Academic literature on the topic 'Lascaux cave (france)'

Lascaux Cave (Montignac, France) contains paintings from the Upper Paleolithic period. Shortly after its discovery in 1940, the cave was seriously disturbed by major destructive interventions. In 1963, the cave was closed due to algal growth on the walls. In 2001, the ceiling, walls and sediments were colonized by the fungus Fusarium solani. Later, black stains, probably of fungal origin, appeared on the walls. Biocide treatments, including quaternary ammonium derivatives, were extensively applied for a few years, and have been in use again since January 2008. The microbial communities in Lascaux Cave were shown to be composed of human-pathogenic bacteria and entomopathogenic fungi, the former as a result of the biocide selection. The data show that fungi play an important role in the cave, and arthropods contribute to the dispersion of conidia. A careful study on the fungal ecology is needed in order to complete the cave food web and to control the black stains threatening the Paleolithic paintings.

Analytical pyrolysis is a tool widely used for investigating the nature of macromolecules. This technique has been applied with success for solving the chemical structure of geo- and biopolymers. However, with complex macromolecules, such as fungal melanins, analytical pyrolysis presents some drawbacks due to the fact that they rarely can be obtained in a pure grade and contains a mixture of polysaccharides, chitin, proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids, among other materials. Analytical pyrolysis permits the characterization of the compounds co-extracted or linked to the melanin. Nevertheless, our data revealed that under the conditions usually employed in the pyrolysis of melanins, the technique presented serious limitations due to the complex structure and diversity of components that suffer extensive thermal degradation through secondary reactions with the production of considerable number of artifacts. To the light of pyrolysis data, the melanin of Ochroconis spp. is not based on 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) or 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN), and it is suggested that it could be a type of pyomelanin, based on the polymerization of homogentisic acid and other phenolic compounds.

The Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE) research program on prehistoric art conducts chronological studies of parietal representations with their associated archaeological context. This multidisciplinary approach provides chronological arguments about the creation period of parietal representations. This article presents chronological investigations carried out in several decorated caves in France (La Grande Grotte, Labastide, Lascaux, La Tête-du-Lion, Villars) and Spain (La Garma, Nerja, La Pileta, Urdiales). Several types of organic materials, collected from different areas of the caves close to the walls and in connection with parietal art, were dated to determine the periods of human presence in the cave, a presence that may have been related to artistic activities. These new radiocarbon results range from 33,000–29,000 (La Grande Grotte) to 16,000–14,000 cal BP (Urdiales).

Depuis son invention en 1940 mais surtout consécutivement à sa fermeture au public en 1963, la conservation de la Grotte de Lascaux se base entre autres sur la compréhension de ses interactions avec le massif karstique environnant et notamment les processus siégeant dans l’épikarst et la zone de transmission superficielle. Ces travaux de thèse se sont donc attachés à comprendre la dynamique du CO2 dans le continuum sol-épikarst-cavité afin d’en évaluer les potentiels impacts sur la conservation des parois. Nous bénéficions à Lascaux d’une fenêtre d’observation sur les écoulements provenant de l’épikarst sus-jacent dans le SAS 1 de la cavité, mais aussi d’une instrumentation conséquente. Elle permet l’acquisition de nombreuses séries de données temporelles des paramètres microclimatiques ainsi que des teneurs en CO2 de l’air en différents points de la cavité ou encore du débit de l’émergence épikarstique depuis le début des années 2000.Une première partie de l’étude est consacrée à la caractérisation de la dynamique du CO2 dans le contexte d’un épikarst sous couverture pédologique. A cette fin, une parcelle expérimentale est instrumentée afin d’effectuer un suivi des paramètres hydroclimatiques et des teneurs en CO2 à différentes profondeurs. Des périodes de recharge (accumulation) et de vidange (émanations vers l’atmosphère) du CO2 de l’épikarst superficiel sont démontrées tout comme la constitution d’un stock de CO2 peu variable dans l’épikarst subsuperficiel. La compréhension de ces différents mécanismes aboutit à un schéma général de la dynamique du CO2 dans l’épikarst.Cette dynamique est étudiée dans la Grotte de Lascaux au cours d’une seconde partie à partir des séries temporelles des paramètres microclimatiques et des teneurs en CO2, mais aussi du signal isotopique en 13C. Il est alors démontré que les flux de CO2 entrant dans la cavité proviennent de trois origines distinctes : l’atmosphère (entrée), l’épikarst superficiel (Galerie Mondmilch et Salles Ensablées) et le massif (éboulis du Puits du Sorcier). Parallèlement, deux régimes aérologiques responsables de la répartition spatio-temporelle des teneurs en CO2 dans la cavité sont observés : stratification et thermoconvections. Ils sont les principaux responsables de la dynamique du CO2 dans la Grotte de Lascaux du fait des faibles échanges entre cette dernière et l’atmosphère comparativement à d’autres cavités karstiques de la région. Enfin, l’impact du dispositif du pompage de l’air sur l’aérologie et la dynamique du CO2 dans la Grotte de Lascaux est évalué. La comparaison de ces dynamiques avec et sans extraction de l’air de la cavité conduit à la création de schémas conceptuels de la dynamique du CO2 dans la Grotte Lascaux.L’étude des conditions d’écoulement dans l’épikarst de la Grotte de Lascaux, troisième partie de ces travaux, a été effectuée à partir d’un suivi en continu des débits, paramètres physico-chimiques et de la fluorescence naturelle de l’eau. L’analyse des séries temporelles de ces traceurs naturels conduit caractériser de façon détaillée les conditions d’écoulement et notamment l’importance de la teneur en eau de l’épikarst sur la taille zone d’alimentation et les types d’eau arrivant à l’exutoire. Parallèlement, l’impact de ces conditions d’écoulement sur les équilibres calco-carboniques des eaux arrivant dans la cavité est analysé.Enfin, les connaissances acquises sont appliquées pour déterminer l’impact potentiel en continu des eaux (condensation et exfiltration) présentes aux parois ornées de la cavité. A cette fin, une méthodologie d’estimation de la masse de calcite potentiellement précipitée par les eaux d’exfiltration et dissoute par les eaux de condensation basée sur des simulations hydrogéochimiques est développée. Son application à la paroi gauche de la Salle de la Taureaux en contextes de pompage et naturel conduit à l’évaluation de l’impact potentiel du pompage mais aussi de l’aérologie de la cavité sur la conservation des parois
Since its invention in 1940 but especially as a result of its closure to the public in 1963, the preservation of the Cave of Lascaux bases itself among others on the understanding of its interactions with the surrounding karstic massif in particular the processes sitting in the épikarst and the zone of superficial transmission. That is why this thesis research attempted to understand the dynamics of the CO2 in the continuum soil-epikarst-cave to estimate the potential impacts on the preservation of walls. We benefit in Lascaux of an observation window on the flows resulting from the epikarst known emergence in the SAS 1 of the cavity, but also the consequent instrumentation. It allows the acquisition of numerous time series data of the microclimatic parameters, carbon dioxide partial pressures at different points of the cave and the discharge of the epikarstic emergence since the beginning of the century.A first part of the study is dedicated to the characterization of the dynamics of the CO2 in the context of an epikarst under soil cover. To this end, an experimental parcel is instrumented to follow the hydroclimatic parameters and the contents in PCO2 at various depths. Periods of recharge (accumulation) and draining (emanations towards the atmosphere) of the superficial epikarst CO2 are highlighted when the constitution of a low variable CO2 stock is observed in the subsuperficiel epikarst. The understanding of these various mechanisms ends in a conceptual scheme of the CO2 dynamics in the epikarst.In a second part, this dynamic is studied in the Cave of Lascaux from the temporal series of the microclimatic parameters and the contents in CO2, but also the δ13CCO2. It is then demonstrated that the flows of CO2 entering the cavity result from three different origins: the atmosphere (entrance), the superficial epikarst (Mondmilch Gallery and Silted-up Rooms) and the massif (screw of the Shaft of the Sorcerer). At the same time, two aerological regimes responsible for the spatiotemporal distribution of the PCO2 in the cavity are observed: stratification and thermoconvection. They are the main mechanisms responsible for the dynamics of the CO2 in the Cave of Lascaux because of the low exchanges with the atmosphere. Finally, the impact of the pumping of the air on the aerology and the dynamics of the CO2. The comparison of these dynamics with and without extraction of the air of the cavity leads to the creation of conceptual schemes of the dynamics of the CO2 in the Cave Lascaux.The study of the flowing conditions in the epikarst of the Cave of Lascaux, the third part of these works, was made from a continuous monitoring of the discharge, physico-chemical parameters and the natural fluorescence of the water. The analysis of the temporal series of these natural tracers leads to characterize in a detailed way the flowing conditions and the importance of the moisture content of the epikarst on the size of the recharge area and the types of water arriving at the emergence. In parallel, the impact of these conditions on the calco-carbonic balances of waters arriving in the cavity is analyzed.Finally, the acquired knowledge are applied to determine the potential continuous impact of the waters (condensation and exfiltration) present at the adorned walls of the cave. To this end, a methodology of estimation of the mass of calcite potentially precipitated by exfiltration and dissolved by condensation based on hydrogeochemical simulations is developed. Its application to the left wall of the Hall of the Bulls with and without pumping leads to the evaluation of the potential impact of this device but also the aerology of the cavity on the preservation of walls

French South-West, especially the Dordogne region, is one of the richest European area of Palaeolithic sites, whether for human dwelling (including epony-mous and very famous sites like La Madeleine) as for Upper Palaeolithic rock art (of which Lascaux cave, Rouffignac cave, Font-de-Gaume cave, etc.). Those two categories are testimony of organization of daily life and livelihood strategies on one side, and the common system of values and meaning (culture) on the other side. Those two aspects are however very difficult to bring together. For adorned caves, it is often difficult to cross data coming from the walls and ground from a same decorated cave, data sometimes acquired separately. One way to deal with this problem is to develop a multi-disciplinary approach, which allows to combine rock art, archaeological and geological studies and which implies interactions and dialogs between many specialists. This goal, which goes be-yond simply providing archaeological and geological contexts for an image or a group of images, leads to the development of new approaches. Fig. 1. This paper proposes to present cases to the interdisciplinary study of the Great Saint-Front Cave (or Mammoths cave) and other adorned sites, studied within the frame of a collective research program, conducted from 2013 to 2016 and called Archologie des grottes ornes de Dordogne: cadre conceptuel, potentiel et ralit (Cave art archaeology: conceptual frame, potential and reality).