# Chauvet Cave

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French cave with prehistoric paintings

Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave UNESCO World Heritage Site Replica of paintings in the Chauvet Cave Interactive map of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave Location Ardèche, France Criteria Cultural: i, iii Reference 1426 Inscription 2014 (38th Session) Area 9 ha Buffer zone 1,353 ha Website archeologie.culture.fr/chauvet/en Coordinates 44°23′15″N 4°24′51″E / 44.38750°N 4.41417°E / 44.38750; 4.41417 Chauvet Cave Location in France

The **Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave** ([French](/source/French_language): *Grotte Chauvet-Pont d'Arc* [\[ɡʁɔt ʃovɛ pɔ̃ daʁk\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/French)) in the [Ardèche](/source/Ard%C3%A8che) department of southeastern France is a cave that contains some of the best-preserved figurative [cave paintings](/source/Cave_paintings) in the world,[1] as well as other evidence of [Upper Paleolithic](/source/Upper_Paleolithic) life.[2] It is located near the commune of [Vallon-Pont-d'Arc](/source/Vallon-Pont-d'Arc) on a [limestone](/source/Limestone) cliff above the former bed of the river [Ardèche](/source/Ard%C3%A8che_(river)), in the [Gorges de l'Ardèche](/source/Gorges_de_l'Ard%C3%A8che).

Discovered on December 18, 1994, it is considered one of the most significant [prehistoric art](/source/Prehistoric_art) sites and the UN's cultural agency [UNESCO](/source/UNESCO) granted it [World Heritage](/source/World_Heritage) status on June 22, 2014.[3] The cave was first explored by a group of three [speleologists](/source/Speleology): Eliette Brunel-Deschamps, Christian Hillaire, and Jean-Marie Chauvet (for whom the cave was named) six months after an aperture now known as "Le Trou de Baba" ('Baba's Hole') was discovered by Michel Rosa (Baba).[4] At a later date the group returned to the cave. Another member of this group, Michel Chabaud, along with two others, travelled further into the cave and discovered the Gallery of the Lions, the End Chamber. Chauvet has his own detailed account of the discovery.[5] In addition to the paintings and other human evidence, they also discovered [fossilized](/source/Fossilized) remains, prints, and markings from a variety of animals, some of which are now extinct.

Further study by French archaeologist [Jean Clottes](/source/Jean_Clottes) has revealed much about the site. The dates have been a matter of dispute, but a study published in 2012 supports placing the art in the [Aurignacian](/source/Aurignacian) period, approximately 32,000–30,000 years ago. A study published in 2016 using an additional 88 [radiocarbon dates](/source/Radiocarbon_dates) showed two periods of habitation, one 37,000 to 33,500 years ago and the second from 31,000 to 28,000 years ago, with most of the black drawings dating to the earlier period.

## Features

The cave is situated above the previous course of the [Ardèche](/source/Ard%C3%A8che_(river)) before the [Pont d'Arc](/source/Pont_d'Arc) opened up. The gorges of the Ardèche region are the site of numerous caves, many of them having some geological or archaeological importance.

Based on [radiocarbon dating](/source/Radiocarbon_dating), the cave appears to have been used by humans during two distinct periods: the [Aurignacian](/source/Aurignacian) and the [Gravettian](/source/Gravettian). Most of the artwork dates to the earlier, Aurignacian, era (32,000 to 30,000 years ago). The later Gravettian occupation, which occurred 27,000 to 25,000 years ago, left little but a child's footprints, the charred remains of ancient [hearths](/source/Hearth),[6] and carbon smoke stains from torches that lit the caves. The footprints may be the oldest human footprints that can be accurately dated. After the child's visit to the cave, evidence suggests that due to a landslide that covered its historical entrance, the cave remained untouched until it was discovered in 1994.[7]

The soft, clay-like floor of the cave retains the paw prints of [cave bears](/source/Cave_bear) along with large, rounded depressions that are believed to be the "nests" where the bears slept. Fossilised bones are abundant and include the skulls of cave bears and the horned skull of an [ibex](/source/Ibex).[8] Paw-prints dated to 26,000 YBP are suggested as being those of a dog; however, these have been challenged as being left by a wolf.[9]

## Paintings

Image of [steppe wisent](/source/Steppe_wisent) (*Bison priscus*). Paintings in the Chauvet Cave on [postage stamp](/source/Postage_stamp) of [Romania](/source/Romania) 2001

Replica of painting of lions

A group of rhinos

Painting of deer

Hundreds of animal paintings have been catalogued, depicting at least 13 different species, including some rarely or never found in other [ice age](/source/Ice_age) paintings. Rather than depicting only the familiar herbivores that predominate in Paleolithic cave art, i.e. [horses](/source/Wild_horse), [aurochs](/source/Aurochs), [mammoths](/source/Mammoth), etc., the walls of the Chauvet Cave feature many [predatory](/source/Predator) animals, e.g., [cave lions](/source/Panthera_leo_spelaea), [leopards](/source/Leopard),[10] [bears](/source/Cave_bear), and [cave hyenas](/source/Cave_hyena). There are also paintings of [rhinoceroses](/source/Woolly_rhinoceros).[11]

Typical of most cave art, there are no paintings of complete human figures, although there are two partial "Venus" figures: one within a niche or vestibule of the End Chamber, and the other on a roughly conical or dental-shaped pendant several metres away; both are composed of what appears to be a [vulva](/source/Vulva) attached to an incomplete pair of legs. Above the pendant Venus, and in contact with it, is a bison head, which has led some to describe the composite drawing as a [Minotaur](/source/Minotaur).[12] There are a few panels of [red ochre](/source/Red_ochre) hand prints and [hand stencils](/source/Hand_stencil) made by blowing [pigment](/source/Pigment) over hands pressed against the cave surface. [Abstract](/source/Abstract_art) markings—lines and dots—are found throughout the cave. There are also two unidentifiable images that have a vaguely butterfly or avian shape to them. This combination of subjects has led some students of prehistoric art and cultures to believe that there was a ritual, shamanic, or magical aspect to these paintings.[13]

One drawing, later overlaid with a sketch of a deer, is reminiscent of a volcano spewing lava, similar to the regional volcanoes that were active at the time. If confirmed, this would represent the earliest known drawing of a volcanic eruption.[14]

The artists who produced these paintings used techniques rarely found in other cave art. Many of the paintings appear to have been made only after the walls were scraped clear of debris and concretions, leaving a smoother and noticeably lighter area upon which the artists worked. Similarly, a three-dimensional quality and the suggestion of movement are achieved by incising or [etching](/source/Etching) around the outlines of certain figures. The art is also exceptional for its time for including "scenes", e.g., animals interacting with each other; a pair of [woolly rhinoceroses](/source/Woolly_rhinoceros), for example, are seen butting horns in an apparent contest for territory or mating rights.[15]

## Dating

The cave contains some of the oldest known [cave paintings](/source/Cave_painting), based on [radiocarbon dating](/source/Radiocarbon_dating) of "black from drawings, from torch marks and from the floors", according to Jean Clottes. Clottes concludes that the "dates fall into two groups, one centred around 27,000–26,000 [BP](/source/Before_Present) and the other around 32,000–30,000 BP."[2] As of 1999, the dates of 31 samples from the cave had been reported. The earliest, sample Gifa 99776 from "zone 10", dates to 32,900 ± 490 BP.[16]

Some archaeologists have questioned these dates. Christian Züchner, relying on stylistic comparisons with similar paintings at other well-dated sites, expressed the opinion that the red paintings are from the [Gravettian](/source/Gravettian) period (c. 28,000–23,000 BP) and the black paintings are from the Early [Magdalenian](/source/Magdalenian) period (early part of c. 18,000–10,000 BP).[17] Pettitt and Bahn also contended that the dating is inconsistent with the traditional stylistic sequence and that there is uncertainty about the source of the charcoal used in the drawings and the extent of surface contamination on the exposed rock surfaces.[18][19][20] Stylistic studies showed that some Gravettian engravings are superimposed on black paintings proving the paintings' older origins.[21]

By 2011, more than 80 radiocarbon dates had been taken, with samples from torch marks and from the paintings themselves, as well as from animal bones and charcoal found on the cave floor. The radiocarbon dates from these samples suggest that there were two periods of creation in Chauvet: 35,000 years ago and 30,000 years ago.[22] This would place the occupation and painting of the cave within the [Aurignacian](/source/Aurignacian) period.

A research article published in *[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences](/source/Proceedings_of_the_National_Academy_of_Sciences_of_the_United_States_of_America)* in May 2012 by scientists from the [University of Savoy](/source/University_of_Savoy), [Aix-Marseille University](/source/Aix-Marseille_University) and the Centre National de Prehistoire confirmed that the paintings were created by people in the [Aurignacian](/source/Aurignacian) era, between 30,000 and 32,000 years ago. The researchers' findings are based on the analysis using geomorphological and [36 Cl](/source/Chlorine-36) dating of the rock slide surfaces around what is believed to be the cave's only entrance. Their analysis showed that the entrance was sealed by a collapsing cliff some 29,000 years ago. Their findings put the date of human presence in the cave and the paintings in line with that deduced from radiocarbon dating, i.e., between 32,000 and 30,000 years BP.[23][24]

A 2016 study in the same journal examining 259 radiocarbon dates, some unpublished before, concluded that there were two phases of human occupation, one running from 37,000 to 33,500 years ago and the second from 31,000 to 28,000 years ago. All but two of the dates for the black drawings were from the earlier phase. The authors believe that the first phase ended with a rockfall that sealed the cave, with two more rockfalls at the end of the second occupation phase after which no humans or large animals entered the cave until it was rediscovered.[25] In an email to the *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)* two of the authors explained,

A human group (band or tribe) visited the Chauvet cave during the first period around 36,000 years ago for cultural purposes. They produced black drawings of huge mammals. Then, several thousands of years after, another group from another place with another culture visited the cave.[26]

In 2020, researchers used the new IntCal20 radiocarbon calibration curve to estimate that the oldest painting in the cave was created 36,500 years ago.[27]

In parallel with the dating carried out in Chauvet cave itself, from 2008 onwards, several members of the scientific team in charge of studying the cave undertook chronological research in other rock art sites along the Ardèche river gorges under the direction of Julien Monney.[28] It took place at Points cave (Aiguèze; Gard; France), which presents flagrant iconographic similarities with Chauvet cave,[29] but also at Deux-Ouvertures cave.[30] Under the name of "Datation Grottes Ornées" (or DGO) project, this research is intended to determine the context in which the rock art caves of the region were visited. The DGO project proposes to discuss the apparent chronological and iconographic exceptionality of Chauvet cave "from the outside" by placing it within a regional ensemble. This research is still in progress (2020). However, it has already produced many results indirectly concerning the chronology of Chauvet cave.[31][32][33]

## Preservation

[VOA](/source/VOA) report about the cave and its replica

The cave has been sealed off to the public since 1994. Access is severely restricted owing to the experience with decorated caves such as [Altamira](/source/Cave_of_Altamira) and [Lascaux](/source/Lascaux) found in the 19th and 20th century, where the admission of visitors on a large scale led to the growth of mold on the walls that damaged the art in places. In 2000 the archaeologist and expert on cave paintings [Dominique Baffier](/source/Dominique_Baffier) was appointed to oversee conservation and management of the cave. She was followed in 2014 by Marie Bardisa.

[Caverne du Pont-d'Arc](/source/Caverne_du_Pont-d'Arc) (*Grotte Chauvet 2*), a [facsimile](/source/Facsimile) of Chauvet Cave on the model of the so-called "Faux Lascaux", was opened to the general public on 25 April 2015.[34] It is the largest cave replica ever built worldwide, ten times bigger than the Lascaux facsimile. The art is reproduced full-size in a condensed replica of the underground environment, in a circular building above ground, a few kilometres from the actual cave.[35] Visitors' senses are stimulated by the same sensations of silence, darkness, temperature, humidity, and acoustics, carefully reproduced.[36]

## See also

- [Painting portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Painting)

- [Art of the Upper Paleolithic](/source/Art_of_the_Upper_Paleolithic)

- *[Cave of Forgotten Dreams](/source/Cave_of_Forgotten_Dreams)*, a 2010 documentary film about Chauvet Cave by [Werner Herzog](/source/Werner_Herzog)

- [Coliboaia Cave](/source/Coliboaia_Cave) in Romania, where 35–32,000-year-old figures were drawn using a similar technique[37]

- [List of Stone Age art](/source/List_of_Stone_Age_art)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** UNESCO. [\[1\]](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1426), June 2014.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Clottes214_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Clottes214_2-1) Clottes (2003b), p. 214.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** France 24. ["UNESCO grants heritage status to prehistoric French cave"](http://www.france24.com/en/20140622-unesco-france-heritage-status-prehistoric-cave-grotte-chauvet/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180107172600/http://www.france24.com/en/20140622-unesco-france-heritage-status-prehistoric-cave-grotte-chauvet/) 2018-01-07 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), June 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Hammer_4-0)** Hammer, Joshua (April 2015). ["Finally, the Beauty of France's Chauvet Cave Makes its Grand Public Debut"](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/france-chauvet-cave-makes-grand-debut-180954582/). *Smithsonian*. [Smithsonian Institution](/source/Smithsonian_Institution). Retrieved 20 August 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Chauvet, Jean-Marie; Deschamps, Eliette Brunel; Hillaire, Christian; Clottes, Jean; Bahn, Paul (1996). [*Dawn of art : the Chauvet Cave : the oldest known paintings in the world*](https://archive.org/details/dawnofartchauvet0000chau). New York: H.N. Abrams. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8109-3232-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8109-3232-6).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Ferrier, Catherine; Debard, Évelyne; Kervazo, Bertrand; Brodard, Aurélie; Guibert, Pierre; Baffier, Dominique; Feruglio, Valérie; Gély, Bernard; Geneste, Jean-Michel; Maksud, Frédéric (2014-12-28). ["Heated walls of the cave Chauvet-Pont d'Arc (Ardèche, France): characterization and chronology"](http://journals.openedition.org/paleo/3009). *PALEO. Revue d'archéologie préhistorique* (25): 59–78. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.4000/paleo.3009](https://doi.org/10.4000%2Fpaleo.3009). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1145-3370](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1145-3370). Retrieved 2019-10-25.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Curtis, Gregory (2006). *The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists*. New York: Knopf, pp. 215–16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Smithsonian Magazine, December 2010"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131102031302/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Fate-of-the-Cave-Bear.html). Smithsonianmag.com. 2017-06-21. Archived from [the original](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Fate-of-the-Cave-Bear.html) on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2018-01-31.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-thalmann2013_9-0)** Thalmann, O.; Shapiro, B.; Cui, P.; Schuenemann, V.J.; Sawyer, S.K.; Greenfield, D.L.; Germonpré, M.B.; Sablin, M.V.; López-Giráldez, F.; Domingo-Roura, X.; Napierala, H.; Uerpmann, H-P.; Loponte, D.M.; Acosta, A.A.; Giemsch, L.; Schmitz, R.W.; Worthington, B.; Buikstra, J.E.; Druzhkova, A.S.; Graphodatsky, A.S.; Ovodov, N.D.; Wahlberg, N.; Freedman, A.H.; Schweizer, R.M.; Koepfli, K.-P.; Leonard, J.A.; Meyer, M.; Krause, J.; Pääbo, S.; Green, R.E.; Wayne, Robert K. (15 November 2013). "Complete Mitochondrial Genomes of Ancient Canids Suggest a European Origin of Domestic Dogs". *Science*. **342** (6160): 871–874. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2013Sci...342..871T](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013Sci...342..871T). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1126/science.1243650](https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.1243650). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [24233726](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24233726). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [1526260](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:1526260). refer Supplementary material Page 27 Table S1

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Diedrich, Cajus G. (15 September 2013). ["Late Pleistocene leopards across Europe – northernmost European German population, highest elevated records in the Swiss Alps, complete skeletons in the Bosnia Herzegowina Dinarids and comparison to the Ice Age cave art"](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379113001716). *[Quaternary Science Reviews](/source/Quaternary_Science_Reviews)*. **76**: 167–193. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.05.009](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.quascirev.2013.05.009). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0277-3791](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0277-3791). Retrieved 11 February 2024 – via Elsevier Science Direct.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Adams, Laurie (2011). *Art Across Time* (4th ed.). Mc-Graw Hill. p. 34.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Thurman, Judith (23 June 2008). ["First Impressions: What does the world's oldest art say about us?"](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/06/23/first-impressions). *The New Yorker Magazine*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** See, for example, Lewis-Williams (2002).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Callaway, Ewen (15 January 2016). ["'Cave of forgotten dreams' may hold earliest painting of volcanic eruption"](http://www.nature.com/news/cave-of-forgotten-dreams-may-hold-earliest-painting-of-volcanic-eruption-1.19177?WT.mc_id=TWT_NatureNews). *Nature*. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1038/nature.2016.19177](https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature.2016.19177). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [189976837](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:189976837).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Fritz, Carole; Tosello, Gilles (2007-02-21). ["The Hidden Meaning of Forms: Methods of Recording Paleolithic Parietal Art"](https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Chauvet-Cave-Ardeche-France-The-Panel-of-the-Horses-An-analysis-of-the-superposition_fig16_225322460). *Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory*. **14** (1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 48–80. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/s10816-007-9027-3](https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10816-007-9027-3). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1072-5369](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1072-5369). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [144998541](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144998541).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Clottes (2003b), p. 33. See also Chauvet (1996), p. 131, for a chronology of dates from various caves. Bahn's foreword and Clottes' epilogue to Chauvet (1996) discuss dating.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Züchner, Christian (September 1998). ["Grotte Chauvet Archaeologically Dated"](http://www.rupestre.net/tracce/?p=2812). *Communication at the International Rock Art Congress IRAC ´98*. Retrieved 2014-12-05. Clottes (2003b), pp. 213–14, has a response by Clottes.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Pettitt, Paul; Paul Bahn (March 2003). ["Current problems in dating Palaeolithic cave art: Candamo and Chauvet"](http://www.antiquity.ac.uk/ant/077/Ant0770134.htm). *Antiquity*. **77** (295): 134–41. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/s0003598x00061421](https://doi.org/10.1017%2Fs0003598x00061421). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [161903280](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:161903280).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Pettitt, P. (2008). "Art and the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Europe: Comments on the archaeological arguments for an early Upper Paleolithic antiquity of the Grotte Chauvet art". *Journal of Human Evolution*, 2008 Aug 2. [(abstract)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=18678392)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Bahn, P., P. Pettitt and C. Züchner, "The Chauvet Conundrum: Are claims for the 'birthplace of art' premature?" in *An Enquiring Mind: Studies in Honor of Alexander Marshack* (ed. P. Bahn), Oxford 2009, pp. 253–78.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** Guy, Emmanuel (2004). [*The Grotte Chauvet: a completely homogeneous art?*](http://www.paleoesthetique.com/eng/la-grotte-chauvet-un-art-totalement-homogene/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140730031506/http://www.paleoesthetique.com/eng/la-grotte-chauvet-un-art-totalement-homogene/) 2014-07-30 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), paleoesthetique.com, February 2004.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** ["A Chauvet Primer"](http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/archaeology/20110304/index.php?startid=39). *[Archaeology](/source/Archaeology_(magazine))*. **64** (2): 39. March–April 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-23)** Agence France-Presse (May 7, 2012). ["France cave art gives glimpse into human life 40,000 years ago"](https://nationalpost.com/news/france-cave-art-gives-glimpse-into-human-life-40000-years-ago). [National Post](/source/National_Post). Retrieved May 8, 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** Sadier, Benjamin; Delannoy, Jean-Jacques; Benedetti, Lucilla; Bourles, Didier; Jaillet, Stephane; Geneste, Jean-Michel; Lebatard, Anne-Elisabeth; Arnold, Maurice (2012). ["Further constraints on the Chauvet cave artwork elaboration"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3361430). *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*. **109** (21): 8002–6. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2012PNAS..109.8002S](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012PNAS..109.8002S). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1073/pnas.1118593109](https://doi.org/10.1073%2Fpnas.1118593109). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [3361430](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3361430). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [22566649](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22566649).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-25)** Anita Quiles, Hélène Valladas, Hervé Bocherens, Emmanuelle Delqué-Kolic, Evelyne Kaltnecker, Johannes van der Plicht, Jean-Jacques Delannoy, Valérie Feruglio, Carole Fritz, Julien Monney, Michel Philippe, Gilles Tosello, Jean Clottes, and Jean-Michel Geneste "A high-precision chronological model for the decorated Upper Paleolithic cave of Chauvet-Pont d'Arc, Ardèche, France" PNAS 2016 113 (17) 4670–75; [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1073/pnas.1523158113](https://doi.org/10.1073%2Fpnas.1523158113) [\[2\]](http://www.pnas.org/content/113/17/4670.full)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Netburn_26-0)** Netburn, Deborah (December 2016). ["Chauvet cave: The most accurate timeline yet of who used the cave and when"](https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-chauvet-caves-timeline-20160412-story.html). *Los Angeles Times*. Retrieved 22 December 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Turney_27-0)** Turney, Chris; Hogg, Alan; Reimer, Paula J.; Heaton, Tim (13 August 2020). ["From cave art to climate chaos: How a new carbon dating timeline is changing our view of history"](https://phys.org/news/2020-08-cave-art-climate-chaos-carbon.html). *Phys.org*. Retrieved 13 August 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-28)** Monney, Julien (2018). ["La grotte aux Points d'Aiguèze, petite soeur de la grotte Chauvet et les recherches menées dans le cadre du projet "Datation Grottes Ornées""](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329772023). *Karstologia*. **72**: 1–12. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0751-7688](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0751-7688).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-29)** Monney, Julien (2018). ["L'art pariétal paléolithique de la grotte aux Points d'Aiguèze : définition d'un dispositif pariétal singulier et discussion de ses implications"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329771821). *Karstologia*. **72**: 45–60. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0751-7688](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0751-7688).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-30)** Monney, Julien (2010). ["La grotte des Deux-Ouvertures : Le regard et la mémoire"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281474811). *Ardèche Archéologie*. **27**: 3–12.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-31)** Monney, Julien (2014). ["Nouveaux éléments de discussion chronologique dans le paysage des grottes ornées de l'Ardèche: Oulen, Chabot et Tête-du-Lion"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333488921). *Paléo*: 271–283. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1145-3370](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1145-3370).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-32)** Monney, Julien (2014). ["La grotte des Deux-Ouvertures à Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche: approches chronométriques croisées de la mise en place du massif stalagmitique (U/Th et 14C AMS): implications quant aux fréquentations humaines de la cavité et à la présence ursine dans la région"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278621780). *Paléo*: 41–50. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1145-3370](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1145-3370).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-33)** Condemi, Silvana; Voisin, Jean-Luc; Puymérail, Laurent; Monney, Julien; Philippe, Michel (2017-06-01). ["Les restes humains de la grotte ornée paléolithique des Deux-Ouvertures (Ardèche, France)"](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.crpv.2017.02.001). *Comptes Rendus Palevol*. **16** (4): 452–461. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.crpv.2017.02.001](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.crpv.2017.02.001). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1631-0683](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1631-0683).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-opening_of_cave_replica_site_34-0)** Rauchhaupt, Ulf von. ["Replik der Grotte Chauvet mit Höhlenmalereien"](https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/kunst/replik-der-grotte-chauvet-mit-hoehlenmalereien-13557202.html). *faz.net*. Retrieved 25 April 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-chauvetgrandopening_35-0)** ["Chauvet-Pont d'Arc cave, grand opening!"](http://www.rupestre.net/tracce/?p=9260). TRACCE Online Rock Art Bulletin. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-36)** "Conservation of prehistoric caves and stability of their inner climate: lessons from Chauvet and other French caves". Bourges F., Genthon P., Genty D., Lorblanchet M., Mauduit E., D'Hulst D. *Science of the Total Environment*. Vol. 493, 15 Sept. 2014, pp. 79–91 [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.137](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.scitotenv.2014.05.137).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-37)** ["Drawing Paleolithic Romania"](https://archaeology.org/issues/january-february-2012/digs-discoveries/drawing-paleolithic-romania/).

### Bibliography

- Chauvet, Jean-Marie; Eliette Brunel Deschamps; Christian Hillaire (1996). [*Dawn of Art: The Chauvet Cave*](https://archive.org/details/dawnofartchauvet0000chau). Paul G. Bahn (Foreword), Jean Clottes (Epilogue). New York: Harry N. Abrams. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8109-3232-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8109-3232-6). English translation by Paul G. Bahn from the French edition *La Grotte Chauvet*

- [Clottes, Jean](/source/Jean_Clottes) (2003a). *Return To Chauvet Cave, Excavating the Birthplace of Art: The First Full Report*. Thames & Hudson. p. 232. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-500-51119-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-500-51119-5).

- Clottes, Jean (2003b). *Chauvet Cave: The Art of Earliest Times*. Paul G. Bahn (translator). University of Utah Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-87480-758-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87480-758-1). Translation of *La Grotte Chauvet, l'art des origins*, Éditions du Seuil, 2001.

- Lewis-Williams, David (2002). *The Mind in the Cave*. London: Thames & Hudson. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-500-28465-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-500-28465-0).

- Clottes, Jean (August 2001). ["France's Magical Ice Age Art"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080203123206/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/data/2001/08/01/html/ft_20010801.6.html). *National Geographic*. **200** (2). Archived from [the original](http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/data/2001/08/01/html/ft_20010801.6.html) on February 3, 2008. (article includes many photographs)

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Chauvet Cave](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Chauvet_Cave).

- [The Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc](https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/chauvet/en) French Ministry of Culture information site; includes an interactive map with photos.

- [Ancient Grand Masters: Chauvet Cave, France](https://web.archive.org/web/20101003031246/http://www.time.com/time/europe/wonder/chauvet.html) A brief article by Jean Clottes of the French Ministry of Culture, responsible for overseeing the authentication of the contents and art of the cave

- [Chauvet Cave (ca. 30,000 b.c.)](http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chav/hd_chav.htm) on the [Metropolitan Museum of Art](/source/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art)'s Timeline of Art History

- [Cave of Forgotten Dreams](https://web.archive.org/web/20101206141951/http://www.wernerherzog.com/index.php?id=64) a film by Werner Herzog using 3D technology

v t e Prehistoric cave sites, rock shelters and cave paintings Paleoanthropological sites Cave paintings Caves containing pictograms Europe Austria Drachenhöhle Gudenus Lurgrotte Salzofen Tischofer Belgium Belle-Roche Claminforge Engis Goyet Naulette Neolithic flint mines of Spiennes Ramioul Scladina Spy Trou de l'Abîme Bosnia Badanj Ledenjača Bulgaria Bacho Kiro Devetashka Kozarnika Magura Utroba Cave Croatia Grapčeva Krapina Vela Spila Vindija Romuald's Cave Velika peć Veternica Cyprus Aetokremnos Czech Republic Amatérská Býčí skála Koněprusy Kůlna Mladeč Šipka Finland Wolf France Vézère Valley World Heritage Site Bara Bahau Bernifal Cap Blanc Castel Merle Abri Castanet Reverdit Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil Abri Audi Abri Chadourne Les Combarelles Cro-Magnon Font-de-Gaume Laugerie-Basse Laugerie-Haute La Micoque La Mouthe Pataud Abri du Poisson Lascaux La Madeleine Rouffignac Other World Heritage Sites Chauvet Other caves with decoration Arcy-sur-Cure Gargas Cosquer Cussac Fontéchevade La Chaire a Calvin La Marche Lombrives Grotte de Gabillou Marsoulas Mas d'Azil Mayrières supérieure Niaux Pair-non-Pair Pech Merle Roc-aux-Sorciers Renne Trois Frères Villars Other caves Arago Aurignac Azé Balauzière Bonne-Femme Bouillon Bruniquel Calès Cauna La Chapelle-aux-Saints Combe Grenal La Ferrassie Fées Fontbrégoua Lazaret Le Moustier Noisetier La Quina Raymonden Le Regourdou Rochereil Vallonnet Germany Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura World Heritage Site Bockstein Geissenklösterle Hohle Fels Hohlenstein-Stadel Sirgenstein Vogelherd Other caves Baumann's Brillenhöhle Kleine Feldhofer Lichtenstein Ofnet Gibraltar Devil's Tower Gorham's Vanguard Greece Alepotrypa Apidima Asphendou Eileithyia Franchthi Kleidi Megalakkos Petralona Stravomyti Theopetra Hungary Baradla Szelim Italy Addaura Arene Candide Balzi Rossi Cavallo Corbeddu Deer Felci Paglicci Romito Villabruna Jersey St Brelade Kosovo Bukuroshja e Fjetur Luxembourg Loschbur Malta Għar Dalam North 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Guareña Peñas de Cabrera la Pileta Praileaitz Sidrón Other caves Ángel Antón Armintxe Axlor Bedmar dels Bous Don Gaspar Guanches El Mirón Santa Catalina del Valle Switzerland Bichon Cotencher Kesslerloch Schweizersbild Wildenmannlisloch Wildkirchli Ukraine Verteba United Kingdom Aveline's Hole Bontnewydd Cathole Coygan Creswell Crags Gough's Heathery Burn High Pasture Kendrick's Kents Long Hole Marble Arch Oldbury Portbraddon Red Lady of Paviland Sand Thor's Windmill Hill Asia Afghanistan Darra-e Kur Armenia Areni-1 Azerbaijan Allar Azykh Buzeyir Damjili Tağlar Zar Gazma Cambodia Laang Spean China Baishiya Fuyan Guanyindong Luobi Tianyuan Xianren Yuchanyan Zhoukoudian Zengpiyan Zhiren East Timor Jerimalai Laili Lene Hara Georgia Satsurblia India Ambadevi Belum Bhimbetka Edakkal Gudiyam Pahargarh Tikla Indonesia Harimau Jeriji Saléh Liang Bua Pettakere Iran Bisitun Darband Do-Ashkaft Eshkaft-e Siahoo Huto and Kamarband Qaleh Bozi Warwasi Wezmeh Yafteh Iraq Hazar Merd Shanidar Israel Amud HaYonim Kebara Manot Misliya Nahal Me'arot El Wad Jamal Skhul Tabun Nahal Hemar Nahal Oren Qafzeh Qesem Raqefet Zuttiyeh Japan Kosegasawa Minatogawa Muroya Ōzakai Pinza-Abu Shiraho Saonetabaru Tobayama Yamashita Jordan Iraq ed-Dubb Laos Tham An Mah Tam Pa Ling Lebanon Antelias Jeita Kaukaba Ksar Akil Ras Baalbek I Ras El Kelb Nachcharini Malaysia Niah Mongolia Khoit Tsenkher Myanmar Padah-Lin Pakistan Sanghao Palestine Shuqba Philippines Callao Guyangan Kalanay Minori Lapuz Lapuz Tabon Sri Lanka Batadombalena Belilena Fa Hien Hunugalagala Thailand Pha Taem Banyan Valley Spirit Steep Cliff Tham Lod Turkmenistan Dzhebel Turkey Belbaşı Karain Yarımburgaz Uzbekistan Obi-Rakhmat Teshik-Tash Vietnam Con Moong Ngườm Africa Algeria Gueldaman Botswana Tsodilo Manyana Rock Paintings Cameroon Shum Laka DR Congo Matupi Egypt Beasts Swimmers Kenya Enkapune Ya Muto Njoro River Lesotho Liphofung Libya Haua Fteah Uan Muhuggiag Morocco Hercules Ifri N'Ammar Ifri N'Amr Ou Moussa Ifri Oudadane Jebel Irhoud Kelif el Boroud Taforalt Mozambique Ngalue Namibia Apollo 11 The White Lady Nigeria Rop Somaliland Dhambalin Dhaymoole Laas Geel South Africa Cradle of Humankind, World Heritage Site Bolt's Farm Cooper's Drimolen Gladysvale Gondolin Haasgat Kromdraai Makapansgat Malapa Minnaar's Motsetsi Plovers Lake Rising Star Sterkfontein Swartkrans Other caves Blombos Border Boomplaas Byneskranskop Cango Diepkloof Elands Bay Howieson's Poort Klasies River Melkhoutboom Nelson Bay Pinnacle Point Sibudu Stadsaal Wonderwerk Tanzania Kondoa Bahi Mumba Uganda Nyero Zambia Kalemba Mumbwa Zimbabwe Bambata North and South America Argentina Cueva de las Manos Aruba Quadiriki Belize Actun Tunichil Muknal Barton Creek Midnight Terror Brazil Gentio Maquiné Pedra Pintada Peruaçu Rei do Mato Santo Toca da Tira Peia Canada Bluefish Charlie Lake Chile Fell Milodón Colombia El Abra Chiribiquete Piedras del Tunjo Sáchica Tequendama Tibitó Cuba Ambrosio Calero Centella Cura Patana Pluma Curaçao Hato Dominican Republic Pomier Jamaica Long Mile Mexico Chan Hol Coxcatlan Dzibilchaltún Las Flechas Frightful Guilá Naquitz Ox Bel Ha Oxtotitlán Sac Actun Peru Chivateros Guitarrero Pikimachay Qillqatani Toquepala T'uqu T'uquyuq Suriname Werehpai United States Arnold Research Baker Bonfire Bull Thistle Burnet Cherry Creek Colorado Millennial Danger Daugherty's Dry Creek Durango Dust Dutchess Quarry Fort Rock Franktown Gatecliff Graham Hidden Hidden Valley Hogup Humboldt La Grange Last Supper Levi LoDaisKa Lovelock Mammoth Mantle's Marmes Martz Meadowcroft Modoc Mummy On Your Knees Paisley Pendejo Pictograph Rockhouse Cliffs Russell Sandia Shoup Sisyphus Stanfield-Worley Tainter Tomaquag Trail Creek Trinchera Ventana Wilson Butte Oceania Australia Abrakurrie Acheron Ballawinne Beeton Shelter Beginner's Luck Blanche Bone Burrup Cave Bay Cliefden Cloggs Devil's Lair Eagles Reach Fossil Gabarnmung Gwion Gwion Jenolan Koongine Koonalda Kutikina Mackintosh 90/1 Madjedbebe Mammoth Mannalargenna Mudgegonga Murrawijinie Murujuga Naracoorte New Guinea II Nunamira ORS 7 Tarragal Ubirr Wargata Mina Warratyi Warreen Wellington Guam Gadao's Mahlac Talagi Hawaii Makauwahi New Caledonia Pindai New Zealand Moncks Ruakuri Northern Mariana Islands Chugai' Papua New Guinea Kilu Samoa Falemauga Tuvalu Nanumanga Cave List of caves Cave painting List of Stone Age art Speleology

v t e Prehistoric technology Prehistory Timeline Outline Stone Age Subdivisions New Stone Age Technology history Glossary Tools Farming Neolithic Revolution Founder crops New World crops Ard / plough Celt Digging stick Domestication Goad Irrigation Secondary products Sickle Terracing Food processing (Paleolithic diet) Fire Basket Cooking Earth oven Granaries Grinding slab Ground stone Hearth Aşıklı Höyük Qesem Cave Manos Metate Mortar and pestle Pottery Quern-stone Storage pits Hunting Arrow Boomerang throwing stick Bow and arrow history Nets Spear spear-thrower baton harpoon Schöningen woomera Projectile points Arrowhead Transverse Bare Island Cascade Clovis Cresswell Cumberland Eden Folsom Lamoka Manis Mastodon Plano Systems Game drive system Buffalo jump Toolmaking Earliest toolmaking Oldowan Acheulean Mousterian Aurignacian Clovis culture Cupstone Fire hardening Gravettian culture Hafting Hand axe Grooves Langdale axe industry Levallois technique Lithic core Lithic reduction analysis debitage flake Lithic technology Magdalenian culture Metallurgy Microblade technology Mining Prepared-core technique Solutrean industry Striking platform Tool stone Uniface Yubetsu technique Other tools Adze Awl bone Axe Bannerstone Blade prismatic Bone tool Bow drill Burin Canoe Oar Pesse canoe Chopper tool Cleaver Denticulate tool Fire plough Fire-saw Hammerstone Knife Microlith Quern-stone Racloir Rope Scraper side Stone tool Tally stick Weapons Wheel illustration Architecture Ceremonial Kiva Pyramid Standing stones megalith row Stonehenge Dwellings Neolithic architecture long house British megalith architecture Nordic megalith architecture Burdei Cave Cliff dwelling Dugout Hut Quiggly hole Jacal Longhouse Mudbrick Mehrgarh Pit-house Pueblitos Pueblo Rock shelter Blombos Cave Abri de la Madeleine Sibudu Cave Roundhouse Stilt house Alp pile dwellings Stone roof Wattle and daub Water management Check dam Cistern Flush toilet Reservoir Well Other architecture Archaeological features Broch Burnt mound fulacht fiadh Causewayed enclosure Tor enclosure Circular enclosure Goseck Cursus Henge Thornborough Megalithic architectural elements Midden Oldest extant buildings Timber circle Timber trackway Sweet Track Arts and culture Material goods Baskets Beadwork Beds Chalcolithic Clothing/textiles timeline Cosmetics Glue Hides shoes Ötzi Jewelry amber use Mirrors Pottery Cardium Cord-marked Grooved ware Jōmon Linear Unstan ware Sewing needle Weaving Wine winery wine press Prehistoric art Art of the Upper Paleolithic Art of the Middle Paleolithic Blombos Cave List of Stone Age art Bird stone Cairn Carved stone balls Cave paintings Cup and ring mark Geoglyph Hill figure Golden hats Guardian stones Gwion Gwion rock paintings painting pigment Megalithic art Petroform Petroglyph Petrosomatoglyph Pictogram Rock art Rock cupule Stone carving Sculpture Statue menhir Stone circle list British Isles and Brittany Venus figurine Prehistoric music Evolutionary musicology music archaeology Alligator drum Paleolithic flute Divje Babe flute Gudi Prehistoric religion Evolutionary origin of religion Paleolithic religion Spiritual drug use Burial Burial mounds Bowl barrow Round barrow Mound Builders culture U.S. sites Chamber tomb Cotswold-Severn Cist Dartmoor kistvaens Clava cairn Court cairn Cremation Dolmen Great dolmen Funeral pyre Gallery grave transepted wedge-shaped Grave goods Jar burial Kuyavian long barrows Long barrow unchambered Grønsalen Megalithic tomb Mummy Passage grave Rectangular dolmen Ring cairn Simple dolmen Stone box grave Tor cairn Unchambered long cairn Other cultural Archaeoastronomy sites lunar calendar Behavioral modernity Origin of language Prehistoric counting Prehistoric medicine trepanning Prehistoric warfare Symbols symbolism

v t e World Heritage Sites in France Île-de-France Fontainebleau palace and park Paris: banks of the Seine Provins Versailles palace and park North/Northwest1 Amiens Cathedral Belfries of Belgium and France* Megaliths of Carnac Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin Le Havre Center-west2 Bourges Cathedral Chartres Cathedral Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes-sur-Loire East3 Burgundy's climats and terroirs Champagne hills Fontenay Abbey Nancy: Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière and Place d'Alliance Reims: Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Rémi, Palace of Tau Salins-les-Bains and Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans Strasbourg: Grande Île, Neustadt Vézelay Church and hill Southwest4 Episcopal city, Albi Port of the Moon, Bordeaux Carcassonne citadel Causses and Cévennes Canal du Midi Cordouan Lighthouse Maison Carrée of Nîmes Pont du Gard Pyrénées – Mont Perdu* Saint-Émilion Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe Abbey Church Vézère caves Southeast5 Arles' Roman and Romanesque monuments Avignon: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble, Bridge Chaîne des Puys Chauvet Cave Gulf of Porto: Calanches de Piana, Gulf of Girolata, Scandola Reserve Lyon Nice Orange: Roman Theatre, Triumphal Arch Vichy (Great Spa Towns of Europe*) Multiple regions Alps pile dwellings* Carpathian Beech Forests* Le Corbusier's Architectural Work Santiago de Compostela routes Vauban fortifications WWI Western Front* Overseas France French Austral Lands and Seas Lagoons of New Caledonia Pitons, cirques and remparts of Réunion Taputapuātea 1North/Northwest: Brittany, Hauts-de-France, Normandy 2Center-west: Centre-Val de Loire, Pays de la Loire 3East: Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est 4Southwest: Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitania 5Southeast: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Corsica, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur *Shared with other countries

Authority control databases International VIAF National Czech Republic Israel Geographic Mérimée Pleiades Other Kulturenvanteri monument Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chauvet Cave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauvet_Cave) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauvet_Cave?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.