The Dordogne neighborhood of southern France is home to some of the oldest known artworks in the world . Across the walls and ceilings of over 200 cave in the region are an array of colourful paintings create by ourancient root . But despite their pregnant age , it is not entirely clear justhow old they are . Now researchers have a way to date these striking Paleolithic creation with greater preciseness .
The reason why these cave specimens have resist endeavour to square off their exact eld is related to the stuff used to create them . In most example , thecave paintingshave been colorise with iron- or manganese - oxide - base materials , which means it is not possible to carry radiocarbon go steady psychoanalysis .
As such , archaeologists and anthropologist have antecedently reckon that the cave art was created during the Magdalenian Period , around 12,000 to17,000 geezerhood ago .
Outline of one of the bison cave paintings from the Galerie des Fresques at Font-de-Gaume.Image credit: Henry Fairfield Osborn viaWikimedia Commons(public domain)
However , new research guide by scientists with the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France has describe the first discovery of contraband carbon paper - based fine art in the Font - de - Gaume ( pronounced “ Goorm ” ) cave . This material offers opportunities to direct radiocarbon dating and to reassess the existing art in this area .
The charcoal - ground drawing were first find in February 2020 in what is bear on to as the cave ’s main galleries . This cave situation is informally known as “ Bison Cave ” as it is home to 80 portrayal of bison , as well as other animals such as deer , horses , and mammoths . Pretty much two - third of the art located in Font - de - Gaume relates to animals , while the stay third is represented bytectiforms – a plan found inPaleolithic artthat is thought to portray a soma of habitation .
Thebisondepicted in this cave sometimes lie in of two or more shades that range from black to Brown University to Red River to yellow . Others were created with more delineate black-market and red fabric , or only blackened .
Back in 1902 , sample of colored matter were study from some of these ancient image by Henri Moissan , who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1906 . Moissan determine that ingredient of the material let in iron and manganese oxide . However , the Font - De - Gaume cave is now a UNESCO World Heritage website , so subsequent samples are only seldom permit .
How to test without touching
so as to get a more accurate moving picture of … the pic ’ particular date , researchers have used non - invasive analytical techniques . In special , they have used both visible - light and infrared photography , superimposition of the visible - light and infrared images , portable X - ray fluorescence(pXRF ) , and portable micro - Raman spectroscopy to generate entropy .
These techniques demonstrate that there are carbon - based drawings under others that were made from iron and manganese oxide .
The squad superpose visible - Christ Within and infrared picture claim from the same advantage point to make fake color infrared photographs ( FCIR ) , which allowed them to differentiate between the materials used to make the artistic production . They then used micro - Raman spectroscopy to discover the atomic number 6 compounds within the simulacrum , and to detect specific mineralogical phase of the iron and manganese oxide - base pigment .
This method allow the team to distinguish trope specifically created with wood coal - black - based compounds , while pXRF countenance the researchers severalize among the manganese oxide compounds used in the black public figure .
A step in an exciting direction
Although the researchers have not yet subjected theartto radiocarbon dating analysis , their work suggest the different semblance material may represent different phase angle of conception , particularly when compare to other lesson in the Dordogne . In particular , the shameful paint used at the Font - Diamond State - Gaume cave are interchangeable to those used at the nearbyRouffignaccave land site .
The next step will be to tax these pigments for their accurate escort of universe , which will open up new avenues for relative research within the Dordogne and elsewhere .
The subject is publish inScientific Reports .
