2026-03-09 フランス国立科学研究センター（CNRS）
Cave paintings at Font-de-Gaume, Dordogne© CMN/C2RMF, Anne Maigret
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.cnrs.fr/en/press/first-absolute-dating-palaeolithic-paintings-dordogne
- https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2524751123
ドルドーニュ地方（フランス）のカーボンブラックをベースとした旧石器時代の洞窟壁画の放射性炭素年代測定と化学イメージング Radiocarbon dating and chemical imaging of carbon black–based Paleolithic cave art in the Dordogne region (France)
Ina Reiche, Lucile Beck, Ingrid Caffy, +6 , and Patrick Paillet
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Published:March 9, 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2524751123
Significance
We provide the experimental confirmation of the Paleolithic age of cave art in the Font-de-Gaume cave (UNESCO World heritage site). Our team noninvasively imaged carbon black–based figures in the Font-de-Gaume cave thanks to Reflectance Imaging spectroscopy. This finding opened different perspectives for direct radiocarbon dating. Microsamplings were analyzed by means of accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating enabling accurate dating of minimal samples confirming the Paleolithic age of the cave art. This result represents a scientific breakthrough and a paradigm change with implications for the Paleolithic cave art in the Dordogne region and the broader field of prehistory.
Abstract
Paleolithic parietal art in the Dordogne, Southwestern France, was known to present representations solely made with mineral coloring matters. We found a significant number of carbon black-based figures in the galleries of the Font-de-Gaume cave in Les Eyzies, Dordogne, Southern France [I. Reiche, Y. Coquinot, A. Trosseau, A. Maigret, Sci. Rep. 13, 22235 (2023)]. Further reflectance imaging spectroscopy allowed a precise noninvasive discrimination between manganese- and carbon-based blacks. Consequently, in the Dordogne region, direct dating of drawn or painted lines was unlocked. Dating parietal representations can prove challenging because of the small amount of matter and the possible contaminations by other carbon sources. The sampling was conducted for radiocarbon dating on two selected figures identified as being made with carbon black: the Bison figure HB15 (named by Breuil, today GPCarG-006), located on the left at the level of the Carrefour in the public area of the cave, as well as on the Mask (human or animal face, GL3D-009) on the right of the remote sector 3 of the lateral gallery. Slightly more recent than expected, the obtained dates are of 13461–13162 calBP for the Bison, and of 8993–8590 calBP (left eye), 15981–15121 calBP (upper lip), and 15297–14246 calBP (lower lip) for the Mask. Except for one date, these results represent the experimental confirmation of the Paleolithic age of cave art in the Font-de-Gaume cave. This study opens numerous perspectives for a more systematic dating of the parietal representations of the cavern and motivates further research of carbon black–based Paleolithic parietal art in the Dordogne region.
