27.3.06

Bears and humans in Chauvet Cave (Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, Ardèche, France)

Bears and humans in Chauvet Cave (Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, Ardèche, France): insights from stable isotopes and radiocarbon dating of bone collagen
H. Bocherens, D. G. Drucker, D. Billiou, J.M. Geneste, J. van der Plicht


"Chauvet Cave has yielded the oldest parietal art, dated to ca. 32,000 years BP (Clottes et al., 1995; Valladas et al., 2001, 2005), in an exquisitely preserved archaeological context. Thousands of animal skeletal remains have been found on the cave floor, mostly from cave bear (Ursus spelaeus), representing at least 190 individuals (Philippe and Fosse, 2003). Moreover, archaeological remains have been identified on the floor in Chauvet Cave, such as animal and human footprints, combustion structures, a few flint artifacts, and an ivory spearhead (Garcia, 2005; Geneste, 2005). Understanding the relationship between cave bears and humans in Chauvet Cave is a key question. Indeed, the question of a special relationship between cave bears and humans, such as hunting or worshiping, is still a debated issue (e.g., Garcia and Morel, 1995; Pacher, 2000; Mu¨nzel et al., 2001). Evidence for interactions between humans and bears in Chauvet Cave include displaced bones, such as the famous skull on the block in ‘‘Salle du Crâne’’ (skull chamber), and scratch marks from bear claws superimposed on some paintings, but it is not yet clear whether human action was involved in the location and selection of some skeletal elements on the cave floor (Philippe and Fosse, 2003). Chauvet Cave is a unique case where modern biogeochemical techniques, especially stable isotope analysis and radiocarbon dating of residual collagen, can be used on the fossil bones (e.g., Bocherens et al., 1994; van der Plicht et al., 2000). Radiocarbon dates presented here fit the bears within the chronological framework established on the basis of dates already obtained on paintings, charcoals in hearths, and speleothems. Stable isotopic results allow us to document possible changes in bear diet and habitat according
to spatial and chronological parameters. Altogether, these new results give us some insight into the relationship between humans and bears in Chauvet Cave."

Journal of Human Evolution Volume 50, Issue 3 , March 2006, Pages 370-376

Article available online: Here



De la faune au bestiaire – La grotte Chauvet–Pont-d’Arc, aux origines de l’art pariétal paléolithique - Paléontologie humaine et Préhistoire

V. Feruglio

"Les datations absolues et les études pluridisciplinaires menées depuis sept ans à la grotte Chauvet–Pont-d’Arc révèlent un art pariétal européen des origines, remontant à la première culture du Paléolithique supérieur : l’Aurignacien. Un changement climatique pourrait-il en avoir favorisé l’émergence ? Aurait-il conduit de nouveaux groupes humains en des terres plus propices ? Plus largement, quel rôle l’environnement joue-t-il dans la création artistique des temps paléolithiques ? De ce qui nous est donné à voir dans l’art de Chauvet, nous tenterons d’en déduire le paléoenvironnement et les conditions qui ont présidé à son existence."
Comptes Rendus Palevol Article in Press, Corrected Proof
Pdf available: Here

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