Choosing rock art locations: Geological parameters and social behaviours. The example of Cussac Cave (Dordogne, France)

Jouteau, Armance; Feruglio, Valérie; Bourdier, Camille; Camus, Hubert; Ferrier, Catherine; Santos, Frédéric; Jaubert, Jacques

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2019.03.008

Cited by 24 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…One important assumption in western approaches to rock art that we assess in this research is that large or visually dominating images, especially those in central locations within a site, contain open access information since they can be viewed by a public audience, while restricted or secret meanings are likely to be associated with images that are not on clear visual display (e.g. Fairen 2002Fairen , 2004Lenssen-Erz 2004Jouteau et al 2019;Bourdier 2013).…”

Section: Hidden Meaningsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Along with landscape approaches, the internal topography of the sites (distance and openness to view) has been also analyzed to establish the visibility and perceptibility of the motifs in an attempt to deduce the intended audience of particular sites or specific areas within the sites (see Bradley 2000:69;Ross and Davidson 2006;Pastoors and Weniger 2011;Lenssen-Erz 2012;Jouteau et al 2019). The goal of this approach is to deduce if motifs were intentionally displayed in visible places so everyone could see them or if they were hidden to restrict access to specific people.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hidden Sites, Hidden Images, Hidden Meanings: Does the Location and Visibility of Motifsand Sites Correlate to Restricted or Open Access?

Sanz

Smith

Jackson

et al. 2020

J Archaeol Method Theory

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Using an ethnographic approach, this research assesses common assumptions in rock art research in terms of their validity for Aboriginal rock art sites in the Barunga region of the Northern Territory, Australia. In particular, we assess the potential and limits of the commonly held assumption that open or restricted access to sites and/or the meaning of motifs can be assessed by determining the visibility of the site or image within the landscape. This research calls into question some assumptions that are core to contemporary archaeological method and theory. Our results challenge the notion that a secluded location, or difficulty of access, is needed to restrict access to a site. "Hidden" sites do not need to be hidden, as site access is controlled by a plethora of cultural rules. Moreover, sites that appear to be hidden within the landscape may be open access sites, although access may be restricted for periods of time. Conversely, sites that are visible and accessible from a landscape perspective can be subject to restricted access, regulated through social rules. In addition, the results question the notion that the control of secret information in rock art sites is determined by the visibility and location of motifs and sites. Hidden meanings are not necessarily related to hidden locations or the low visibility of the art, since cultures can have many other ways of hiding meaning. Finally, the results of this study challenge the commonly held dichotomy between sacred/restricted access and secular/open access.

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Section: Hidden Meaningsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hidden Sites, Hidden Images, Hidden Meanings: Does the Location and Visibility of Motifsand Sites Correlate to Restricted or Open Access?

Sanz

Smith

Jackson

et al. 2020

J Archaeol Method Theory

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“…Finally, there are two main areas that contain human remains in the downstream branch of the cave (8,12). All of these traces of prehistoric human activity indicate deep karst activity and appropriation (8,10,11,13).…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

Complex mortuary dynamics in the Upper Paleolithic of the decorated Grotte de Cussac, France

Kacki

Trinkaus

Schotsmans

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The Mid-Upper Paleolithic (Gravettian) karstic Grotte de Cussac (France) contains two areas of human remains in the context of abundant (and spectacular) parietal engravings. The first area (loci 1 and 2) includes the skeleton of a young adult male in a bear nest, rearranged by postdecomposition inundation, and the variably fragmentary remains of at least two individuals distributed across two bear nests, sorted anatomically and with most of the elements constrained to one side of one nest. The second area (locus 3) retains remains of two adults and an adolescent, in upper hollows and variably distributed down the slope, largely segregated into upper versus lower body groups. The only decoration associated with the human remains is red pigment on some of the bones or underlying sediment. The human remains indicate variable nonnatural deposition and manipulation of human bodies, body portions, and skeletal elements of at least six individuals. Moreover, Cussac is unusual in the association of these remains with exceptional parietal art. The complex Cussac mortuary pattern joins growing evidence from other Gravettian sites of variable treatment of individuals after death, within and across sites, in terms of formal deposition of the body versus postmortem manipulation versus surface abandonment. It provides a window onto the social diversity and the complex interactions of the living and the dead among these successful Late Pleistocene foragers.

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“…The spatial distribution of Palaeolithic artworks inside a cave has long been analyzed from different perspectives. From elemental pioneer studies (Leroi-Gourhan 1965;Vialou 1986) and the identification of different uses of the space (Lorblanchet 1995), to more detailed and complex analyses (González García 2001; Chippindale and Nash 2004; Ruiz-Redondo 2014) and the use of modern technologies (Jouteau et al 2019), different authors have explored the issue of the location of GU and rock art panels within sites. It is not the aim of this paper to present a detailed analysis about the spatial distribution and the compositions, but a few insights and key facts about how Palaeolithic artists organized the parietal assemblage at Kapova cave.…”

Section: Some Notes About the Spatial Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Easternmost European Palaeolithic Artists: Iconography and Graphic Features at Kapova Cave (Southern Urals, Russia)

2020

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Palaeolithic rock art is one of the most distinctive cultural traits of Upper Palaeolithic societies in Europe. Traditionally restricted to Southwestern Europe, especially to the Franco-Cantabrian province, in recent years, the geographic distribution of this phenomenon has noticeably expanded. Several years before these discoveries, the first decorated site found beyond southern Europe was Kapova cave, in Russia. This site, at the edge of the distribution area of European Palaeolithic art and far away from other cave sanctuaries, is key to define and understand potential long-distance cultural networks during the Upper Palaeolithic. In this paper, we present the first comprehensive inventory of the artworks, a renewed documentation of the graphic units (including the first digital tracings), the spatial distribution and the stylistic analysis of the different motifs. This led us to understand the role of Kapova within the Palaeolithic symbolism and to better integrate it in the Palaeolithic cultural dynamics.

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Choosing rock art locations: Geological parameters and social behaviours. The example of Cussac Cave (Dordogne, France)

Cited by 24 publications

References 19 publications

Hidden Sites, Hidden Images, Hidden Meanings: Does the Location and Visibility of Motifsand Sites Correlate to Restricted or Open Access?

Hidden Sites, Hidden Images, Hidden Meanings: Does the Location and Visibility of Motifsand Sites Correlate to Restricted or Open Access?

Complex mortuary dynamics in the Upper Paleolithic of the decorated Grotte de Cussac, France

The Easternmost European Palaeolithic Artists: Iconography and Graphic Features at Kapova Cave (Southern Urals, Russia)

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