The DOI matches its Crossref record; 4 of the 4 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Evolution of prehistoric cave art
Abstract
Sophisticated examples of European palaeolithic parietal art can be seen in the caves of Altamira, Lascaux and Niaux near the Pyrenees, which date to the Magdalenian period (12,000-17,000 years ago), but paintings of comparable skill and complexity were created much earlier, some possibly more than 30,000 years ago. We have derived new radiocarbon dates for the drawings that decorate the Chauvet cave in Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, Ardèche, France, which confirm that even 30,000 years ago Aurignacian artists, already known as accomplished carvers, could create masterpieces comparable to the best Magdalenian art. Prehistorians, who have traditionally interpreted the evolution of prehistoric art as a steady progression from simple to more complex representations, may have to reconsider existing theories of the origins of art.
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“the first 14 C dates of black drawings (the only depictions datable by this method) indicated a much older age ( ∼ 32,000 -30,000 B.P.) (6 -9).”
From A high-precision chronological model for the decorated Upper Paleolithic cave of Chauvet-Pont d’Arc, Ardèche, France (2016) · cites this paper as [6]
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Cites
Direct radiocarbon dates for prehistoric paintings at the Altamira, El Castillo and Niaux caves
Valladas, H., Cachier, H., Maurice, P., de Quirost, F. B., Clottes, J., Valdés, V. C., Uzquiano, P., & Arnold, M. (1992) · Nature · doi:10.1038/357068a0 · Cited by 178
Self-citationLa grotte Chauvet - l'art des origines
Clottes, J., Aujoulat, N., Baffier, D., Debard, É., Delannoy, J., Ferrier, C., Feruglio, V., Fritz, C., Fossé, P., Garcia, M.-A., et al. (2001) · HAL · Cited by 111
Self-citationDes dates pour Niaux et Gargas
Clottes, J., Valladas, H., Cachier, H., & Arnold, M. (1992) · Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française · doi:10.3406/bspf.1992.9532 · Cited by 58
Self-citationClottes, J., Courtin, J., Valladas, H., Cachier, H., Mercier, N., & Arnold, M. (1992) · Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française · doi:10.3406/bspf.1992.9527 · Cited by 37
Self-citation
Research works printed but not linked: 5
- Clottes, J. et al. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 320, 1133–1140 (1995).
- Valladas, H. et al. Radiocarbon (in the press).
- Girard, M. et al. Cahiers Archéologiques de Bourgogne 6, 17–23 (1996).
- Baffier, D. et al. Int. Newslett. Rock Art 28, 1–3 (2001).
- Valladas, H., Cachier, H. & Arnold, M. Rock Art Res. 7, 18–19 (1990).
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Genty, D., Blamart, D., Ghaleb, B., Plagnes, V., Causse, C., Bakalowicz, M., Zouari, K., Chkir, N., Hellström, J., & Wainer, K. A. I. (2006) · Quaternary Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.01.030 · Cited by 299
Inferring the Joint Demographic History of Multiple Populations: Beyond the Diffusion Approximation
Jouganous, J., Long, W., Ragsdale, A. P., & Gravel, S. (2017) · Genetics · doi:10.1534/genetics.117.200493 · Cited by 238
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Metadata
- Authors
- Valladas, H., Clottes, J., Geneste, J.-M., Garcia, M. A., Arnold, M., Cachier, H., & Tisnérat-Laborde, N.
- Affiliations
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Corresponding author
- Valladas, H.
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2001-10-04
- Volume
- 413
- Issue
- 6855
- Pages
- 479-479
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W2045219718
- Cited by
- 181
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 48.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Archeology › Archaeology and Rock Art Studies
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
- Social Sciences › Archeology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Keywords
- prehistoric cave art, Aurignacian, Chauvet Cave, radiocarbon dating, Magdalenian, parietal art, origins of art, Upper Palaeolithic, Lascaux, Altamira
- MeSH terms
- Archaeology, Biological Evolution, France, Humans, Paintings, History, Ancient
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