Lascaux Beyond the Walls: Reindeers in the cave

This video sequence presents the results of a study carried out within the framework of the LAsCO project, funded by the DRAC Nouvelle Aquitaine (SRA and CRMH) and directed by M. Langlais and S. Ducasse (CNRS, PACEA laboratory). This project aims at reassessing the archaeological assemblages discovered within the famous painted and engraved cave. This change in perspective, from the walls to the cave floor, allows us to advance our understanding of the types of activities carried out in the cave and to discuss its highly debated cultural attribution and chronology.
At Lascaux, the presence of numerous reindeer bones indicates the transport and on-site consumption of butchered reindeer carcasses, somewhat relativizing the strict notion of "sanctuary". Radiocarbon dating of four of those bones, selected from the main sectors of the cave, highlights the chronological homogeneity of the Paleolithic occupations and shows that the cave was frequented by groups of hunters-gatherers between 21,500 and 21,000 years ago (Badegoulian-to-Magdalenian transition; dating program funded by the LaScArBx Cluster of Excellence via the DEX_TER project, Ducasse et Langlais coord.).
Director: François Lacrampe-Cuyaubère (Archéosphère)
Photogrammetric models: Xavier Muth (Get in Situ)
Texts and scripts: Sylvain Ducasse and Mathieu Langlais (CNRS, PACEA laboratory)