New Research

These Mesmerizing Cave Paintings Were Discovered in 1901. Now, Archaeologists Finally Know When Some of Them Were Created

Researchers had long assumed the art inside Font-de-Gaume in France was made with pigments that couldn’t be analyzed using radiocarbon dating. Then they discovered traces of charcoal

Sarah Kuta | Daily Correspondent

March 17, 2026

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France’s Font-de-Gaume cave is brimming with prehistoric artwork depicting bison, horses, reindeer, mammoths and other creatures. Now, for the first time, scientists have determined when some of these colorful masterpieces were created.

Parts of two artworks were made between 13,000 and 16,000 years ago, confirming researchers’ suspicions that they were created during the Paleolithic period. But the results, published March 9 in the journal PNAS, also suggest that some parts of them were created slightly more recently than expected.

Located in southwestern France, Font-de-Gaume’s paintings were discovered in September 1901 by a teacher from a nearby village. Today, visitor numbers are limited in order to protect the delicate underground environment. The limestone cavern is part of the Vézère valley, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979 because of its abundant prehistoric sites and decorated caves.

Over the past century, scientists have identified hundreds of paintings in Font-de-Gaume. Roughly two-thirds of them depict animals, with the rest portraying humans, masks, geometric shapes and handprints. Their research continues to this day, with a primary focus on exploring remote parts of the cave.

Based on the style of the artwork, scientists had assumed it was created between roughly 16,000 and 18,000 years ago. But they weren’t able to test that date range until recently.

For years, researchers thought the cave art was created using iron- and manganese oxide-based pigments. As such, they would have no carbon for researchers to use for radiocarbon dating. Starting in 2023, however, they discovered that some of the black pigments contained traces of charcoal, a form of carbon. They received special permission to take tiny samples that were imperceptible to the naked eye.

Researchers took four samples from two figures—one from a painting of a bison, and three from a painting of an abstract mask. Radiocarbon dating revealed the bison was created between 13,162 and 13,461 years ago, according to a statement. Two areas of the mask dated to between 14,246 and 15,981 years ago, while the third dated to between 8,590 and 8,993 years ago.

Why is one section of the mask so much younger than the others? Perhaps it was touched up by a later generation, or maybe it was accidentally contaminated with younger carbon somehow, the researchers suggest.

Overall, the research is a good starting point, according to Inés Domingo Sanz, an archaeologist at the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, who was not involved with the paper.

“Any opportunity we have to obtain dates is really important, because it helps us fix the art to particular periods of time,” Domingo Sanz tells Chemical & Engineering News’ Fionna Samuels.

Still, she adds, “we need … more data to be able to rely on the results obtained so far.”

The region is full of prehistoric rock art, so the researchers hope their work will open the door for future discoveries. Because they found unexpected hints of charcoal in the artwork at Font-de-Gaume, they suspect similar traces might exist at other sites, potentially allowing for additional radiocarbon dating.

“This discovery is not only significant for the cave but also represents a remarkable find for the entire region,” the researchers write in the paper.

Sarah Kuta | Read More

Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.