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Font-de-Gaume
La grotte de Font-de-Gaume
  • Home
    • Discover the Font-de-Gaume cave
      • The Bison Cave
      • The various bison of Font-de-Gaume
    • Tectiforms
    • Polychrome and mixed media
    • Scenes and compositions
      • A veritable bestiary
      • Pair of reindeer
      • Horses
      • Mammoths
      • Black cows
      • Wolf
      • The subtle bear
      • Feline
      • Red rhinoceros
      • The elusive drawings
    • Understanding the Font-de-Gaume cave
    • Geology
      • Visits to the cave
      • At the dawn of the Upper Palaeolithic
      • In the Upper Palaeolithic... and beyond
      • Modern use of the cave
      • Discovery and discoverers
        • Font-de-Gaume - a painted cave under observation
        • Surveys and monograph
        • Recent conservation and research policies
        • Government management
      • Archaeological discoveries
      • Objects
        • Archaeological work and collections
        • Archaeology at Font-de-Gaume
        • Gathering archaeological information
      • Techniques and organisation of the paintings
        • Formal conventions
        • Example of animal representation styles
        • Technical conventions
        • Example of animal representation techniques
      • Layout of the paintings
      • Lighting methods and implications
      • Explanatory theories
      • The debate on cave art
      • Theories and researchers
      • The relationship between portable art and cave art
    • The Font-de-Gaume cave in context
      • The Magdalenian period
      • Paleoclimatic setting
      • Fauna and flora
      • Magdalenian geography
    • General chronology of humanity
      • The personalities of Font-de-Gaume
      • Father Breuil
      • Denis Peyrony
      • Louis Capitan
      • François Prat
      • Denis Vialou
      • Norbert Aujoulat
    • Annexes
    • Media library
    • Sources
    • Site map
    • Glossary
      • Resources
      • Graphic resources
      • Multimedia resources
      • Teaching resources
      • Documentary resources
    • About
    • Credits
    • Centre des monuments nationaux
    • Great Archaeological Sites
    • Legal notice
    • Practical information
    • Visiting the Font-de-Gaume cave

La grotte de Font-de-Gaume

Located in Le Eyzies-de-Tayac, the Font-de-Gaume cave is the last Palaeolithic sanctuary with polychrome paintings still open to the public. More than 200 figures of bison, mammoths, reindeer and other ungulates, mostly dating from the Magdalenian period (around 15,000 BC), adorn its walls, arranged in compositions or scenes. The discovery of the cave in September 1901 by Louis Capitan, Henri Breuil and Denis Peyrony led to the definitive recognition of cave art, establishing Font-de-Gaume as a founding site of modern prehistoric science.

  • archeologie.culture.fr
Annexes

Site map

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  • Home
  • Discover the Font-de-Gaume cave
    • The Bison Cave
      • The various bison of Font-de-Gaume
    • Tectiforms
    • Polychrome and mixed media
    • Scenes and compositions
    • A veritable bestiary
      • Pair of reindeer
      • Horses
      • Mammoths
      • Black cows
      • Wolf
      • The subtle bear
      • Feline
      • Red rhinoceros
      • The elusive drawings
  • Understanding the Font-de-Gaume cave
    • Geology
    • Visits to the cave
      • At the dawn of the Upper Palaeolithic
      • In the Upper Palaeolithic... and beyond
      • Modern use of the cave
      • Discovery and discoverers
      • Font-de-Gaume - a painted cave under observation
        • Surveys and monograph
        • Recent conservation and research policies
        • Government management
    • Archaeological discoveries
      • Objects
      • Archaeological work and collections
        • Archaeology at Font-de-Gaume
        • Gathering archaeological information
    • Techniques and organisation of the paintings
      • Formal conventions
        • Example of animal representation styles
      • Technical conventions
        • Example of animal representation techniques
      • Layout of the paintings
      • Lighting methods and implications
    • Explanatory theories
      • The debate on cave art
      • Theories and researchers
      • The relationship between portable art and cave art
  • The Font-de-Gaume cave in context
    • The Magdalenian period
      • Paleoclimatic setting
      • Fauna and flora
      • Magdalenian geography
    • General chronology of humanity
    • The personalities of Font-de-Gaume
      • Father Breuil
      • Denis Peyrony
      • Louis Capitan
      • François Prat
      • Denis Vialou
      • Norbert Aujoulat
  • Annexes
    • Media library
    • Sources
    • Site map
    • Glossary
    • Resources
      • Graphic resources
      • Multimedia resources
      • Teaching resources
      • Documentary resources
  • About
    • Credits
    • Centre des monuments nationaux
    • Great Archaeological Sites
    • Legal notice
  • Practical information
    • Visiting the Font-de-Gaume cave

Discover the Font-de-Gaume cave

  • The Bison Cave
  • Tectiforms
  • Polychrome and mixed media
  • Scenes and compositions
  • A veritable bestiary

Understanding the Font-de-Gaume cave

  • Geology
  • Visits to the cave
  • Archaeological discoveries
  • Techniques and organisation of the paintings
  • Explanatory theories

The Font-de-Gaume cave in context

  • The Magdalenian period
  • General chronology of humanity
  • The personalities of Font-de-Gaume

Annexes

  • Media library
  • Sources
  • Site map
  • Glossary
  • Resources

About

  • Great Archaeological Sites
  • Legal notice
  • Centre des monuments nationaux
  • Credits

Practical information

  • Visiting the Font-de-Gaume cave

About

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