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| Caves of Gargas | |
|---|---|
 Interior view taken by Félix Régnault before 1910 | |
 Interactive map of Caves of Gargas | |
| Location | Aventignan,Hautes-Pyrénées |
| Coordinates | 43°03′19″N00°32′10″E / 43.05528°N 0.53611°E /43.05528; 0.53611 |
TheCaves of Gargas (French:Grottes de Gargas,French pronunciation:[ɡʁɔtdəɡaʁɡas]) in the Pyrenees region of France are known for theircave art from theUpper Paleolithic period - about 27,000 years old.
The caves are open to the public.
The caves are located near the town ofAventignan in theHautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France, at the edge of theHaute-Garonne close toSaint-Bertrand-de-Comminges.
The caves have yielded evidence of occupation (bones, lithics (stone tools) andportable art) from theMousterian to theMiddle Ages, but it is most famous for its paintings and engravings of theUpper Paleolithic.
The paintings have numerous negativehand stencils made by thestencil technique. The hands are red (ochre) or black (manganese oxide), using a mixture of iron oxide and manganese crushed with animal fat, and sprayed around the hand against the wall. Some have one or more fingers absent which leads to hypotheses of diseases, frostbite and ritual amputation, but most researchers prefer the symbolism of bending one or more fingers.
Many figurative engravings are also present in other parts of the caves, depictinghorses,bison,aurochs,ibex andmammoth. Carbon-14 dating of a bone stuck in a crack in a wall decorated with hand stencils revealed close to 27,000 years BP, indicating that the cave was frequented in theGravettian period. It is surmised that the Hands paintings probably date from this period.
The two chambers of the caves began to be scientifically explored and documented at the end of the 19th century byÉmile Cartailhac and AbbéHenri Breuil, but it wasFelix Regnault who discovered the hand-print images in 1906.
The caves have been classified since 1910 by theFrench Ministry of Culture as amonument historique (historic monument), Schedule 2, and are open to the public.[1]
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