The impact of direct dating on palaeolithic cave art: lascaux revisited

Paul G. Bahn

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Publication Date

January 1995

Abstract

The "orthodox" view of the art in the cave of Lascaux is that of a homogeneous composition, spanning a few centuries at most, and dating to about 17,000 years ago. This paper undertakes a thorough and critical review of the surprisingly small number of original texts concerning the cave, and of the very limited and imperfect evidence that has led to this establishment view, and arrives at some very different conclusions regarding the alleged homogeneity and the dating. It argues instead for a multi-phase decoration spanning a long period, and involving two separate caves.

Keywords

Caves, Cave Paintings, Archaeology, Engraving, Charcoal, Horses, Flint, Pigments, Hooves, Fauna

Document Type

Article

Language

English

Notes

Anthropologie, Vol. 33, no. 3 (1995).

Identifier

SFS0069840_00001

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