The abri de Cap Blanc is a prehistoric limestone rock shelter with Magdalenian animal sculptures. It is in the Marquay commune on the right bank of the Beune River, a few kilometers west of Eyzies-de-Tayac, in

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is name ...

History

The site was discovered in 1908 by Raymond Peyrille under the supervision of Jean-Gaston Lalanne. Peyrille carried out its first rudimentary excavation in 1909 while Lalanne was working at the nearby site of Laussel. During this excavation a relief carving was found, one that has been described as "perhaps the most dramatic and impressive example of Upper Palaeolithic". Following the discovery of the frieze, work was undertaken in 1911 to build a protective wall around the shelter. This included lowering the shelter floor, a procedure during which a workman hit a skull with a pick-axe, breaking it. A relatively complete skeleton was uncovered and Denis Peyrony and Louis Capitan were brought in to examine it.

Frieze

The frieze depicts a number of animals, some in haut-relief, dating back 15,000 years. These include ten horses (one measuring 2.20 m long), at least three bison, ibex and several incomplete figures. The sculpted frieze occupies 13 of the 16 meters of the shelter. Some of the carving is as much as 30 cm deep. Red ochre covers much of the frieze and some of the area around it is now difficult to see. Among other flint tools probably used to create the frieze were found Magdalenian burins and scrapers.

Magdalenian Girl

The skeleton known as Magdalenian Girl (or sometimes Magdalenian Woman) is that of an early

modern human Early modern human (EMH) or anatomically modern human (AMH) are terms used to distinguish ''Homo sapiens'' (the only extant Hominina species) that are anatomically consistent with the range of phenotypes seen in contemporary humans from extin ...

dating from 13,000 to 11,000 BCE during the Magdalenian period. It is the most complete

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

skeleton in Northern Europe. When Magdalenian Girl was acquired in 1926 for the Field Museum in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, by Henry Field, then curator of Physical Anthropology, it was hailed as one of the most significant acquisitions the museum ever made. On the first day the precious specimen was exhibited, tens of thousands of visitors flocked to the museum to see it. The skeleton is thought to have been likely buried deliberately.

Paul Pettitt Paul Barry Pettitt, FSA is a British archaeologist and academic. He specialises in the Palaeolithic era, with particular focus on claims of art and burial practices of the Neanderthals and Pleistocene ''Homo sapiens'', and methods of determinin ...

noted that "Large stone blocks were found over her head and feet, although no cultural items were recovered with the skeleton".

Preservation and visits

The site was classified as a French historical monument in 1910, and registered as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 1979 as part of the

Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley The Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in France since 1979. It specifically lists 15 prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley in the Dordogne department, mostly in and around Les Eyzies ...

. It was acquired by the French government on 14 April 2006. Guided tours take place during the year and there is an on-site museum which includes a replica of Magdalenian Girl.

References

External links