Re-dating the oldest known figurative cave art.

The rock-art left behind by prehistoric cultures has the potential to provide us with insights into the lives of these long-vanished peoples. Dating this art is notoriously difficult. In the past few decades the predominant approach has been the analysis of uranium and its decay products within flowstone layers partially covering ancient art. Flowstone is formed by the deposition of calcium carbonate onto surfaces by evaporating water; typically water that has flowed through limestone deposits then run out onto a surface such as a cave wall or cliff face before evaporating. The most obvious examples of this are stalagmites and stalactites, though many caves have an interior surfaces covered by flowstone. Where these flowstone deposits occur in caves with paintings they will often overlay the artwork, which means that if the flowstone can be dated, then a minimum age for the art can be established (as the art cannot be younger than the flowstone that overlays it).

This method has been used to date ancient art in many parts of the world, including Western Europe, Island Southeast Asia, and Russia. Notably, a hand-stencil in Spain has been dated to 64 800 years before the present, which implies that it must have been made by a Neanderthal artist, although the reliability of the data used in this study has been questioned. The oldest date we currently have for figurative cave art comes from Sulawesi, Indonesia, where an image of a Warty Pig, Sus celebensis, at Leang Tedongnge in the Maros-Pangkep karst has been given a minimum age of 45 500 years.

The methods used to date flowstone samples to date have relied upon dissolving a sample to form a solution, something which will tend to homogenise the sample, averaging the age of multiple layers overlaying a piece of art, and therefore producing a younger age estimation for the art than if the oldest of these layers could be isolated. 

In a paper published in the journal Nature on 3 July 2024, a team of scientists led by Adhi Agus Oktaviana of the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science at Griffith University, the Pusat Riset Arkeometri of the Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, and the Center for Prehistory and Austronesian Studies, and Renaud Joannes-Boyau of the Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group at Southern Cross University, present the results of a study which used laser-ablation uranium-series dating to provide more accurate dates for the Leang Tedongnge image, as well as other examples of cave art in the same region. 

The laser-ablation method enables the targeting of an area 44 μm in diameter, within a laboratory environment. This enables far smaller samples to be collected than with previous methods, which typically involved grinding a sample from the rockface with a rotary tool. With the laser ablation method it is possible to take a polished thin section of rock, and target points upon that, which is both cheaper and less destructive than traditional methods, as well as far more accurate, as it enables specifically targeting the layer of rock directly overlaying the pigment.

Map of the study area. (a) The Indonesian island of Sulawesi, showing the location of the southwestern peninsula (area inside rectangle). (b) South Sulawesi, with the limestone karst area of Maros-Pangkep indicated by blue shading. The locations of cave sites with dated Late Pleistocene rock art were as follows: 1, Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4; 2, Leang Karampuang; 3, Leang Tedongnge; 4, Leang Timpuseng. Oktaviana & Joannes-Boyau et al. (2024).

At the Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4 site in the Maros-Pangkep karst, a 4.5 m wide panel on the rear wall of a cave depicts a number of Human, or Therianthrope (Human-Animal hybrid) figures, interacting with Warty Pigs and Anoas (Dwarf Buffalo), Bubalus sp.. The figures are holding some form of objects, possibly spears or ropes. The artwork may depict a hunting scene, or possibly a visual representation of a myth.

Dated rock art panel at Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4. (a) Photostitched panorama of the rock art panel. Ther, Therianthrope. (b) Tracing of the dated rock art panel showing the results of laser-ablation uranium-series dating. (c) Transect view of the rock art sample BSP4.5 after removal from the artwork, highlighting the paint layer and the three integration zones (ROIs) and associated age calculations. (d) Laser-ablation-multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry imaging of the BSP4.5 thorium²³²/uranium²³⁸ isotopic activity ratio. Oktaviana & Joannes-Boyau et al. (2024).

The imigary at Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4 is covered by four distinct speleothems (flowstone deposits), which have previously been dated to minimum ages of 35 100 years, 43 900 years, 40 900 years, and 41 000 years. The new data obtained by Oktaviana & Joannes-Boyau et al. revises these dates to minimums of 27 600 years, 39 600 years, 39 500 years, and 48 000 years. Most of these ages are similar or older to the previously obtained ages, though one younger date was obtained, possibly because Oktaviana & Joannes-Boyau et al. were careful to avoid areas showing clear signs of post-depositional alteration. 

Since the speleothems overlie the rock art, the oldest speleothem must still be younger than the art, giving a minimum age. The art was previously dated to a minimum of 43 900 years old, but Oktaviana & Joannes-Boyau et al.'s data raises that minimum age to 48 000 years, an increase of over 4000 years, older than the previous oldest dated art at Leang Tedongnge.

At the Leang Karampuang site, again in the Maros-Pangkep karst, a ceiling panel depicts three Human or Therianthrope figures interacting with an Animal, probably another Warty Pig, although the preservation here is poor due to surface exfoliation (flakes breaking off the surface of the limestone), and extensive overlying coralloid growths (small nodes of calcite, aragonite or gypsum that form on surfaces in caves). The image executed in red, and comprises the large, Pig-like Animal, 92 x 38 cm, in side view, with an infill pattern of stripes or lines, consistent with depictions of Pigs and other Animals elsewhere in South Sulawesi. There are other Pig depictions within the Leang Karampuang cave, although it is uncertain if they are the same age as the dated example. The Pig is surrounded by three Humanoid figures. The largest of these is 42 v 27 cm and lacks legs; it has both arms extended and appears to have a rod-shaped object in its left hand.  The second figure measures 28 x 25 cm and is located directly in front of the Pig, with its head in front of the Pig's snout. The final figure, measuring 35 x 5 cm, is upside-down relative to the other figures, with its legs splayed out away from the Pig and one hand reaching towards the Pig's head. A possible fourth figure may have once been present between the first and third figures. There are also at least three hand stencils on the same panel, two which appear to be contemporary with the Pig, plus one darker one which is partially overlain by the Pig, and presumably, therefore, pre-dates it.

Oktaviana & Joannes-Boyau et al. collected samples from four coralloid growths, one overlying each of the figures, plus one from the Pig. The oldest date came from the coralloid overlying the second figure, with a minimum age of 51 200 years. The minimum dates from the first and third figures were 18 700 years and 44 000 years respectively, while the coralloid growth from the Pig yielded a minimum age of 31 900 years. Thus, if the figures and Pig do represent a single piece of artwork, as seems likely, then the whole scene can be assumed to have a minimum age of 51 200 years, making it the oldest known piece of figurative art in the world. 

Dated rock art panel at Leang Karampuang. (a) Photostitched panorama of the rock art panel. (b) Tracing of the rock art panel showing the results of laser-ablation uranium-series dating. (c) Tracing of the painted scene showing the Human-like figures (H1, H2 and H3) interacting with the pig. (d) Transect view of the coralloid speleothem, sample LK1, removed from the rock art panel, showing the paint layer and the three integration zones (ROIs), as well as the associated age calculations. (e) Laser-ablation-multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry imaging of the LK1 thorium²³²/uranium²³⁸ isotopic activity ratio. Oktaviana & Joannes-Boyau et al. (2024).

Oktaviana & Joannes-Boyau et al.'s method shows that the Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4 art is over 4000 years older than the previously determined age, with a minimum age of 48 000 years, while the Leang Karampuang art is at least 51 200 years old. These dates significantly increase the maximum known age of figurative art. The oldest known art dates from the Middle Stone Age of southern Africa, between 75 000 and 100 000 years ago, but this comprises geometric marks carved into ochre nodules. Figurative art is presumed to have arisen within Africa, and from there to have been carried around the world by migrating Humans, but there is currently no evidence for this, and it cannot be excluded that this form of expression arose in another region and then spread back to Africa.

The South Sulawesi art also challenges to long-standing preconceptions about cave art, which have come about largely from studies based upon the extensive European rock-art record. These are that Humans and/or Human-like figures did not appear in rock art until the very end of the Pleistocene, and the other is that narrative compositions were absent from early rock art. 

Three of the oldest dated rock art panels in the world come from South Sulawesi, Leang Karampuang, at least 51 200 years old, Leang Bulu’ Sipong, at least 48 000 years old, and Leang Tedongnge, at least 45 500 years old, all include figures, and all appear to involve interactions between the figures and one-another and/or Animals which imply a narrative context. Another piece of cave art, at Leang Timpuseng, dated to at least 35 300 years before the present, depicts a Pig standing in a painted line, presumably representing a ground surface. This depiction of composed scenes presumably had some communicative function, allowing the telling of a story through a narrative interpretation of the art, probably in conjunction with oral storytelling. Thus, this cave-art can also be interpreted as evidence of the emergence of a consistent form of mythology, many thousands of years before any such evidence appears in Europe.

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The oldest known rock art in Patagonia, and what it tells us about the people who made it.

Patagonia lies at the southern tip of the Americas, and was one of the last areas to have been settled by Humans, who did not arrive there until the end of the Pleistocene. The area has a unique environment, which would have presented challenges to the people settling there. It also has a climate particularly suitable for the preservation of archaeological remains, making it particularly interesting to archaeologists. The area has extensive rock art, but to date little of this has been accurately dated.

In a paper published in the journal Science Advances on 14 February 2024, Guadalupe Romero Villanueva of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, Marcela Sepúlveda of the Department of Social Sciences at the Universidad de Tarapacá, José Cárcamo-Vega of the Laboratorio de Espectroscopía Vibracional at the Universidad de Chile, Alexander Cherkinsky of the Center for Applied Isotope Studies at the University of Georgia, María Eugenia de Porras of the Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología  y  Ciencias  Ambientales, and Ramiro Barberena of the Centro de Investigación, Innovación y Creación at the Universidad Católica de Temuco, and the Instituto Interdisciplinario  de  Ciencias Básicas at the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, present dates for four pieces of rock art from the Cueva Huenul 1 archaeological site in Neuquén Province, in the northern part of Argentinian Patagonia, and discuss the implications of this for the early peopling of the region.

The Cueva Huenul 1 archaeological site is located a kilometre above sealevel, to the east of the Andes amid the inland deserts of northern Patagonia. The Andes present a major topographic barrier, preventing the prevailing westerly winds from carrying moisture from the Pacific to the South American Arid Diagonal, where the Cueva Huenul 1 site is located. Precipitation in the region is between 150 mm and 200 mm each year, 75% of which falls in the winter. Rainfall tends to be higher in the west, closer to the Andes, and dryer to the east. with more abundant vegetation in areas with higher rainfall.

Location  of  Cueva Huenul 1,  other  sites  with  rock  art  in  northern  Neuquén  Province (Argentina),  and  palaeoecological  sites  from  northwestern  Patagonia. María Eugenia de Porras in Villanueva et al. (2024).

The Cueva Huenul 1 site is a cave with a habitable area of 620 m³, formed by the erosion of ignimbrites of the Tilhué Formation beneath an overlying basalt layer of the El Puente Formation, which have not eroded and now form the ceiling of the cave. Excavations within this cave have produced over 5500  lithic artifacts, principally flaked stone objects, and 8800 bone specimens, mostly Guanaco, Lama guanicoe. The site also has a long, and well-defined dating sequence, spanning 12 000 years, with a number of discrete phases of activity identified. The microenvironment within the cave appears to have remained stable and dry over this period, allowing for the excellent preservation of items such as Animal dung, and plant remains. 

Cueva Huenul 1 environment and landscape. (A) emplacement of Cueva Huenul 1 (yellow arrow) in a volcanic landscape within the Monte desert. (B) to( D) Views of the cave’s geology and topography. (E) View from Cueva Huenul 1 of the volcanic landscape of northwestern Patagonia. Guadalupe Romero Villanueva in Villanueva et al. (2024).

Notably, the Cueva Huenul 1 site has yielded a remarkable quantity of art-related materials, including  perforated  shell  beads, decorated Guanaco bones, and pyro- engraved  gourds. Also found inside the cave was a pit-structure containing a large number of twigs from the desert shrub Senna  aphylla, which have been stained with red ochre. A large amount of pigments, of various colours and in varying states of preparation.

Cueva Huenul 1 site plan and special findings. (A) excavation units at ch1. (B and C) General and detailed view of pit structure filled with vegetal remains of Senna  aphylla stained with red ochre. (D) Pyro-engraved gourd. (E) Perforated shell bead. (F) decorated guanaco (Lama guanicoe) bone. (G) Pigments. each image has an individual metric scale. Guadalupe Romero Villanueva and Ramiro Barberena in Villanueva et al. (2024).

The site has a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape, although it is not visible from any other known archaeological site in the region, nor can any such site be seen from the cave. Other sites in the region include a series of smaller caves and rockshelters, most of which only appear to have been used within the last 2000 years. Some of these, such as El Ciénego and Paso de las Tropas, also have rock art, although it is less diverse in technical style and less formalised than the art at Cueva Huenul 1. The Cueva Yagui site, to the north of Cueva Huenul 1, also records a long timeline, in this case about 8 500 years, and appears to have been more intensely occupied, on the basis of stone tools, abundant ceramics, and faunal remains, with this occupation being particularly intense over the past 2000 years. Both the stratigraphic sequences and the styles of rock art suggest that Cueva Huenul 1, Cueva Yagui, and other sites appear to have been linked.

Cueva Huenul 1 hosts one of the most impressive collections of rock art in northwestern Patagonia, with central portion of the cave’s internal wall and part of the ceiling covered by 895 discrete pieces of rock art, which have been grouped into 466 identifiable motifs. Most of these motifs are geometric shapes rather than pictures, with strokes, dots, circles, and lines being common, and parallel lines, reticulates, polygons, and cruciforms also present, as well as some Human silhouettes and a face, and silhouettes of Guanaco and Choique, Rhea pennata, and some representations of dynamic group  activities. A range of colours are used in the cave art, although a haematite-derived red is the most common, along with different hues of white, yellow, and black.

Examples of the rock art of Cueva Huenul 1. Each tracing has a 10cm scale bar. Guadalupe Romero Villanueva in Villanueva et al. (2024).

A large number of motifs are superimposed over earlier artworks, and there appear to be three distinct degrees of weathering, as well as distinct artistic phases. The majority of the art is presumed to be of Late Holocene origin, based upon similarities to styles of art used at other localities. However, the long history of occupation at the site combined with presence of a clear artistic sequence, raises the possibility that some art at the site may be much older.

Four artworks at the Cueva Huenul 1 site were chosen to be dated. These were all classified as 'comb-shapes' based upon a shared basic morphology of a perpendicular horizontal line with several parallel vertical lines extending downwards from it. Within this simple pattern, however, the comb motifs can be divided into simple and complex forms. Three of the motifs examined, UT3- M48, UT5- S4- M7, and UT3- M37, were of the simple type, while the fourth, UT5-S2-M19, was of the complex form. All of the comb motifs are executed in a reddish black pigment. Most are isolated from other artworks, although one (UT5-S2-M19) is part of a complex series of superimposed images from different periods. 

Dated rock art paintings from Cueva Huenul 1. (A) Motif Ut3- M37. (B) Motif Ut3- M48. (C) Motif Ut5- S4- M7. Guadalupe Romero Villanueva in Villanueva et al. (2024).

By careful examination of the motifs, Villanueva et al. were able to establish that there was no potentially contaminating organic matter  either  on,  within,  or  below  the  paint  layer. Three layers were found to be present, the bedrock, the pigment layer, and an overlying layer of translucent particles forming a patina. The pigment layer was identified spectrographically as amorphous carbon; this was found not to contain any significant amount of phosphates, making it unlikely it was derived from carbonized bone.

Dated rock art motif UT5- S2- M19 from Cueva Huenul 1. (A) Original photograph and digital enhancement with DStretch of the complete rock art panel. (B) Original photograph and digital enhancement with DStretch of the dated black comb-shaped motif. (C) digital tracing of the complete rock art panel showing the dated black comb-shaped motif underlaying a series of superimpositions. Guadalupe Romero Villanueva in Villanueva et al. (2024).

Further examination of the samples by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis demonstrated the presence of plant cells within the pigment layer of all four examined motifs, as well as a composition consistent with a carbonaceous material mixed into an aluminosilicate matrix (i.e. a mixture of charcoal and clay), with the overlying layer of material rich in calcium and sulphur, probably indicating some form of salt. The precise origin of the wood used to make the charcoal was impossible to determine, although it is likely to have been one of the woody shrubs known to have been growing in the region in the Middle Holocene, such as Prosopis spp., Larrea sp., or Schinus sp..

Cross section microphotography of sample CH1-AMS1 embedded in resin showing three differentiated layers. From the bottom, the layers which can be distinguished are; the bedrock support, the black pictorial layer, and a thin layer of patina or varnish. Marcela Sepúlveda and Guadalupe Romero Villanueva in Villanueva et al. (2024).

Based upon this, Villanueva et al. conclude that the black pigment was formed by the incomplete burning of Plant matter, something which should lead a carbon¹⁴ signature. Since there are no long-lived trees in the region, material from which can give misleading date information, the charcoal can be assumed to have come from a short-lived woody C₃ shrub and/or a Cactus (which have their own Crassulacean acid metabolism resulting in a distinctive carbon isotope signature). It was possible to recover sufficient carbon from three of the motifs to be confident that the isotope signature recovered was accurate, while one sample, taken from motif UT5-S2-M19, yielded a much lower amount of carbon, raising concerns that contamination from later sources (this is the motif which is partially overlain by later artworks), leading to this data being excluded from the remainder of the study. The remaining three motifs were found to be between 7728 and 7565 years old (UT3- M48), between 6271 and 6239 years old (UT5- S4- M7), and between 5643 and 5629 years old (UT3- M37).

As well as the dates obtained for the rock art motifs, Villanueva et al. obtained 16 dates from archaeological remains at the site, in order to build up a stratigraphic sequence. This led them to conclude that there had been four stages of occupation at the site, over a period of about 18 000 years. 

The first phase is calculated to have lasted approximately 4683 years, from about 17 407 to about 12 934 years before the present. During this phase the cave was occupied by Giant Sloths, with no signs of Human activity. 

The second phase is calculated to have lasted approximately 1620 years, from about 11 721 to about 10 162 years before the present, and shows evidence of the first Human activity in the area, including Guanaco bones with cut marks, hearths with charcoal, and a grass bedding structure. 

There is then a significant hiatus in activity, with the third phase starting about 8171 years ago and lasting for approximately 3246 years, till about 5074 years before the present. This phase includes the emergence of rock art at the site, with all three dates obtained for the comb motifs falling within this interval, as well as the ochre covered Plant remains. Assuming that the average Human generation time was about 25 years, this would suggest a cultural tradition using similar symbolism which lasted for about 130 generations. 

The final phase of activity at the cave includes much more intensive activity, includuing the majority of the rock art, as well as cultural similarities to other sites in the region, and spans about 1500 years in the Late Holocene.

Climatically, the area had a sharper east-west variation in moisture during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene, until about 10 000 years ago, with the western Andes being wetter than today, while the eastern Andes were drier. The region to the east of the Andes, inclding the Cueva Huenul 1 site, was significantly more arid than today between about 10 400 and 9 400 years ago. From about 10 000 years ago onwards both the Andes and Eastern Patagonia became extremely arid.

The area reached peak aridity in the Middle Holocene, with widespread deserts and only patchy, fragmented areas of habitable land, which could have acted as stepping stones for the first Humans entering the environment. Large areas would have either too dry for occupation, or too unstable to be entered on more than a temporary basis. Nevertheless, Humans did enter the landscape during this time, probably relocating frequently, and needing to maintain social contact over large distances, while at the same time coming up with innovative technologies for subsistence.

By assembling a comprehensive database of radiocarbon dates for Human activity across the South American Arid Diagonal region, Villanueva et al. conclude that during the period 14 000 to 10 400 years before present the first Human population appeared and rapidly grew, expanding to occupy new niches. From about 10 800 to 7000 years ago a period of cultural stasis appeared, combined with a slowly declining population. The oldest rock art at Cueva Huenul 1 is slightly less that 8000 years old, coinciding with the later part of this period of apparent cultural stasis. The population is also thought to have remained fairly static or shrank across South America between about 9000 and about 5500 years ago. 

This suggests that during the Middle Holocene northwestern Patagonia was probably home to a small and scattered population of highly mobile hunter-gatherers, coping with an extremely arid climate with occasional wetter spells. This population was static or shrinking slightly, widely scattered, and having to cope with frequent but unpredictable extreme weather conditions.

The dating of the comb motifs in the rock art of Cueva Huenul 1 gives a date for the origins of rock art in northwestern Patagonia. The repeated nature of these motifs makes it unlikely that these marks were random, with similar marks being repeated several times over a period of about 3000 years, suggesting it was linked to a system for passing information between generations.

Transmission of knowledge can become linked to particular sites, which eventually become key locations for a culture, where people meet to re-enforce cultural identities and maintain extended social networks. Villanueva et al.  suggest that Cueva Huenul 1 first became such a culturally important site during the Late Pleistocene, being used regularly over a period of about 1400 years across the End Pleistocene and Early Holocene. Visits to the site continued into the Middle Holocene, though the behaviour of the visitors changed, with the appearance of activities such as marking the walls. During this phase, there is little sign of non-ritual activities, such as food-processing or tool-making. Villanueva et al. suggest that the transition of the space to a ritual centre where these profane activities were not carried out probably implies that the site was not, as previously assumed, abandoned for long periods during the Middle Holocene, but rather underwent a change of purpose connected to its new, sacred status. 

Villanueva et al. suggest the emergence of sites such as Cueva Huenul 1 which helped hold widely scattered cultures together would have been key to Human survival in the arid landscape of northwestern Patagonia. The emergence or rock art was probably a way of re-enforcing knowledge transfer across generations, building upon an earlier oral tradition. 

The population of many areas in South America apparently struggled to cope with conditions in the Middle Holocene, as increasing aridity fragmented the available liveable spaces, leading to a slowly dwindling population. The first rock art at Cueva Huenul 1 coincides with this period, possibly aiding social cohesion and helping  people to survive a particularly harsh period, before populations began to recover between 7000 and 5000 years ago. 

The dating of the rock art at Cueva Huenul 1 gives an insight into the context in which such art first appeared in Patagonia. Here, a style of art appears around 8000 years ago and persists for over 3000 years. This happened at a time when the climate was much drier and less predictable than today, at a time when Human populations were at best maintaining stasis, and were probably suffering frequent crashes. It this marginal, sparsely populated environment the rock art apparently helped to preserve collective knowledge across multiple generations. 

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La Roche-Cotard Cave Art confidently assigned to Neanderthal artists.

Since the 1980s an increasing body of material has been assigned to cultural expression by the Neanderthal people, although symbolic material produced by Neanderthal artists remains extremely rare. This material includes a number of carved bones and rocks, a variety of modified shells, and a selection of feathers and Raptor claws apparently modified for use as personal ornamentation. A number of pigments are known to have been used by Neanderthals, although these potentially have other uses than pigmentation, making their purpose hard to assess. Other artefacts are less easy to interpret, such as the 'Mask of la Roche-Cotard', thought to be about 75 000-years-old, a piece of flint which may have been shaped to resemble a face, with a bone pushed through in a way that might represent eyes, or the Bruniquel Cave construction, where, in a large chamber located more than 300 meters from the entrance, many stalagmites have been deliberately broken and placed on the ground to form a large oval structure, around 170 000 years ago. A variety of other symbolic behaviours are associated with Neanderthals, including ritual burials, although many of these are difficult to interpret. What is clear, however, is that Neanderthals did engage in symbolic behaviour, and that the expression of this changed considerably over time.

The 'Mask of la Roche-Cotard', a 75 000-year-old Neanderthal artefact in the collection of the Museé de l'Homme in Paris. Thilo Parg/Wikimedia Commons.

A variety of engraved markings, clearly different to functional cut marks, have been found on rocks, bones, shells, and other items from Middle Palaeolithic sites in Europe and the Middle East. The engraved phalanx of a Giant Deer has been found at an archaeological site Einhornhoehle in Germany, in a level dated to more than 47 000 years ago. A phalanx and eight talons of an Eagle, with cut marks, evidence of burning, and traces of ochre, alongside Mousterian tools, and Neanderthal bones was found at Krapina I in Croatia. (the Mousterian industry is closely associated with Neanderthals in Europe, where it appeared about 160 000 years ago and vanished about 40 000 years ago). One of the Neanderthal bones at Krapina I, a frontal (forehead) has 35 cut marks upon it. A set of Bird bones from Fumane Cave in Italy, dated to between 44 800 and 42 200 years ago show signs of having been cut with a flint blade in a way intended to facilitate the intact removal of large feathers, while in the same cave a fossil shell covered with ochre was recovered from a Mousterian layer. At the Zaskalnaya VI Neanderthal site in eastern Crimea a Raven bone was found with a series of parallel, equidistant notches cut along its main axis. The Los Aviones Mousterian Site, in the Murcia region of southern Spain, has produced marine shells modified in several ways, including shells with perforated umbos and shells showing signs of having been coloured with haematite. Other artificially coloured shells have been found at Anton Cave, also in Murcia. At Quneitra in the Golan Heights, where Neanderthals and Modern Humans are thought to have had a long period of co-existence, a Levallois flint core, 8 cm in length has been found which has been engraved with a pattern of straight parallel lines and semi-circular concentric lines, which are apparently entirely decorative in function. At Gorham’s cave, Gibraltar, a layer containing Mousterian material covered a cave floor carved with geometric designs. The Ardales, Maltravieso and La Pasiega sites, all in Spain, all have markings made on cave walls with a red pigment, which are overlain by a calcite flowstone cement, from which uranium-thorium dates have been obtained which imply Neanderthal artists. However, this has been disputed, dates being a common problem with material thought to be of Neanderthal origins, with most of the material described being identified as Neanderthal by its association with Mousterian tools rather than directly dated.

The La Roche-Cotard Cave in central France was revealed by quarrying in 1846, and excavated by the then owner of the site, François d’Achon in 1912, revealing a number of Mousterian artefacts. Subsequent excavations in the 1970s and from 2008 onwards, have found three additional archaeological sites close to this cave. The sites are numbered in the order they were discovered, with the original cave been LRC I, an open air site at the foot of a nearby cliff being LRC II (which produced the 'Mask of la Roche-Cotard'), a small rockshelter being LRC III, and a smaller cave and associated trench being LRC IV. All of these sites have produced Moustrian artefacts, apart from LRC II, which produced only the enigmatic 'Mask'.

During the 1970s and modern campaigns it was observed that the walls of cave LRC I are marked by finger flutings (gouges into soft rock made with fingers), and in places spotted with red ochre. The walls also have a range of other markings, including scratch marks attributed to Animal claws, smooth patches thought to have been cause by rubbing, again probably by an Animal, percussion marks left by metal tools, presumably in 1912, and a single piece of graffiti, known to date from 1992. 

In a paper published in the journal PLoS One on 21 June 2023, a team of scientists led by Jean-Claude Marquet of the Laboratoire Archéologie etTerritoires and GéoHydrosytèmes COntinentaux at the Université de Tours, formally describe the fingermarks in the LRC 1 cave as intentional engravings, and provide dating evidence which indicates the makers must have been Neanderthals.

The cave is located on a 100 m high plateau in the Touraine Region, which is covered by crop-fields and woodland, and made up of Cretaceous marine sedimentary rock. The Loire Valley cuts through the plateau, to a depth of about 50 m, with the La Roche-Cotard site on the northern side of this valley. The cave, LRC I, is cut into Upper Turonian (Late Cretaceous) soft, sometimes crumbly, sandy yellow limestone. The top of the plateau is covered by a thin layer of silty sand, about a metre thick, which accumulated as a wind-blown deposit during the last glacial. The bedrock is not generally visible on the sides of the plateau, except where it has been exposed by Human activity, having been covered over by solifluction or runoff. The cave appears to have been repeatedly flooded by the River Loire, which is also likely to have been at least partially responsible for its dissolution. While in the Holocene, all of the La Roche-Cotard sites were covered by sediments until these were removed by Human activities in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, in the Late Pleistocene the River Loire was closer to the base of the slope, and would have rapidly removed such sediments, keeping the area accessible to both Animal and Human inhabitants of the region. During the early Holocene, the river shifted its course to the other side of the valley, and sediment began to accumulate, covering the area until much of it was removed in the 1840s to use as building materials for the construction of the Loire Valley Railway.

Location and map of La Roche-Cotard. (A) and (B) Geographical and geological location of La Roche-Cotard. (C) Map of the main Mousterian sites in central-west France. Marquet et al. (2023).

The La Roche-Cotard Cav is about 33 m deep, running southeast-to-northwest, with four main chambers; the Mousterian Gallery, the Lemmings Chamber, the Pillar Chamber and the Hyena Chamber. It may have extended further back in the past; the rear of the Hyena Chamber having collapsed at some point. The soft rock from which the cave is made also contains large slabs and knobs of harder, silicified sediment, which appear to have lent some structural strength; the ceiling of the cave is a silicified layer (the Langeais Hardground), which marks the base of the e Coniacian Epoch.

La Roche-Cotard site. (A) Map of La Roche-Cotard with its four loci: LRC I, LRC II, LRC III and LRC IV. In blue: location of anthropogenic marks. (B) Profiles of slope sections (red lines in (A)) with location of sediments extracted in 1846. Marquet et al. (2023).

The cave opens into the Mousterian Gallery, which has a quartzite sandstone floor, 49.2 m above the Nivellement Général de la France (general levelling of France), and a ceiling 51 m above the same, made from silicified biocalcarenite. at the west end of this chamber a passage 2 m high and 1.5 m wide leads to the Lemmings Chamber. This has two small openings to the outside on its eastern side, and a large passage leading to the Pillar Chamber at its northwest. This chamber has a large central pillar, and a large quartzite slab which forms an extensive platform several tens of centimetres above the floor of the chamber. This has been broken at the north end of the chamber, though a section is still attached to the north wall; this part of the chamber still contains a considerable amount of sediment. The Hyena Chamber can be reached from the Pillar Chamber via a narrow, sinuous passage.

Description of La Roche-Cotard Cave (locus LRC I). (A) Lithological map of the cave floor. (B) XY section in the Pillar and Lemmings Chambers (location in (A)). The elevation of the ground surface increases steeply from the entrance to the Lemmings Chamber, and then only very slightly from southeast to northwest till the Hyena Chamber (1.5 m). 95% of the sediments that occupied a large part of the cave were removed during the 1912 excavation. Layers to the southeast: Middle layer (b), Upper layer (a), Disturbed layer (r). Layers to the northwest: Compact clayey layer with tuff gravel with bone fragments and coprolites (3). Sandy layer with soft reddish clay pebbles (4). Disturbed layers: (1), (2) and (r). The three arrows show the place of the overhang (50.75 m Nivellement Général de la France) extending from the entrance of the cave to the Pillar Chamber. Marquet et al. (2023).

Methodical exploration of the La Roche-Cotard sites began in 2008. Remains attributed of large, medium, and small Vertebrates were uncovered on several levels, and studied systematically, although a palynological analysis was not possible, as the environment comprised porous sediments through which well-oxygenated water had been able to percolate. The location of any lithic remains and faunal remains greater than 2 cm were carefully mapped; sediment samples were then sieved for smaller faunal remains.

Most of the sediment from the LRC I cave was removed in 2012, but sufficient was left within the Pillar Chamber to establish a stratigraphic sequence, with a sandy layer with soft reddish clay pebbles filling a small natural funnel formed in the tuff by water at the base, over which was a compact clay layer with tuff gravel, bone fragments, coprolites, and then two modern, disturbed layers, although none of these can be correlated to any sedimentary unit identified elsewhere. The area in front of the cave entrance produced a very sandy Lower Layer, overlain by a Middle Layer consisting primarily of silt from overflowing of the Loire, and an Upper Layer formed of gelifracts (sloping beds leaning against a rock face) and aeolian sand.

Outside of the cave, five sedimentary units were found across the area. The lowest layer is mainly composed of tuff blocks separated by voids filled with sandy reddish clay, with areas of brown to greenish-yellow, fine silty sand with largely subordinate clay; this layer is thought to be largely derived from weathering of the underlying rocks. The layer above this consists of sandy to silty brown to greyish layers, which are only slightly or not at all carbonated, thought to have been laid down as bottom deposits within the River Loire, at a time when its meandering covered the sites. The third layer consists of a light brown carbonated matrix, with abundant frost-fractured quarzitic sandstone slabs and a few sandy blocks, thought to be a mixture of material that has moved downslope in a landslip. The penultimate layer is brown and texturally selected. It is made up of slightly carbonated fine-grained sand and silt, and its upper limit is tilted toward the south; this layer is thought to comprise aeolian material blown in during a Pleistocene dry phase. Finally, the uppermost layer, which presumably extended everywhere on the slope before 1846, consists of brown to greyish, very heterometric sedimentary layers composed of a dominant silty sand matrix with variable abundance of flint and limestone fragments, thought to be the result of Holocene soil formation, with perioding inclusions of runoff material from the slopes above.

Much of the sediment that filled the cave was removed by François d’Achon in 1912, but sufficient remained for Marquet et al. to develop a stratigraphy for the cave interior. The conduit connecting the Lemmings Chamber to the exterior still contains an undisturbed sequence, comprising two layers, the lower of which Marquet et al. equate to the river sediment layer found outside the cave, and the upper the landslip material which overlies this. In the main cave entrance two niches are again filled with river sediment, while in front of the entrance more of this sediment is covered by a large block of fallen limestone. Some smaller tunnels above the cave were found to be filled with the soil which forms the uppermost layer elsewhere, and a trench excavated above the cave entrance found the same, while a cave excavated below the entrance found a more complete stratigraphic sequence.

Lithostratigraphy and geometric distribution of the superficial deposits outside the cave. (A). Block diagram with loci positions and in particular the sub-loci LRC I-a to d. The stratigraphy of the layers intersected by LRC II (B), LRC III (C) and LRC IV (D). For each locus, the stratigraphic units (U5/red, U4/blue, U3/brown, U2/orange, U1/green) and their vertical extension is indicated. Each unit comprises several layers. Marquet et al. (2023).

Based upon this, Marquet et al. conclude that, at some point after the cave was formed, it was entered by the river, which filled it to a height of at least 60 cm. Some time after the waters receded, the entrance the entrance of the cave was sealed by a landslip, with subsequent Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentary layers forming over this, probably forming a layer about 10 m thick before quarrying began in the 1840s.

Location of undisturbed deposits near the LRC I cave entrance. The map locates the two orthophotos in the centre of the figure. The entrance of the cave, on the left orthophoto, is underlined in black. The dashed horizontal line corresponds to the altitude of the overhang to the pillar room as well as to the lower limit of the ceiling of the cave entrance. Below, the LRC II photograph shows only the upper part of the stratigraphy of this locus, marking the period when sediments began to deposit on the slope. On the left, LRCI-a shows the middle and upper layers inside and outside the cave. Bottom right, LRCI-b  also illustrates the same middle layer as found in LRCI-niches 1 and 2, but inside the cave entrance. LRCI-c shows the location of sediment remnants trapped in ancient and small galleries created by erosion in the hard cretaceous stone, belonging to the deposit which completed the sealing of the entrance. LRCI-d shows sediments very similar to those of LRCI-c which continued to accumulate for some time after the cave was closed. Altitudes are given to clarify the location of these different sections. The lower view of LRC I-niche 2 is from 1975. Marquet et al. (2023).

François d’Achon's 1912 excavations recovered a considerable amount of large- and medium-sized Animal remains within the cave, but their locations were not recorded. The more recent excavations also found significant amounts of such remains, principally at the LRC III and LRC IV sites, the locations and stratigraphic placement of which were carefully recorded. Some of the bones from all four locations show signs of Human activity, including cut marks, burning, and modification for use as tools. Most of the remains appear to have come from Animals that would have occupied the area during temperate phases, such as Bison and Aurochs, Equids and Red Deer. A sequence of predators could also be established, with the area first being used by Cave Lions and Bears, then by Humans, and lastly by Hyenas. In some places an upper faunal layer, comprising cold-period species, such as Marmot and Reindeer, was present. Remains of smaller Vertebrates, including Mammals, Fish, Amphibians, Birds, and Reptiles, were recovered by sieving sediments. 

All four sites also produced Human-manufactured tools. All of these belonged to the Mousterian lithic assemblage, with no later material found. François d’Achon uncovered two assemblages of lithic artefacts within the cave LRC I, although all of these have subsequently been lost, with only a single photograph and some drawings surviving to the present day. The tools are made from Lower Turonian flint, which is available in the form of pebbles in the river terraces. The items documented include a number of Mousterian bifaces in the top part of the lower layer in a corner of the Pillar Chamber, and debetage (flakes) apparently produced using a Levallois technique (the progressive removal of flakes from a prepared core by striking with a percussive tool), within upper part of the lower layer close to the cave entrance, beneath a stone structure which d’Achon believed was a fireplace. Marquet et al. uncovered another Mousterian biface in the South Pillar Chamber, d in the remnants of an unidentified layer. They also found some thin elongated flakes in the lower layer of the Mousterian, at a depth below that to which d’Achon had excavated. Another blade was found on the top of the lower layer within the Pillar Chamber, though this is difficult to place stratigraphically.

Map showing the location of lithic industry discoveries. The two brown zones 1 and 2 locate François d’Achon’s discoveries (1. typical Mousterian with Levallois flaking, surmounted by the Mousterian of Acheulean tradition, 2. typical Mousterian with Levallois flaking). The three green zones locate recent discoveries (3, 4 and 5. Typical Mousterian with Levallois debitage). Marquet et al. (2023).

Levallois flakes were also found at the LRC II site, in the same layer as the 'Mask of La Roche-Cotard', at the LRC III site, below a layer of faunal remains apparently gnawed by Hyenas, which in turn was below a layer with the remains of Arctic Lemmings, and Narrow-headed Voles (both Arctic-adapted Rodents), neither of which layers produced any tools. At LRC IV, more Levallois flakes were found associated with the bones of cool temperate large Mammal remains, and overlain by a layer containing the remains of Arctic Lemmings, but no tools.

The Mousterian industries of La Roche-Cotard discovered in 1912. Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition bifaces discovered in 1912. Marquet et al. (2023).

Thus all of the lithic items which can be placed within a stratigraphic context (i.e. everything but the items from the Pillar Chamber, clearly comes from the same deposit, which records a warm period followed by a glaciation, and all of the items belong to the Moustrian technology, which is clearly associated with Neanderthals in Europe. None of these items show any sign of having been transported by water. 

Traceology of the broken biface and of the small blade discovered in 2009. (A) Broken triangular flint biface discovered not deeply in the sediment accumulated in a window of the chert layer. It shows significant rounding of its distal part (1, 2, 3), creating a dull, abrupt edge most probably produced by transverse contact with mineral matter. The other edges of this implement do not display such characteristics. (B) Second stone implement, made on a blade, used to process mineral matter and hide. Three zones of use are identified: the first suggests hide processing (1). The second and third use-areas present features which indicate scraping soft, abrasive, mineral matter (2, 3). Marquet et al. (2023).

A variety of markings are present on the walls of the La Roche-Cotard Cave. Some of these marks are clearly the result of Human activity, but others can be attributed to Animals, such as Bears or Badgers, or chemical processes, such as surface dissolution, disintegration, dehydration, and concretion formation. Markings made by the claws of Animals typically have a characteristic spacing and incision angle, depending on the type of Animal involved, whereas Human markings are much more variable, and include spatially organized elongated marks and patterns of dots unlike anything any Animal will make. Such marks are found on a 13 m-long section of the northeast wall of the Pillar Chamber. The marks are aranged in distinct geometric patterns, which are grouped together to make a series of distinct panels linked by groups of smaller marks. A linear discrimination analysis of the width, incision angle and depth of 116 marks revealed two statistically distinct groups: 32 with features consistent with claw marks, while the remaining 84 appeared to be of Human origin. This was based upon the assumption that Animal claws will make shallow marks with a v-shaped profile, while a finger or finger-shaped tool with make deeper, often u-shaped marks (this was confirmed experimentally on a section of similar tuffaceous limestone intentionally uncovered close to the cave). The Human-made markings were aranged in eight separate panels, apparently reflecting two separate aproches to art-making,, with the six panels being similar, and probably made with fingers, while the two were distinct, and apparently made with a tool, although it was not possible to identify the type of tool used.

Approach used to measure traces. The first four images show the Triangular Panel (TRI), the Rectangular Panel (REC), the bear scratched area (CLA) and finally the Circular Panel (CIR); at the bottom of each picture, the cross-sections made with CloudCompare on the photogrammetries. Four cross-sections were made on the Triangular Panel, T1 to T4 and six on the circular, C1 to C6. Only T1 and C6 are presented below each panel. The cross-sections on the Rectangular Panel have too little relief to allow measurements. The measurements of the width and the angle of incision of the line were carried out using the CloudCompare application and the depth was calculated using a simple mathematical formula: depth equals width over 2 times the tangent (incision angle/2). The same method was used for the scratched space because of the multiple crossings of the traces on the wall. The following five photos show experimental traces made to hypothesise which tool or tools might have been used to make the tracings of the Rectangular Panel. Among the 7 tools that were used for this experiment, only five panels are shown: WOOA traced with an antler point, WOOV with a wood point, FLIN with a flint point, BONE with a bone point and FING with a finger positioned flat. In each image the location of the cross-sections that have been made can be seen; only one is presented below the photo. The iron point tracings were less interesting and the finger positioned on edge was used very little as blood was easily lost when the finger passed over the very aggressive surface of the wall. On these 5 panels, all measurements were made directly on the sections that appear on the sections made. All the scales are in metres. Marquet et al. (2023).

All of the panels are found on a section of wall showing a thin layer of chemically altered material, above a horizontal overhang attributed to the pooling of water (which would have eroded the cave wall at the base). Below the overhang the wall has numerous niches attributed to dissolution, but no signs of any intentional markings. The altered surface has two layers, the outer of which comprises grains of sand and fragments of shell in a clay matrix, while to inner is very similar to the underlying tuffaceous limestone. This coating is missing in many places, having apparently been rubbed off by the actions of Animals or eroded away by dripping water.

Photograph of the north wall of the Pillar Chamber. (1) Coniacian quarzitic sandstone; (2) and (3) Graphic entities; (4) and (5) tuff wall still covered with a light brown film showing local removal of some of the film due to erosion. The six traces (5) are due to a metal tool used by the excavators in 1912; (6) tuff wall with the brown film removed; (7) overhang; (8) small decarbonation recesses; (9) chert layer; (10) yellow Turonian tuff; (11) cavity filled with compact red decarbonation clay; (12) modern sedimentary layer covering the compact layer. Marquet et al. (2023).

The first six panels (panels a-f) appear to have been made with fingers alone, and have an average height 1.5-1.7 m above the presumed level of the floor at the time when they were made. Most of the finger markings are thought to have been made with a finger laid flat, but some seem to have been made with the side of a finger. The seventh panel (panel g) is at a height of 1.8 m, placing it just below the ceiling of the cave; the wall here does not have an altered covering, while the limestone matrix is rich in quartz and fossil fragments. The eighth panel (panel h) is only a metre high, and comprises a series of puncture marks apparently made with a tool.

Spatial organisation of the marked panels in the Pillar Chamber. (A) View of the Pillar Chamber from the entrance, showing the location of panels with markings. Sections and ridges of the ceiling are indicated by red lines. Numbered panels are indicated by blue areas or arrows. The horizontal grey area on the ground is at the altitude (50.05 m Nivellement Général de la France) of the top of the very compact layer 3, in front of the last five digital trace panels. (B) Orthophoto of the north-west and north-east walls of the Pillar Chamber, with the location of the panels with plots. The dashed line represents the probable ground level. (a) Entrance Panel; (b) Fossil Panel; (c) Linear Panel; (d) Undulated Panel; (e) Circular Panel; (f) Triangular Panel; (g) Rectangular Panel; (h) Dotted Panel. Marquet et al. (2023).

The nature of the wall-coating, with a thin, easily-removed layer over a more resilient surface, has a major impact on the form of the finger markings, which are quite different from similar markings made on a clay surface; it would have been easy for the mark-makers to remove the surface layer, exposing the underlying matrix, which would have given the images a smooth appearance when they were made, with the markings having clear, well-defined boundaries, which have since been blurred by the processes of water condensation, drip erosion, and even air circulation.

The closest panel to the entrance, known as the Entrance Panel, or panel a, comprises a set of 36 finger traces made on a flat panel measuring roughly 50 cm by 50 cm. These traces run from top right to bottom left, and are roughly parallel, varying in length from 5 cm to just under 10 cm, and being about 1.5 cm wide. The marks are well defined at the top of the panel, becoming fainter towards the bottom. Some Animal scratches are present on the right part of the panel. The alteration layer is thin on the wall surrounding this panel, possibly due to its position close to the chamber entrance.

Panel a. (panel in entrance of Pillar Chamber). From top to bottom, photograph and survey of the ancient anthropic traces in black and animal traces in blue, numbering of the anthropic traces. The clear traces are in continuous line, when the trace is deep the line is thicker. Traces that are more difficult to read are dashed. Marquet et al. (2023).

The next panel in, known as the Fossil Panel, or panel b, is about 80 cm long, and has a set of eight well defined finger traces above, and 21 fainter finger traces below. All of these traces are aligned obliquely, sloping either to the right or the left. There are also a large number of circular or nearly circular puncture marks, arranged in three groups, 19 on the right, six on the left, and twelve associated with a large Bivalve fossil, Bimorphoceramus turonensis. Another, isolated, elongate finger mark is associated with this fossil. A single Animal mark, made by four claws, is present on this panel. The whole panel appears to have been constructed around the Bivalve fossil.

Panel b. (panel of the fossil). From top to bottom, photograph and survey of ancient anthropic traces in black, animal traces in blue, surface of the fossil section in green, numbering of the traces. The clear traces are in continuous line, when the trace is deep the line is thicker. Traces that are more difficult to read are dashed. Marquet et al. (2023).

The third panel, known as the Linear Panel, or panel c, is 150 cm long and only 50 cm high. The top right side of this panel has a motif of four finger traces descending to the left at 45°, while below and to the left of this an apparent continuation has the same motif but the marks of only three fingers, and below and to the left of that, another continuation also has only three finger-marks. Each of these motifs is about 20 cm in length. At the top, and to the right, of these markings are a group of 13 puncture marks.  On the left hand side of the panel are 34 lines, most of which are horizontal and arranged into groups. The uppermost three of these are about 40 cm in length, the rest 10-15 cm, There are very few puncture marks on this part of the panel, but in the bottom left hand corner are four v-shaped marks.

The Linear Panel. The limits of the finger flutings are shown in black. When the edges are well cut, the line is thicker. When the line is not clearly legible, the line is dashed. Animal tracks are in blue. Marquet et al. (2023).

The next panel is identified as the Undulating Panel, or panel d. This panel is 70 cm long and 50 cm high, and largely covered by 84 linear finger traces, from 10 cm to 33 cm in length. Shorter lines are typically grouped together, and sometimes associated with dots. A few isolated dots can also be found. Three of the longer lines appear to run from left to right, and have a double undulation. Above and to the left of these are two subparallel traces, one of these starts at its highest point, the other is harder to delineate as it appears to widen. Next to these are two groups of finger traces, apparently orientated towards a wavy line. Two further long lines appear to give a boundary to this structure. This panel seems to be more intentionally composed than the earlier panels.

The Undulated Panel. The survey gives the traces numbering. The arrows indicate the direction of the passage of the finger. Marquet et al. (2023).

The next panel is known as the Circular Panel, or panel e, and is 50 cm wide and 60 cm high. It comprises two separate sets of marks, on the left a set of seventeen finger tracings and on the right a set of 31 dots. The lines predominantly run from top to bottom, but curve outwards around a central empty spane, clearly forming a deliberate pattern. A set of outer markings may relate to this, while underneath is another long horizontal line, with two closely associated short vertical lines. This panel is very close to the Undulating Panel, and the two may have been intended to form a single entity.

The Circular Panel. The survey gives the numbering of the traces. The arrows indicate the direction of the traces. The alteration of the central lower part is very strong and worrying. Marquet et al. (2023).

The next panel is known as the Triangular Panel, or panel f, and is 60 cm wide by 50 cm tall. This panel has 25 parallel finger flutings running from top to bottom, and parallel to one another. ranging from 8 cm to 32 cm in length, with the longest at the right side of the panel. The panel forms an inverted isosceles triangle, with its base at the top, and is located above the entrance of a large, regular alcove. The main vertex of this triangle is emphasised by a piece of chert embedded in the wall at its lowest point.

The Triangular Panel. The survey gives the numbering of the traces. The green zone corresponds to the surface of the break of a natural cylinder of chert in its natural place. Marquet et al. (2023).

The seventh panel, known as the Rectangular Panel, or panel g, is 30 cm long and 25 cm high, and covered by 22 elongate traces made with a flat tool or the side of a finger, giving them a v-shaped profile, and seven elongate traces mage with the flat of a finger, giving them a u-shaped profile. All of these traces are between 6 cm and 20 cm in length, and all are verticle and sub-parallel, giving the whole a slight fan-shape.

The Rectangular Panel (panel g). Top, photograph of the Rectangular Panel in oblique light from the right. Bottom, sketch of the survey of the ancient anthropic traces of the panel and numbering. The continuous lines depict finger traces, the long dashed lines depict finger traces that are difficult to recognise. The short dashed lines are the lines of the pointed base of the V-section of most traces that are not made with the flat finger. Dotted lines are the ridge lines between two parallel V-section traces. Marquet et al. (2023).

The final panel, identified as the Dotted Panel, or panel h, and is a metre long and 60 cm high, and has 110 dot-shaped traces, mostly 12-15 mm in diameter, although some are more oval, reaching 20-25 cm in length, or elongated, up to 8 cm. In addition there are a series of oblique lines 3-12 cm in length in the lower part of the panel. There are also a series of marks apparently made with a metal tool, probably during the original excavation of the cave in 1912, as well as a large number of Animal traces; both of these might have destroyed other traces on this panel. 

The Dotted Panel. The survey gives the numbering of the traces. Animal marks are in blue. Traces 13 to 15 and 27 to 35 are modern anthropic traces made with metal tool. Marquet et al. (2023).

The La Roche-Cotard Cave and associated area was once clearly occupied by a group of Humans, who have left lithic artefacts of a Moustrian technology at all sites, within a coeval sedimentary deposit. There are no further signs of Human occupation until the nineteenth century. There are also engravings on the walls of the Pillar Chamber of the cave, which seem likely to have been made by the same people, although there is no direct evidence to support this. 

Marquet et al. set about dating these carvings using optically stimulated luminescence dating, which can reveal the date at which a sample was last exposed to light; this potentially gives the date when an object is buried, but can be reset if an object is subsequently exposed, making it unreliable on its own, but providing a plausible test for radiometric dating results. At La Roche-Cotard it was possible to target sediments inside the cave entrance, in two niches in the cave entrance and around the cave entrance, as well as two complete stratigraphic sequences at sites LRC I-II and LRC IV, in order to try to estimate when the cave was sealed. In addition radiocarbon dating was carried out on nineteen bone fragments collected from all four sites.

Some of the bone samples yielded 'non-finite' radiocarbon dates, which essentially means that they are older than 45 000 years old, and outside the range of carbon dating, while the remainder produced dates clustered around 40 000 years ago; such dates are also regarded with caution, as this is at the limit of the techniques range, where dates are often unreliable; such results are quite often returned for material which is considerably older. Due to this, Marquet et al. did not use these dates in their reconstructed timeline for the habitation of the area, relying entirely on optically stimulated luminescence dating.

The sediments at La Roche-Cotard show signs of having been well-bleached by sunlight before their burial, making them particularly suitable for optically stimulated luminescence dating. The sedimentary unit within which all the tools which could be placed within a sequence (i.e. all the tools except those from the Pillar Chamber) were found was dated to between about 99 000 and about 45 000 years old. Within the cave (LRC I), the tools were covered by a sediment layer which could be dated to between 68 400 and 63 200 years old, while the layer containing the tools at the nearby LRC II is dated to 97 500 years ago, and the layers above this produced dates of 95 600 and 88 500 years before the present. At LRC III, the tools were found within the base of a layer dated to about 65 000 years ago, whilt the LRC IV tools are covered by a layer dated to 79 400 years before the present. 

The sediments of the Loire Valley at La Roche-Cotard include intercalated fluvial deposits and landslip gelifracts, dating from between Marine Isotope Stage 5c (roughly 96 000-87 000 years ago) and Marine Isotope Stage 5a (roughly 82 000-71 000 years ago), which probably represent the alternating stadials (cold periods, when the water would have been low) and interstadials (warm periods, when the water would have been high). Only a small number of stone tools found implies that this site was only intermittently occupied by the toolmakers over this period. This probably reflects the fluctuating climate, and limited amount of workable stone in the area.

The chronology of the La Roche-Cotard Cave (LRC I) over this period is not well understood, but Marquet et al. were able to directly date the layer of river silt which had been deposited within the cave, overlying Moustrian tools. This flooding is calculated to have begun about 70 000 years ago, presumably ending any Human occupation of the cave. The sediment partially blocked the entrance to the cave, leaving an entrance only about 70 cm high (inconvenient, but not impossible for a Human to enter), but did not reach the bottom of the engravings on the cave wall, leaving the possibility that they could have been made after the waters receided, by members of a much later Human population. No tools were found on top of the silt layer, making it unlikely that it was occupied by Humans post-flood, but bones of large Mammals with marks indicating predation by Hyenas were, suggesting that the cave did remain open.

The cave appears to have finally been sealed by a combination of wind-blown sediments and a landslip during the Last Glacial interval. with complete closure achieved by 51 000 years ago. Modern Humans are not known in Western Europe before 45 000 years ago, which means that any engraving left in a cave in Western Europe before 51 000 years ago must have been left their by a Neanderthal artist. 

The artwork is organised onto a set of discrete panels, on the longest wall of the cave complex, excluding the entrance way. The first six of these panels appear to show a form of progression, with the images becoming more complex and organised deeper into the cave, with the complexity of the patterns apparently showing a degree of planning and intent, something which implies a complex thought process. However, the designs are entirely abstract, with no direct figurative images, something La Roche-Cotard has in common with other Neanderthal sites in Europe and the Middle East, and indeed Modern Human sites in Africa. The abstract nature of this art makes it impossible to tell if it has a symbolic meaning, but it does add to a growing body of knowledge about the capabilities of Neanderthals for artistic expression. 

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