Tracing Upper Palaeolithic People in Caves : Methodological developments of cave space analysis, applied to the decorated caves of Marsoulas, Chauvet and Rouffignac, southern France

Abstract: Upper Palaeolithic cave art research has tended to focus on the images themselves, rather than the physical and social circumstances of their production. This dissertation explores and develops new practice-based ways of investigating cave art. A method analysing features of the cave environment, such as light, space and accessibility, internal conditions etc., and how these relate to traces of human activity, is developed and applied to three decorated caves from Upper Palaeolithic in southern France: Marsoulas (Haute-Garonne), Chauvet (Ardèche) and Rouffignac (Périgord). New insights are suggested into the underlying practice of cave art and its significance in Upper Palaeolithic societies.