A high-precision chronological model for the decorated Upper Paleolithic cave of Chauvet-Pont d’Arc, Ardèche, France

Media type: E-Article
Title: A high-precision chronological model for the decorated Upper Paleolithic cave of Chauvet-Pont d’Arc, Ardèche, France
Contributor: Quiles, Anita; Valladas, Hélène; Bocherens, Hervé; Delqué-Količ, Emmanuelle; Kaltnecker, Evelyne; van der Plicht, Johannes; Delannoy, Jean-Jacques; Feruglio, Valérie; Fritz, Carole; Monney, Julien; Philippe, Michel; Tosello, Gilles; Clottes, Jean; Geneste, Jean-Michel
Published: National Academy of Sciences, 2016
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113 (2016) 17, Seite 4670-4675
Language: English
ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
Origination:
Footnote:
Description: 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 We present heremore than 80 previously unpublished dates.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.
Access State: Open Access

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