Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – In all probability the world’s oldest three-dimensional map has been found on the Ségognole 3 rock shelter, situated inside the Fontainebleau sandstones to the south of Paris.
View of the three-dimensional map on the Ségognole 3 cave ground. Picture credit score: Dr Médard Thiry
This historic web site has been underneath examine for greater than 40 years and is famend for its creative engravings, notably these depicting two horses.
The Ségognole 3 rock shelter, acknowledged for the reason that Nineteen Eighties for its Late Palaeolithic creative engravings depicting two horses flanking a feminine pubic determine, has just lately been found to additionally embrace a miniature depiction of the encompassing panorama. This new discovering provides vital depth to our understanding of the location’s historic and cultural context.
Dr. Médard Thiry from the Mines Paris – PSL Centre of Geosciences, was concerned in his earlier analysis, performed after his preliminary go to to the location in 2017, compellingly demonstrated that Palaeolithic folks deliberately formed the sandstone to resemble the feminine type.
This meticulous work additionally created fractures that allowed water to infiltrate and nourish an outflow on the base of what’s referred to as the pelvic triangle. Such findings supply a captivating glimpse into their subtle understanding and manipulation of pure sources, making a robust case for additional exploration and examine of those historic methods.
View of the three-dimensional map on the Ségognole 3 cave ground. Picture credit score: Dr Médard Thiry
Milnes and Thiry’s latest examine, as printed within the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, has recognized the presence of three-dimensional modeling via a meticulous examination of fine-scale geomorphological options.
Current analysis signifies {that a} part of the ground within the sandstone shelter, formed and modified by Palaeolithic folks roughly 13,000 years in the past, was designed to reflect the area’s pure water flows and geomorphological traits.
Dr. Anthony Milnes affiliated with the College of Adelaide’s College of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, who was additionally concerned within the analysis explains that the depiction in query doesn’t represent a map within the up to date sense, characterised by distances, instructions, and journey occasions. As a substitute, it represents a three-dimensional mannequin illustrating the dynamics of a panorama. This contains the movement of runoff from highlands into streams and rivers, the merging of valleys, and the next formation of lakes and swamps downstream.
For Palaeolithic peoples, understanding the route of water flows and figuring out panorama options had been possible extra essential than up to date ideas corresponding to distance and time. These components performed a major function of their navigation and survival methods, highlighting the significance of environmental consciousness of their every day lives.
Mapping of the cave ground with École River valley. Picture credit score: Dr Médard Thiry
The findings of our examine point out that human alterations to the hydraulic conduct in and across the shelter prolonged to modeling pure water flows inside the surrounding panorama. These distinctive outcomes distinctly spotlight the cognitive skills, imaginative prowess, and engineering abilities possessed by our distant ancestors.
On account of his complete analysis on the origin of Fontainebleau sandstone, Dr. Thiry recognized a number of fine-scale morphological options that seem unlikely to have shaped naturally. This proof means that these options had been modified by early people, offering precious insights into human historical past and prehistoric actions.
“Our analysis confirmed that Palaeolithic people sculpted the sandstone to advertise particular movement paths for infiltrating and directing rainwater which is one thing that had by no means been recognised by archaeologists,” Thiry says.
“The fittings in all probability have a a lot deeper, legendary that means, associated to water. The 2 hydraulic installations – that of the sexual figuration and that of the miniature panorama – are two to a few metres from one another and are certain to relay a profound that means of conception of life and nature, which can by no means be accessible to us.”
“This fully new discovery gives a greater understanding and perception into the capability of those early people,” Thiry says.
Previous to this discovery, the oldest recognized three-dimensional map was believed to be a large transportable rock slab created by Bronze Age people roughly 3,000 years in the past. This historic map illustrated a neighborhood river community and earth mounds, embodying an early idea of recent maps used for navigation functions.
“We imagine the most efficient analysis outcomes are discovered on the boundaries between disciplines,” Dr Milnes says, including that collaborating throughout disciplines – corresponding to archaeology, geology, and geomorphology – is little question very important in science.
Dr. Thiry emphasizes the importance of re-evaluating area research and conducting common web site visits. It’s evident from our ongoing mission that insights and interpretations don’t manifest instantaneously; fairly, they develop via new observations and interdisciplinary discussions.
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Employees Author
