La grotte ornée paléolithique d’Etxeberri (Camou-Cihige, Pyrénées-Atlantiques) : datation du contexte archéologique de la « Salle des peintures »

Abstract

The cave of Etxeberriko Karbia, in the “ Massif des Arbailles” (Western Pyrenees), has been the subject of spelunking expeditions since the early 20th century. However, during a visit in May 1950, P. Boucher, with G. Laplace, discovered a small painting of a red horse as they were on their way out of the cave before crossing through a crawlway. The following year, Laplace decided to study the art in this cave and, in 1952, he published the results along with the cave of Sasiziloaga (Laplace, 1952a and b). The general shape of the cave of Etxeberri is a 200 m long north-south gallery, with a difficult passage. It begins with a large chamber scattered with huge blocks from the partially collapsed vault. Accessing the decorated areas is particularly challenging because of the narrowness of the gallery and the presence of three underground lakes. The first chamber with parietal art is of modest size with extensive figures on both walls. Next, down a ten-metre vertical passage, is the end of the cave system with four decorated areas (la salle du gouffre, l’étroiture, la fissure, la corniche), and a 20-metre deep chasm. Laplace reports a total of 38 figures for the entire cavity, including a complex type of sign described as “ pectiforme”, ten horses, two bison, two ibex and a few dots and indeterminate lines. A later publication by P. Paillet (Paillet, 1989), based on existing literature, reports poor conservation of the paintings, with some vandalism. Indeed, several years of uncontrolled cave visits have caused the disappearance and/ or irreversible deterioration of a significant portion of the representations. The resuming of research in the cave of Etxeberri by a team under D. Garate Maidagan (2007-2010) was accompanied by the study of the other decorated caves in the “ Massif des Arbailles” : Sasiziloaga and Sinhikole. The recent investigations, which have discovered new paintings and engravings in all three cavities, can now offer an updated interpretation of the graphical representations and their context. Indeed, in 2008, during the study of the parietal art in the cave of Etxeberri, we found archaeological material (ochre and flint) on the ground beneath the decorated walls of the “ Salle des Peintures”. After authorization by the Aquitaine Service Régional de l’Archéologie, we performed a test excavation in 2010 to extract these remains and unearth others. Radiocarbon dates (by Beta Analytic Laboratory) were obtained from two fragments of burnt bones and a Littorina obtusata shell. The fragments of burnt bones yield two statistically different dates : 13370 ± 60 BP (equivalent to 16040-15690 cal BP) and 13770 ± 60 BP (equivalent to 16550-16240 cal BP). These dates are perfectly consistent with the known limits for the Middle Magdalenian. They therefore fit well with the “ Old Style IV” proposed by A. Leroi-Gourhan in 1971 based on stylistic comparisons (Leroi-Gourhan, 1971). The date of the first bone is slightly more recent which may indicate two painting stages within the Middle Magdalenian period. However, several arguments suggest a unique visit (stylistic coherence between decorated sectors, depth and danger of the cavity, etc.). However, the dating of the shell is even older and would correspond to the Lower Magdalenian (16570 ± 60 BP equivalent to 19470-19190 cal BP). This date should be interpreted cautiously, as it is generally accepted that a date obtained on a marine shell is 400 to 500 years older than one with a terrestrial origin. We cannot, however, totally exclude the idea of a quick visit before the Middle Magdalenian, unrelated to artistic events, as this could confirm another lithic artifact found in the “ Salle du Gouffre” in 2009. To conclude, these dates offer the possibility of chronologically situating the human artistic activity during the Middle Magdalenian in the chamber called “ Salle des Peintures” and, by extension, the other decorated chambers away from the cave entrance. In recent years, direct AMS-14C dating of paintings and archaeological contexts in decorated caves has become more common and can now contribute to a discussion about the place of Etxeberri in the art of the Magdalenian period in the Franco-Cantabrian region (including the sites of Bédeilhac, Niaux, Marsoulas, Le Portel, Trois-Frères, Oxocelhaya and Covaciella, Tito Bustillo, Altamira, La Garma, Santimaniñe, etc.). Thus, formal and stylistic parallels, supported by the new dates, can link Etxeberri with other relatively contemporary decorated caves in this geographical area.