Эрдэмтэд Палеолитын үеийн хадны зургуудыг нүүрстөрөгчийн аргаар шууд шинжилж, бүтээгдсэн хугацааг нь нарийвчлан тогтоожээ.
Францын баруун өмнөд хэсэгт орших Фон-де-Гом агуйн ханан дээрх хар өнгийн зургуудыг 13,000-16,000 жилийн өмнө бүтээгдсэнийг эрдэмтэд тогтоов. Өмнө нь эдгээр зургийг эрдсийн гаралтай будгаар зурсан гэж үздэг байсан тул нүүрстөрөгчийн шинжилгээ хийх боломжгүй байжээ. Харин “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” сэтгүүлд нийтлэгдсэн шинэ судалгаагаар зургуудыг модны нүүрс ашиглан зурсныг гэрлийн тусгалын спектроскопийн аргаар баталсан байна.
Судлаачид агуйн ханан дээрх бизон болон багтай төстэй дүрсийн үлдэгдлээс микроскопийн хэмжээний дээж авч шинжилжээ. Шинжилгээгээр бизоны зураг 13,162-13,461 жилийн өмнөх, харин багтай дүрсийн зарим хэсэг 15,300-16,000 жилийн өмнөх болох нь тогтоогдов. Хэдийгээр багтай дүрсийн нүднээс авсан дээж 9,000 жилийн өмнөх гэсэн үр дүн үзүүлсэн ч үүнийг хүрээлэн буй орчны бохирдлоос үүдэлтэй гэж эрдэмтэд тайлбарлаж байна.
Энэхүү судалгаа нь хадны зургийн насыг урлагийн хэв маягаар таамаглах бус, шууд баримтад тулгуурлан тогтоох боломжийг бүрдүүлж байгаагаараа ач холбогдолтой юм. Судалгааны багийн ахлагч Ина Райхе энэ нь Палеолитын үеийн урлагийн түүхийг ойлгоход томоохон дэвшил авчирсан нээлт гэдгийг онцолжээ. Фон-де-Гом агуй нь ЮНЕСКО-гийн Дэлхийн өвийн жагсаалтад багтдаг бөгөөд 200 гаруй зураг, сийлбэрийг агуулсан чухал дурсгалт газар юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Scientists have directly dated black drawings inside Font-de-Gaume, a famous prehistoric cave in southwestern France, to between about 13,000 and 16,000 years ago. The discovery helps solve a long-standing mystery and gives researchers rare evidence taken directly from the artwork itself.
For years, archaeologists have struggled to determine the age of many cave paintings in the Dordogne region. The problem was simple: most black figures were thought to be made with mineral pigments, which cannot be dated using radiocarbon methods.
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences changes that picture. By identifying charcoal-based pigments in several drawings at Font-de-Gaume, researchers were able to date the artwork directly.
Charcoal In The Drawings Provided The Key
The breakthrough came from two figures located near a junction inside the cave: a bison and a face-like mask. Tiny traces of black pigment remained preserved on the wall, giving scientists a chance to investigate what the drawings were actually made from.
Using reflectance imaging spectroscopy, a technique that analyzes how materials reflect light, the research team determined that the black lines contained charcoal rather than manganese-based mineral pigments. That distinction matters because charcoal comes from burned wood and still contains organic carbon that can be measured through radiocarbon dating.
Once the pigment had been identified, researchers carefully collected microscopic samples from the drawings. The approach allowed them to date the artwork while limiting damage to the protected cave. The study describes this as an important step forward because dating prehistoric wall art has often been impossible when no organic material was present.
The Artwork Dates Back To The Ice Age
The results place both images firmly within the Paleolithic period. The bison drawing returned a date between 13,461 and 13,162 years before present.
The mask proved even older. Samples taken from its lips produced dates of roughly 16,000 and 15,300 years before present, showing that the image was created during the Ice Age as well. One sample produced an unexpected result. Material taken from the mask’s left eye was dated to around 9,000 years before present, far younger than the other measurements.
Researchers believe contamination is the most likely explanation. Over thousands of years, cave walls can collect younger carbon from smoke, moisture, human contact, and other environmental sources. When scientists work with extremely small samples, even a tiny amount of contamination can affect the final result. Despite that outlier, the overall pattern points clearly to a Paleolithic age for the drawings.
Cave Art Research Enters a New Era
The findings could have implications beyond Font-de-Gaume. Earlier studies had already shown that many black figures in the cave were made with charcoal, challenging the idea that black cave art in the Dordogne relied only on mineral pigments.
Researchers also observed that some charcoal drawings lie beneath manganese-painted figures. That suggests artists may have returned to the cave at different times, adding new artwork over older images. Direct dating offers a way to explore those relationships more accurately. Instead of relying mainly on artistic style to estimate age, scientists can obtain dates from the pigment itself.
Located in Les Eyzies, Font-de-Gaume contains more than 200 painted and engraved figures and is one of the few decorated prehistoric caves still open to visitors. The cave is part of the Vézère Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage area that includes 147 prehistoric sites and 25 decorated caves. Research leader Ina Reiche stated that the results provide experimental confirmation that the cave art is Paleolithic in age.
“This result represents a scientific breakthrough and a paradigm change with implications for the Paleolithic cave art in the Dordogne region and the broader field of prehistory,” she added.
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