La grotte de Fronsac à Vieux-Mareuil (Dordogne)

Abstract

The cave of Fronsac is for its several engraved schematic female figures attributed to Upper Magdalenian (Bosinski 2011). A recent monography has inserted the cave back into scientific news (Delluc and Delluc 2013), at the same time we were launching a collective and interdisciplinary study, as part of a collective research project. As early as 2012 we offered observations on the nature and supposed homogeneity of the parietal device. The iconographic corpus has been enriched by new discoveries. The complexity of the parietal set and its organization have gradually been revealed in a regional context (Font-Bargeix, La Croix and La Mairie caves) marked by thematic differences and stylistic specificities. A program of photographic and graphical records, fine observations of the engraved lines and a study on the walls’ taphonomy and its role in the preservation and distribution of parietal images backed the exhaustive and systematic revision of the necessary parietal device. In addition, the discovery of some lithic pieces and large fauna remains on the surface of thick bioturbated karstic fillings, foreshadowed the presence of ancient occupations. The identification and analysis of archaeological contexts seemed essential in order to characterize and date the possible living areas and to propose a chrono-cultural framework for the parietal engravings. In this goal, systematic surveys throughout the network as well as located outside the decorated areas were conducted. A new geological and geomorphological study of the network, as well as an analysis of the sedimentary fills, was also realized to enrich the question of the age and formation of the cave and to measure the impact of wall taphonomic phenomena on the organization and the conservation of parietal works. Finally, this research involved new topography and 3D photogrammetry coverage, with particular emphasis on the main decorated panels.This article presents a synthesis of some works currently being undertaken in Fronsac and reaffirms, if needed, the interest of a systematic revision of the decorated caves in a radically transdisciplinary and integrated perspective.

Keywords

• parietal art
• Magdalenian
• Gravettian
• Schematic femenine figure
• megaceros
• mammoth