The Grotte de Cussac () is a cave located in the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

river valley in Le Buisson-de-Cadouin,

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

.Aujoulat, N., et al. (2001). "La grotte ornée de Cussac (Dordogne) — Observations liminaires". ''Paléo'', N° 13. It contains over 150 Paleolithic artworks, including engravings of

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus.'' They lived from the late Miocene epoch (from around 6.2 million years ago) into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabi ...

rhinoceros A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

es,

ibex An ibex ( : ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. T ...

, birds, enigmatic figures, and perhaps four female profiles, including one apparently notable for a

rubenesque Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

form common to pre-modern art. The cave's human remains, which include at least five individuals (four adults and a teenager), represent one of the few associations of parietal works and human burials in Paleolithic Europe. The bones have been dated using carbon-14 measurements to approximately 25,000 years in age. The cave was discovered on September 30, 2000, by amateur speleologist Marc Delluc and announced by the French Ministry of Culture on December 8, 2000. The cave is currently under protection for scientific study and is not open to the public. The cave's artworks, estimated to be 25,000 years old, are almost exclusively engravings, often very large, made with stone tools on the walls or with fingers on clay soil. Pigments are limited to very few red dots. The art is similar in theme and style to that found in the

Quercy Quercy (; , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and Auverg ...

caves, particularly

Pech Merle Pech Merle is a French hillside cave at Cabrerets, in the Lot département of the Occitania Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a se ...

References

External links

French Ministry of Culture: Grotte de Cussac
{{Authority control Caves containing pictograms in France Caves of Dordogne Monuments historiques of Dordogne Prehistoric sites in France Paleolithic Europe