Sur un poisson gravé magdalénien de la grotte Margot (Thorigné-en-Charnie, Mayenne)

• DOI: 10.1016/j.crpv.2014.06.005
• Publication Date: 2014-08-22T10:10:45Z
• Authors: Florian Berrouet; Pierre Citerne; Émilie Guillaud; Romain Pigeaud; Hervé Paitier
• Keywords: Fish; [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory; Wall art; France; 14. Life underwater; Margot cave; 01 natural sciences; Cave art; Engraving; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

An engraved fish that can be attributed to the final Magdalenian period was discovered in 2010 in the Margot cave (Thorigne-en-Charnie, Mayenne, France). It shows graphic details that allow us to propose some clues to taxonomic determination. It must be a freshwater fish; the hypothesis of a Cyprinidae such as a tench is acceptable, considering that the 3.1 layer of the nearby Rochefort cave, attributable to the Final Paleolithic, has yielded a branchial arch of another Cyprinidae (probably a chub or a dace). Fish is not a usual theme in Paleolithic wall art. Here it is associated with another engraved animal figure, which is not fully determinable (seal or other fish). (C) 2014 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.