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An alternative chronology for the art of Chauvet cave

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2015

Paul Pettitt  and
Paul Bahn
Paul Pettitt
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK (Email: paul.pettitt@durham.ac.uk)
Paul Bahn
Affiliation:
428 Anlaby Road, Hull HU3 6QP, UK (Email: pgbahn@anlabyrd.karoo.co.uk)
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Abstract

It is now 20 years since the discovery of the Grotte Chauvet with its impressive cave art, but controversy continues over the antiquity of the images. Radiocarbon assays have been used to argue that the ‘black series’ charcoal drawings date to the Aurignacian period, more than 20 000 years earlier than traditional stylistic models would suggest. This paper questions the validity of the radiometric dating and cautions against reliance solely on the date of the charcoal. Instead, the authors propose an alternative chronology for the art of Chauvet based on stylistic comparanda, palaeontological remains and stratigraphic evidence.

Keywords

Chauvet-Pont-d’ArcUpper PalaeolithicAurignacianGravettianMagdalenianSolutreancave artradiocarbon datingcave bear
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 89 , Issue 345 , June 2015 , pp. 542 - 553
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2015 

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