Post by Sharon Faulkner on Jun 18, 2006 12:12:34 GMT -5
Australia or France the home of the world's oldest human portrait?
June 18, 2006
Debate has erupted over where the earliest depiction of mankind can be found after an amateur cave explorer in France stumbled upon an extraordinary etching in a grotto near Bordeaux.
Pensioner Gerard Jourdy was exploring the Vilhonneur cave system last November when he chanced upon the previously undiscovered likeness of a face, drawn using calcium carbonate.
After a six-month investigation, the French Directorate of Cultural Affairs this month labelled the find unique, saying it was 27,000 years old and possibly "the oldest representation of a human face".
But Australian rock art experts have questioned the claim, pointing to the wealth of engravings and paintings of man made by early Aborigines.
"Some of the earliest rock painting traditions in the Pilbara, the Kimberley and Arnhem Land date back over 30,000 years ago and include depictions of human figures as well as animals," University of New England professor Mike Morwood said.
"So while the Vilhonneur cave painting is a very significant finding, and may be the oldest portrait known in [western] Europe, it is certainly not the oldest such artwork in the world."
The stance is supported by a leading archaeologist who has recently been investigating the depiction of faces in Australian rock art.
The Times of London broke the news of the extraordinary French find early this month.
The Vilhonneur grotto and the region surrounding it in south-west France have previously been shown to be rich in evidence of early man.
The portrait discovered by Mr Jourdy uses natural features of the rock on which it is drawn and consists of two horizontal lines for eyes, a horizontal line for a mouth and a vertical line for the nose. It is drawn in calcium carbonate, a chemical compound found in bones, teeth and shells. Human remains were found at the same location.
A French Directorate of Cultural Affairs spokesman told The Times the find was "unique". "We have other drawings, but they are more recent," he said. "Here, it could be the oldest representation of a human face."
But Professor Morwood, who found the remains of "hobbit" people in Indonesia, said Australian rock art showed a rich history of depicting humans, including human faces.
He said art works 30,000 years old and older in Australia clearly depicted details of the human form. "Some of them have depictions of faces as well as the rest of the body," he said.
Professor Morwood said Australian rock art was exquisite and of immense value. "It's of cultural significance and documents past environments, past ideologies and past economies."
Josephine McDonald, a consultant archaeologist based in the ACT, said she had recently completed an academic work, Archaic Faces To Headdresses, examining human depictions in Australian arid zone rock art.
She agreed with Professor Morwood's assessment that faces in Australian rock art appeared to pre-date the recent French find.
"Certainly there's some rock art in Australia that is at least 30,000 years old and it includes the depiction of faces," Dr McDonald said.
"Most Australian archaeologists agree the earliest art in Australia was produced before the last ice age, which gives it a significant age."
As well as the recent find at Vilhonneur, France is home to some of the finest examples of cave art. The country's Dordogne region boasts Lascaux Cave in Montignac, which contains delicate artworks dating back about 13,000 years.
The Chauvet Cave, which was found in the mid-1990s boasts Paleolithic animal art thought to be about 31,000 years old.
www.smh.com.au/news/national/french-after-australian-claim-to-first-human-portrait/2006/06/17/1149964784125.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
June 18, 2006
Debate has erupted over where the earliest depiction of mankind can be found after an amateur cave explorer in France stumbled upon an extraordinary etching in a grotto near Bordeaux.
Pensioner Gerard Jourdy was exploring the Vilhonneur cave system last November when he chanced upon the previously undiscovered likeness of a face, drawn using calcium carbonate.
After a six-month investigation, the French Directorate of Cultural Affairs this month labelled the find unique, saying it was 27,000 years old and possibly "the oldest representation of a human face".
But Australian rock art experts have questioned the claim, pointing to the wealth of engravings and paintings of man made by early Aborigines.
"Some of the earliest rock painting traditions in the Pilbara, the Kimberley and Arnhem Land date back over 30,000 years ago and include depictions of human figures as well as animals," University of New England professor Mike Morwood said.
"So while the Vilhonneur cave painting is a very significant finding, and may be the oldest portrait known in [western] Europe, it is certainly not the oldest such artwork in the world."
The stance is supported by a leading archaeologist who has recently been investigating the depiction of faces in Australian rock art.
The Times of London broke the news of the extraordinary French find early this month.
The Vilhonneur grotto and the region surrounding it in south-west France have previously been shown to be rich in evidence of early man.
The portrait discovered by Mr Jourdy uses natural features of the rock on which it is drawn and consists of two horizontal lines for eyes, a horizontal line for a mouth and a vertical line for the nose. It is drawn in calcium carbonate, a chemical compound found in bones, teeth and shells. Human remains were found at the same location.
A French Directorate of Cultural Affairs spokesman told The Times the find was "unique". "We have other drawings, but they are more recent," he said. "Here, it could be the oldest representation of a human face."
But Professor Morwood, who found the remains of "hobbit" people in Indonesia, said Australian rock art showed a rich history of depicting humans, including human faces.
He said art works 30,000 years old and older in Australia clearly depicted details of the human form. "Some of them have depictions of faces as well as the rest of the body," he said.
Professor Morwood said Australian rock art was exquisite and of immense value. "It's of cultural significance and documents past environments, past ideologies and past economies."
Josephine McDonald, a consultant archaeologist based in the ACT, said she had recently completed an academic work, Archaic Faces To Headdresses, examining human depictions in Australian arid zone rock art.
She agreed with Professor Morwood's assessment that faces in Australian rock art appeared to pre-date the recent French find.
"Certainly there's some rock art in Australia that is at least 30,000 years old and it includes the depiction of faces," Dr McDonald said.
"Most Australian archaeologists agree the earliest art in Australia was produced before the last ice age, which gives it a significant age."
As well as the recent find at Vilhonneur, France is home to some of the finest examples of cave art. The country's Dordogne region boasts Lascaux Cave in Montignac, which contains delicate artworks dating back about 13,000 years.
The Chauvet Cave, which was found in the mid-1990s boasts Paleolithic animal art thought to be about 31,000 years old.
www.smh.com.au/news/national/french-after-australian-claim-to-first-human-portrait/2006/06/17/1149964784125.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1