De « l’art pour l’art » au chamanisme : l’interprétation de l’art préhistorique

From « Art for Art’s Sake » to Shamanism: Interpretation of Prehistoric Art Interpreting fossil art – as Paleolithic art is – is an obviously difficult endeavor, because the ultimate meaning of the works is unreachable. This is why a few specialists were tempted by pessimism and recommended to abandon all research on meaning. However, it is still possible to reach a certain degree of understanding, an interpretative framework rather than a global interpretation. This can be done by using three types of arguments from the art itself, its archaeological context and from comparisons with some recent traditional societies that used to practice rock art. Since the second half of the XIXth century, several explanations were put forth, for portable as well as for wall art. The first one was the Art for Art’s sake theory. Engravings and carvings would have had no aim but to adorn weapons and tools, for the fun of it. It was abandoned because it could not explain the works of art deep inside the caves, out of sight far from habitation sites. Totemism briefly tempted some prehistorians and influenced many. It implies a narrow privileged relationship between a human group and a particular animal or vegetable species that will characterize the group and be venerated by it. Sympathetic magic was more successful. It was the prevalent theory for half a century. It is based upon a straight relationship between the image and its subject: by acting upon the image one can act upon the animal it represents. Magical practices would have had three main purposes: to help with the hunting and fertility of useful animals and to destroy the dangerous noxious ones. The second half of the XXth century was that of structuralism. Animals and geometric signs had a particular symbolic meaning and they were put all through the caves in relation to each other as well as in relation to topographic peculiarities. More recently, cave art was interpreted within the framework of a shamanic type of religion. Its authors would have gone underground to explore the supernatural world and to get into touch with the spirits that lived there. Taking advantage of the work previously done, this hypothesis is the one that currently explains best the data to-day known for portable and cave art in the Upper Paleolithic

Aventignan – Grotte de Gargas

Date de l'opération : 1990 - 1991 (RE) Inventeur(s) : Menu Michel ; Clottes Jean Peu de temps avant la disparition de A. Clot, M. Menu, Ph. Walter et G. Querre (LRMF, Paris) ont effectué, dans le cadre de leurs recherches sur la peinture préhistorique des Pyrénées, et en sa compagnie, une première campagne assortie de treize microprélèvements pariétaux. Une seconde mission eut lieu durant l’hiver 1991 (vingt-deux microprélèvements). Une problématique spécifique propre à Gargas et à Tibiran a..

Paleolithic Petroglyphs at Foz Côa, Portugal

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Au large de Marseille – Cap Morgiou, grotte Cosquer

En juin 1992, une campagne d’étude de 3 semaines a été conduite par Jean Courtin (CNRS-CRA) (travaux en plongée) et Jean Clottes (coordination scientifique en surface), sous l’autorité de Robert Lequément avec l’appui de L’Archéonaute, du personnel Drasm (Luc Long, Guy Dauphin, Jo Vicente, Denis Metzger), de Jacques Collina-Girard, géologue et préhistorien (Bordeaux), de Michel Girard (CNRS-CRA) et d’Antoine Chéné (CNRS, Centre Camille-Jullian). Fig. 1 – Localisation du site Une couverture p..

Douze nouvelles plaquettes gravées d'Enlène

Le choix de cet article dans un volume d’Hommages à notre regretté ami le Professeur Eduardo Ripoll n’est pas fortuit. En effet, le seul article où nous ayons présenté de nombreuses plaquettes d’Enlène (31 en tout), en détails (descriptions aussi complètes que possible, relevés et photographies, comme nous le faisons ici), a paru dans la série prestigieuse qu’il avait créée et dirigée et dont il était légitimement fier, Ars Praehistorica (Bégouën et al., 1984/5).The choice of this paper for a Festshrift to the memory of our regretted friend Profesor Eduardo Ripoll is not due to chance. This is because the only paper in which we have presented numerous engraved plaquettes (31 in all) from Enlène, in all their details (descriptions as complete as possible, tracings and photographs) as we are doing here,was published in the prestigious series he had created, edited and of which he was justly proud, Ars Praehistorica (Bégouën et al., 1984/5).</p

Montesquieu-Avantès – Grotte d’Enlène

Identifiant de l'opération archéologique : Date de l'opération : 1980 - 1990 (FP) Inventeur(s) : Clottes Jean ; Bégouën Robert ; Giraud Jean-Pierre Les campagnes de fouilles de 1988 à1990 ont permis d'achever le programme d'étude de la grotte d'Enlène lancé en 1978. L'essentiel des travaux a porté sur la salle du Fond (ESF),le sondage près du Volp (EPV), le Diverticule gauche près des entrées (EGD). La campagne de 1990 a donné lieu à une révision de l'ensemble de la cavité afin d'effectuer l..

Are the Foz Côa Engravings Actually Holocene?

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De nouvelles dates 14C pour le gravettien des Pyrénées

International audienceBilan des données chronologiques sur le Gravettien et présentation de nouvelles dates 14C obtenues sur plusieurs gisements pyrénéens