The Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave, located in the Ardèche department of southeastern France, is a cave that contains some of the best-preserved paintings of people and animals in the world. It is also home to other signs of life from a long time ago. The cave is near the village of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, on a limestone cliff above where the river Ardèche used to flow, in the Gorges de l'Ardèche area.
The cave was discovered on December 18, 1994, and is considered one of the most important prehistoric art sites. In 2014, UNESCO, a cultural organization, gave it World Heritage status. The cave was first explored by three cave researchers: Eliette Brunel-Deschamps, Christian Hillaire, and Jean-Marie Chauvet (after whom the cave was named). They explored it six months after a hole called "Le Trou de Baba" ('Baba's Hole') was found by Michel Rosa (Baba). Later, the group returned to the cave. Another member, Michel Chabaud, and two others went deeper and discovered the Gallery of the Lions and the End Chamber. Jean-Marie Chauvet wrote a detailed description of the discovery. In addition to the paintings, they found fossilized bones, footprints, and markings from many animals, some of which no longer exist today.
French archaeologist Jean Clottes studied the site further. Scientists have debated the age of the art, but a study from 2012 suggests the paintings were made during the Aurignacian period, about 32,000 to 30,000 years ago. A study published in 2016, using 88 carbon dating results, showed two times when people lived in the cave: once between 37,000 and 33,500 years ago, and again between 31,000 and 28,000 years ago. Most of the black drawings were made during the earlier time.
Features
The cave is located above the old path of the Ardèche before the Pont d'Arc became open. The Ardèche region's gorges are home to many caves, several of which are important for studying geology and archaeology.
Based on radiocarbon dating, the cave was used by humans during two separate times: the Aurignacian and the Gravettian periods. Most of the artwork in the cave dates to the earlier Aurignacian period, which was 32,000 to 30,000 years ago. The later Gravettian period, which was 27,000 to 25,000 years ago, left behind only a child's footprints, the burned remains of ancient fires, and dark stains from torches used to light the caves. These footprints may be the oldest human footprints with accurate dates. After the child visited the cave, evidence suggests that a landslide blocked the entrance, sealing the cave until it was discovered in 1994.
The soft, clay-like floor of the cave preserves the paw prints of cave bears and large, rounded depressions that are believed to be places where the bears rested. Many fossilized bones are found in the cave, including the skulls of cave bears and the horned skull of an ibex. Paw prints dated to 26,000 years before present are thought to belong to a dog, but some scientists believe they may have been left by a wolf.
Paintings
Hundreds of animal paintings have been listed, showing at least 13 different species, including some that are rarely or never seen in other ice age paintings. Unlike most Paleolithic cave art, which often shows common herbivores like horses, aurochs, and mammoths, the walls of the Chauvet Cave include many images of predatory animals, such as cave lions, leopards, bears, and cave hyenas. There are also paintings of rhinoceroses.
As is typical in most cave art, there are no complete human figures painted. However, there are two partial "Venus" figures: one in a niche of the End Chamber, and the other on a cone-shaped object several meters away. Both appear to show a vulva connected to incomplete legs. Above the second figure, a bison head is painted, leading some to compare the image to a Minotaur. There are also panels with red ochre hand prints and hand stencils made by blowing pigment over hands pressed against the cave wall. Abstract lines and dots are found throughout the cave. Two images are unclear but look somewhat like butterflies or birds. These varied subjects have led some researchers to suggest that the paintings may have had a ritual, shamanic, or magical purpose.
One drawing, later covered by a sketch of a deer, resembles a volcano erupting, similar to volcanoes active in the region at that time. If confirmed, this would be the earliest known drawing of a volcanic eruption.
The artists used techniques not often seen in other cave art. Many paintings were created after the walls were cleaned of debris and hard deposits, creating smoother, lighter areas for painting. A three-dimensional look and movement are shown by carving around the outlines of some figures. The art is also unique for its time because it includes "scenes" showing animals interacting. For example, two woolly rhinoceroses are painted butting horns, possibly showing a contest for territory or mating rights.
Dating
The cave contains some of the oldest known cave paintings, as determined by radiocarbon dating of materials such as black paint from drawings, torch marks, and the cave floor, according to Jean Clottes. Clottes found that the dates fall into two groups: one around 27,000–26,000 years ago and the other around 32,000–30,000 years ago. By 1999, 31 samples from the cave had been tested. The oldest sample, Gifa 99776 from "zone 10," dates to about 32,900 years ago with some uncertainty.
Some archaeologists have questioned these dates. Christian Züchner compared the cave’s paintings to those at other well-dated sites and suggested that red paintings may be from the Gravettian period (about 28,000–23,000 years ago) and black paintings from the Early Magdalenian period (about 18,000–10,000 years ago). Pettitt and Bahn noted that the dates do not match the traditional timeline of artistic styles and raised concerns about the charcoal used in the paintings and possible contamination on the cave walls. Stylistic studies showed that some Gravettian engravings were drawn over black paintings, indicating the black paintings are older.
By 2011, over 80 radiocarbon dates had been collected from the cave, including samples from torch marks, the paintings themselves, animal bones, and charcoal on the cave floor. These dates suggest two periods of creation in the cave: 35,000 years ago and 30,000 years ago. This would place the cave’s use and artwork during the Aurignacian period.
A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2012 confirmed that the paintings were made by people during the Aurignacian era, between 30,000 and 32,000 years ago. Researchers analyzed rock surfaces near the cave’s entrance and found that it was blocked by a rockfall about 29,000 years ago. This supports the radiocarbon dating results, placing human activity and the paintings between 32,000 and 30,000 years ago.
A 2016 study in the same journal, examining 259 radiocarbon dates (some previously unpublished), found two phases of human occupation: one from 37,000 to 33,500 years ago and another from 31,000 to 28,000 years ago. Most dates for black drawings came from the earlier phase. The researchers believe the first phase ended when a rockfall sealed the cave. Two more rockfalls later blocked the cave again, preventing humans or large animals from entering until it was rediscovered. In an email, two authors explained that a group of people visited the cave around 36,000 years ago to create black drawings of large animals. A later group, possibly from a different region, returned thousands of years later.
In 2020, researchers used the IntCal20 radiocarbon calibration curve to estimate that the oldest painting in the cave was created 36,500 years ago.
From 2008 onward, scientists studying the cave also researched other rock art sites along the Ardèche River gorges, such as Points Cave and Deux-Ouvertures Cave, under the "Datation Grottes Ornées" (DGO) project. This research aims to understand the context of rock art in the region and compare Chauvet Cave’s unique timeline and artwork to other sites. The DGO project is still ongoing as of 2020 but has already provided insights into Chauvet Cave’s history.
Preservation
The cave has been closed to the public since 1994. Access is very limited because of problems seen in decorated caves like Altamira and Lascaux from the 19th and 20th centuries. In those caves, large numbers of visitors caused mold to grow on the walls, which damaged the artwork. In 2000, Dominique Baffier, an archaeologist and expert in cave paintings, was chosen to manage the cave’s conservation and care. In 2014, Marie Bardisa took over this role.
Caverne du Pont-d'Arc (Grotte Chauvet 2), a copy of Chauvet Cave modeled after the "Faux Lascaux" replica, opened to the public on April 25, 2015. It is the largest cave replica ever built, ten times bigger than the Lascaux facsimile. The artwork is recreated at full size in a smaller version of the underground environment, inside a circular building above ground, near the real cave. The replica includes features that recreate the original cave’s conditions, such as silence, darkness, temperature, humidity, and sound.