Direct radiocarbon dates for prehistoric paintings at the Altamira, El Castillo and Niaux caves
Direct radiocarbon dates for prehistoric paintings at the Altamira, El Castillo and Niaux caves
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阿尔塔米拉 (Altamira)、埃尔卡斯蒂略 (El Castillo) 和尼奥克斯 (Niaux) 洞穴史前绘画的直接放射性碳测年
作者：
H. Valladas;H. Cachier;P. Maurice;F. B. D. Quirost;J. Clottes;V. C. Valdés;P. Uzquiano;M. Arnold
现代人类与其他原始人类和动物王国的其他部分最显著的区别之一是能够用图画来表示事物和事件。在阿尔塔米拉、埃尔卡斯蒂略、尼奥和拉斯科洞穴中发现的复杂绘画是人类文化演变的重要垫脚石。到目前为止，日期是从风格或史前游客留下的日期遗迹中得出的，可能会因长期占领或与绘画活动无关的访问而产生偏差。在这里，我们报告了这些洞穴中用于绘制风格相似的野牛的木炭的第一个放射性碳年代：西班牙阿尔塔米拉洞穴的距今14，000 ± 400年，埃尔卡斯蒂略洞穴的距今12，990 ± 200年，法国比利牛斯山脉尼欧洞穴中不同风格的野牛的距今12，890 ± 160年。我们的研究结果表明，不精确的性质，风格的约会，并表明，绘画日期来自人类活动的遗迹应谨慎使用。
AMONG things that most strikingly distinguish modern humans from other hominids and the rest of the animal kingdom is the ability to represent things and events pictorially. Complex paintings of the type discovered in the Altamira, El Castillo, Niaux and Lascaux caves represent an important stepping stone in the cultural evolution of humankind. Until now dates were derived from style or dated remains left by prehistoric visitors and could be biased by prolonged occupation or visits unrelated to painting activity. Here we report the first radiocarbon dates for the charcoal used to draw stylistically similar bisons in these caves: 14,000 ± 400 yr BP in the Spanish caves of Altamira, 12,990 ± 200 yr BP in El Castillo, and 12,890 ± 160 yr BP for a bison of different style in the French Pyrenean cave of Niaux. Our results demonstrate the imprecise nature of stylistic dating and show that painting dates derived from remains of human activities should be used with caution.