Mask of la Roche-Cotard

Mask of la Roche-Cotard

The Mask of la Roche-Cotard, also known as the "Mousterian Protofigurine", is an artifact dated to around 75,000 years ago,[1] in the Mousterian period. It was found in 1975[2] in the entrance of a cave named La Roche-Cotard, territory of the commune of Langeais (Indre-et-Loire), on the banks of the river Loire.[3][4]

The artifact, possibly created by Neanderthal humans,[2] is a piece of flat flint that has been shaped in a way that seems to resemble the upper part of a face. A piece of bone pushed through a hole in the stone has been interpreted as a representation of eyes. Paul Bahn has suggested this "mask" is "highly inconvenient", as "It makes a nonsense of the view that clueless Neanderthals could only copy their cultural superiors the Cro-Magnons".[5] Though this may represent an example of artistic expression in Neanderthal humans,[6] some archaeologists question whether the artifact represents a face,[7] and some suggest that it may be practical rather than artistic.[8]

In 2023 the oldest known Neanderthal engravings were found in La Roche-Cotard cave which have been dated to more than 57,000 years ago.[9][10]

See also

• Art of the Upper Paleolithic
• Art of the Middle Paleolithic
• List of Stone Age art

References

1. Marquet, Jean-Claude; Lorblanchet, Michel; Oberlin, Christine; Thamo-Bozso, Edit; Aubry, Thierry (2016-12-30). "New dating of the "mask" of La Roche-Cotard (Langeais, Indre-et-Loire, France)". PALEO. Revue d'archéologie préhistorique (27): 253–263. doi:10.4000/paleo.3278. ISSN 1145-3370.
2. Marquet, Jean-Claude; Lorblanchet, Michel (1 December 2003). "A Neanderthal face? The proto-figurine from La Roche-Cotard, Langeais (Indre-et-Loire, France)". Antiquity. 77 (298): 661–670. doi:10.1017/s0003598x00061627. ISSN 0003-598X. S2CID 162609308.
3. Amos, Jonathan (2 December 2003). "Neanderthal 'face' found in Loire". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
4. Palmer, Douglas (6 December 2003). "Neanderthal art alters the face of archaeology". New Scientist. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
5. Bahn, Paul (23 August 2003). "A bone to pick". New Scientist (2409).
6. Pettitt, Paul B (April 2003). "Is this the infancy of art? Or the art of an infant? A possible Neanderthal face from La Roche-Cotard, France" (PDF). Before Farming. 11 (3). Western Academic & Specialist Press. ISSN 1476-4261. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-02.
7. Chase, Philip G (2006). The emergence of culture: the evolution of a uniquely human way of life. Birkhäuser. p. 217. ISBN 9780387305127.
8. "But is it art?". Science. 302 (5652). AAAS: 1890. 12 December 2003. doi:10.1126/science.302.5652.1890a. S2CID 149146480.
9. Sample, Ian (21 June 2023). "French cave markings said to be oldest known engravings by Neanderthals". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
10. Marquet, Jean-Claude; Freiesleben, Trine Holm; Thomsen, Kristina Jørkov; Murray, Andrew Sean; Calligaro, Morgane; Macaire, Jean-Jacques; Robert, Eric; Lorblanchet, Michel; Aubry, Thierry; Bayle, Grégory; Bréhéret, Jean-Gabriel; Camus, Hubert; Chareille, Pascal; Egels, Yves; Guillaud, Émilie (2023-06-21). "The earliest unambiguous Neanderthal engravings on cave walls: La Roche-Cotard, Loire Valley, France". PLOS ONE. 18 (6): e0286568. Bibcode:2023PLoSO..1886568M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0286568. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 10284424. PMID 37343032.

Further reading

• M. Lorblanchet, La naissance de l'Art. Genèse de l'art préhistorique, Errances, 1999
• Marquet J.-C., M. Lorblanchet, Le "Masque" moustérien de La Roche-Cotard, Langeais (Indre-et-Loire). Paléo, 2000, n° 12, p. 325-338.
• Laurence Nicoud: L'art néandertalien: réalité et énigme. Archéologia (Paris): 407:6, January 2004
• The Mousterian Protofigurine from La Roche-Cotard (France)

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