title: Context and dating of Aurignacian vulvar representations from Abri Castanet, France.
abstract: We report here on the 2007 discovery, in perfect archaeological context, of part of the engraved and ocre-stained undersurface of the collapsed rockshelter ceiling from Abri Castanet, Dordogne, France. The decorated surface of the 1.5-t roof-collapse block was in direct contact with the exposed archaeological surface onto which it fell. Because there was no sedimentation between the engraved surface and the archaeological layer upon which it collapsed, it is clear that the Early Aurignacian occupants of the shelter were the authors of the ceiling imagery. This discovery contributes an important dimension to our understanding of the earliest graphic representation in southwestern France, almost all of which was discovered before modern methods of archaeological excavation and analysis. Comparison of the dates for the Castanet ceiling and those directly obtained from the Chauvet paintings reveal that the "vulvar" representations from southwestern France are as old or older than the very different wall images from Chauvet.
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA. randall.white@nyu.edu
authors.forename: Randall
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mensan
authors.forename: Raphaëlle
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bourrillon
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cretin
authors.forename: Thomas F G
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Higham
authors.forename: Amy E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Matthew L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Sisk
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tartar
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gardère
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pelegrin
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Valladas
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tisnérat-Laborde
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Sanoit
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chambellan
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chiotti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology / Q000379:methods; D001154:Art / Q000266:history*; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D001842:Bone and Bones; D005580:Fossils; D005602:France; D005843:Geography; D049690:History, Ancient; D015186:Hominidae; D006801:Humans; D055110:Radiometric Dating / Q000379:methods*