Cosquer Cave - Prehistoric Paintings

Prehistoric Paintings

Four-fifths of the cave, including any art on its walls, was submerged and obliterated by the rising sea. 150 instances of cave art remain including several dozen painting and carvings dating back to the Upper Paleolithic, corresponding to two different phases of occupation of the cave:

• Older drawings consisting of 65 hand stencils and other related motifs, dating to 27,000 years BP (the Gravettian Era).
• Newer drawings of signs and 177 animal drawings dating to 19,000 years BP (the Solutrean Era), representing both "classical" animals such as bison, ibex, and horses, but also marine animals such as seals and what appear to be auks and jellyfish.