2023-12-24 15:21:03
Very numerous in the south of France, prehistoric paintings nevertheless remain difficult to date due to the nature of the pigments frequently used. The discovery of lines made with charcoal in the Font-de-Gaume cave might, however, allow us to move forward on this point.
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Europe, and particularly France, has an important prehistoric heritage. More than 200 decorated caves dating from the Paleolithic have been discovered in Dordogne alone. The most famous is certainly that of Lascaux, but each site contains a small treasure which allows us to better understand the life of our ancestors and the environment in which they lived several tens of thousands of years ago.
Paintings difficult to date precisely
However, these paintings still retain a large part of mystery. Particularly when it comes to their exact ages. It is in fact difficult to date them absolutely, the pigments used being most often ochres composed of iron and manganese oxides. Minerals on which radiocarbon dating is impossible.
However, researchers have made an interesting discovery in the Font-de-Gaume cave. Located in the Dordogne, this decorated cave has been listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. It contains more than 200 paintings and engravings dating from the Magdalenian (period dating from 12,000 to 17,000 years ago).
Works of art produced in several stages which contain traces of charcoal
It was by analyzing the decorated walls in infrared images that scientists discovered that the lines drawn with ocher covered others made with charcoal. A godsend, because this material lends itself completely to radiocarbon dating.
While waiting for these dates to be carried out, researchers noted that the paintings were the result of different phases of creation. A fact also observed in the Lascaux cave. The results were presented in the journal Scientific Reports.
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