Dear friends, today we travel to the wonderful village of Cabrerets in the Lot. The amazing landscape of the Quercy is plenty of decorated caves and there is one that stands out from the rest:
Cave: #PechMerle
Place: #Cabrerets, Lot (France)
Motif: Horses
Chronology: Gravettian

The dotted horses are one of the most popular images of Palaeolithic Art. Two opposite horses are filled with dots and surrounded by hand stencils. Several explanations have been proposed, including the identification of the horse species ( https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1108982108)

The prehistorian Michel Lorblanchet has focused in archaeological experimentation to reproduce the techniques and to calculate the time needed to make the paintings.

Another main panel, known as the “Black Frieze”, is also dominated by a central horse, surrounded by mammoths, bison and aurochs (Pech Merle Museum).

But Pech Merle is also known for its human representations both woman and man. As you can see, this one blessed.

In fact, these humans have left their footprints on the floor of the cave, giving us invaluable information about themselves. Pastoors A. et al., 2016: Experience based reading of Pleistocene human footprints in Pech-Merle, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.02.056.

Fortunately, a few days ago we had the pleasure of returning to this wonderful place to offer a conference. You should not miss the visit to the cave and the museum of Pech Merle!

D. Garate ( @GarateDiego)

End of thread!!!