title: A 36,000-Year-Old Volcanic Eruption Depicted in the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc Cave (Ardèche, France)?
abstract: Among the paintings and engravings found in the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc cave (Ardèche, France), several peculiar spray-shape signs have been previously described in the Megaloceros Gallery. Here we document the occurrence of strombolian volcanic activity located 35 km northwest of the cave, and visible from the hills above the cave entrance. The volcanic eruptions were dated, using 40Ar/39Ar, between 29 ± 10 ka and 35 ± 8 ka (2σ), which overlaps with the 14C AMS and thermoluminescence ages of the first Aurignacian occupations of the cave in the Megaloceros Gallery. Our work provides the first evidence of an intense volcanic activity between 40 and 30 ka in the Bas-Vivarais region, and it is very likely that Humans living in the Ardèche river area witnessed one or several eruptions. We propose that the spray-shape signs found in the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc cave could be the oldest known depiction of a volcanic eruption, predating by more than 34 ka the description by Pliny the Younger of the Vesuvius eruption (AD 79) and by 28 ka the Çatalhöyük mural discovered in central Turkey.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de L'Environnement, UMR8212, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nomade
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de L'Environnement, UMR8212, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Genty
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de L'Environnement, UMR8212, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sasco
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de L'Environnement, UMR8212, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Scao
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire PACEA, UMR 5199, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Féruglio
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire ArScAn, UMR 7041, Université Paris-Ouest Nanterre, Nanterre, France.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baffier
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de L'Environnement, UMR8212, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guillou
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire TRACES, UMR 5608 Université Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bourdier
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de L'Environnement, UMR8212, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Valladas
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de L'Environnement, UMR8212, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Edouard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reigner
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon, UMR 5276 CNRS, Université Lyon1, Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Evelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Debard
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Géographie Physique. UMR 8591 CNRS Universités de Paris I et XII, Meudon, France.
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Pastre
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire PACEA, UMR 5199, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France.|Centre National de la Préhistoire, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Périgueux, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Geneste
mesh_terms: D001106:Archaeology; D001128:Argon / Q000737:chemistry; D059552:Caves; D005602:France; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D007554:Isotopes; D010151:Paintings / Q000266:history; D055110:Radiometric Dating; D018707:Volcanic Eruptions / Q000266:history*
chemical_list: D007554:Isotopes; D001128:Argon