Rock paintings in an engraved landscape. Reassessing the exceptionality of the pictographs of Croc-Marin (Fontainebleau forest, France)

Abstract

The rock art assemblage in the Parisian basin is well-known for its extensive number of engraved sites that reflects a long-duration tradition spanning from Upper Paleolithic to modern times. By contrast, only a handful of rock art sites with rock paintings are currently known in the area. In this paper we present the results of the first comprehensive study of one of these rock painting sites, Croc-Marin (Montigny-sur- Loing, Seine-et-Marne) applying state of the art methodologies to reassess their exceptionality in the framework of this prehistoric graphic assemblage. The presence of similar conventions in pictographs and engravings suggest both were part of a common symbolic system. Some of these conventions could be deeply rooted in the last stages of the Upper Palaeolithic that subsequently transformed into the Mesolithic graphic repertoire in the area. This painted rock art site is a key element in understanding the local evolution of the graphic productions since the Pleistocene-Holocene transition and during the Mesolithic, not only in the region, but at an European scale, reflecting the changes and transformation in the rock art traditions and the arousal of local particularities progressively becoming more and more different across Europe.