April 12, 2016 by Bob Yirka
http://phys.org/news/2016-04-radio-carbon-chauvet-pont-darc-cave-art.html
Bears in red ochre, Chauvet-Pont
d’Arc cave. Credit: Jean-Michel Geneste, Ministère de la Culture et de la
Communication
(Phys.org)—A long-term study by an
international team of researchers has led to findings that suggest drawings in
the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc cave are approximately 10,000 years older than has been
previously thought. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, the team describes their study and the timeline of the
cave they were able to build.
Chauvet-Pont d'Arc, in the Ardèche,
southern France, has become famous for being the oldest known human decorated
cave in the world. First discovered in 1994, the cave has since become a Unesco
World Heritage Site—its walls are decorated with hand prints and drawings of 14
different species of animals including cave bears,
wooly rhinos and several types of big cats. For many years, it was believed the cave
paintings were made approximately 22,000–18,000 BC, now it appears
the cave had a much longer and more varied history. In this new effort, the
researchers used radio-carbon dating techniques on approximately 250 'objects'
in the cave, over a span of 15 years. The objects included material used to
draw animals, charcoal (from fires on the ground, in marks applied directly to
the wall and from torch burns) and bones from an assortment of animals.
In analyzing the data, the
researchers found they were able to create a time-line for the cave, which
showed that it had been inhabited at least twice by early humans, and
sometimes, by bears. They report that humans first inhabited the cave
approximately 37,000 to 33,500 years ago and then again from 31,000 to 28,000
years ago. There was also evidence that bears had inhabited the cave for a time
around 33,000 years ago, which coincides with human occupation, though the
researchers do not believe both lived in the cave at the same time. Both
species abandoned the cave due to dangerous rock slides—the second was strong
enough to partially cover the opening to the cave, which likely accounts for no
new occupations by either species in the ensuing years.
The new time-line suggests
historians will have to push back the estimated time during which our ancestors
first developed wall painting skills—those in the cave
demonstrate a higher level of proficiency than was believed to have existed at
the time.
Black rhino at the entrance of
Megaloceros Gallery, Chauvet-Pont d’Arc cave. Credit: Jean-Michel Geneste,
Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication
More information: Anita Quiles et al. A high-precision chronological model
for the decorated Upper Paleolithic cave of Chauvet-Pont d'Arc, Ardèche,
France, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1523158113
Abstract
The
Chauvet-Pont d'Arc is the oldest-known decorated cave in the world,
featuring prehistoric wall paintings, engravings and hand prints. UNESCO
classified the cave as a World Heritage site in June 2014.
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
14C, U-Th, TL and 36Cl) 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.
Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
In analyzing the data, the researchers found they were able to create a time-line for the cave, which showed that it had been inhabited at least twice by early humans, and sometimes, by bears. They report that humans first inhabited the cave approximately 37,000 to 33,500 years ago and then again from 31,000 to 28,000 years ago. There was also evidence that bears had inhabited the cave for a time around 33,000 years ago, which coincides with human occupation, though the researchers do not believe both lived in the cave at the same time. Both species abandoned the cave due to dangerous rock slides—the second was strong enough to partially cover the opening to the cave, which likely accounts for no new occupations by either species in the ensuing years.
The new time-line suggests historians will have to push back the estimated time during which our ancestors first developed wall painting skills—those in the cave demonstrate a higher level of proficiency than was believed to have existed at the time.
Explore further:
Cave bears from the Carpathians as omnivorous as modern bears
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 14C, U-Th, TL and 36Cl) 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.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-04-radio-carbon-chauvet-pont-darc-cave-art.html#jCp
In analyzing the data, the researchers found they were able to create a time-line for the cave, which showed that it had been inhabited at least twice by early humans, and sometimes, by bears. They report that humans first inhabited the cave approximately 37,000 to 33,500 years ago and then again from 31,000 to 28,000 years ago. There was also evidence that bears had inhabited the cave for a time around 33,000 years ago, which coincides with human occupation, though the researchers do not believe both lived in the cave at the same time. Both species abandoned the cave due to dangerous rock slides—the second was strong enough to partially cover the opening to the cave, which likely accounts for no new occupations by either species in the ensuing years.
The new time-line suggests historians will have to push back the estimated time during which our ancestors first developed wall painting skills—those in the cave demonstrate a higher level of proficiency than was believed to have existed at the time.
Explore further:
Cave bears from the Carpathians as omnivorous as modern bears
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 14C, U-Th, TL and 36Cl) 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.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-04-radio-carbon-chauvet-pont-darc-cave-art.html#jCp
Radio-carbon study suggests Chauvet-Pont d'Arc cave art much older than thought
April 12, 2016 by Bob Yirka
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-04-radio-carbon-chauvet-pont-darc-cave-art.html#jCp
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