Scientists have used hidden traces of charcoal to determine the ages of prehistoric paintings in France’s Font-de-Gaume cave for the first time. The analysis shows a bison figure was created around 13,000 years ago, while a mask-like image was added across multiple periods spanning thousands of years.
Researchers applied Raman microspectrometry and hyperspectral imaging to identify charcoal within the black pigments of two figures. Previously, the pigments were thought to consist only of iron and manganese oxides that could not be dated directly.
Tiny samples from the bison yielded a date between 13,461 and 13,162 calBP. Samples from the mask-like figure produced three separate ranges: 15,981 to 15,121 calBP, 15,297 to 14,246 calBP, and 8,993 to 8,590 calBP.
The findings indicate the cave was visited and modified over long intervals rather than in a single episode. The study, published in PNAS, was led by researchers from Chimie ParisTech-PSL and involved multiple French institutions including CNRS and the Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France.
The method may allow dating of other previously undatable cave art in the Dordogne region.