La Ferrassie Cave
Neanderthal Cupule Art: Description, History,
Date: Middle Paleolithic Petroglyphs: Oldest Art of Europe.
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La Ferrassie Cave |
 Examples of Prehistoric Cupules The world's oldest petroglyphs and the most ubiquitous form of prehistoric parietal art. |
La Ferrassie CupulesLocation La Ferrassie is a large Paleolithic Neanderthal cave complex, situated near Les Eyzies, in the Perigord region of the Dordogne in South West France. It contains the oldest known prehistoric art in Europe, in the form of cupules - one of the most common forms of rock art. The general area is home to numerous other important Stone Age art sites containing some of the finest cave paintings of prehistory, including: Chauvet, Font de Gaume, Lascaux, Les Combarelles, Abri Pataud, Cave Pataud, Bernifal, Abri du Poisson, Bara-Bahau, and Abri Reverdit (Castel-Merle), as well as the French National Museum of Prehistoric Culture (Musee National de Prehistoire). |
 Sketch of Cupules found on slab over tomb at La Ferrassie Cave |
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PREHISTORIC ART
in IRELAND PREHISTORIC CARVING |
La Ferrassie Cave: History & Excavation Paleo-archeological excavations began at the site during the early part of the 20th century, under the supervision of Louis Capitan and Denis Peyrony. Fossils, stone tools and other signs of human occupation were uncovered, from a spectrum of Middle and Upper Paleolithic cultures, including those of the Mousterian, Chatelperronian, Aurignacian, and Perigoridian eras. The main occupants were Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, and the site included a Neanderthal Mousterian graveyard of unknown age, from which one of the most complete skeletons ever found of Neanderthal Man (aged 40-55 years) was unearthed - at La Ferrassie burial 1. Forensic examination of the skeleton revealed an osteo-arthritic condition indicating that the person was cared for despite his lack of mobility, which is another illustration of the known advanced nature of Neanderthal culture. Pleistocene remains were also found of six cildren and one other adult. In addition, in 1933, at La Ferrassie burial 6, a large limestone slab was found covering the grave of a Neanderthal child. On its underside was found an arrangement of cupule-art, consisting of 2 larger hollows and eight pairs of smaller holes, leading Robert Bednarik, the world-famous archeologist, to describe the entire site as one of significant cultural complexity. La Ferrassie Cave: Date of Antiquity In view of the evidence of Mousterian occupation, the cupule art has been assigned an approximate date of 60,000 BCE, although Bednarik is of the opinion that it is "in all probability between 70,000 and perhaps 40,000 years old. The disappearance of Neanderthal Man from the archeological record from 40,000 onwards, suggests a date closer to 70K than 40K. Other cupules have been uncovered at European sites of the late Mousterian period (c.300,000 - 30,000 BCE), and at other excavations connecting the Mousterian with the Early Aurignacian period, but the cupules at La Ferrassie Cave remain the earliest art discovered on the continent of Europe. (To compare the evolution of cupules with that of other petroglyphs, see: Prehistoric Art Timeline.) Cupules Versus the "High Art" of Cave Painting and Sculpture In contrast with the "modern art" of Upper Paleolithic times, such as the exquisite Ivory Carvings of the Swabian Jura in SW Germany, the Russian Venus of Kostenky, and the wonderful cave paintings at Lascaux and Altamira, cupules are a much more ancient form of anthropic art. The oldest art ever made - see Bhimbetka Petroglyphs - they exist on every populated continent, and were created during all three eras of the Stone Age - Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic - as well as in historical times. Unfortunately, experts are mystified by their meaning and cultural significance. As a result, they are not taken as seriously - as a form of art - as Stone Age murals and sculpture. |
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• For information about later cultures,
see: History of Art and Timeline
of Art History. • To update this mini-review of the La Ferrassie petroglyphs and cupules, click here.
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