Abri de Cap Blanc | |
 Excavations 1911 | |
  Cap Blanc rock shelter Location in France Show map of Aquitaine Cap Blanc rock shelter Cap Blanc rock shelter (France) Show map of France | |
| Location | nearLes Eyzies,Marquay commune |
|---|---|
| Region | Dordogne |
| Coordinates | 44°56′44″N1°5′49″E / 44.94556°N 1.09694°E /44.94556; 1.09694 |
| History | |
| Cultures | Magdalenian |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1909, |
| Archaeologists | Raymond Peyrille |
| Official name | Le Cap Blanc |
| Part of | Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley |
| Criteria | Cultural: (i), (iii) |
| Reference | 85-010 |
| Inscription | 1979 (3rdSession) |
| Area | 1.808 ha (194,600 sq ft) |
Theabri de Cap Blanc is a prehistoric limestonerock shelter withMagdalenian animal sculptures. It is in theMarquay commune on the right bank of the Beune River, a few kilometers west ofLes Eyzies, inDordogne.
The site was discovered in 1908 by Raymond Peyrille under the supervision of Jean-Gaston Lalanne. Peyrille carried out its first rudimentary excavation in 1909 while Lalanne was working at the nearby site ofLaussel. During this excavation a relief carving was found, one that has been described as "perhaps the most dramatic and impressive example of Upper Palaeolithic".[1]
Following the discovery of the frieze, work was undertaken in 1911 to build a protective wall around the shelter. This included lowering the shelter floor, a procedure during which a workman hit a skull with a pick-axe, breaking it. A relatively complete skeleton was uncovered and Denis Peyrony and Louis Capitan were brought in to examine it.[2][3]
The frieze depicts a number of animals, some in haut-relief, dating back 15,000 years. These include ten horses (one measuring 2.20 m long), at least three bison, ibex and several incomplete figures.
The sculpted frieze occupies 13 of the 16 meters of the shelter. Some of the carving is as much as 30 cm deep. Red ochre covers much of the frieze and some of the area around it is now difficult to see. Among other flint tools probably used to create the frieze were found Magdalenian burins and scrapers.[4]
The skeleton known asMagdalenian Girl (or sometimesMagdalenian Woman) is that of an earlymodern human dating from 13,000 to 11,000 BCE during theMagdalenian period. It is the most completeUpper Paleolithic skeleton in Northern Europe.When Magdalenian Girl was acquired in 1926 for theField Museum inChicago,Illinois, byHenry Field, then curator of Physical Anthropology, it was hailed as one of the most significant acquisitions the museum ever made. On the first day the precious specimen was exhibited, tens of thousands of visitors flocked to the museum to see it.
The skeleton is thought to have been likely buried deliberately.Paul Pettitt noted that "Large stone blocks were found over her head and feet, although no cultural items were recovered with the skeleton".[5]
The site was classified as aFrench historical monument in 1910,[6] and registered as aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO in 1979 as part of thePrehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley. It was acquired by the French government on 14 April 2006.[7]
Guided tours take place during the year and there is an on-site museum which includes a replica of Magdalenian Girl.