Second Radiocarbon Intercomparison Program for the Chauvet-Pont d’Arc Cave, Ardèche, France

Author(s)

A. Quiles, H. Valladas, J-M Geneste, J. Clottes, D. Baffier, B. Berthier, F. Brock, C. Bronk Ramsey, E. Delque-Kolic, J-P Dumoulin, I. Hajdas, K. Hippe, G. W. L. Hodgins, A. Hogg, A. J. T. Jull, E. Kaltnecker, M. de Martino, C. Oberlin, F. Petchey, P. Steier, H-A Synal, J. van der Plicht, E. M. Wild, A. Zazzo

Abstract

The Chauvet-Pont d’Arc Cave is one of the most important sites for the

study of the earliest manifestations and development of prehistoric art

at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic. Different dating techniques

have been performed thus far (AMS ¹⁴C, U/Th TIMS, ³⁶Cl

dating) to model the chronological framework of this decorated cave.

The cave yielded several large charcoal fragments, which enabled the

opportunity for obtaining multiple dates; thus, a First Radiocarbon

Intercomparison Program (FIP) was initiated in 2004 using three charcoal

pieces. The FIP demonstrated that those cross-dated samples belonged to

a time period associated with the first human occupation. One of the

statistical interests of an intercomparison program is to reduce the

uncertainty on the sample age; thus, to further assess the accuracy of

the chronological framework, the Second Intercomparison Program (SIP)

involving 10 international ¹⁴C laboratories was carried out on two pieces of charcoal found inside two hearth structures of the Galerie

des Mégacéros. Each laboratory used its own pretreatment and AMS

facilities. In total, 21 and 22 measurements were performed,

respectively, which yielded consistent results averaging ~32 ka BP. Two

strategies have currently been developed to identify statistical

outliers and to deal with them; both lead to quasi-identical calibrated

combined densities. Finally, the new results were compared with those of

the FIP, leading to the important conclusion that five different

samples from at least three different hearth structures give really

tightened temporal densities, associated with one short human occupation

in the Galerie des Mégacéros.

Organisation(s)

Isotope Physics

External organisation(s)

Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Université Bordeaux, DRAC Auvergne - Rhône Alpes, Ministère de la Culture, Lyon Cedex 01, France., IRFU CEA-Saclay laboratory , University of Oxford, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, University of Arizona, University of Waikato, Université Claude-Bernard-Lyon-I, University of Groningen, Leiden University, Museum national d'Histoire Naturelle

Journal

Radiocarbon

Volume

56

Pages

833-850

No. of pages

18

ISSN

0033-8222

DOI

https://doi.org/10.2458/56.16940

Publication date

2014

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

103014 Nuclear physics, 105101 General geology

Keywords

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/8c6542c7-c92c-4045-83c7-9097d44d0eb4