeck & Bard 2000). This specific location of the cave offered a protected area for the conservation of the rock art: no man entrance during the historical time, climatic and environmental steady conditions. Moreover, the karst also protected the rock art b...
2002 - Hypogenic caves in Provence (France) Specific features and sediments
2002
Mocochain: Morfoloπke znaËilnosti in sedimenti hipogenih jam v Provansi (Francija) »lanek obravnava razvoj jam Adaouste in Champignons v francoski Provansi. Nove raziskave kaaeejo, da jami ni oblikovala meteorna voda, paË pa voda, ki je v arteπkih pogojih dotekala iz globin. V Ëlanku so obravnavane specifiËne jamske skalne oblike in sedimenti, ki podpirajo trditev o hipogenem razvoju jam. KljuËne besede: Jama Adaouste, Jama Champignons, hipogeni kras, hidrotermalnost, podvodno izloËanje kalcita, kondenzna korozija, stoaeËasti stolpiËi, sledovi mehurËkov. Abstract UDC: 551.44(449.1/.3)
Mocochain: Morfoloπke znaËilnosti in sedimenti hipogenih jam v Provansi (Francija) »lanek obravnava razvoj jam Adaouste in Champignons v francoski Provansi. Nove raziskave kaaeejo, da jami ni oblikovala meteorna voda, paË pa voda, ki je v arteπkih pogojih dotekala iz globin. V Ëlanku so obravnavane specifiËne jamske skalne oblike in sedimenti, ki podpirajo trditev o hipogenem razvoju jam. KljuËne besede: Jama Adaouste, Jama Champignons, hipogeni kras, hidrotermalnost, podvodno izloËanje kalcita, kondenzna korozija, stoaeËasti stolpiËi, sledovi mehurËkov. Abstract UDC: 551.44(449.1/.3)
Radiocarbon Dating of the Decorated Cosquer Cave (France)
Radiocarbon, 2016
The Grotte Cosquer (southeastern France) is a Paleolithic painted cave only accessible by a deep-water dive. The cave has yielded numerous Paleolithic engravings and drawings, which were produced from wood charcoal. This article presents new radiocarbon dates obtained on samples collected in 2012 directly on 17 parietal representations and at the soil surface, and discusses the 14C results obtained since the discovery of the cave in 1992. A total of 41 samples were dated with ages ranging from 33,000 to 20,000 cal BP. They show that the cave was intermittently decorated over about 10,000 yr.
The sedimentary records in Mediterranean rockshelters and caves: Archives of environmental change
Geoarchaeology, 2001
It is important to develop rigorous methods and robust conceptual models for the interpretation of rockshelter and cave sediment records so that the cultural sequences they contain can be considered in their proper environmental context. Much of what we know about the prehistory of the Mediterranean region and adjacent areas has largely been pieced together from materials excavated from sedimentary sequences in these environments. The rockshelters and caves of the region form important environmental and sedimentary archives. Recent work has begun to consider if the remarkable climatic variability evident in the high resolution lacustrine and ice core records is manifest in the rockshelter and cave sediment records of the area. In this context, the two main characteristics of a rockshelter or cave site which control its usefulness as an archive of environmental change are the temporal resolution of the sedimentary record and the environmental sensitivity of the site. Many rockshelters and caves can be described as either Active Karst Settings (AKS) or Passive Karst Settings (PKS) and site type is an important influence on climatic sensitivity with a direct influence upon the usefulness of the sedimentary sequence as a proxy record of climate change. It is now clear that some sites may preserve detailed paleoclimatic records and the climatic signal may be represented by distinctive suites of micromorphological features, by variations in the input of allogenic sediment, or by fluctuations in the mineral magnetic properties of the fine sediment fraction. It can be argued that data derived from the analysis of bulk coarse-grained samples often lacks the stratigraphic resolution and environmental sensitivity that can be obtained from other approaches. The most favorable sites for detailed paleoclimatic reconstruction appear to be in active karst settings such as Theopetra Cave (Greece) and Pigeon Cave (Morocco) where micromorphological analyses offer insights into the stratigraphic record that are not otherwise obtainable. The temporal resolution of a site can only be established through a rigorous stratigraphic analysis and a comprehensive dating program. These are fundamental considerations in the study of rockshelter sediment records, especially when attempting to correlate between sites and draw comparisons with other proxy records of environmental change derived from sedimentary environments with rather different characteristics. Rockshelters and caves are part of a wider sediment system, and their investigation must be accompanied by detailed geomorphological, sedimentological, paleoecological, and geochronological studies of the off-site Quaternary record.