Back to Don's Maps
Recent additions, changes and updates to Don's Maps
I am now in the middle of a root-and-branch renovation of Don's Maps, and am going through all the pages and tidying things up to get a more uniform look-and-feel, and adding a lot more photos and information along the way.
At the moment I am working on Venus figures, and on their associated archaeological sites.
Photo: Heavily photoshopped image of me in a French cave, having a beer with a well known companion, by my friend Vladimir Gor in Estonia.
Willendorf Venus - The Venus of Willendorf, I, II and III. The Venus of Willendorf I is a superbly crafted sculpture of a naked obese woman from the stone age. It is made of oolitic limestone, and was covered with red ochre when found in 1908. The vulva is particularly well carved, by someone with a good knowledge of anatomy. The feet are rendered as very small, with no indication of ankles. Extra photographs from the discovery in 1908, and photos of the huge numbers of tools found there have been added.
Mal'ta - Buret' venuses - the site of Mal'ta is composed of a series of subterranean houses made of large animal bones and reindeer antler which had likely been covered with animal skins and sod to protect inhabitants from the severe, prevailing northerly winds. The companion site of Buret' is from the same culture. An important table showing the differences between the Mal'ta - Buret' figurines and those of the Kostenki culture, and a good photo of another of the Mal'ta venuses have been added.
The open-air site of Gönnersdorf was discovered in 1968, during the construction of a cellar for a private house. A wonderful inventory of ice age life was unearthed: pulverised red hematite, a fireplace, evidence of habitation constructions, a lithic industry, statuettes of ivory and antler, engraved slate plaquettes, jet beads, perforated animal teeth and a well preserved faunal record. Based on these finds it was evident that Gönnersdorf was a site of huge importance. Figurines from the 1968 dig have been added.
The Venus of Moravany is 76 mm tall, and was discovered when it was found in a ploughed field by a farmer in 1938 in the area of Moravany nad Váhom. It is officially dated 22 800 B.P. A drawing of the original has been added, which shows that it had been left with many scratches from the modelling tools used, and was not smoothed off to a lustrous finish.
The Gagarino venus which is most well known is an obese woman from the Gagarino site on the Don River. Zamiatinine found a house pit roughly oval in outline about 5.5 metres long and 4.5 metres wide. The wealth of material remains found in this one house pit is seen in the recorded finds of some six hundred flint implements, over a thousand blades, and proportionately large numbers of cores and waste flints. Artefacts of bone as well as seven 'venus' figurines completed the roster of non-lithic material.
Le Moustier Neanderthal skeletons - Neanderthal man lived in these rock shelters overlooking the small town of Le Moustier in the Dordogne, and gave its name to a characteristic Neanderthal tool set and culture, the Mousterian. Le Moustier is on the right bank of the Vezere at its confluence with the Vimont valley. A good photo of the original Le Moustier 1 skull has been added. 
The site of Altenburg in the Stone Age was a particularly favorable place to settle. Excavations have uncovered a settlement of the Magdalenian hunters (about 17 000 BP). The tent-like dwelling was visited repeatedly over a number of summers. The most well known discovery is the "Venus of Nebra", one of three sculptures in ivory approximately 7 cm high. Extra photos have been added. 
Life along the River Don from the recent past. The story of Vladimir's father's opinion of Red Army food for recruits, and his early life when he was left an orphan, and had to travel to Boguchar to live with an aunt there.
Last updated Monday 16 January 2012
El Buxu Cave was discovered by chance in December 1916 by Cesáreo Cardin, an habitual collaborator in the archaeological digs of Hugo Obermaier and Conde de la Vega del Sella. The entrance is formed by an outer vestibule six metres wide and five metres deep, facing south-west. The original rock-shelter, however, was much larger. This former rock-shelter would have faced south, situated 300 metres above present-day sea level, and 25 metres above the valley floor. 
The original Neanderthal skeleton found in 1856 in the Neander Valley in Germany consisted of a skull cap, two femora, three bones from the right arm, two from the left arm, part of the left ilium, fragments of a scapula, and ribs. The workers who recovered this material originally thought it to be the remains of a bear. This discovery is now considered the beginning of paleoanthropology. 
Lalinde / Gönnersdorf Figurines and Engravings. Some extra examples have been added, including a hairy legged man and a mother carrying a child on her back.
Last updated Sunday 22 January 2012
Lausell Venus - The Femme à la Corne. This low relief venus is from Laussel, Dordogne. 44 cm (17.5 inches) high. The body swells out towards the viewer from this convex block of limestone. It formed one of a set, a frieze which included other female figures and a male figure. It probably dates to 27 000 - 22 000 b.p. Other venuses from Laussel have been added, including one which is another version (now in Russia) of the Femme à la Corne, and the venus known as the 'Playing Card' venus. 
Over 15 000 years ago, Ice Age hunters carved horses, bison and reindeer, some of which are over two metres long, straight into the Limestone cliffs at L'Abri du Cap Blanc. The abri, which was discovered in 1909, is today the only frieze of prehistoric sculptures in the world to be shown to the public. More photographs and line drawings have been added. 
Lowenfrau, Löwenmensch, the Lion Lady Venus - carved from mammoth ivory, it is 28 cm high and 6 cm in diameter. It was found in the Stadelhöhle am Hohenstein, a rocky cliff in the Lonetal valley above Asselfingen. Some important new pieces of the Löwenmensch figurine have been found and fitted into place, and a new photo of the little Löwenmensch has been included.
Cueva del Pindal is situated near the town of Pimiango near the border of Cantabria. The cave paintings were discovered in 1908. Most of the cave paintings are located on the right walls of the cave as the visitor enters. Various studies have confirmed the existence of 13 bison, 8 horses, a deer, deer antlers, a mammoth and other unrecognisable figures. There are also abundant red marks such as dots, lines, parallel lines and claviform figures.
La Poire is a figurine of mammoth ivory of which only the corpulent torso survives, found in 1892 in the 'Grotte du Pape' at Brassempouy. She was originally nicknamed la poire - 'the pear' - on account of her shape. For Piette, the name 'Venus' may have come to mind in this particular instance because of the emphatic treatment of the vulva's labia and the prominent, slightly protruding pubic area, which he tastefully refers to as 'le mont de Vénus' - the mound of Venus (or mons pubis). 'Venus' has since become the collective term used to identify all obese Palaeolithic statuettes of women. 
Another version of the Berekhat Ram Venus.
Last updated Thursday 02 February 2012
Altamira Cave is 270 metres long and consists of a series of twisting passages and chambers, and is decorated with ice age paintings. The artists used charcoal and ochre or haematite to create the images. They also exploited the natural contours in the cave walls to give their subjects a three-dimensional effect. The Polychrome Ceiling is the most impressive feature of the cave, depicting a herd of extinct Steppe Bison in different poses, two horses, a large doe, and possibly a wild boar. Around 13 000 years ago a rockfall sealed the cave's entrance, preserving its contents until its eventual discovery. 
The archaeological cave site of El Mirón is located in the Rio Asón valley of eastern Cantabria, Spain. The cave opening is about 260 metres above sea level, and the cave opening is about 13 metres high, 8-16 metres wide, and 120 metres deep. El Mirón is remarkable for its long occupation history and thus for its long unbroken sequence of history and prehistory of Cantabria, Spain. The site includes human occupations between the Middle Paleolithic (ca 41 000 years ago) to AD 1400. Recent investigations have demonstrated the use of stone boiling to render fat at El Mirón Cave.
The Kesslerloch Venus has been made from a piece of jet. The breasts have been shown by a V shaped notch in the upper part of the figure. In the same fashion, the legs are separated by a V shaped notch. The back of the figure mostly still shows the original surface. Overall, the whole figure is angular and unfinished. Perhaps this is only a work in progress. Further information has come to light about two engravings (of a bear and a fox) found in the Kesslerloch, which have been shown to be fakes.
A one hundred kilometre network of walking tracks forms the Gibraltar - Washpool World Heritage Walk. The route links the Gibraltar Range and Washpool National Parks in rugged mountainous country, high above the Clarence Valley on the edge of the Northern Tablelands. Dry eucalypt sclerophyll forests, set amidst a broken collection of ridges and granite tors, surround a mosaic of sub-alpine swamps. In more dense country, lush rainforests safeguard the largest area of coachwood in the world. Within these ancient pockets of wilderness, waterfalls plummet from a lacework of streams and wild rivers.
Vogelherd cave is located on the edge of the Lone valley, about 1 km northwest of Stetten and northeast of the Alb-Donau county (Alb-Donau-Kreis). Vogelherd cave is a very scenic place and well worth a visit, as indeed is all of the Lone valley. The cave is not visible from the road and one must first walk over a ridge to gain access to the three entrances on the edge of the Lone valley. The cave covers an area of 170 square metres. This extremely important site, rich in finds, was first discovered when Stone Age artefacts turned up from a badger's burrow. The actual size of it only became apparent after the excavations by Gustav Riek in the summer of 1931. The finds range from the Middle Palaeolithic to modern times. The world-renowned ivory carvings originate from the Middle Aurignacian period.
Covalanas cave in Cantabria, Spain, was first discovered to have art work in 1903. It is situated on the South-Western hillside of Pando mountain, near the cave of el Míron. Although the entrance is not huge, access is easy. From the entrance two galleries continue, though only one of them has palaeolithic decoration. In a deep zone of the gallery, and in a space less than 12 metres in length, the largest group of art in the cave is located. It has 22 figures, of which 18 are hinds , a characteristic animal in the Cantabrian decorated caves, as well as a horse, a reindeer and an aurochs. The paintings are between 20 000 and 14 400 years old.
Monte Buciero has around 20 caves and small abris or rock shelters. Human occupation is known in at least seven of these caves. Engravings have been found in two of them - Peña del Perro and Cueva de San Carlos, also known as Cueva del Fortín.
Last updated Wednesday 11 January 2012
The Petersfels venuses are made of jet, or hard coal, sometimes of reindeer antler, and were found at the Petersfels site, near Engen in Germany. It is one of the most important Palaeolithic sites in Central Europe with an enormous number of important artefacts. It was a settlement site of the Magdalenian (late Upper Paleolithic), with many layers, towards the end of the last ice age, during the period 15 500-14 000 BP. The main activity here was reindeer hunting in autumn.
The Venus figure of Courbet.
Last updated Tuesday 08 November 2011
The Venus figures of Neuchâtel - Monruz.
Last updated Monday 07 November 2011
The Venus of Laugerie Basse - the Supplicant. This venus is a tiny, broken, crudely carved statuette of reindeer antler, 44 millimetres long, depicting a faceless human bent forward as though in supplication, with arms raised as if in prayer or adoration.
Last updated Monday 31 October 2011
The Manis Mastodon - A newly analysed mastodon rib bone shows that Native Americans were using bone-pointed weapons to take down big game nearly a thousand years earlier than thought, according to a new study. Images of the rib show a broken bone projectile point still stuck where a hunter drove it in 13 800 years ago.
The rib was found near the town of Sequim on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, in the late 1970s.
Tursac Venus - The Venus of Tursac is a calcite figure from 25 000 years BP. It was discovered on 5th August 1959 by M. Henri Delporte at Tursac, a village in the Perigord, near Sarlat, in the summer of 1959 at 'l'Abri du Facteur'. It is a treasure, a figurine made from a block of translucent calcite measuring 8 cm high and weighing 57.4 grams. Extra information about its discovery, a plan and coupe and some drawings of tools found in the abri have been added. 
Die Rote von Mauern is a venus statuette in limestone, 27 000 years old, covered with red ochre when found at the Weinberghöhlen caves near Mauern, Bavaria. Lothar Zotz, on 24th August 1948, found the 72 mm tall limestone venus figure on the outer slope between cavities two and three of the Weinberghöhlen. During 1937-38, 1947-49, 1967 and 1974 bone fragments and traces of mammoth, cave bear, woolly rhinoceros, reindeer and 20 other different animals were found at the caves, as well as high quality Blattspitzen or leaf points of Mousterian / Neanderthal origin.
The Paisley Caves are located in the Summer Lake basin near Paisley, about 220 miles southeast of Eugene on the eastern side of the Cascade Range. The series of eight caves are westward-facing, wave-cut shelters on the highest shoreline of pluvial Lake Chewaucan, which rose and fell in periods of greater precipitation during the Pleistocene. One of the caves contains archaeological evidence of the oldest definitively-dated human presence in North America.
La Grotte de la Vache is important for the complete camp of Magdalenian hunters found, and may be seen almost as it was 12 000 to 15 000 years ago. Weapons, tools, typical game and artworks have been recovered from this small but important site. I have added a panorama taken at the cave, and a shot of Niaux across the valley.
Last updated Wednesday 19 October 2011
Niaux Cave, or la Grotte de Niaux is one of the most famous prehistoric caves in Europe. It lies in the northern foothills of the Pyrenees, and is located in Ariège, in the valley of Vicdessos, across the valley from the smaller Grotte de la Vache, in an area rich with prehistoric sites. I have added some panoramas of the Vicdessos valley taken from the viewing platform at Niaux.
Venus figures from the Kostenki - Borshevo region on the Don River. Kostenki is a very important Paleolithic site. It was a settlement which contained venus figures, dwellings made of mammoth bones, and many flint tools and bone implements.
Last updated Wednesday 01 February 2012
Kostenki is a very important Paleolithic site on the Don River in the Ukraine. It was a settlement which contained venus figures, dwellings made of mammoth bones, and many flint tools and bone implements. Kostenki / Kostienki is not actually a single site but really an area on the right bank of the Don River in the regions of the villages of Kostenki and Borshevo, consisting of more than twenty site locations, all dating to the Paleolithic. 
The Venus of Parrano, or Venere di Parrano shows a figure with some sort of woven or wrapped head dress, with slits to denote eyes, eyebrows, and mouth. No nose is shown. The neck is well defined, There are no breasts shown at all, the arms and hands are indicated by shallow carving on the green stone. The abdomen is shown with what appears to be a navel, and there may be a foetus shown below the abdomen. The piece has no provenance, and may not be genuine.
Hohle Fels Venus - The Venus of Hohle Fels is an Upper Paleolithic Venus figurine dated to between 35 000 and 40 000 years ago, belonging to the early Aurignacian, and is the oldest undisputed example of Upper Paleolithic art and figurative prehistoric art in general. Some new photos of the Hohle Fels venus have been added to the file.
In the Double Figurine, the artist has carved two bodies, back to back, symmetrically arched, and joined at the top of the heads, shoulders and lower body. One represents a woman; the other could be an animal. With its back to the woman is the other figure, which has elongated, sinuous anatomical features that are difficult to associate with any known genre, and brings to mind a beast. The piece is carved on a fragment of greenish-yellow serpentine and highly polished.
The Venus of Frasassi was carved from a piece of stalactite in the Upper Paleolithic, between 28 thousand and 20 thousand years ago. Its color is pearl white.The face is barely shown. Breasts are large, and placed high on the chest. A navel is shown on the full abdomen, and the vulva is clearly shown in relief. Legs taper to about below the level of the knees, which are not shown, when they are broken off or were never carved. Most unusually, the forearms extend well in front of the body, as though they were used to hold something.
The Undescribed Venus of Balzi Rossi is of opaque green soapstone. The oval head and the torso are of normal form and proportions, but the facial features are sketchy, with just sockets for eyes and the outline of a nose. The neck is well formed, the breasts, highly elongated from top to bottom, are separated from each other and the rest of the chest by very deep incisions. The lower part is broken, we can not know if the statue was in a semi-sitting or standing position, or what was the form of the legs. The surface of the piece is less polished than others in the series, and is also much encrusted with iron concretions.
The Negroid Venus Head, in slightly fibrous green soapstone, has a surface which is polished and worn, especially the face. The base is polished and worn, which suggests that the object was already an isolated head in the Paleolithic. The facial features are strikingly represented: there is a receding forehead with massive eyebrows and deep eye sockets. The coiffure is represented by a net or grid consisting of a series of incisions starting at the forehead, over the bun or chignon and back down onto the neck.
The Hermaphrodite Venus from Balzi Rossi is of translucent green soapstone. The surface is polished and worn, with remains of concretions in the concave parts. The neck, what remains of it, is shown clearly. The torso is very flat, with normal breasts hanging low. The belly is large. Under the stomach are three difficult to interpret features: the central feature is held to be an erect penis, but this is unconvincing. It takes a lot of imagination to distinguish the penis, which remains the essential element of the phallic representation. As for the roughly circular mass that is found below it, it could be a testicular pouch.
The Mask, or the Face is a perforated oval disk in the form of a flattened face or mask. It is made of partially translucent green-yellow to yellow chlorite. Perforations create the eyes and a mouth. The eyes are circular, and small notches give them an animal rather than a human appearance. A series of incised lines radiates from the centre of the face across each cheek. The eyes, nose, and mouth have a vaguely feline appearance, but it may be either a stylised human or an animal. It may be more recent than the statuettes and have come from the rich Early Epigravettian deposits excavated by Jullien in the upper levels of the Barma Grande.
The Worshipper, called the 'Adorant', is one of the oldest and most impressive and mystifying statuettes from the Ice Age. It was discovered in an ashy bone layer near a possible hearth. The bas-relief of a human being with raised arms, who seems to be either saluting or threatening, can be distinguished. The raised arms might also be interpreted as an attitude of worship, so the statuette was named the 'Adorant'.
The Nun Venus, or the Flattened Figure is a Balzi Rossi or Grimaldi figurine which has been carved on a flat oval pebble of dark green chlorite and is about 44 mm high. The arms merge into the outer mass of the pebble, and the form brings to mind a female with a quasi-religious and hieratic bearing. The enveloping cape adds an air of mystery.
The Woman with Goitre / Goiter from Grimaldi has only one torso and one head, but underneath, she has two pubic triangles and two opposite legs. The figure is made of ivory, and is 45 mm long. The face is ovoid, but there are no facial features shown, and no arms. The breasts are conical with the tips pointed down. There is a goitre at the neck. The belly is prominent, the hips are wide, and the buttocks flattened. The vulva is open, with a gynecological perspective. The legs are broken off below the vulva. 
The Woman with the Perforated Neck, also known as the 'Janus' because the face is depicted on both sides of the flattened figurine, is one of the venuses from the Barma Grande in the Balzi Rossi caves. It is 62 mm long, of dark green steatite. The head is flat and circular, with the eyes and mouth carved on the front and back of the head. There are no forearms, and the breasts are oval-shaped. There is a prominent belly, and the buttocks are flattened. A small open vulva has been carved, and the knees and feet are indistinct or absent. It is perforated through the neck. 
The Losange Venus, or Venus el Rombo, is made of green steatite. The head is pointed, with a lack of facial features. There is a groove marking the outline of the hair. The breasts are elongated and large. There are no arms. The protruding belly is circular in shape, and the venus has wide hips, and the buttocks are flattened. The vulva is open, and is shown from a gynecological perspective. The legs are tapering, and no knees are indicated. The legs finish or are broken off above the position of the feet. 
The Woman with Two Heads from Grimaldi has a body made up of a narrow torso, no arms, projecting breasts and belly, and legs that taper to a point at the knees. The breasts are pointed, extremely large, projected forward, and extend laterally beyond the edge of the torso. The centre of the abdomen is protruding and almost perfectly round and has a small navel in the centre. The large and circular buttocks are marked by a crease at the top and there is a pit carved at the approximate position of the anus. The very large pubic area contains a vulva that is indicated by a vertical groove.
The Bust is a carving in dark-green chlorite and consists only of a head and upper torso. Because of the lack of details surrounding its exact excavation, scholars are unsure as to whether this small – measuring only 29.2 mm – figurine is from Grotte du Prince or Barma Grande. The head is circular and, although the eyes and nose are carved, the mouth exists only in a colour variation in the stone that creates the false impression of a horizontal incision where the mouth should be. The right breast has been broken but the surviving breast is oval and a notch between the breasts makes it appear pendulous with the nipple pointed downward. 
The Red Ochre Venus or Dame Ocrée is a female figurine made from mammoth ivory. The oval face has no facial features and the head and torso were originally covered with a very thick layer of red ochre. The hair forms a thick coiffure framing the face and tapering to two points that end on the backs of the shoulders, which may be interpreted as being braids. Although the upper arms are clearly carved at the sides of the figurine, there is no trace of forearms or hands. 
The Brown Ivory Figurine, Figurine en ivoire brun, or Abrachiale, is a nearly complete female figurine made from partially fossilised ivory found at Balzi Rossi. The nearly circular head lacks any indication of facial features or hair and no arms or hands are present. The roughly hemispherical breasts are large and separated from each other by a deep groove. Protruding even more than the breasts is the oval-shaped enlarged abdomen. 
The Venus of Milandes is a phallic shaped venus figure from the Dordogne valley, apparently of Paleolithic age. It was found by a five year old boy in a field, and taken home as one of a number of curiosities found that day. It was shaped from a pebble, already with a phallic - feminine shape, and further altered to accentuate this interpretation.
Information has been added to the Abri Pataud page detailing climate during the ice age in the Vézère valley.
Last updated Friday 09 September 2011
Venus of Menton, a figurine in yellow steatite (soapstone), Grimaldi. The figure is naked, breasts, abdomen and buttocks are prominent, the pubis and vulva are well marked. The arms are fused with the torso. The head is in the form of a ball, and extends down the back via the hair. It resembles many other venus figures from the upper European Palaeolithic. Found in 1880 in the Barma Grande and acquired by Salomon Reinach in 1896 for the French MNA
The Zaraysk venus is not voluptuous, which puts it with the 'thin' Kostenki - Avdeevo venuses, but in this case there is one difference, that the legs are not placed together, which is also the case for the Willendorf venus. This testifies to the uniqueness of the Zaraysk site, which has features of both the Kostenki and Avdeevo cultures. Zaraysk or Zaraisk or Зарайск is an important Paleolithic site from the Ice Age in Russia, and is the northernmost example of the Kostenki - Avdeevo culture. 
Meadowcroft Rockshelter, a pre-Clovis site. The site, a rock shelter in a bluff overlooking Cross Creek (a tributary of the Ohio River) is located about 36 miles west-southwest of Pittsburgh. The artifacts from the site show the area has been continually inhabited for 16 000 years, since Paleo-Indian times. Meadowcroft Rockshelter was one of the first archaeological sites in the United States to contain evidence of pre-Clovis populations.
The Venus of Parabita is 90 mm high and 20 mm wide, and is made from a splinter of bone from an aurochs or horse. There are no features on the face, while the chin and neck is crossed by two parallel curved incisions, creating the impression of a collar or hood. From here the two sloping shoulders continue into arms, which become thinner, then thicker, and finally come together under a prominent abdomen, perhaps indicating pregnancy. A second venus is smaller, 61 mm high and 15 mm wide, and has different stylistic features.
Wollomombi and Chandler Falls walking and climbing. The rock climbing here is very challenging, although the walk on the well maintained track around the tops of the falls may be attempted by most walkers.
Last updated Saturday 20 August 2011
Columbian Mammoth and Bison rock engravings have been found at the Upper Sand Island rock art site at the San Juan River in Utah. The engravings appear authentic, and show rock varnish and wear indicating that they are from the end of the ice age, about 13 000 - 11 000 years ago.
Last updated Tuesday 16 August 2011
Aboriginal art site on the Northern Tablelands of NSW Australia, including a lizard, a snake, and hand stencils. It appears to be regularly maintained and cared for by local aboriginal people as part of a continuing tradition.
Last updated Friday 05 August 2011
Coming originally from Africa, the mastodons invaded Europe and Asia 18 million years ago. They made their way to North America via the Bering Bridge 10 million years ago and finally reached South America two million years ago, after the isthmus of Panama was formed roughly three million years ago, an event that made the recent ice ages possible. The development of the tusks and of the trunk reflects the evolution of the mastodons during the Miocene, which lasted from 23 million years ago to 5 million years BP.
A bone fragment, approximately 13 000 years old, at Vero, Florida with an incised image of a mammoth or mastodon has been announced. This engraving is the oldest known example of Ice Age art to depict a proboscidean (the order of animals with trunks) in the Americas. The bone was discovered in Vero Beach, Florida by James Kennedy, an avocational fossil hunter, who collected the bone and later while cleaning the bone, discovered the engraving. 
The cave lion is known from Paleolithic cave paintings, ivory carvings, and clay figurines. These representations indicate that cave lions had rounded, protruding ears, tufted tails, possibly faint tiger-like stripes, and that at least some had a ruff or primitive mane around their neck, indicating males. The cave lion received its common name because large quantities of its remains are found in caves, but it is doubtful whether they lived in them. They probably preferred conifer forests and grasslands, where medium-sized to large herbivores occurred.
Dinosaurs and other ancient animals. Dinosaurs, or Terrible Lizards, were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years.
Last updated Wednesday 18 January 2012
Reflection Rock and Roque Saint-Christophe - The Roque Saint Christophe is a cliff with five separate levels overlooking 900 metres of the Vezere valley. Its hundreds of natural rock shelters were inhabited from the ice ages until the Middle Ages, and the terraces could accommodate up to 1000 people. An impressive fortress and town were constructed on the different levels, and was one of the main bastions of defence during the Hundred Years War with the English.
The Roc de Cazelle has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and the 25 000 year old Venus of Sereuil was found close by. It has been occupied almost continuously since. In the Middle Ages many of the caves were deepened and turned into strongholds during the wars of that time. In recent times the lower caverns were used as dwellings for farm owners and their staff, and the whole area has now been turned into displays for tourists to see how their ancestors lived.
Fort de Tayac - a refuge from war during the Middle Ages
Fort de Tayac is a cliff beside the Vezere River, with a history of previous human habitation using the broad flat ledges as living space, and evidence in the form of holes in the cliff which formerly held supports for roofs of dwellings.
Last updated Sunday 19 June 2011
The map of the Shelters of Stone / Land of Painted Caves local area of the Zelandonii Territory has been redone with some extra features added, in particular the position of Mammoth Cave or Grotte de Rouffignac. (Version 2011.06.07)
Last updated Saturday 11 June 2011
Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel
Go to the map of the extended Zelandonii 'home' area in the Land of Painted Caves. (Version 2011.06.03)
Last updated Saturday 30 July 2011
Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel
I have added links to some of the caves visited in the Donier tours by Ayla on the page which lists sites of interest for Jean M. Auel fans - the sites and sculptures and places mentioned in Jean M. Auel's series on life in the ice age.
Last updated Monday 16 January 2012
Chauvet Cave in the valley of the Ardèche River in France is filled with paintings, engravings and drawings created more than 30 000 years ago, of cave lions, mammoths, rhinos, bison, cave bears and horses. It contains the earliest known cave paintings, as well as other evidence of Upper Paleolithic life. It is situated on a limestone cliff above the former bed of the Ardèche River. The later Gravettian occupation, which occurred 25 000 to 27 000 years ago, left little but a child's footprints, the charred remains of ancient hearths and carbon smoke stains from torches that lit the caves. After the child's visit to the cave, evidence suggests that the cave had been untouched until discovered in 1994. The footprints may be the oldest human footprints that can be dated accurately.