A study of the Roche de l'Autel's pecked engravings, Les Merveilles sector, Mont Bego area (Alpes-Maritimes, France). (February 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Huet, Thomas; Bianchi, Nicoletta
• Is Part Of: Journal of archaeological science. Volume 5(2016)
• Page Start: 105
• Page End: 118
• Publication Date: 2016-02
• Subjects: Rock art -- Neolithic -- Chalcolithic -- GIS -- Statistics -- Alps; Archaeology -- Periodicals; Archaeology -- Research -- Periodicals; 930.1
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.11.006
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-409X

Abstract

Abstract: Surfaces suitable for rock art at the base of Mont Bego, in the south-western Alps, gave rise to one of the most important concentrations of rock art in Western Europe. The open-air rock art site features some 20, 000 figurative engravings pecked on 4200 rocks. The Merveilles sector was in use since the Early Neolithic, and perhaps even earlier, with the beginning of Holocene. At the site scale, geostatistical analyses have permitted to identify geographical variables, or variables intrinsic to the rock, correlated to high concentrations of engravings. Cross checking of these results and study of superimpositions have permitted to build a provisional periodization frame for most common engraved themes. To test the relevance of this chronological frame, we transpose some analyses conducted at the site scale to the rock scale; for the Roche de l ' Autel, the highest concentration of engravings and dagger representations of the site. The rock lies in the central part of the Vallée des Merveilles, near important pastoral paths and at a gateway of the engraved area. While its location can partly explain these concentrations, the main reason may be found in the rock's triangular shape. In Western Europe, during the last part of Neolithic, triangular shapes seem to become the iconic reference for daggers. Highlights: A first periodization frame has been built for Mt Bego's engravings at the site scale. This periodization frame is partly grounded on geostatistics results. These geostatistics results are also valid at the scale of the most engraved rock. For this rock, we compare dagger engravings with archaeological daggers. Most of dagger engraved on the rock can be attributed to Final Neolithic.