Font de Gaume is a
caveA cave or cavern is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter. Some people suggest that the term cave should only apply to cavities that have some part that does not receive daylight; however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like sea caves, rock shelters, and...
in southwestern
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
near Les Eyzies. The cave houses a collection of prehistoric
polychromePolychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths. Most often, the term is used in conjunction with certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colours...
cave paintings, and is a popular site for tourists.
Prehistoric people living in the
DordogneDordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
Valley first settled in the mouth of Font de Gaume around 25,000 BC. The cave mouth was inhabited at least sporadically for the next several thousand years. However, after the original prehistoric inhabitants left, the cave was forgotten until the nineteenth century when local people again began to visit the cave.
In 1901, Denis Peyrony, a school teacher from Les Eyzies, discovered the paintings inside Font de Gaume.
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Font de Gaume is a
caveA cave or cavern is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter. Some people suggest that the term cave should only apply to cavities that have some part that does not receive daylight; however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like sea caves, rock shelters, and...
in southwestern
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
near Les Eyzies. The cave houses a collection of prehistoric
polychromePolychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths. Most often, the term is used in conjunction with certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colours...
cave paintings, and is a popular site for tourists.
History of Font de Gaume
Prehistoric people living in the
DordogneDordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
Valley first settled in the mouth of Font de Gaume around 25,000 BC. The cave mouth was inhabited at least sporadically for the next several thousand years. However, after the original prehistoric inhabitants left, the cave was forgotten until the nineteenth century when local people again began to visit the cave.
In 1901, Denis Peyrony, a school teacher from Les Eyzies, discovered the paintings inside Font de Gaume. The paintings date from around 17000 BC, during the
Magdalénien periodThe Magdalenian, also spelled Magdalénien, refers to one of the later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic in western Europe. It is named after the type site of La Madeleine, a rock shelter located in the Vézère valley, commune of Tursac, in the Dordogne department of France.Originally termed "L'âge...
. However, many of the cave's paintings were discovered much later. The cave's most famous painting, a frieze of five bison was discovered accidentally in 1966 while scientists were cleaning the cave.
The Paintings
Font de Gaume holds over 200
polychromePolychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths. Most often, the term is used in conjunction with certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colours...
paintings and is considered the best example of polychrome painting other than
LascauxLascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings. The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the Dordogne département. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be...
, which is now closed to the public. The paintings in Font de Gaume include depictions of more than 80
bisonMembers of the genus Bison are large even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant species and four extinct species are recognized...
, approximately 40
horseThe horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
depictions, and more than 20
mammothA mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair. They lived from...
depictions .
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