Last week, news broke concerning the identification of a new set of art work at Abri Castanet, now firmly dated to the Early Aurignacian period of the Upper Paleolithic of between 35,000-37,000 years ago. The cave paintings are fragmented: many were painted on the ceiling of the rockshelter, which collapsed onto the living surface, effectively ending the rockshelter's use.
Castanet, block 6, photograph and drawing of an unidentifiable zoomorphic figure painted in red and black. ©Raphaëlle Bourrillon
A couple of readers asked to see a few pictures, and I was fortunate enough to catch excavator Randall White getting ready to go back to the field. He was kind enough to provide the photos and some clarifications for me for the Abri Castanet photo essay. Most interestingly, White characterizes the cave art at Abri Castanet as "public": rock murals painted so as to be viewable for the residents of the cave, rather than tucked away in deeply recessed chambers.
- Abri Castanet Photo Essay Warning: the photo essay includes some stylized sexual imagery.
- Abri Castanet, the site description
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