Baume Latrone
France · Europe
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Mammoths traced in clay with bare fingers, in a style all their own
Above the Gorges du Gardon at Sainte-Anastasie, artists dragged clay-coated fingers across the walls to draw mammoths and a feline — the 'polydigital' technique, unique in Palaeolithic art. The deep decorated gallery was found in 1940, and charcoal from the foot of the drawings was dated in 2012 to about 37,000 years, tying this strange, stylised bestiary to the Aurignacian world of Chauvet.
Age
~37,000 yrs
Period
Aurignacian
Setting
Cave
Art form
Paintings
Discovered
1940
Status
Closed (Protected)
Gallery
The art
Notable Features
- ◦ Clay-drawn mammoth panel
- ◦ A feline among the mammoths
- ◦ Positive hand prints
Depicted Subjects
MammothsFelinesRhinocerosesHand Prints
How it was made
Clay drawingFinger fluting
How we know its age
Rock art carries no signature and no date. These are the methods that put an age on this site. How these methods work →
Plan a Visit
AccessClosed to the public.
Links
Hours & prices change — always confirm on the official site before travelling.
Sources
- 1.Baume Latrone — Wikipedia
Further reading
- Baume-Latrone — Don's Maps
Where to go next
Same subject · Rhinoceros
Same era · The Aurignacian
Photographs via Wikimedia Commons — image credits. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.