Abri Castanet is an Upper Paleolithic rockshelter in the Vézère Valley of France, where some of the oldest rock art, including painted and carved ceiling panels, has been radiocarbon-dated to between 35,000 and 37,000 years ago. Dates from the site were taken on bone samples from the archaeological surface beneath the decorated pieces of collapsed ceiling.
Hundreds of personal ornaments and other forms of art were discovered in the cave a century ago and attributed to the Middle Aurignacian by the pioneer archaeologist Denis Peyrony. New excavations conducted by Jacques Pelegrin and Randall White beginning in the 1990s, and White on his own after 1998, have reassessed the date of the occupation to the Early Aurignacian, similar in age to if not slightly older than Chauvet Cave.
This photo essay is a closer examination of a few of the images from the cave. Thanks are due to Dr. White for allowing me to use these photographs.
- Read more about Abri Castanet itself
White R, Mensan R, Bourrillon R, Cretin C, Higham TFG, Clark AE, Sisk ML, Tartar E, Gardère P, Goldberg P et al. 2012. Contexts and dating of Aurignacian vulvar representations from Abri Castanet, France. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early edition.
