La Grotte ornee de Pergouset (Saint-Gery, Lot): un sanctuaire secret paleolithique (Docuemts d' Archeologie Francaise 85).

La Grotte ornee de Pergouset (Saint-Gery, Lot): un sanctuaire secret paleolithique (Docuemts d' Archeologie Francaise 85). MICHEL LORBLANCHET, La Grotte ornee de Pergouset (Saint-Gery, Lot):un sanctuaire secret paleolithique (Docuemts d' ArcheologieFrancaise 85). 192 pages, 157 figures,7 tables. 2001. Paris: Maison desSciences de l'Homme; 2-7351-0802-3 (ISSN ISSNabbr.International Standard Serial Number 0769-010X) paperback F200& 35.06 [European dollar]. Any new book by Michel Lorblanchet, by far the foremost authorityon Ice Age art in France, is an event. His last two, outstanding,volumes dealt with cave art cave art:see Paleolithic art; rock carvings and paintings. in general (1995) and with the origins ofart (1999). This new book, however, is a particularly important event,not only because it constitutes a complete monographic andmulti-disciplinary study of one little-known cave, but also andespecially because it epitomizes Lorblanchet's whole approach tothe subject: i.e., that one cannot spend a short time in a cave, takesome pictures or make some tracings, and then think one has studied itproperly, let alone understood it. Lorblanchet has spent 35 yearsstudying and re-studying caves in his region, the Quercy, such asPech-Merle and Cougnac, and is constantly questioning his own findings,always applying a fresh eye or new techniques, so that even today he ismaking fundamental new discoveries about even the `best-known'images such as the spotted horse panel of Pech-Merle. His philosophy isthat only by doing patient, systematic long-term studies, involving theactual tracing (non-contact tracing, of course) of the images, togetherwith thorough archaeological studies and excavations, as well as pigmentanalyses and direct dating (both of which he pioneered in Ice Age caveart), can one even begin to gain some insights into what the artistswere doing, and how and when and why. The cave of Pergouset is a remarkable site which it would beimpossible to open to tourism. It comprises a single narrow and lowcorridor, 190 m long, with a varied set of engravings; but where otherscholars might spend a season or two here before publishing, Lorblanchethas devoted no less than 10 years to the careful and painstaking studyof the site, and the resulting exemplary publication is a revelation inwhat can be learned about such a site which, though at first sightinsignificant compared to the nearby huge `cave-temple' ofPech-Merle, nevertheless tells one a great deal about the phenomenon ofIce Age cave art. Anyone who has been privileged to visit this cave knows well theextreme physical discomfort which Lorblanchet has had to undergo duringhis decade-long study. Like the original artist(s) -- since analyseshave shown that the cave's proportions have changed little sincethe end of the Ice Age -- one has to drag oneself, often fiat-out witharms and legs at full stretch, or at best on all fours, for 130 metres.The first engravings occur at a distance of 80 m from the entrance; andof course the Ice Age people had less reliable light sources than we do. Not only does Pergouset show clearly that some cave art wasintensely private and strongly motivated -- in view of the physicaldifficulties which the artist(s) had to undergo to produce theseengravings -- but it even features one horse figure which represents theultimate in `private art' in that the artist never saw it: thefigure is located in a concavity con��cav��i��tyn.A hollow or depression that is curved like the inner surface of a sphere.concavity,n 1. the condition of being concave.n 2. into which one cannot insert one'shead, so the artist was `drawing blind'. This figure was nevermeant to be seen by other people, but presumably pre��sum��a��ble?adj.That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. only by the spirit orgod to which it was `offered'. The cave's 153 figures include one or two masterpieces, aswell as an intriguing composite animal (a horse with a cloven clo��ven?v.A past participle of cleave1.adj.Split; divided.clovenVerba past participle of cleave1Adjectivesplit or divided hoof hoof,horny epidermal casing at the end of the digits of an ungulate (hoofed) mammal. In the even-toed ungulates, such as swine, deer, and cattle, the hoof is cloven; in the odd-toed ungulates, such as the horse and the rhinoceros, it is solid. ), ahuge (2.7 m) and largely natural fish, a couple of very convincingvulvas, and a large headless man, 90 cm high. But it is best known forits unique and bizarre collection of imaginary creatures, the`monsters', at its far end. Lorblanchet politely but firmlydistances himself from the speculations of Sieveking who tried to linkthese monsters to the recently fashionable notion of `trance'.Instead of focusing on the monsters alone, he assesses the figures as awhole, and sees the cave as a very rarely frequented `secretsanctuary' of the Magdalenian period, in which the figures, atfirst naturalistic nat��u��ral��is��tic?adj.1. Imitating or producing the effect or appearance of nature.2. Of or in accordance with the doctrines of naturalism. , become increasingly schematic as one goes deeperunderground. For Lorblanchet, the cave may represent the womb of MotherEarth, and the figures may be linked to a creation myth creation mythor cosmogonySymbolic narrative of the creation and organization of the world as understood in a particular tradition. Not all creation myths include a creator, though a supreme creator deity, existing from before creation, is very common. , where thefigures emerging from the furthest depths are indeterminate, schematicor monstrous, and then become more numerous and realistic towards theentrance. Be that as it may, Lorblanchet has performed a great service inproviding a complete study of this fascinating and important site,illustrated by his characteristically fine and accurate tracings andenhanced by a wide range of complementary studies of the cave'sgeology, sediments and the meagre mea��geralso mea��gre ?adj.1. Deficient in quantity, fullness, or extent; scanty.2. Deficient in richness, fertility, or vigor; feeble: the meager soil of an eroded plain.3. results of various test excavationswhich underline the fact that this site was not much visited or used inthe Ice Age. On the contrary, as the book makes clear, it seems to haveconstituted a kind of sanctuary for a very small number of people. Thisis an invaluable addition to the literature on Ice Age art. References LORBLANCHET, M. 1995. Les grottes ornees de la Prehistoire. Paris:Errance. 1999. La naissance de l'art, genese de l'artprehistorique. Paris: Errance.