Seeking rock art!
from tributarium@lemmy.world to archaeology@mander.xyz on 04 Aug 2024 14:00
https://lemmy.world/post/18276578

Heyo!

I’m looking for some rock art. I’ve been familiarising myself bit by bit but I’d really appreciate being pointed to some sites by the following criteria (in order of importance):

Thank you SO much!! Any advice on specific sites or where/how to search under this criteria super appreciated!!

#archaeology

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fossilesque@mander.xyz on 04 Aug 2024 16:23 next collapse

This is a huge topic. Any region in particular?

Fun: expo-vgr.se/stories/rat/#introduction

tributarium@lemmy.world on 04 Aug 2024 17:55 collapse

It’s precisely bc it’s such a huge topic that i’m reaching out for help lol! Region doesn’t matter but my immediate interest is closer to the aesthetic than the academic side of the spectrum atm, so I’m looking for visual highlights more than other kinds of salience/importance. I just need a rundown of what’s iconic (or looks like it ought to be)

fossilesque@mander.xyz on 04 Aug 2024 17:58 next collapse

This might be a place to start: annualreviews.org/…/annurev-anthro-102116-041354

fossilesque@mander.xyz on 04 Aug 2024 18:17 collapse

Also this: academic.oup.com/edited-volume/28279 it’s likely on Anna’s Archives.

Emperor@feddit.uk on 04 Aug 2024 16:25 collapse

One Summer I got Paul G Bahn’s Journey Through the Ice Age, stuck some post-it notes in on anything that look interesting and drove down through the Dordogne to the Ariege. The wealth of ancient art is astounding, even if you just branch out from the classics, like Lascaux (which you have to do while in the area).

So the ones that still stand out in my memory are:

  • Abri du Cap Blanc which has stunning animal carvings
  • Niaux - which is quite the experience as you get to feel quite how magical such places would be. You start high up on the valley in what would have been a great position for hunter-gatherers to spot game, then enter the cave, pass the pools and into a long, dark tunnel that opens into a huge cave with numerous animal drawings
  • Bédeilhac which is a vast cave (it housed an aircraft factory in WW2) with a range of stone age art in a number of techniques.

Then, when you have the key locations locked down, you can search around for others, via pages like Prehistoric Sites of the Vezere Valley and the Prehistoric caves in the Ariège Pyrenees (which mentions Le Mas d’Azil, which is worth a look as the road goes through the cave but you can only see reproductions of the art, and the Prehistoric Park that might give you other pointers). It’s become a lot easier to research thanks to the Web - this seems a good place to start. Looking through that, I think that holiday I get to most of the ones in the Vezere, Lot and Ariege. They are relatively close by and the sites are usually not far from each other, so you can visit a few in one day.