Muséographie et société contemporaine / Museum Studies and Modern Society: C 18.3: The History of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Research. C 18.4: Conservation, restauration, protection de l'art paléolithique. Sessions générales et posters / General Sessions and Posters 9781841716626, 9781407327396

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BAR S1313

Actes du XIVème Congrès UISPP, Université de Liège, Belgique, 2-8 septembre 2001 Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress, University of Liège, Belgium, 2-8 September 2001

2004

SECTION 18

SECTION 18

MUSÉOGRAPHIE ET SOCIÉTÉ CONTEMPORAINE MUSEUM STUDIES AND MODERN SOCIETY

MUSEUM STUDIES AND MODERN SOCIETY

C 18.3 The History of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Research Coordinateur / Coordinator: Ana C. Martins

C 18.4 Conservation, restauration, protection de l’art paléolithique Coordinateurs / Coordinators: Joaquín González Echegaray, Marc Groenen

Sessions générales et posters General Sessions and Posters Édité par / Edited by Le Secrétariat du Congrès Présidents de la Section 18 : Fernand Collin, André Gob

BAR International Series 1313 B A R

2004

Actes du XIVème Congrès UISPP, Université de Liège, Belgique, 2-8 septembre 2001 Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress, University of Liège, Belgium, 2-8 September 2001

SECTION 18 MUSÉOGRAPHIE ET SOCIÉTÉ CONTEMPORAINE MUSEUM STUDIES AND MODERN SOCIETY

C 18.3 The History of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Research Coordinateur / Coordinator: Ana C. Martins

C 18.4 Conservation, restauration, protection de l'art paléolithique Coordinateurs / Coordinators: Joaquín González Echegaray, Marc Groenen

Sessions générales et posters General Sessions and Posters Édité par / Edited by Le Secrétariat du Congrès Présidents de la Section 18 : Fernand Collin, André Gob

BAR International Series 1313 2004

ISBN 9781841716626 paperback ISBN 9781407327396 e-format DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9781841716626 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

BAR

PUBLISHING

TABLE DES MATIÈRES / TABLE OF CONTENTS

COLLOQUE / SYMPOSIUM 18.3 The History of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Research Coordinateur / Coordinator: Ana C.N. Martins Early Prehistoric Culture Conceptualisation: Contemporary Controversies ............. 1 O. Smyntyna Historiography of Celtic Models in the Rise of Archaeological Studies in Salamanca (Western Spain) .......................................................................... 11 O. López-Jiménez

COLLOQUE / SYMPOSIUM 18.4 Conservation, restauration, protection de l'art paléolithique Coordinateurs / Coordinators: Joaquín González Echegaray, Marc Groenen Introduction: Conservation, restaruation, protection de l’art paléolithique.............. 15 M. Groenen & J. González Echegaray Quelques considérations sur la conservation des grottes du Monte Del Castillo et des environs, en Cantabrie, Espagne ........................................ 19 J.M. Ceballos del Moral The Preservation of the Cave of Altamira (1880–2002) ......................................... 21 C. de las Heras, J. A. Lasheras, S. Sánchez-Moral, J. Bedoya, J. C. Cañaveras, V. Soler Les collections du Musée des Antiquités Nationales (Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France) : Conservation-restauration ......................... 33 Fr. Douau, M.-É. Meyohas, S. Tymula Documentation and Registration of Rock Art.......................................................... 43 G. Milstreu

SESSION GÉNÉRALE / GENERAL SESSION 18-I Le Musée de Tautavel ou l'héritage de l'Homme de Tautavel................................ 49 J. Pernaud i

The Reality of the Site of Isernia La Pineta in Contemporary Society .................... 51 A. Minelli, M. Arzarello, F. Fontana, G. Lembo, U. Thun Hohenstein, C. Peretto Informatic management of the excavation data of Isernia La Pineta (Molise, Italy)...................................................................................................... 57 R. Gallotti, M. Arzarello, G. Lembo, A. Minelli, U. Thun Hoheinstein, C. Peretto

ii

EARLY PREHISTORIC CULTURE CONCEPTUALISATION: CONTEMPORARY CONTROVERSIES Olena V. SMYNTYNA

Résumé : Le contribution est consacre ou l'analyse diachronique des approches principales vers la interaction de la nature et des societes prehistorique. On peut etablissait, que а moderne archeologie, prehistoire, anthropologie culturel, l'ecologie, la sociologie et la demographie l’importance de l'impact du milieu naturel pour la vie des chasseurs est hors des doute. Cependant certaines caracteristiques de ce milieu, de son ampleur et contenu geographique de meme que des mecanismes de son impact sur la culture Prehistorique restent entierement obscur. Les perspectives pour les etudes prochaines dans ce champ sont affectes. Abstract: The current contribution is devoted to diachronic analysis of basic approaches to interaction between nature and early prehistoric societies. As a result, it was established that in contemporary archaeology, prehistory, cultural anthropology, ecology, sociology and demography, the importance of environmental impact on hunter-gatherer life is practically out of doubts. Nevertheless, certain characteristics of this environment, its concrete scale and geographic content as well as mechanisms of its impact on early prehistoric culture remain totally unclear. In such a way perspectives for future investigations in this field are outlined.

INTRODUCTION

Presence of series of acute and equivocal issues could be explained by two sets of reasons. One the one hand, studies of Early Prehistoric societies from their very beginning demanded of uncommon inspiration and bravery, as far as the scientists had to search for explanation to phenomena, which sometimes could hardly be comprehend in frameworks of modern civilised pattern. On the other hand, nowadays the theoretical base of Later Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers reconstruction is characterised by sharp crisis. Now we shall try to illustrate it throughout the conceptualisation of nature and culture interaction. This issue is taken as the subject of our analysis because of several reasons. First of all, the author, being the adept of ecological approach to human history reconstruction, believes that just environmental context of culture could provide reasonable explanation of most of mentioned earlier controversial questions. Besides that, environmental approach was one of the earliest ones in European Prehistory studies, so it becomes possible to provide diachronic analysis of views and concepts in their evolution.

Palaeolithic and Mesolithic culture of Europe has become the subject of systematic scientific studies at the beginning of XIXth century, and since that time the term “Early Prehistory” as well as its historical, ethnic, economic and cultural context repeatedly appears in the centre of sharp discussions. Content analysis of contemporary archaeological, palaeoecological, historical, anthropological and ethnographic literature gives chance to create an inventory of controversial issues of different chronological and spatial scale. Among them there are some acute points common for the whole Europe (e.g. origin of humans and human culture, correlation between cultural and climatic stages, Palaeolithic/Mesolithic transition, possibility of productive economy origin in frameworks of Mesolithic cultures, spiritual activity reconstruction etc.) as well as some extremely local particular questions. It is possible also to single out the group of rather tempting issues, which need to be examined in considerable spatial and temporal frameworks and have few direct analogies in the neighbouring territories. Among them different aspects of Early Prehistoric ethnic communities origin and evolution are ones of crucial importance. This set of question includes reconstruction of mechanisms of certain ethnic unit formation; explanation of different cultural traditions’ transmitters joint occupation at the same settlement, sites and artefacts distribution in different geographical zones, origin of burials and cemeteries connected with this traditions etc. Side by side with them there is another group of issues concerning with daily life of prehistoric population. These questions are giving vent to theoretical issues of archaeological cultures and cultural entities interpretation and inspire further attention for Prehistory, which is without doubts one of the most alluring periods of human history.

SEARCHING FOR SOURCES: FIRST STEPS TOWARDS CONCEPTUALISATION OF NATURESOCIETY INTERACTION Specificity of material remnants of Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers daily life and subsistence as well as the features of their archaeological investigation techniques had caused the emergence of the Stone Age archaeology within the framework of natural sciences geology and palaeontology. Therefore it is quite naturally, that from the very beginning of its studies the Early Prehistoric population was esteemed by the scientists of the end XIXth century as an integral part of its natural environment. In such context the geographic palaeoenvironment was regarded often as the only reasonable explanation of hunter-gatherers economy, household activities and material culture features. 1

Muséographie et société contemporaine / Museum Studies and Modern Society

considers the prehistoric population as active creative force, which successfully explore specific features of its ambient: “the mind of the person depends always on his vital needs and was spotted by his location... Who lived near the waters has invented a boat and nets, who wandered in forests has invented bow and arrows, who inhabited meadows, has domesticated peaceful beasts and has become cattle breeder” [Radischev. 1941: 64].

Another argument in favour of necessity and logic nature of Early Prehistoric cultural phenomena interpretation in the frameworks of their environment is the extreme scarcity of the source base needed for exhaustive scientific analysis. The terrain of modern Europe is investigated irregularly and there are numerous blank spaces. The majority of known today sites of this epoch is characterised by unsatisfactory condition of preservation, sometimes we find them totally destroyed. Moreover, it is very difficult to find out straight ethnographic parallels to such societies, and it creates additional problems in understanding of their social and mental activity. In such circumstances attention of the scientists was attracted by both originality and complexity of hunter-gatherers living conditions (i.e., by severe climate of glacial epoch, by life side by side with large extinct animals, etc.)

Such ideas mirror another approach to prehistoric people and their environment interaction, adepts of which consider the person and his social culture as creative and active force capable successfully resist the nature. During the second half of XIXth century the popularity of these ideas was considerably augmenting in the process of ethnographic investigations of Northern America aboriginal population. Formation and gradual strengthening of evolutionary approach to historical process interpretation had also contributed to this. The concepts of “environment influence on the person” and “the response of the person on challenge of geographic ambient” often were used as synonyms in American cultural anthropology at the boundary of XIXth and XXth centuries [James, Martin. 1988: 430].

The Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic tool kits, houses and clothes seem to their first investigators too rough and primitive, so they hardly believe that such artefacts could regularly ensure satisfaction of Early Prehistoric population vital needs. That’s why hunter-gatherers community was often regarded an entity, daily business of which was a struggle for survival and looking for a feed. Such interpretation was not in essence new; it was already antique philosophers who had made first steps in this direction. So, in particular, Diodorus of Sicily and Hippocates in general terms repeat thoughts of Democritus according to which the primitive people were characterised by “an animal mode of life. As far as anything useful was not still invented then, the people conducted life in chronic cares, bare, without clothes and asylum, without a fire, not knowing absolutely cultural nutrition … they had to endure many misfortunes … The dire straits were the only teacher of human being in all without exception” [Lurie. 1947: 249].

At the first half of XXth century both opposition approaches to comprehension of Early Prehistoric population and nature interaction were successfully coexisting in the frameworks of interpretative archaeology and primitive history. It should be stressed that before the Second World War one can observe parity of these approaches in global scientific thought as well as in public mentality. At that time primitive person interpretation as sufferer and the idea about his capacity to resist actively its natural geographic environment have approximately equal number of adepts. A controversy between them and gradual enrichment of source base have become the reasons for ideas of geographic and climatic determinism, possibilism, environmentalism and behaviourism infiltration into the Western-European and American theory of archaeological interpretation. For Soviet archaeology of the Stone Age the first half of XXth century was the period of intensive field researches, the outcomes of which were interpreted predominantly within the framework of the social and economic approach.

These ideas had received new life in philosophers of Enlightenment historiosophic speculations. According to J.-J. Rousseau, all desires of the “natural” person go “no further than his physical needs; the only values in known to him pattern are nutrition, female and rest; the only troubles he is afraid of are pain and the famine” [Rousseau. 1969: 55]. This idea did not invoke serious objections among the most part of XVIII-XIXth century philosophers. Slight difference in their interpretation could be traced only in an attitude of the primitive person to natural environment evaluation. According to Rousseau, “the primitive person falls into to the nature in accordance with dangers threaten to him” [Rousseau. 1969: 52]. Т. Hobbs considered the primitive person as the aggressive savage, which fearlessly countered to a hostile surrounding world. In judgement of Ch. Montesquieu, our ancestors were wild and escaped from everything and everybody.

THE MIDDLE OF XXTH CENTURY: THE BEGINNING OF DIVERSITY. THE ADAPTATION CONCEPT Fundamental reconsideration of natural environment role in development of Early Prehistoric culture took place at 1950−60-ies. Just at that time in a context of the broad spectrum of European and American sciences concerning ancient societies a lot of interdisciplinary concepts, schools and directions have arisen. As a result in essence different treatment of hunter-gatherers place in Late Glacial – Early Holocene geographic environment has been elaborated.

In such contexts attention should be paid to Alexander N. Radischev’s point of view, pronounced in the philosophical treatise “About the person, his mortality and immortality”. Basing on the idea that “climate and naturalness in general hardly influences reasonableness of a person”, he demonstrates, that “at the initial stage of human history all household activities of the person depend on his natural environments”. Thus this author

In Soviet science this process was closely connected with the overcoming of typical for Marxist historiography negative attitude to the so-called “geographic 2

O. Smyntyna: Early Prehistoric Culture Conceptualisation: Contemporary Controversies

determinism”. Mikhail G. Levin and Nikolay N. Cheboksarov have made one of the first steps on this long and hard road when proposing the concept of cultural and economic phylum. Such phylum is regarded as concrete form of society historical type development in particular natural environment [Levin, Cheboksarov. 1955: 4]. This concept actually sums up a centuries-old controversy concerning existence of stages or versions in population economic activity orientation. Since Dicaearchus (IV cent. B.C.), it was recognised that humankind has passed four stages of natural resources exploitation: a) primitive hunting, fishery and gathering, b) nomadic cattle breeding, c) agriculture, d) specialised agriculture. The first doubts in these stages universality were pronounced at the second half of XIXth century. Results of land management field investigations provided in different parts of world as well as theoretic reflections of Alexander Humboldt and Friedrich Ratzel have created necessary fundamentals for the traditional point of view revision. In this context one can hardly over-estimate the importance of agricultural systems pattern map elaborated in 1892 by Edward Hahn. The idea about plurality of synchronous ways of land resources exploitation was visually illustrated just by it [James, Martin. 1988: 256; Kraemer. 1967: 79].

As a result one can trace formation of new direction of field archaeological investigation – environmental archaeology. From the very beginning its primary goal has been postulated as interdisciplinary analysis of geographic environment inhabited by Early Prehistoric population [Dincauze. 2000: 20]. Since the second half of 1970-ies two fundamental approaches could be distinguished in its frameworks and gradually every one of them has became independent archaeological discipline. The first one – geoarchaeology − concentrates its attention predominantly on the natural geographic context of archaeological objects. Methods of geology, geomorphology and climatology are used by its adepts in order to reconstruct the circumstances influenced on localisation of archaeological sites, formation of cultural remnants and on further history of their fossilisation [Hassan. 1979: 267270; Renfrew. 1976: 1-5]. During last years artefacts and sites conservation, preservation them from natural ruination, technical analysis of artefacts and their raw material source base, artefact absolute dating and other issues have also become the part of scientific concerns of this direction representatives [Goudie. 1987: 20]. The other group of environmental archaeology adepts concentrates its attention on ecological links between human society and natural environment [Boyd. 1990: 69-70].

The concept of cultural and economic phylum actually tenders original explanation of such pluralism existence. It is grounded on assumption that the population inhabited certain natural geographic environment and attributed to certain stage of social and economic development should inevitably elaborate rather strictly definite, constant model of behaviour, or cultural and economic phylum. Number of such hypothetical construction is calculated by its different explorers between 1 and 23 (for hunters and gatherers especially), some of them could be subdivided into chronological stages (phases) and groups. Such taxonomic imperfection of phylum concept typology often causes the affiliation of societies with principally different material culture and way of adaptation (for example, hunters on a marine beast of Arctic Region and hunters on large animals of Central Africa). Besides that in the frameworks of cultural and economic phylum concept material, social and normative spheres of culture are isolated in some degree. It should be also stressed that ethnic traditions are also eliminated from the series of the factors, which influence on environmental control system.

It should be underlined that achievements in the field of environmental archaeology are now in the centre of attention of field as well as of theoretic archaeologists. It displays itself in diverse forms of historiographic activities on theoretic and methodological problems of prehistoric environment reconstruction [O`Connor. 1998: 1-6]. Recently instituted professional Association of Environmental Archaeologists now is acting as coordinating centre for such activity. Its main results are highlighted on the pages of specialised magazine “Environmental Archaeology: the journal of human palaeoecology” founded in 1998. At Soviet prehistory and Stone Age archaeology ecological context of separate settlement has become the subject of intentional investigation at the end of 1960-ies − at the beginning of 1970-ies. Since that time representatives of broad spectrum of natural sciences take part in numerous archaeological excavations, and results of their activity enable to reconstruct concrete natural geographic environment inhabited by certain group of huntergatherers. First in soviet archaeology attempt theoretically generalise the results of such interdisciplinary excavations was made by Sergei N. Bibikov. In 1969 he has proposed the method of palaeoeconomic simulation in frameworks of which specificity of material culture and household activities of the concrete settlement’ inhabitants, on the one hand, and features of their natural environment, on the other, are taken into account. During 1970-ies − 1980-ies this method was explored by him and his numerous apprentices at many Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic settlements case studies. As a result it was established, that Late Glacial – Early Holocene natural environment influenced significantly on formation and development of separate group of population culture and, in its turn, was subjected to many essential changes caused by human collectives’ activities. Basing on this conclusion Sergey N.

Despite of apparent today imperfection, at the middle of the XXth century the concept of cultural and economic phylum has successfully fulfilled its positive role. As one can imagine, the essence of it is the attraction of attention to pluralism of livelihood systems of different groups of population as well as the establishment of direct connection of this fact with features of natural geographic environment. As a result analysis of geographic components of certain ambient inhabited by separate group of population has become the subject of the principal importance. From a beginning of 1960-ies process of creation of database necessary for Late Glacial – Early Holocene fauna, flora, relief and climate reconstruction has been significantly intensified. Some certain measures on these data systematisation and synthesis were also undertaken since that time. 3

Muséographie et société contemporaine / Museum Studies and Modern Society

Palaeolithic and Mesolithic societies. In particular, since the 1970-ies it was repeatedly underlined that in Pleistocene times main stages of natural geographic environment changes correlate well with human morphology evolution as well as with its material culture and livelihood systems development. The main role in this process, as a rule, was given not so much to living conditions of prehistoric population as to their dynamics in time [Velichko. 1971: 16-17].

Bibikov has elaborated the concept of palaeoecological and palaeoeconomic crisis which is regarded as objective and natural result of prehistoric population productive activity taking place in permanently changing environment. It becomes also possible to distinguish several stages of such crisis development during 9 000 – 6 000 B.C. which are correlated with phases of geographic ambient evolution as well as with changes of livelihood activities of huntergatherers [Bibikov. 1969. 1977]. As a result it is possible to find out new specific direction of archaeological and historical investigation − ecological one. Its purpose is often regarded as the detection and analysis of connections, which exist between cultural object and its natural environment [Gerasimov. 1979: 19].

In the course of time gradual accumulation of our knowledge concerning natural geographic environment of prehistoric population has put forward the problem of a feedback in “person − natural ambient” relationship system. In other words, new source base induces attention to human impact on nature. As a result new specific direction of interdisciplinary studies − landscape history − was outlined [Muir. 1999: 60-61]. Since its formation till our days the idea that landscape history begins only with productive economy origin is widespread among many specialists in this field. They believe that intensive and, sometimes, non-rational land exploitation is characteristic only for agricultural societies [Benes, Zvelebil. 1999: 7393; Widgren. 1999: 94-103]. On the other hand, today more and more archaeologists tend to refer the beginning of transforming human impact on natural environment with the time of humankind origin. So, in particular, today anthropogeneous influence is considered as leading factor caused the disappearance of large gregarious animals which happened on the Pleistocene and Holocene border. This factor impact displays also in vegetation structure and consistency changes, in caves’ transformation as well as in many other aspects.

In fact, representatives of Western-European environmental archaeology and adepts of ecological approach in Soviet archaeology and prehistory are taking rather close, if not the same, paths looking for Early Prehistoric population culture and mode of life specific features explanation. Questions of hunter-gatherers mobility as well as their livelihood activity in certain locality are in the centre of attention of both approaches adepts. At the same time, there is also clear difference in their initial idealised theoretical postulates. So, in contrast to the Western-European and American environmentalists, the majority of the Soviet specialists in this field believe that social sphere of Early Prehistoric culture levels environmental impact on material culture already at the earliest phases of human history [Dmitriev, Belokobylskiy. 1989: 262, 280]. Adepts of palaeoecological approach in Soviet and Western archaeology see their main task in interpretation of results of concrete site investigation taking into account its natural ambient dynamics. In order to realise it, they try to avoid broad generalisations and creation of the simplified or complicated simulation of nature-society relationships, so they prefer simple explanation. During last years it was proposed to distinguish local palaeoecology, which concentrates attention on problems of residence place and visiting territories ecological situation reconstruction, and regional palaeoecology, the object of which is features of settlement system as well as regional source base evaluation [Leonova, Nesmeyanov. 1993: 8, 10]. On the other hand, original simulation of historical processes taken place on the territory of contemporary Ukraine during the Mesolithic times proposed by Vladimir N. Stanko illustratively proves high cognitive potential of this approach in wider spatial frameworks [Stanko. 1997].

As a result the analysis of source base and subsistence system emerges again the central problem discussed in the general context of nature and Early Prehistoric population interaction. Nevertheless this time it is discussed on the principally new level − quantity of floral and faunal biomass, population density and peculiarities of this population livelihood system are now taking into account. During last years in this context special attention is paid to raw materials procurement, first of all, to the supplies of flint and other stones used for tool manufacturing [Kuhn. 1995]. In some cases the characteristic of flint source base creates background necessary for exhaustive reconstruction of hunter-gatherer community environmental control system, economy direction, mobility rate and settlement patterns including [Jochim. 1976]. The problems of Early Prehistoric population subsistence and mode of life reconstruction have become ones of principal importance in the frameworks of “New Archaeology”, interpretative interdisciplinary approach originated in English-speaking archaeology. In their models principal features of social, economical and daily life organisation depend on the availability and accessibility of natural resources. This approach tended to case studies realisation, and that’s why wide spectrum of directions and their variants are developing now in its frameworks. Among them special attention should be paid to the borrowed from sociology middle range theory with its two variants: analysis of site exploitation area

During last years it is possible to observe obvious traces of ecological mentality gradual improvement not only in archaeology of Stone Age or in prehistory but also in many adjacent field of knowledge concerning with Early Prehistoric societies investigation. First of all, it happens with cultural and social anthropology, ethnology, palaeodemography, palaeosociology, palaeogeography and with other sciences and humanities [Smyntyna. 1999a. 1999b]. Their main attention is concentrated on conceptualisation of palaeogeographical and palaeoecological impacts on the different spheres of Late 4

O. Smyntyna: Early Prehistoric Culture Conceptualisation: Contemporary Controversies

and gravitation model. Optimal foraging theory seems to be another fruitful “new archaeological” analytic direction. Its roots could be easily traced in biology and economics. Adepts of both these theories are tended to create universal and generalised models of behaviour, which, unfortunately, could hardly stand up to contemporary database. Such situation is caused, first of all, by excessive passion for creation of sketchy models rich with mathematical and statistical elements. Sometimes its complicated formulas contain variables, which could not be calculated without potential mistake (for example, difference between minimal and maximal temperatures of the coldest and the hottest months of a season). In many cases choice of ethnographic parallels used for illustration of social and mental spheres of Early Prehistoric daily life seems to be rather strange and needs further clarification.

traced in physics of XVIIIth century; in particular, in Joseph Lagrange’s works it was formulated for the first time as principle of the least action. At the first half and the middle of XXth century this theory in different variants was explored in economical geography (lex parsimoniae of August Losch) and in social sciences (principle of least efforts of D. Zipf). It plays an important role in the system analysis (as concepts of potential energy minimum) and in the operational analysis (rout of optimum transfer, or geodesic line). It was also adopted in environmental psychology [Bell et al. 1996: 48]. It was already the second half of 1970-ies when the adaptation concept has become one of the most popular and fruitful approaches to interpretation of human society and its natural environment interaction. In the review of literature published in English between 1971 and 1980 there are 749 new books and 430 articles devoted to the problems of adaptation taking in the frameworks of human ecology only [Meleshin et al. 1981]. Their analysis gives chance to distinguish four basic direction of “human adaptation” notion understanding: evolutionary-genetic, ecological, biomedical and social [Vereschagin. 1988: 25]. In the Soviet science of 1960-ies and of 1970-ies main attention was paid to biological aspects of adaptation with an accent on human capacity to fit natural environment requirements. It was stressed that at the same time all most important organism physiological constants were preserved. Among these constants were ones characterising a condition of health, capacity for work, ability to resist climatic and geographic impact [Khlebovich et al. 1975: 150]. Purposeful productive activity and connected with it creation of vitally indispensable subjects are regarded by Marxist historiography as the basic adaptive mechanism, that in essence distinguishes human biological adaptation from similar processes in animal world [Kalaykov. 1988: 46-49].

In the context of natural environment impact conceptualisation in development of Early Prehistoric culture two “New Archaeological” concepts needs special attention. On the one hand, it was just “new archaeologists” who for the first time in world interpretative archaeology have posed territory with its rather clear economical, chronological and ecological frameworks in the centre of their studies [Verhart. 1990: 139]. On the other hand, thanks to adepts of “New Archaeology” the concept of adaptation was introduced and for the first time exhaustively substantiated in world interpretative archaeology and prehistory. Adaptation is regarded here as process of acclimatisation to living conditions, as product of natural selection and as degree of conformity between an organism and its ambient [O'Brien, Holland. 1992: 57; Mithen. 1989: 492]. It is necessary to underline, that typical for “New Archaeology” pluralism of the conceptual solutions has displayed itself also in this theory context. To make its fundamental concept (that is adaptation) more “clear” it was offered to create infinite set of models, which would adapt it for concrete cases [Bettinger. 1991: 62]. As a result it becomes necessary to realise difference between such notions, as adaptive policies and adaptive processes, accommodation and the assimilation. One should concern also with problem of adaptive levels’ gradation for each adaptive policy. There are also principally different approaches to the adaptation criteria: during last forty years broad spectrum of parameters’ variations was discussed. Among them one can face criteria which could be defined rather precisely (such as concrete scorings of net efficiency of food acquisition) alongside with absolutely abstract notions such as happiness [Jochim. 1996: 360; Lee, De Vore. 1968: 89-92].

Later most part of scientists had come to the conclusion that concrete volume of adaptation notion could not be limited by its biological context only. As a result it was offered to interpret adaptation as specific property of a human body as well as the evolutionary process, which is taking place within the system, where the organism enters as a member [Vereschagin. 1988: 70]. Interpreting adaptation as the process one should always bear in mind two main aspects of this problem. One of them is exterior, connected with the analysis of society taking as the collective subject of human activity and environment interaction. The second – interior − one expresses a relationship existing among the persons and different human groups included into the society with their social ambient as well as their co-adaptation [Markaryan. 1975: 141]. In the frameworks of such understanding of adaptation it becomes apparent that the basic unit which produce and realise adaptive action in order to bring itself into conformity with environment is a society regarded as particular class of adaptive systems.

Nevertheless we can try to outline also some common postulates shared by in overwhelming majority of “new archaeologists”. Nowadays the concept of optimum adaptive level is pretending to be the only one, which does not invoke substantial oppositions among them. The idea is that the human group always tries to minimise changes necessary to realise in order to get an adaptive effect. This postulate, indeed, could hardly be referred with achievements of this approach. Roots of this idea could be

In the Soviet archaeological science it was Pavel M. Dolukhanov who at the end of 1970-ies had referred for the first time to the idea about adaptive character of human society. Basing on wide range of natural sciences data he 5

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CULTURE AND SOCIETY AS ADAPTIVE SYSTEM: PRO ET CONTRA

has proposed an original concept of prehistoric economy optimisation [Dolukhanov. 1985]. A little later on the ground of Australian aborigens ethnographic studies Vladimir R. Kabo has come to the conclusion that the Early Prehistoric community should be regarded also as the optimal form of aborigines social adaptation to their natural and social environment. Such community, according to him, was acted as stable public institute and consisted of several dynamic groups, which potentially could create some more complicated structures [Kabo. 1986: 5-6]. Thanks to his investigation the notion “social and cultural adaptation” was introduced into the Soviet archaeological literature. Such adaptation was regarded as active human impact on his environment; the person realises it through his social organisation, tools, housing, religious and magic activities etc. [Kabo. 1979: 87]. Recently an attempt to continue these ideas was undertaken by Vadim M. Masson who has proposed to consider economic activities, household adaptation and social adaptation as three basic direction of social and cultural adaptation of Late Palaeolithic societies [Masson. 1996: 16].

Another important direction of adaptation theory development is connected with the concept of culture regarded as systems, that in certain extent fits the living conditions of its transmitters. The theoretical background of such approach was created in the end of XIXth century in the frameworks of the American school of possibilism led by Franz Boas. They regarded the nature as basis, which fives chance to arise and develop for great number of cultural communities different version. Bronislav Malinovski, the founder of the functional approach to the interpretation of culture, understands it as the specific answer to nature challenges. According to him, this answer is inevitably introduced in needs of human being [Malinovski. 2000: 5]. The culture was regarded as adaptive dimension of human society also by representatives of the New-York Culturology School led by Ashly Montagu [1979]. The next step in this direction was made by WesternEuropean culturologists at the 1950-60-ies in line with reconsideration of fundamental basis of theoretic reflection in humanities. Just at that time J. Steward has put forward his idea that natural environment should be regarded as one of many factors of cultural changes [Steward. 1955]. Approximately synchronous Leslie White propose more regular point of view on human culture as on extrasomatic system of adaptation with three basic directions: technological, social and ideological [White. 1959]. Just on this theoretical background special direction of investigations in the field of cultural and social anthropology, cultural geography, ecology, psychology and archaeology was formed. Its adepts see their primary task in ecological function of culture detection. In the middle 1990-ies two basic approaches could be distinguished in its frameworks. Representatives of phenomenological approach pay special attention to active character of primitive population engagement to their environment. Adepts of cognitive approach sometimes try to create some kind of classification of environment mental representations [Ingold. 1994: 329, 344]. It is necessary to underline, that contemporary archaeological and ethnographic case studies of huntergatherer culture are basing mainly on phenomenological backgrounds of adaptive function of culture detection. As a result it is possible to state that cultural system and society are conceptualising now in Western-European and American science as rather autonomous, but mutually interdependent units, in frameworks of which complicated mechanisms of adaptation to living conditions are elaborated and realised. In this process cultural system acts as determinant of social trajectory, and society is an indispensable component of this trajectory reproduction [Morphy. 1996: 187].

During several last years in Ukrainian and, partly, in Russian Stone Age archaeology one can trace apparent resuscitation of concern with different models of certain human group’ adaptation. Such models are often characterised by different level of generalisation, beginning from scale of separate settlement and taking the natural geographic zone as the highest taxonomic unit. In this context special attention should be paid to the understanding of adaptation traced in theoretic reflections of Leonid L. Zaliznyak. According to him adaptation is regarded as the “concrete form of human society existence... depended on two factors: on the level of its development and on natural environment”. On that ground he often explores this term actually as synonym to concept of cultural and economic phylum [Zaliznyak. 1998: 62-63]. Basing on the assumption that “quantity of adaptation models in general responded quantity of natural landscape zones”, he elaborates rather complicated classification of economic adaptation models inherent to Early Prehistoric societies. As a result within the framework of four “lines of development of primitive societies with hunter-gatherer economy” eleven “adaptation models or cultural and economic phylum of highest hunters historical type” were distinguished. The majority of them could be sub-divided into several variants, and in development of some of them certain stages could be traced [Zaliznyak. 1998: 62-65]. It is necessary to point out that in Soviet and in Englishspeaking archaeological literature term “the adaptation” is used often in principally different contexts. Approximately to the middle of 1990-ies Soviet archaeologists apply it only in frameworks of generalised interpretative studies; in the same time Western archaeologists successfully explore it even in the publication of results of separate archaeological site investigation. Papers presented on the Soviet-American workshop “Problems of Cultural Adaptation in Late Palaeolithic times” held in Leningrad in July of 1989 demonstrate this difference rather illustratively.

In the Marxist Soviet and post-Soviet science these ideas have been refracted rather curiously. In spite of methodological base uniformity, several fundamental approaches to culture and cultural processes’ investigation could be distinguished in frameworks of Soviet culturology: actional, axiological, structural, dialogical etc. 6

O. Smyntyna: Early Prehistoric Culture Conceptualisation: Contemporary Controversies

APPROACHING THE NEW MILLENNIUM: STRESSES, ADJUSTMENT, RESILIENCE AND OTHERS

Usually each one of them is reviewed in context of specialised scientific directions, such as psychological, sociological, historical etc. Among this impressive variety the systems analysis of natural geographic factor of culture genesis and detection of culture ecological function is realised mainly in frameworks of ethnographic direction of actional approach [Markaryan. 1969]. Its most prominent founder and promoter, Eduard S. Markaryan, regard culture as a system of extra-biological mechanisms, due to which the whole cycle of human activity in all its specific manifestation (i.e. stimulation, programming, regulation, fulfilment, maintenance and reproduction) is realised. The adaptive effect here could be achieved just as a result of culture system potencies’ plurality. In the same time the majority of this ideas adepts don’t deny that the specific mode of adaptation to living conditions is elaborated in human society. Then the cultural system acts here any more as adaptive unit, and only as universal mechanism of adaptation [Markaryan. 1975: 143-144].

From the very beginning of interdisciplinary studies in the field of human behaviour attention was paid also to the issue of its rapid changes and their causes. As a result at the second half of 1960-ies general theory of a stress was elaborated. Stress is regarded as basic reason of behaviour transformation as well as important premise of culture system reshaping and new way of adaptation elaboration [Brothwell. 1998: 7-8]. The stresses and stressors are characterised mainly through their classifications. In the English-speaking literature stresses differentiation based on spheres of their influence and potential facilities of their overcoming is one of the most popular. In such a context system stresses with predominance of physiological components, psychological stresses where behavioural and emotional components are dominating as well as ecological stress combined system and psychological components could be distinguished [Bell at all. 1996: 131]. In Soviet science classification of stresses grounded on their genesis was preferable one. As a result stresses and stressors of evolutionary, social and technogeneuos origin were distinguished [Khlebovich at all. 1975: 155-157].

The concept of culture ecological function has received its further development in recent studies of Russian ethnologists Sergei A. Arutyunov. According to him, culture should be regarded as set of ways of different kinds of human activity institutionalisation. Its principal functions are formation and transformation of environment, on the one hand, and human being with her spiritual and physical characteristics − from the other [Arutyunov. 1989: 5, 130]. The formation of a cultural system is as process of adaptation to specific niches, at first only natural ones, which with the course of time become more social. To be able realise its adaptive function culture should permanently not only be capable to respond to minimum of the environmental requirements, but also have in its disposal potential necessary for adaptive effect achievement in new conditions [Arutyunov. 1993: 42, 47].

The ecological stress seems to be remaining aloof in frameworks of both approaches. It is often perceived as series of natural, social and economic, psychological and physiological factors, which causes tension of regulatory mechanisms and disturbs society or social organism dynamic equilibrium. Special concept of social and ecological resilience was introduced in order to estimate capacity of community to overcome external stresses; series of factors which helps to increase the resilience was outlined [Neil. 2000: 347, 349, 354]. The result of general theory of stress development has become the creation of huge diversity of stresses’ models and, in particular, “patterns of stresses display in archaeological human populations” [Bell at all. 1996: 137; Dincauze. 200: 486]. These models, as well as simulations of “New Archaeology”, are often characterised by abuse of generalised and sometimes indefinite concepts and terms, such as “individual growth rate change”, “decrease of health”, “buffer role of culture strengthening” etc. Taking on theirs own these notions hardly contain information necessary for exhaustive comprehension of ecological implication of Early Prehistoric societies mode of life. Besides that this approach adepts sometimes tend to stereotype and excessively generalise processes taking place in far past. On the other hand, this theory has greatly contributed to the environmental mentality development throughout its attention to stress answers multiplicity inherent to human society. In its framework adaptation, regulation (adjustment) and destruction of a cultural system are regarded as three potentially possible results of stressors impact, and it was just that culture system resilience, which determine any result probability.

During last decades human society consideration in direct connection with its adaptive function has become an integral part of many scientific directions and schools fundamental theoretical basis. Just this idea has appeared to be the starting point for behavioural archaeology. This discipline has been formed on the basis of “New Archaeology” at the end of 1970-ies and focuses its attention on explanation of human behaviour and material culture versatile relationships [Schiffer. 1995: IX, 4]. This approach adepts believe that their principal subject of investigation are behavioural systems. They are regarded as model of connections existed between human activity and natural environment components. At the second half of 1990-ies such notions as a principle of behavioural selection, behavioural flow, behavioural repertoire and others gradually expand behavioural archaeology conceptual base. This expansion is often realised at the expense of the psychological and ecological theories concerning the problem of behaviour and environment interaction. In particular, theory of poor stimulation and model of behaviour limitation contribute it much [Bell et al. 1996: 121, 126]. Adepts of this direction occupied with Early Prehistoric societies concentrate their attention on different models of resource behaviour as well as on models of hunting behaviour.

The idea that adjustment (or regulation) is specific form of society answer on environmental changes has been put forward in English sociological literature at the end of 7

Muséographie et société contemporaine / Museum Studies and Modern Society

impressive variety of views and concepts, schools and directions co-exist now in archaeology, prehistory, cultural anthropology, palaeopsychology, palaeo-economy and in other sciences. Tendency to general theoretical conceptualisation of natural geographic factor in Early Prehistoric societies’ development is typical for most of them. It is just here their certain advantage as well as disadvantage. They are advantageous because such general notions as adaptation, stress, culture, subsistence and others can be successfully applied to the analysis of any social unit. At the same time they are disadvantageous because just this generality often hinders to reveal unique features of the unit under study and makes it impossible to demonstrate its specificity of stress experience and as well as peculiarities of culture modification in conformity with living conditions.

1970-ies. Then adjustment was regarded as certain opposition to adaptation concept. Later it has become obvious that there are at lest two different approaches to adjustment essence understanding. In the frameworks of one of them adjustment is interpreted as internal homeostatic changes taking place inside the society characterised by certain adaptive level [Cohen. 1974: 64]. Adepts of another one believe that regulation is concerning with the correction of external stimuli; it envisages changes of mechanisms through which society realises its influence on the environment [Bell et al. 1996: 125]. In contemporary science adjustment is regarded as an alternative to the adaptation concept and in some cases is tending to replace it totally. The crucial argument in its favour is the idea that all known today societies were alive at certain period of time, it means that they were well adapted to their environment. In comprehension of adjustment concept adepts, duration of any society existence as well as its activity intensity and success were determined by effectiveness of this society regulation system, which was elaborated in order to response environmental changes [Dincauze. 2000: 73].

The situation is complicated also by typical for many of mentioned approaches tendency to model Early Prehistoric societies’ development in indefinite spatial and chronological frameworks. For example, the concept of cultural and economic phylum implies huge territories, which sometimes times cover several natural geographic zones. At the same time adepts of palaeoecological approach in Soviet archaeology as well as promoters of the middle range theory concentrate their attention on concrete settlement. Binding to certain spatial frameworks at all does not complicate human society adaptive interpretation, culture ecological consideration as well as theories of stresses, behavioural archaeology and adjustment theory.

In post-Soviet science similar ideas are promoted by adepts of co-evolution theory, originated mainly in the frameworks of geoecological direction of natural geography. Co-evolution is approaching as “mutual and guided adaptation of the person and biosphere, which take place under continuous search for stable state as well as under their permanent changes in conformity with current situation” [Shvebs. 1993: 29]. The essence of co-evolution geoecological aspect is in the substantiation of mutual relationships between nature and society territorial organisation development.

Pluralism of the approaches to interpretation of nature and society interaction should be regarded as positive phenomenon also in context of delineation of main spheres of natural geographic environment influence on Early Prehistoric population. As a result now it is practically out of doubts that such influence most illustratively manifests itself in household activities, in economy and in material remnants of culture. In particular, the geographic factor is considered the crucial one for the settlement place and structure motivation. Mobility level as well as the whole subsistence system seems also dependent of natural environment. In some cases living conditions impact is also traced in functional structure of stone tool kit. Results of ethnoecologists and archaeologists latest investigations open wide perspective for recognition of certain influence of palaeogeographic factor on formation and evolution of Early Prehistoric ethnic communities. During last several years more attention is paid to definition of ecological implication of culture subsystems, which could not be exhaustively comprehended on the basis of only archaeological data: social, normative and spiritual ones.

In close connection with theories of adaptation, stress and regulation is so called “life-history”, the new direction of society-nature interaction interpretation formed in the frameworks of Western-European social anthropology and psychology. In the middle of 1970-ies this approach was defined as hominids biological history regarded in a context of their environment. Today specialists in this area also concern with analysis of non-biological ways of survival, particularly, with material culture, subsistence, ethnic tradition and reproductive system, mating and education including [Key. 2000: 332]. During last several years this approach is tending towards so-called archaeological, or cultural, biography of objects. The basic idea of this direction is that any object during all term of its exploitation accumulates history the group, which it is attributed to, and becomes significant in only in connection with the context of such usage [Gosden, Marshall. 1999: 169-170]. Similar idea is represented also by theory of life cycles, adepts of which underline the life flows continuity; in such understanding the concept is endowed with both biological, and cross-cultural or social context.

So, one meets now the paradoxical situation: that fact, that the environment acts as important (or even determining) factor in Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers life is practically out of doubts. Nevertheless certain characteristics of this environment, its concrete scale and geographic content as well as mechanisms of its impact on Early Prehistoric culture remain totally unclear. That’s why in a result of analysis of idealised and empirical investigations in this area the basic purpose for future studies has been outlined. As it seems now, the search for

CONCLUSION This extremely restricted review of contemporary approaches to Early Prehistoric population livelihood and culture environmental interpretation has indicated that 8

O. Smyntyna: Early Prehistoric Culture Conceptualisation: Contemporary Controversies GOSDEN, Ch. & MARSHALL, I., 1999, The cultural biography of objects. World Archaeology 31/ 2, p. 169-178. GOUDIE, A.S., 1987, Geography and archaeology: the growth of a relationship. In Landscape and Culture: geographical and anthropological perspectives, edited by J.M. Wagstaff. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, p. 11-25. HASSAN, E.A., 1979, Geoarchaeology: the geologist and archaeology. American Antiquity 44, p. 267-270. JAMES, P. & MARTIN, D., 1988, Vse Vosmozhnye Miry: istoria geograficheskih idey. Moskwa: Progress. JOCHIM, M.A., 1976, Hunter-Gatherer Subsistence and Settlement: a predictive model. N.Y.: Academic Press. JOCHIM, M.A., 1996, Suprises, reacting themes and new questions in the study of the Late Glacial and Early Postglacial. In Humans at the End of Ice Age: the archaeology of the Pleistocene - Holocene transition, edited by L.G. Straus, B.V. Eriksen, J.V. Ernaldson and D.V. Yesner. New York, London: Plenum Press, p. 357-364. INGOLD, T., 1994, Introduction to culture. In Companion Encyclopaedia of Anthropology, edited by T. Ingold, ed. London: Routledge, p. 329-349. KABO, V.R., 1979, Teoreticheskie problemy rekonstrukcii pervobytnosti. In Etnografia kak istochnik reconstrukcii istorii pervobytnogo obschestva, edited by A.I. Pershits. Moskwa: Nauka, p. 60-107. KABO, V.R., 1986, Pervobytnaya dozemledelcheskaya obschina. Moskwa: Nauka. KALAYKOV, I.D., 1984, Civilisacia i adaptacia. Moskwa: Progress. KEY, C.A., 2000, The evolution of human life history. Archaeology 31, p. 329-350. KHLEBOVICH, I.A., CHUDNOVA, V.I. & CHUPANOVA, G.S., 1975, Ecologicheskiy podkhod pri issledovanii formirovaniya adaptacii naselenia. In Geograficheskie aspekty ecologii cheloveka, edited by A.D. Lebedev. Moskwa: Institut geografii AN SSSR, p. 150-161. KRAEMER, F.L., 1967, Eduard Hahn and the end of the “three stages of man”. Geographical review 57, p. 73-89. KUHN, S.L., 1995, Mousterian Lithic Technology: an ecological perspective. Princeton: Princeton University Press. LEE, R.B., & DE VORE, I, editors. 1968. Man the Hunter. Chicago: Aldine. LEVIN, M.G. & CHEBOKSAROV, N.N., 1955, Khozyaistvennokulturnye tipy i istorico-ethograficheskie oblasti. Sovetskaya etnografia 4, p. 3-17. LEONOVA, N.B., NESMEYANOV, S.A. & MATYUSHKIN, I.E., 1993, Regionalnaya i lokalnaya paleoecologia kamennogo veka. In Problemy paleoecologii drevnih obschestv, edited by N. Leonova. Moskwa: Otkrytyi Rossiyskiy Universitet, p. 5-19. LURIE, S.Ya., 1947, Ocherki po istorii antichnoy nauki. Moskwa-Leningrad: Isdatelstvo AN SSSR. MALINIVSKI, B., 2000, Nauchnaya teoria kultury. Moskwa: OGI. MARKARYAN, E.S., 1969, Ocherki teorii kultury. Erevan: Isdatelstvo AN ArvSSR. MARKARYAN, E.S., 1975, K ponimaniyu specifiki chelovecheskogo obschestva kak adaptivnoi sistemy. In Geograficheskie aspekty ecologii cheloveka, edited by. Moskwa: Institut geografii AN SSSR, p. 139-149. MASSON, V.M., 1996. Paleoliticheskoye obschestvo Vostoshnoi Evropy. S.-Peterburg. MELESHIN, S.V., GOLTSOVA, T.V. & SAMAROV, V.M., 1981, «Adaptacia» v structure zarubezhnych issledovaniy po ecologii cheloveka. Bulletin SO AMN SSSR 6, p. 52-58.

the concrete space, features of which influenced the Early Prehistoric culture and mode of life, should become the task of principal importance. Author’s address Dr Olena V. SMYNTYNA Head of Department of Archaeology and Ethnology of Ukraine Odessa I.I. Mechnikov National University 2, Dvoryanska str. Odessa, UKRAINE 65026 Bibliography ARUTUYNOV, S.A., 1989, Narody i kultury. Razvitie i vzaimodeistvie. Moskwa: Nauka. ARUTUYNOV, S.A., 1993, Adaptivnoie znachenie kulturnogo polimorfizma. Etnograficheskoe obozrenie 3, p. 41-56. BELL, P.A., GREEN, Th.C., FISHER, J.D., & BAUM, A., 1996, Environmental Psychology. Orlando: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. BENES, J. & ZVELEBIL, M., 1999, A historical interactive landscape in the hearth of Europe: the case of Bohemia. In The Archaeology and Anthropology of Landscape: sharing your landscape, edited by P.J. Ucko & R. Layton. London: Routledge. BETTINGER, R.L., 1991, Hunter-Gatherers: archaeological and evolutionary theory. New-York, London: Plenum Press. BIBIKOV, S.N., 1969, Nekotorye aspekty paleoeconomicheskogo modelirovaniya paleolita. Sovetskaya Archeologia 4, p. 5-22. BIBIKOV, S.N., 1977, Epokha mesolitu. In Istoria Ukrayinskoiy RSR, 1, edited by A.G. Shevelev. Kiev: Naukova dumka. BOYD, W.F., 1990, Towards a conceptual frameworks for environmental archaeology: environmental archaeology as a key to past environment. Circaea 7, p. 63-79. O`BRIEN, M.J. & HOLLAND, T.D., 1992.,The role of adaptations in archaeological explanation. American Antiquity 57, p. 36-59. BROTHWELL, D., 1998, Stress as an aspect of environmental studies. Environmental Archaeology 2, p. 7-13. COHEN, Y.A., 1974, Culture as adaptation. In Man in Adaptation: the cultural present, edited Y.A. Cohen. Chicago: Aldine. O`CONNOR, T.P., 1998, Environmental archaeology: a matter of definition. Environmental Archaeology 2, p. 1-6. DINCAUZE, D.F., 2000. Environmental archaeology: principles and practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Dmitriev, V.E. & Belokobylskiy, Yu.G., 1989, Paleogeograficheskie aspekty archeologii kamennogo veka. In Metodicheskie problemy reconstrucsii v archeologii i paleoecologii, edited by Yu.P. Kholyushkin. Novosibirsk: Nauka, p. 261-263. DOLUKHANOV, P.M., 1985, Verhniy paleolit i mezolit Evropy: opyt mnogomernogo analiza. In Problemy reconstrucsiy v archeologii, edited by R.S. Vasilevskiy. Novosibirsk: Nauka, p. 55-62. GERASIMOV, I.P., 1979, Metodologicheskiye problemy ecologizatsii sovremennoy nauki. In Novye idei v geografii: geograficheskiye aspekty ecologii cheloveka, edited by Yu.V. Medvedkov. Moskwa: Progress, p. 9-24. 9

Muséographie et société contemporaine / Museum Studies and Modern Society MITHEN, E., 1989, Evolutionary theory and post-processual archaeology. Antiquity 63, p. 483-494. MONTAGU, A., 1979, Culture and Human Development: insights into growing human. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. MORPHY, H., 1996, Landscape and the reproduction of the ancestral past. In The Anthropology of Landscape: perspectives on place and space edited by E. Hirsch & M. O`Hanlon. Oxford: Clarendon Press, p.184-209. MUIR, R., 1999, Approaches to Landscape. London: Macmillan. NEIL, A.W., 2000, Social and ecological resilience: are they related. Progress in Human Geography 24, p. 347-364. RADISCHEV, A.N., 1941, O cheloveke. Ego smertnosti i bessmertii. In Polnoye sobranie sochineniy 2. MoskwaLeningrad: Isdatelstvo AN SSSR, p. 39-145. RENFREW, C., 1976, Archaeology and the Earth science. In Geoarchaeology: Earth Science and the Past. Edited by D.A. Davidson & M.L. Shackley. London: Duckworth, p. 1-5. ROUSSEAU, J.-J., 1969, Rassuzhdeniya o proishozhdenii i osnovanii neravenstva mezhdu lyudmi. In Traktaty. Moskwa: Isdatelstvo AN SSSR, p. 31-108. SCHIFFER, M.B., 1995, Behavioral Archaeology: first principles. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. SCHVEBS, G.I., 1993, Schemy ecologicheskogo prognosa i metodika prinyatiya resheniy. In Metodologicheskiye problemy sovremennoy geografii edited by A.M. Marinich. Kiev: Naukova dumka, p. 29-35. SMYNTYNA, O.V., 1999, Vidtvirennya starodavnoi istorii naselennya suchacnogo tereny Ukrainy: paleoecologichyi pidhid // IV Mizhnarodnyi Congres Ukrainistiv. Odesa, Kiev, Lviv, p. 3-8.

SMYNTYNA, O.V., 1999a, Paleoecologichnyi pidhid do vuvchennya istorii neselennya suchasnogo terenu Ukrainy v ІХ – VI mill. B.C. Visnyk Odeskogo derzhavnogo universitetu 4/2, p. 7-11. STANKO, V.N., 1997, Epokha mesolitu. In Davnya istoria Ukrainy, 1, edited by P.P. Tolochko et al. – Kiev: Naukova dumka, p. 114-156. STEWARD, J.H., 1955, Theory of culture change. Urbana: Urbana University Press. VELICHKO, A.A., 1971, Svyaz dinamiki propodnych ismeneniy v pleistocene s razvitiem pervobytnogo cheloveka. Voprosy Antropologii 37, p. 3-19. VERESCHAGIN, V.Yu., 1988, Filosofskie problemy teorii adaptacii cheloveka. Vladivostok: Isdatelstvo Dalnevostochnogo Universiteta. VERHART, L.B.M., 1990, Stone age bone and antler points as indicators for “social territories” in the European Mesolithic. In Contribution to the Mesolithic in Europe, edited by P.M. Vermeersch & P. Van Peer. Leuven: Leuven University Press, p. 139-151. WHITE, L., 1959, The Evolution of Culture. New York, London: McGrow Hill. WIDGREN, M., 1999, Is landscape history possible? Or how can we study the desertion of farms? In The Archaeology and Anthropology of Landscape: sharing your landscape, edited by P.J. Ucko & R. Layton London: Routledge, p. 94-103. ZALIZNYAK, L.L., 1998, Peredistoria Ukrainy Х-V tys. do n.e. Kiev: Biblioteka ukraintsya.

10

HISTORIOGRAPHY OF CELTIC MODELS IN THE RISE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES IN SALAMANCA (WESTERN SPAIN) Oscar LÓPEZ JIMÉNEZ

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present the controversy produced by the Historiography about the Archaeology in Salamanca (Western Spain). This area displays an unusual archaeological record and poor research tradition. The works developed during the 19th and especially the 20th century have presented this zone by comparison with better known border areas and considered it as “typical Northern Spain Celtic”. In this paper, I propose to revisit and rethink these traditional views using historiographical criticism in order to better define the current archaeological record in Salamanca. Key words: Salamanca (Western Spain), Vetones, Historiography, Celticism, Iron Age. Résumé : Cet article cherche à montrer la polémique née dans l'historiographie au sujet de l'Archéologie à Salamanca (Espagne occidentale). Cette zone présente un ensemble de données archéologiques peu commun ainsi que une faible tradition de recherche. Les travaux développés pendant le XIXème et particulièrement au cours XXème siècle ont présenté cette zone en rivalisant avec d'autres zones frontalières mieux connues, et les chercheurs l'ont conçu comme un exemple typique de "l'Espagne du nord celtique". C'est pourquoi on propose maintenant de revisiter et repenser ces points de vue traditionnels de la critique historiographique, afin d'obtenir une meilleure définition des informations archéologiques actuelles de Salamanca. Mots clés : Salamanca (Espagne Occidentale), Vetones, Historiographie, Celticisme, Âge du Fer.

GEOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION

These works will only add occasional news to the research on archaeology in Salamanca, although they will partly be used by travelling scholars with an archaeological interest such as Father Morán Bardón, a precursor of archaeology in the province.

Salamanca is localised in the southwestern part of the northern Spanish plateau. It is on the Portuguese border, corresponding with Beira Alta in the west, the Duero River in the north and Gata and Francia Sierras in the south. Limits in the east are more confused and the clearest line from this side is the Tormes River, that is not properly a political border but a geographical one.

THE BEGININGS OF 20th CENTURY The introduction of European Celticism

Salamanca has been treated as an archaeological periphery because of the tradition of studies in nuclear areas such as “Celtiberia” or “Castreña” Culture.

Like I have already laid out in recent works (López Jiménez 2000; López Jiménez 2001), the assimilation of celtic models created by French researchers (D´Arbois de Jubainville 1871; D´Arbois de Jubainville 1889; D´Arbois de Jubainville 1893-4; D´Arbois de Jubainville 1902; D´Arbois de Jubainville 1904; Déchelette 1911-1914; Déchelette 1912) and the principles of Vienna’s historiccultural group, arrived as an influence from Germany (Kossinna 1911; Kossinna 1921; Kossinna 1941), had grown deep roots as the only explanatory basis (it can be considered to have been used as a proper theoretical element) for archaeological evidence in Spain and specially in this central-western area.

It has received little attention from archaeologists until very recently. STUDIES BEFORE THE 20th CENTURY The tradition of archaeological studies prior to the 20th century is slight and linked to general history studies or art and architecture compendiums, undertaken by scholars or amateurs (Dorado 1776; Falcón 1867; Villar & Macias 1887), and always related to the city of Salamanca. This creates a void for the rest of the province, only mentioned very briefly in some censuses and inventories (Madoz and Floridablanca in 1858).

These tendencies, spread by Spanish ideologists such as Joaquin Costa (López Jiménez 2000), or by the publishing of some key books (Déchelette 1911-1914; López Jiménez 2001), give us a concept of a great cultural community for “celtic” Europe (as opposed to Mediterranean) which justifies endless generalizations and parallelisms, and also the use of general models to any area which is considered to be under this influence.

On the other hand, we also find some archaeological references in professional works that do not study this area itself, but rather as a part of a more global kind of work (Hübner 1869-1892; Hübner 1888). 11

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the theories about the exploitation of mettalic and mineral resources. This will be an approach that will last a long time.

In the beginning of the development in Spain of this historicist Archaeology, but in which the weight of erudition and antiquarism is still important, we find the first development of truly archaeological works in Salamanca. The first archaeological works

ARCHAEOLOGY IN SALAMANCA TO THE PRESENT

With the research of the agustinian Father Cesar Morán Bardón Bardón, start the first archaeological publications about the province of Salamanca. His first work of a general nature was from 1919 (Morán Bardón 1919). For the first time we find publications based on field work, both visits and informants (Morán Bardón 1926; Morán Bardón 1933; Morán Bardón 1940; Morán Bardón 1946), and also compilations of known archaeological elements, gathered in Salamanca Museum or private collections (Morán Bardón 1922; Morán Bardón 1942). His works show sites of a great archaeological importance thanks to excavations like Cerro del Berrueco (El Tejado), or some of the biggest dolmens of the province, and they picture for the first time an archeological panorama of this area. It is in these “surveys” and visits type of works to the main sites in Salamanca where it will prove his work as being of greatest importance when seen from the perspective of later studies.

A model for the central-eastern plateau After Morán Bardón’s studies, the first of a professional Archaeology, focusing itself in concrete spots of the province, appears with the arrival to the University of Salamanca of Juan Maluquer de Motes. It was his merit that the excavation of hillforts such as Las Merchanas (Maluquer de Motes 1953; Maluquer de Motes 1968) or El Cerro del Berrueco (Maluquer de Motes 1958) took place, and also some synthetic works on the city’s (Maluquer de Motes 1951) and the province’s Archaeology. With Maluquer de Motes two processes start, the professionalization of the discipline and the vinculation of its archaeological evidence with the work that took place in Avila by Juan Cabré from the beginning of the thirties (Cabré Aguiló 1932; Cabré Aguiló 1937). This is so, mainly for the need to find a general model of explanation, basically difussionistic (like the celtic model itself) and which allows for solving without digging the problems with little known archaeological evidences.

The great lists of sites compiled by Morán Bardón in his last works (Morán Bardón 1940; Morán Bardón 1946), although being imprecise, have been the basic resource for synthesis works (scarce) until the start of recent systematic surveys in the province (like developped by Manuel Santonja during 1984 to 1986 from the Museo de Salamanca (Sánchez-Palencia and Ruiz del Arbol 1999; Sánchez-Palencia, Ruiz del Arbol et al. 2000; SánchezPalencia, Ruiz del Arbol et al. 2001).

Following a diffusionistic model, prone to creating great “ethnic” groups, there is an interpretation of the Iron Age population in Salamanca as within a general group denominated, by the influence of late ancient sources, Vetonia.

Also in the beginnings of the Century, one of the main Spanish Historicians starts his work: Manuel Gómez Moreno, brushing the Salamanca discoveries (Gómez Moreno 1949), until in 1967 he writes the Salamanca chapter in the Monumental Catalogue (Gómez Moreno 1967).

The Celts are then settled in scientific literature as the generators of the “castros”, and any high-set village is considered a “castro”, even without evidence of chronological or stratigraphic sequences, or sometimes even without any evidence of settling during the Broze or Iron Age. But, by then, this was unquestionable.

Along with these, some local amateurs work in sites nearby to their cities. Among these, we must highlight the work of Domingo Sánchez in Irueña’s archaeological site, in the southwestern part of the province (Benet 1992). Although there is no published record of it, we have meaninful remains of the characteristics of the site. These people never left a historiographic track that could be found afterwards, except in exceptional cases such as the one just mentioned.

These studies, although more deeply archaeological, are still deeply in debt with Morán Bardón’s and his contemporaries. A brief current panorama After the first works of Maluquer de Motes, several University departments will be created on Ancient History and Prehistory, a service of Archaeology in the Salamanca Major House, and the Salamanca Museum with a great interest in Archaeology. All this will give an important push for research works in the area, although always much below what other provinces would see during this second half of the 20th Century.

The works of Morán Bardón and Gómez Moreno will be quite similar in their basic concepts. They will propose an area full of “castros” (hillforts), romanized the in a traditional way and making the few known nearby places comparison models. In this sense, they assimilate this settling to a “celtic” pattern which makes the whole northern Spanish panorama homogeneous and integrated part of the Celtic Europe. In that way there’s no need to understand the settling patterns, the variability of the exploitation of natural resources or to prove the veracity of

Currently, the work in different spots of interest for protohistoric archaeology, although sporadical, has provided several novelties. The works of Prof. Martín Valls in Picón de la Mora (Martín Valls 1971), or Yecla de 12

O. López-Jiménez: Historiography of Celtic Models in the Rise of Archaeological Studies in Salamanca (Western Spain)

indicate that through territorial analysys by landscape archaeology technices, systematical survey and microsurvey, extensive excavation and systematic trial pits in different places of the province, point towards a strong personality of the area.

Yeltes, the management of information in urban archaeology, mainly in Ledesma (Benet, Jiménez et al. 1991) or El Cerro de San Vicente in Salamanca (Macarro 1999), and the restarted works in El Cerro del Berrueco by Fabián (Fabián 1987) would be the most relevant among others, of those which took place in the area. Also, systematic surveys have contributed to create work basis for the start of further projects.

This comes to reorientate the homogeinistic vision, and to characterize these human groups in more particular regions, as interactive groups, in contact with each other in a vision of the Iron Age which is more contextualized and less standarized.

Still, for the University of Salamanca, the work in the province itself hasn’t been a main goal. Although some very interesting work took place there, until now there is no systematic research work taking place on the Iron Age.

Author’s address

The most complete works with an explanatory goal, on a bigger scale, have been recent, and they seem to embrace a neo-celtic approach. This is evident even in the title of the works, on one side Alvarez-Sanchís (Alvarez-Sanchís 1999) Los Vettones, and on the other Sánchez Moreno (Sánchez Moreno 2000) Vetones: Historia y Arqueología de un pueblo prerromano. Both bound a “Vetona” area, giving to this people a region which spreads over 4 times the size of a modern province. This layout of great territories controlled by “ethnias” implies a kind of structural control which doesn’t appear on the archaeological record nor is coherent with the actual variability of known evidence.

Oscar LÓPEZ JIMÉNEZ Depto. Arqueología. Instituto de Historia CSIC SPAIN

Bibliography ALVAREZ-SANCHÍS, J., 1999. Los Vettones. Madrid, Real Academia de la Historia. BENET, N., 1992. “Domingo en Irueña.” Boletín de amigos del Museo de Salamanca 2: 25-28. BENET, N., M. C. JIMÉNEZ, et al., 1991. Arqueología en Ledesma, una primera aproximación: La excavación en la Plaza de San Martín. Del Paleolítico a la Historia. M. Santonja. Salamanca, Junta de Castilla y León. CABRÉ AGUILÓ, J., 1932. Excavaciones de Las Cogotas, Cardeñosa (Avila) II La Necrópolis. Madrid, Junta Superior de Excavaciones y Antiguedades. CABRÉ AGUILÓ, J., 1937. Necrópolis de La Osera. Madrid, Junta Superior de Excavaciones y Antiguedades. D´ARBOIS DE JUBAINVILLE, H., 1871. Glossaire gaulois. Revue Celtique 1: 457-459. D´ARBOIS DE JUBAINVILLE, H., 1889. Premiers habitants de l'Europe. París. D´ARBOIS DE JUBAINVILLE, H., 1893-4. Les celtes en Espagne. Revue Celtique 14: 357-395. D´ARBOIS DE JUBAINVILLE, H., 1902. Principaux auters à consulter pour l´histoire des celtes. Cours de littérature celtique, París. D´ARBOIS DE JUBAINVILLE, H., 1904. Les celtes depuis les temps plus anciens jusqu´a l´an 100 avant notre ère. París. DÉCHELETTE, J., 1911-1914. Manuel d´archéologie préhistorique, céltique et gallo-romaine. París. DÉCHELETTE, J., 1912. Les fouilles du marquis de Cerralbo. Comptes rendus des séanses de l´Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. DORADO, B., 1776. Compendio histórico de la ciudad de Salamanca. Salamanca. FABIÁN, F., 1987. El Bronce Final y la Edad del Hierro en el Cerro del Berrueco (Ávila- Salamanca). Zephyrus XXXIXXL: 273-ss. FALCÓN, M., 1867. Salamanca artística y monumental. Salamanca. GÓMEZ MORENO, M., 1949. Miscelaneas. Madrid. GÓMEZ MORENO, M., 1967. Catálogo Monumental de España. Provincia de Salamanca. Madrid.

We have reached with these works, however, a degree of theoretical layout, contributing as well with a great amount of data from nearby places, which sets us in the perfect start to initiate a series of comparative studies which might solve some of these problems. Systematic characterization of known registries, study of cases which serve to generate an explanatory model and the search for long timed processes in the settling during the Iron Age are capital to be able to understand this reality from an archaeological perspective. CONCLUSIONS The province of Salamanca, although enjoying an interesting archaeological record, has been the subject of very few systematic works which contribute meaningful data towards understanding the problem of settling during the Iron Age. Archaeological evidence has been known through works like Morán Bardón’s, from the beginnings of the Century, and little by little they have taken a certain character and personality, but always very linked to the processes which took place in the Meseta plateau and most frequently to Avila’s processes. The creation of settling models of the territory and the structure of societies in the Avila ara has been inferred to Salamanca. This tendency, which is still deeply rooted today, tends to create great “ethnic” groups and divide the Iron Age of the northern and southern Meseta in a few great territories (López Jiménez 2001b). However, the works developed during recent years in this area, and most particularly CSIC’s ESTAP Landscape Archaeology Project, from 1998 until today, seem to 13

Muséographie et société contemporaine / Museum Studies and Modern Society MALUQUER DE MOTES, J., 1968. Excavaciones Arqueológicas en el Castro de Las Merchanas (Lumbrales, Salamanca). Pyrenae 4: 101 y ss. MARTÍN VALLS, R., 1971. El Castro del Picón de la Mora, Salamanca. Boletín del Seminario de Estudios de Arte y Arqueología XXXVII:193-205. MORÁN BARDÓN, C., 1919. Investigaciones acerca de Arqueología y Prehistoria de la región salmantina. Salamanca. MORÁN BARDÓN, C., 1922. Epigrafía salmantina. Salamanca. MORÁN BARDÓN, C., 1926. Prehistoria de Salamanca. O Instituto 73. MORÁN BARDÓN, C., 1933. Salamanca en la Prehistoria. Homenagem a Martins Sarmento Gimaraes: 257-260. MORÁN BARDÓN, C., 1940. Mapa Histórico de la Provincia de Salamanca. Salamanca. MORÁN BARDÓN, C., 1942. Toros y Verracos de la Edad del Hierro. Archivo Español de Arqueología XV: 249-251. MORÁN BARDÓN, C., 1946. Reseña Histórico Artística de la Provincia de Salamanca. Acta Salmanticenia II(1). SÁNCHEZ MORENO, E., 2000. Vetones: historia y arqueología de un pueblo prerromano. Madrid, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. SÁNCHEZ-PALENCIA, F.J. & M. RUIZ DEL ARBOL, 1999. Zona Arqueológica de las Cavenes de El Cabaco. Memória anual. JCyL, Salamaca. SÁNCHEZ-PALENCIA, F.J., M. RUIZ DEL ARBOl, et al., 2000. Zona Arqueológica de Las Cavenes de El Cabaco. Memoria anual. JCyL Salamanca. SÁNCHEZ-PALENCIA, F.J., M. RUIZ DEL ARBOL, et al,.(2001. Zona Arqueológica de Las Cavenes de El Cabaco. Memória anual. JCyL Salamanca. VILLAR Y MACIAS, F., 1887. Historia de Salamanca. Salamanca.

HÜBNER, E., 1869-1892. Corpus Inscriptorum Latinarum II. Berlín. HÜBNER, E., 1888. La Arqueología en España. Barcelona, Ramírez y Cía. Montaner. KOSSINNA, G., 1911. Zur herkunft der germanen, zur methode der siedlungsarchäologie. Mannus Bibliothek 6. KOSSINNA, G., 1921. Die Indogermanen (Ein abris. Das Indogermaniesche Urvolk). Leipzig, Kabitzsch. KOSSINNA, G., 1941. Die deutche Vorgechichte (eine hervorragend nationale Wissenschaft. Leipzig. LÓPEZ JIMÉNEZ, O., 2000. El concepto de Celtiberia en la Arqueología Española del siglo XIX. El origen del paradigma céltico. Celtiberia 94: 241-256. LÓPEZ JIMÉNEZ, O., 2001. Europa y la creación de los modelos "célticos. El origen del paradigma étnico-cultural.” Trabajos de Prehistoria 58 (2): 69-88. LÓPEZ JIMÉNEZ, O., 2001b. Territorios Fronteras y vías de comunicación en el sudoeste de la Mesete Norte durante el Bronce Final. II Jornadas de Arqueologías de Molina de Aragón., Molina de Aragón (Guadalajara), Ayuntamiento de Molina de Aragón. MACARRO, C., 1999. El Poblado de Soto de Medinilla del Cerro de San Vicente (Salamanca). Salamanca, Universidad de Salamanca. MALUQUER DE MOTES, J., 1951. De la Salamanca Primitiva. Zephyrus II: 61-72. MALUQUER DE MOTES, J., 1953. Lumbrales (Salamanca), castro de las Merchanas. Noticiario Arqueológico Hispánico II: 235. MALUQUER DE MOTES, J., 1958. Excavaciones Aqueológicas en El Cerro del Berrueco (Salamanca). Acta Salmanticensia XIV.

14

INTRODUCTION CONSERVATION, RESTAURATION, PROTECTION DE L’ART PALÉOLITHIQUE

Cette matière exige des connaissances théoriques que nous n’avons généralement pas. Elle n’est pas enseignée dans les cours universitaires, et il n’existe aujourd’hui pas de travail de synthèse consacré à ce sujet. C’est dire qu’il y a là un vide à combler !

Comme chacun sait, le préhistorien est entièrement dépendant des sources provenant – le plus souvent – des niveaux archéologiques. Ceux-ci sont le conservatoire des différentes paléosurfaces sur lesquelles les hommes préhistoriques ont évolué, laissant à l’endroit où ils se sont arrêtés les traces de leur passage. Il est banal de rappeler que nous ne disposons que d’une partie infime des objets abandonnés aux circonstances particulières liées aux conditions d’enfouissement, aux caractéristiques et aux remaniements du sol et à tant d’autres facteurs encore que la taphonomie peut, mais jusque dans une certaine mesure seulement, nous préciser. Il importe donc de ne rien perdre de cette information archéologique, déjà trop lacunaire, livrée par la fouille. Chacun des témoins, si modeste soit-il, peut s’avérer inestimable pour notre compréhension de l’homme préhistorique. Et ce qui vaut pour les vestiges archéologiques vaut a fortiori pour les témoins esthétiques – objets mobiliers, art pariétal ou rupestre – de ces périodes très anciennes. On le sait, la moindre modification des conditions d’équilibre dans une grotte ornée peut altérer gravement, voire détruire définitivement, ce que le temps a préservé durant des millénaires. La fouille d’un gisement archéologique, l’étude d’un site orné doivent donc être menés avec la ferme volonté d’archiver tout ce qui peut l’être, de façon à rendre possible un réexamen du matériel avec une nouvelle méthode de travail ou avec un point de vue différent. La récente publication consacrée à l’Aurignacien de la grotte du Renne à Arcy-sur-Cure, fouillée par l’équipe d’A. Leroi-Gourhan entre 1949 et 1961, témoigne à suffisance de l’importance de cet archivage (Schmider, 2002).

Un autre problème capital à traiter est celui de la conservation à long terme des documents archéologiques. Les grottes ornées ou les sites d’art rupestre sont évidemment toujours fortement menacés, surtout lorsqu’ils sont très connus. Dans certains sites espagnols, portes blindées et cadenas spéciaux n’ont pas toujours suffi pour décourager les touristes : des cadenas sont régulièrement forcés et de fréquentes tentatives – heureusement infructueuses – sont faites pour ouvrir les portes, au point qu’il a parfois été nécessaire de placer une seconde porte blindée ou d’ajouter une grille métallique de protection. Ce vandalisme inqualifiable justifie la prise de mesures parfois drastiques, comme la fermeture définitive de certaines grottes ornées, le regroupement de sites rupestres dans des parcs archéologiques fermés (Levant espagnol), dont l’entrée est strictement contrôlée (Naquane dans le Valcamonica, Högsbyn en Suède ou Alta en Norvège, par exemple) ou les voies d’accès surveillées en permanence (Foz Côa au Portugal). Les dégradations ne sont d’ailleurs pas le fait exclusif d’actes intentionnels : on sait que la prise d’empreintes (La Mouthe en Dordogne) ou la réalisation de moulages (Saint-Cirq en Dordogne) ont parfois entraîné des séquelles irréparables sur certaines parois ornées. Mais c’est, bien sûr, le tourisme de masse qui cause les « maladies » des sites ornés les plus graves : c’est pour n’avoir pas suffisamment vite géré les problèmes liés à la protection et à la conservation que des grottes trop célèbres comme Lascaux ou Altamira sont aujourd’hui encore gravement menacées. Les êtres humains ne sont d’ailleurs pas seuls à abîmer ou à détruire ce patrimoine extraordinaire. Certains sites qui se trouvent dans des propriétés privées peuvent être gravement endommagés ou progressivement détruits par le piétinement des animaux (sabots des vaches et des chevaux) et par leurs excréments. Tel est malheureusement le cas pour un certain nombre de sites rupestres scandinaves, dont il ne restera plus rien dans quelques années si des mesures importantes de protection ne sont pas prises rapidement (Jörlov et rochers gravés dans les environs de Högsbyn, en Suède, par exemple). Heureusement, des travaux récents de large diffusion comme ceux de Vidal (2001) ou de Clottes (2002), pour ne citer que ces deux là, insistent de plus en plus sur les graves menaces qui les frappent. On doit espérer une progressive sensibilisation du public au respect de ce

Pourtant, récolter les vestiges et leur position dans le sol ne suffit pas. Dans la mesure où ils existent encore, les objets exhumés se trouvent dans un milieu particulier qui a assuré leur conservation, et les en extraire entraîne leur passage brutal dans un milieu à ce point différent qu’ils risquent de se dégrader, de se détériorer ou de se désagréger irrémédiablement : le cas des objets en bois gorgés d’eau est suffisamment connu pour ne devoir pas être rappelé. Il est donc indispensable de savoir précisément comment prélever du sol les témoins découverts, de pouvoir déterminer la méthode à utiliser pour opérer le plus correctement possible ce passage périlleux du changement de milieu, sans mettre en danger des pièces déjà tellement fragilisées. Et pour ce faire, il faut bien l’avouer, les archéologues restent très démunis. Lorsque ce problème de protection des objets les touche, les professionnels de la fouille ne peuvent le plus souvent que s’appuyer sur leur propre expérience de terrain ou sur des échanges informels tenus à l’occasion de visites de chantiers ou de musées. 15

Muséographie et société contemporaine / Museum Studies and Modern Society

Moisan, lors du Colloque international consacré à l’art pariétal paléolithique tenu à Périgueux en 1984, concluait son exposé en précisant : de ce qui vient d’être dit, on pourrait conclure qu’il faut éviter l’emploi des films plastiques pour la reproduction des peintures rupestres, ces films ayant une durée de vie très limitée. En fait, il faut plutôt choisir son matériau en fonction de l’usage que l’on fera du film (Moisan, 1989 : 140). L’intérêt qu’a suscité cette intéressante communication montre que le message a été entendu par les préhistoriens : entendu, mais pas forcément appliqué. Une fois encore, si nous pouvons préciser les qualités que nous attendons du produit à employer, seuls les spécialistes sont vraiment en mesure de nous informer sérieusement sur les caractéristiques et les types de produits que nous devons utiliser.

patrimoine. Mais celle-ci ne sera possible que si tous les préhistoriens apportent leur contribution à cette tâche. À cet égard, un énorme travail de formation reste encore à faire. Des travaux scientifiques récents, comme celui de Jacques Brunet et de Jean Vouvé (1996), des colloques entièrement consacrés à la conservation des sites préhistoriques, comme celui tenu à Paris en mai 2002, devraient, en tout cas, contribuer à nous donner à nous, préhistoriens, le bagage nécessaire pour œuvrer dans ce sens. Si les questions liées à la conservation sont de plus en plus fréquemment examinées pour les sites ornés, elles ne sont, en revanche, presque jamais abordées pour les documents archéologiques. On chercherait en vain des informations précises et fiables sur les problèmes posés à long terme par le stockage des objets lithiques ou osseux dans les réserves, sur l’influence de la lumière – parfois vive – sur les objets en matière organique, sur les altérations qui peuvent être provoquées par la proximité des visiteurs avec certaines œuvres gravées ou sculptées sur pierre du Paléolithique supérieur ou du Néolithique, et non protégées par une vitrine, sur la durée de vie des résines ou d’autres matières utilisées pour consolider, solidifier ou reproduire des documents archéologiques (élastomères de silicones, résines polyesthers et résines polyuréthanes) (David & Desclaux, 1992). Il y a là un énorme champ d’investigation à exploiter, d’autant plus important que les objets recueillis, les échantillons prélevés et les rares moulages réalisés – de sols d’habitat, par exemple – sont les seules traces matérielles qui subsistent une fois le gisement exploité. Un matériel énorme, fruit de la boulimie archéologique d’un siècle et demi de recherches effrénées, se trouve, au mieux présenté dans les vitrines, au pire entassé dans des réserves. Or, l’altération ou la dégradation sur le long terme de ces vestiges ne peut absolument pas être évaluée aujourd’hui puisque nous ne disposons d’aucunes données scientifiques à ce sujet. Ce problème de conservation à long terme ne touche d’ailleurs pas seulement les vestiges, il concerne également les documents originaux des archéologues, fruit de leurs observations sur le terrain. Un grand nombre de stratigraphies ont été relevées. Celles-ci évidemment n’existent plus aujourd’hui, et les dessins – parfois inédits – qui nous sont parvenus constituent donc plus qu’une simple illustration : ils sont un véritable instrument de travail. Or, le papier millimétré et les encres ou les couleurs utilisées peuvent se dégrader assez rapidement. Pendant combien de temps pourront-nous disposer de ces documents originaux ? Il n’en va pas différemment pour les relevés de motifs exécutés sur les parois des grottes. Les innombrables relevés de Breuil ont été faits en grandeur naturelle sur un support qui n’était pas fait pour durer – le « papier fleuriste ». Quel est leur « espérance de vie » ? Peut-on faire quelque chose pour les sauver de la destruction ? Même si les techniques de relevé ont évolué et les supports se sont améliorés, les questions de conservation se posent toujours. Depuis plusieurs décennies, les préhistoriens travaillent sur des feuilles transparentes fabriquées dans des matières plastiques variées pour réaliser leurs relevés – d’après des photographies, dont nous ne savons pas non plus la durée de vie – ou dessins d’objets. Il y a 20 ans déjà, J.-Y.

Enfin, la question de la restauration des objets, et en particulier des objets d’art, se pose également. Elle se pose, à vrai dire, moins au préhistorien de terrain qui doit étudier le document et le présenter dans la monographie du gisement qui l’occupe qu’au conservateur de musée, davantage préoccupé par la nécessité de rendre l’œuvre ou l’objet facilement compréhensibles au visiteur peu averti. Il y a, à cet égard, une grande différence d’attitude en fonction des catégories de témoins. Le préhistorien admet assez facilement que soient restaurés une céramique ou un objet en métal. Il peut également admettre que soit restauré un objet fonctionnel du Paléolithique (un propulseur en bois de renne, par exemple) ou éventuellement – mais avec beaucoup plus de difficulté – un objet d’art mobilier. Il n’admet en aucun cas la restauration de dessins, de peintures, de gravures ou de sculptures pariétales. La différence d’attitude à ce sujet est grande par rapport à celle de l’historien d’art des périodes historiques. Celui-ci accepte, le plus souvent sans difficulté, de collaborer avec des restaurateurs qui travaillent directement sur le support ou sur la couche picturale elle-même. De nombreuses fresques, des peintures sur panneau ou sur toile de diverses époques ont ainsi fait l’objet de restaurations plus ou moins sévères. Cette matière est d’ailleurs enseignée, et elle fait l’objet de publications de synthèse, y compris sous la forme de manuels de restauration (Nicolaus, 1999, par exemple). Une fois encore, il n’est peut-être pas inutile de solliciter l’aide ou l’avis des spécialistes compétents. À la condition qu’elle soit totalement réversible et que nous disposions de données suffisantes pour la critiquer, la restauration devrait pouvoir être envisagée dans notre discipline. Peut-être ces appels seront-t-ils entendus et nous apporteront-t-ils un jour – pas trop lointain, nous l’espérons – ce « Manuel des premiers gestes à l’usage des archéologues » et ce « Guide de conservation et de restauration des objets archéologiques » que nous attendons avec tant d’impatience. En attendant, nous devons espérer que des rencontres scientifiques consacrées à ces thèmes de recherche se multiplieront. Tel était, en tout cas, notre vœu commun au moment où nous avons décidé d’organiser ce colloque. Marc GROENEN Joaquín GONZÁLEZ ECHEGARAY 16

M. Groenen & J. González Echegaray: Introduction

Bibliography

préhistoire et en archéologie historique, Nice, Ed. Serre, 326 p.

COLLECTIF, 2002. L’art avant l’histoire. La conservation de l’art préhistorique. 10e journée d’études de la section française de l’Institut international de conservation, Paris, 23-24 mai 2002, Champs-sur-Marne, SFIIC, 254 p.

MOISAN J.-Y., 1989. La dégradation des films polymères, dans : J.-P. RIGAUD (dir.). Art pariétal paléolithique. Etude et conservation, Colloque international. PérigueuxLe Thot, 19-22 novembre 1984, Paris, Ministère de la Culture, pp. 139-142.

BRUNET J. & VOUVÉ J., 1996. La conservation des grottes ornées, Paris, C.N.R.S., 264 p.

NICOLAUS K., 1999. Manuel de restauration des tableaux, Cologne, Könemann, 425 p.

CLOTTES J., 2002. World Rock Art, Los Angeles, The Getty Conservation Institute, 140 p.

SCHMIDER B. (dir.), 2002. L’Aurignacien de la grotte du Renne. Les fouilles d’André Leroi-Gourhan à Arcy-surCure (Yonne), Paris, C.N.R.S., 309 p. (XXXIVe supplément à Gallia Préhistoire).

DAVID R. & DESCLAUX M., 1992. Pour copie conforme. Les tecniques de moulage en paléontologie, en

17

QUELQUES CONSIDERATIONS SUR LA CONSERVATION DES GROTTES DU MONTE DEL CASTILLO ET DES ENVIRONS, EN CANTABRIE, ESPAGNE Jose M. CEBALLOS DEL MORAL

Résumé : Les points suivants seront abordés lors de cette communication : 1° les agressions subies lors des différentes étapes de l’urbanisation, depuis la découverte des grottes jusqu’à aujourd’hui ; 2° les problèmes occasionnés par l’éclairage et par les visiteurs ; 3° la problématique causée par la flore extérieure (Eucalyptus) ; 4° la situation actuelle après l’installation de senseurs précis et de la lumière froide. Abstract: The following points will be discussed in this paper : 1° the aggressions suffered during the various urbanisation stages, from the discovery of the caves until today ; 2° the problems caused by the lighting and visitors ; 3° the problem caused by the external flora (Eucalyptus) ; 4° the present situation after installation of precise sensors and cold light.

bouchant même les gours qui, une fois nettoyés, se remplissaient à nouveau d’eau. En même temps, on procède à la destruction des camouflages construits en 1974, en sortant les déblais et en refaisant les camouflages avec la maçonnerie utilisée en 1949. Malgré notre insistance, nous n’obtenons pas que les lampes à incandescence soient remplacées par des lampes froides, mais nous obtenons pour la première fois que l’on installe des filets de Nylon pour protéger les représentations pariétales d’El Castillo et de Las Monedas qui, comme vous le savez, se trouvent à portée de la main. Il est bien vrai que les filets ne sont pas des plus esthétiques, mais c’est pour le moment la meilleure protection pour empêcher les visiteurs de toucher les parois ornées.

Je commencerai cet exposé par la grotte d’El Castillo. Les problèmes de conservation des grottes ornées commencent dans les années soixante, coïncidant avec le « boum » touristique en Espagne : tout le monde sait qu’à cette époque le nombre de visiteurs de la grotte d’Altamira dépassait de beaucoup les 1.000 personnes par jour. Les problèmes de conservation que pouvait occasionner l’exploitation incontrôlée de ces grottes n’étaient pas connus ou préoccupaient très peu de personnes. Je ne prétends en aucune façon critiquer les personnes ou organismes qui, à cette époque, et sans doute avec les meilleures intentions du monde, pensaient que le Monte del Castillo pouvait être une grande source d’attrait touristique. Simplement, je me limite à constater les faits qui, plus tard, ont influé en grande partie sur leur conservation. Ces personnes décidèrent d’aménager les grottes pour que les visiteurs y accèdent avec facilité ; mais les agressions avaient commencé bien des années auparavant.

En 1998, enfin, nous réussissons à remplacer les lampes à incandescence d’El Castillo par des lampes froides, ce qui nous a permis d’observer, après deux mois, une baisse de température de plus de 2 degrés et une augmentation considérable du degré d’humidité. C’est ainsi que nous avons pu constater que les altérations thermohygrométriques qui se produisaient dans la grotte étaient davantage dues à l’éclairage à incandescence qu’aux visiteurs. Nous avons pu noter la réapparition de nouvelles peintures, ce qui nous laisse penser qu’El Castillo est peutêtre en train de retrouver le microclimat qui devait être le sien avant sa découverte. Il faut rappeler que le nombre de visiteurs limité à 380 personnes par jour est le même que celui que nous avions auparavant.

En 1949, on construit les premiers escaliers de la Cueva del Castillo (on utilise une maçonnerie de calcaire ; ce n’est pas un élément étranger dans la grotte), on éclaire en même temps pour la première fois par un câblage extérieur, en fixant sur les murs des emplâtres de chaux qui, dans certains cas, recouvraient les peintures et les gravures ; pour l’éclairage, on utilise des lampes à incandescence.

Ces dernières années, nous avons remarqué que le « panneau des mains négatives » s’asséchait plus que d’habitude, y compris pendant les périodes humides. Nous ne parvenions pas à retrouver le degré d’humidité, même sans les visites et même laissant le panneau dans l’obscurité. À l’occasion d’une visite à la Cueva del Oso, proche de celle d’El Castillo, nous avons pu observer que d’énormes racines d’eucalyptus, qui avaient traversé 10 m de roche calcaire, pendaient jusqu’au sol de la grotte, à la recherche de l’eau. Après avoir signalé cette situation à

En 1964, on refait les escaliers pour que l’accès à la grotte soit plus commode, mais cette fois on utilise du béton. En 1974, on refait l’éclairage en utilisant des matériaux extérieurs à la grotte (sédiments provenant de l’extérieur, tôle ondulée, briques, ciment) et toujours avec des lampes à incandescence. En 1990, on procède au nettoyage de la grotte, car les déblais des travaux antérieurs se trouvaient dans les trous, 19

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La Cueva de Las Chimeneas a été aménagée au début de l’année 1963, mais elle n’a jamais été éclairée, car, comme dans le cas de La Pasiega, elle est restée fermée pour sa conservation. Son état de conservation est impressionnant. Les groupes de visiteurs sont limités également à 3 personnes en plus du guide.

l’administration régionale de la culture du Gouvernement de Cantabrie, nous avons fait enlever tous les eucalyptus situés au sommet de la Cueva del Castillo et avons fait sécher les souches pour éviter que les arbres ne repoussent. En même temps, nous avons fait planter une flore autochtone composée de chênes, de chênes verts et de hêtres. Le « panneau des mains » a retrouvé en une semaine son degré d’humidité habituel, ravivant la couleur. En ce moment, on est en train de procéder à la coupe de tous les eucalyptus qui se trouvent sur le mont.

Du 19 au 22 mars 2001 s’est tenu à Puente Viesgo le 5e Congrès international des guides et du personnel des grottes à gisement préhistorique. Les 63 participants, en majorité espagnols, français et portugais, sont arrivés aux mêmes conclusions :

Depuis quarante années que je suis chargé de la conservation de cette grotte, je pense pouvoir dire que les peintures de la grotte d’El Castillo sont aujourd’hui dans un état de conservation optimal.

- premièrement, la nécessité de créer une association européenne des Guides des Grottes préhistoriques, car il s’agit d’un travail très spécifique d’interprétation du patrimoine et d’exercice de surveillance régulière au contact direct avec la grotte, support des vestiges préhistoriques ;

En ce qui concerne la grotte de Las Monedas, on procède, dès sa découverte, à son aménagement pour les visiteurs, mais on ne place un éclairage à lampes à incandescence qu’en 1965. Au début de l’année en cours, l’administration régionale culturelle du Gouvernement de Cantabrie a remplacé les anciennes lampes par des lampes froides, ouvrant cette grotte au public après 5 ans de fermeture. On tolère aujourd’hui 380 personnes par jour, par groupes de 20 personnes maximum, comme pour la Cueva del Castillo.

- ensuite, il faut transformer petit à petit les critères de quantité en critères de qualité, avec l’aide des centres d’interprétation et des moyens actuels qui pourraient participer à la conservation des espèces souterraines ; - enfin, le rejet de la commercialisation des réseaux naturels et historiques d’un point de vue touristique massif, mais le renforcement des lieux publics des sites préhistoriques, au moyen de mesures de protection et de régulation cohérentes, en utilisant des quotas et des périodes de repos pour favoriser la conservation du point de vue social et patrimonial.

En ce qui concerne la Cueva de la Pasiega, fermée pour sa conservation depuis sa découverte, elle fut éclairée au début des années soixante, sans raisons apparentes. Bien que l’éclairage n’ait jamais été utilisé, nous allons maintenant procéder à l’enlèvement des câbles et de tout le matériel étranger à la grotte. À la fin des années cinquante, Garcia Lorenzo (ingénieur des Ponts et Chaussées du Conseil Général) observa que des courants d’air provenant des galeries « A » et « B » asséchaient fortement la galerie « C ». Il fit alors construire un mur artificiel qui divise aujourd’hui encore la grotte en deux. Effectivement, la galerie « C » a retrouvé en grande partie son degré d’humidité, ce qui a permis la réapparition de certaines peintures. Les peintures de la galerie « A » sont en train de retrouver leurs couleurs, car le degré d’humidité a considérablement augmenté. La galerie « B » « récupère » plus lentement à cause de sa proximité de l’extérieur et d’une des entrées naturelles. Les visites effectuées (toujours avec des spécialistes) sont limitées à 3 personnes en plus du guide.

En définitive, je crois qu’il faut que ce métier, si intimement lié au patrimoine naturel et historique, puisse assumer professionnellement un rôle important dans la conservation et la diffusion de cet héritage unique de notre passé. Adresse de l’auteur Jose Maria CEBALLOS DEL MORAL Encargado general de las Cuevas del Monte del Castillo y La Haza Ministeria de Cultura

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THE PRESERVATION OF THE CAVE OF ALTAMIRA (1880–2002) Carmen DE LAS HERAS, José Antonio LASHERAS, Sergio SANCHEZ-MORAL, José BEDOYA, Juan Carlos CAÑAVERAS & Vicente SOLER

Résumé : Les problèmes de conservation qui affectent la grotte d’Altamira et ses peintures offrent une étiologie variée. Manuel Hoyos (1994) a regroupé ces problèmes en trois catégories, toutes trois fondamentales et fortement corrélées. Il s’agit des caractéristiques géologiques et karstiques de la grotte, de l’état d’altération des peintures et des dégradations anthropiques produites tant à l’extérieur qu’à l’intérieur de la cavité. Historiquement, ces facteurs se sont finalement développés en plusieurs étapes, de manière telle que l’intérêt premier pour le réseau géologique de la cavité a entraîné une série d’interventions, à tel point qu’ils ont fini par affecter l’état de conservation des peintures. L’afflux massif du public a contribué à aggraver la situation. Dans cette communication, nous résumerons les problèmes ayant affecté la grotte d’Altamira et ses représentations artistiques, depuis sa découverte jusqu’à aujourd’hui, les différentes étapes qu’elle a traversées, ainsi que le point de vue actuel et futur après l’établissement d’un programme muséologique ambitieux et un contrôle environnemental strict de la grotte d’Altamira qui a permis de concilier conservation de l’héritage culturel d’une part et satisfaction du public de l’autre. Abstract: The problems of preservation which affect the Cave of Altamira and its paintings are of varied aetiology. Manuel Hoyos (1994) summarised these problems in three categories, all of them basic and closely related among them. The geological and karstic characteristics of the cave, the altered state of the paintings and the anthropic alterations produced both outside and inside the cavity. Historically, these factors have eventually been developed in a series of steps, in such a way that the initial concern with the geological structure of the cavity resulted in a series of interventions over it, of such magnitude, that they ended up affecting the preservation state of the paintings. The massive influx of public helped to aggravate the situation. We will sum up in this paper the problems which have affected the Cave of Altamira and its art, from its discovery until now, the different stages through which it has undergone and the current and future scene after the setting about of an ambitious museological program and a strict environmental control of the Cave of Altamira which succeed in achieving the harmonisation of the preservation of the cultural heritage along with its public enjoyment

INTRODUCTION

We have to say that, in spite of the cave looking pitiful and the –real- chance that the collapses would affect the paintings hall, the problem was not tackled by the authorities concerned, still unaware of its value and, in general, of the importance of the historic heritage. J. Carballo – regional archaeologist- informed King Alfonso XIII of such an alarming situation, and then the king took the initiative personally and he gave the Duke of Alba the job of taking the appropriate steps to solve the problem. Under his auspices, they set in motion a series of actions aimed at the legal protection of the monument, its better scientific knowledge and the solution of the geological stability problems of the cavity.

The Cave of Altamira is located in the upper part of an ancient karst tending to disappear because of collapses and falls, owing to the tabular structure of the limestone and the steep slope of the fracture planes. As Hoyos (1993) pointed out the geologic evolution of Altamira is marked more by a series of gravitational collapses of the limestone rock layers, rather than by the water flow. These collapses began in Prehistory and, of them, the oldest could have buried Mousterian occupations or maybe Aurignacian. During the Solutrean period there might have occurred another cataclysm and a new one along the Magdalenian. A great collapse which took place some 13,000 years ago bringing about the fall of the initial part of the cave, leaving it sealed until the very moment of its discovery, right in the 20th century.

In 1921 Alberto Corral was commissioned to plan the drainage and consolidation of the cave of Altamira. His interventions in the exterior and the interior of the cavern were as well meant and in compliance with the technical knowledge at that time, as aggressive for the natural environment of the cavern and its setting. In the outside an access road was built, the ground above the ceiling of the paintings was waterproofed with concrete and the bushy vegetation was replaced with meadows. In the inside, the most important cracks were filled in with hydraulic cement, the electric light was installed and the level of the ground was lowered to make the visitors passage easier. The collapses which occurred in the site area during Obermaier’s excavations (1924-25) forced the building of great walls to prop the ceiling, varying Corral’s original project in which only some passage paths were proposed (Fig. 1 a 3). The walls were put up halfway the excavated zone of the site and the paintings hall in such a way that

The discoverer of the paintings, Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, visited the cavern around the years 1875 or 1876 and later in 1879. Sautuola (1880) reports how in the course of these visits, new collapses had taken place at the entrance area. In fact, the whole interior of the cave was strewn with sharp detached blocks, many of them, before the artistic works were performed. Rodriguez Ferrer (1880) made the comment that the route inside the cave was made going up and down crags and debris which block the way all the time. Similar depictions are repeated in subsequent years and the tone of alarm becomes patently clear in the reports sent to the Academia de Bellas Artes seeking the support of the institution to solve the serious problems of stability of the cave. 21

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The new people in charge considered that the problem of the rock instability was not solved and new actions should be made on this matter. They decided to prop the ceiling of the paintings hall and the galleries III and IV with timber beams. It was a really unfortunate measure, since irrespective of its void usefulness and constituting an aesthetic aggressiveness of the first order, it became a focus of microorganisms in direct contact with the rock art. This propping system remained in the inside of the hall no less than fifteen years. A detailed report from Alfredo García Lorenzo was necessary for its removal, proposing its replacement by new wallworks, this time placed at the entrance area of the hall and from there into the inside beneath the big crack which grooves the ceiling and a large part of the perimeter of the Hall. All these walls were deftly camouflaged so that the visitors just cannot notice its artificiality, even some prehistorians, from the 40’s onwards and judging from their published works- seemed not to have been aware neither of their existence nor of the actual and full size of the painted and engraved surface on the ceiling and, therefore, of all its figures. Figure 1. Corral’s Project for the remodelling of the interior of the entrance hall and Paintings hall of the Cave of Altamira (1921).

The evolution followed by the inner space of Altamira and the gradual changes, which occurred in it, are clearly shown in our figure 3. There can be seen how the original space originally inhabited by men and women during the Upper Palaeolithic was completely modified and these alterations brought about serious consequences for the preservation of the Polychromes Hall, encapsulated between concrete walls. The structural changes particularly affected the environmental parameters and the airflow (Hoyos, 1994), altering their natural conditions and that situation being aggravated by the massive presence of visitors in the Polychrome Hall. So, although at first the geological stability of the cavern was the main concern, from the fifties the preservation balance would tip more weight towards the damages caused by an excessive presence of public in the Paintings Hall. Altamira has always exerted a great fascination on the public and as such focus of attraction, it has been visited just since its discovery following an increasing pace until becoming a place of cultural pilgrimage, as emblematic as the Alhambra in Granada or The Museum of El Prado. The Santillana del Mar Town Council, as early as the beginning of the 20th century, ordered that the visits were guided and issued some rules in order to avoid excesses in the cave. Some years later, in 1926, The Junta de Administración y Exploracion de la Cueva de Altamira laid down that the groups should be made up of a maximum of ten people accompanied by a guide. Two years later, The people in charge, asked for the presence of the Guardia Civil in order to avoid the excesses which took place among the large number of public which wanted to gain access to the cavity. All this happened at dates in which we cannot talk about a developed tourism industry but the existence of a holidaymaker group, with a high purchasing power, and being also a demographic minority. The inflection point towards a mass tourism took place in the fifties reaching 50,000 visitors yearly, and they would come to be 177,000 in 1973.

Figure 2. Detailed ground plan of the Entrance Hall of the Cave of Altamira during Obermaier’s excavations (1924-25). In : Breuil Obermaier (1935: 193)

the spacious entrance hall in which the Palaeolithic dwellers’ everyday life took place, was cut off from the rest of the cavity permanently, small in size, and subjected to new environmental conditions. The administrative situation of the Cave of Altamira changed radically after the Spanish Civil War (1936/1939). In 1940 it became dependent on a provincial patronage, which should also take care of the other Cantabrian Caves.

The first to raise the alarm about the conservation state of the paintings coincide with the increase in the number of 22

C. de las Heras et al.: The Preservation of the Cave of Altamira (1880–2002)

1

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Figure 3. Transformations at the entrance hall and the Hall of paintings of the Cave of Altamira. The Neocave recovers the image number one. (Topography: National Centre of Geographic Information, 1998).

newspapers such as ABC (16th July 1955) and YA (25th July 1957) recounting the alarming situation. From the outset, the relationship between the increase of the number of visitors and the damages shown by the paintings was clearly seen, consequently the technicians in charge of the preservation of the cave, proposed a reduction in the

tourists recorded in the 50’s. In 1955, the engineer Garcia Lorenzo informed the Patronato de las Cuevas Prehistóricas de la Provincia de Santander about the appearance of calcite concretions in the Hall of the Paintings. This concern has leaked out to the public opinion, as it is shown by the leading articles of 23

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analysis results which were recorded in tree volumes of the series Monografias del Centro de Investigación de Altamira (numbers 5, 9 and 11). In 1982 the opening of the cave to the public was recommended within a restricted visits regime, with the purpose of analysing the behaviour of the environmental variables under that public access regime. A daily maximum for visitors was established depending on the month of the year and the time of stay inside the Paintings hall, all of this according to a mathematical model which related the exterior climate to its seasonal variables, the cave climate itself and the heat brought by every visitor. This access regime to visit the Cave of Altamira is still in force.

number of the people who gained access inside the paintings area, as an effective method to fight against the deterioration. Nevertheless, it is essential to accept that Altamira had become an indispensable source of income for the development of a region that struggled for making its way and no politician in charge could assume to take on the course of one of the jewels of the growing regional tourism. Bur rather, there was an increasing tourism promotion of the Cave of Altamira and from its takings, great sums of money were invested in arranging another Cantabrian Caves containing rock art paintings for tourism. We owe to the engineer Alfredo Garcia Lorenzo, man in charge of the conservation of the caves in the Patronato, the huge efforts to achieve a reduction in the number of visitors, to control the environmental parameters and the harmful effects of the electric light. He raised the issue of the conservation problem of the Altamira paintings for the first time in the international scientific for from the 70’s. The fact that the Symposium Internacional de Arte Rupestre of the Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques was held in Spain served as the pretext for the presentation of a report in which there was a thorough approach to he problems affecting Altamira and an enumeration and description of all the environmental parameters whose in-depth study should be dealt without the slightest delay through the creation of a multidisciplinary team (Garcia Lorenzo and Enderiz, 1972). At this moment, The issue had gone through the public opinion due to the continuous references in the media, and the damages seemed to be visible on every figure, especially on the great hind. In spite of all what had happened, the situation remained in the same terms until 1976 when, after the political regime change in Spain, the new people in charge of the recently created Ministry of Culture took steps, precautionary at first, to a reduction of visitors and later the total closure of the cave. A Comisión Investigadora made a series of studies on the colour evolution of the paintings, pigment analysis, rock support composition, among many others, whose results were published in the proceedings of the International Symposium of Rock-Art held in commemoration of the centenary of the discovery of Altamira Cave (Altamira Symposium 1979).

During the closure period of the cave – from 1977 until 1982-, the aspect of the paintings seemed to improve and the intensity of colour was recovered, then gradually disappearing the existing fadings on the hind’s neck. In 1985, Altamira had been included by the UNESCO in the List of Human Heritage confirming its exceptional nature and the efforts made by the Ministry of Culture for its preservation. This situation, the recovery of the tourism figures in Santillana del Mar and the scarce visits allowed into the cave, as well as the appeasement of the political authorities either local or regional made the old idea of building a replica of Altamira to be taken up again strongly by the people in charge of the public affairs (and also by curators, museologists and prehistorians involved); It was borne in mind the precedents of the model of the German Museum of Science and Technology of Munich made in 1960 and the ongoing project of Lascaux II. Having a facsimile of the original was for many the panacea for the preservation of Altamira as it might reduce the pressure for visiting the cave and at the same time it would provide Santillana del Mar with renewed tourism attractions again. So, since 1983 until 1991, it was opened a period in which the priority was defining the replica project which was wanted to be achieved and the drawing up of a viable project which could allow it. As for the model, the facsimile of the Cave of Lascaux was taken as a reference, even regarding to its location, since the future replica of Altamira was also seen too close to the original. In the different projects submitted, it was clear that there was not an effective approach to the problems springing from the management of thousands of visitors who, again and in a swollen number, would come back to Altamira, if the problems of the old and obsolete museum exhibition (inadequate for the visitors expectancies and to reflect the wealth of the Palaeolithic in Cantabria), apart from the fact that there remained pending environmental risks in the surrounding exterior environment of the cave, the experience accumulated in Lascaux/Lascaux II should be used, in its successes and in what was liable to be improved.

In 1979 The National Museum and Research Centre of Altamira – shortly Museum of Altamira was created- in which the cave itself was included, becoming state property, high technology scientific material was purchased in order to be applied to the conservation of the paintings and an study was commissioned to a team directed by a physics professor of the University of Cantabria. This team started from a series of basic assumptions, such as the ignorance of the extent of the damages suffered by the paintings, the danger rate of the factors intervening in it, as well as the environmental conditions which could have existed inside the cave before its discovery. It was intended to find a balance state of the ecosystem which might keep the Paintings Hall within some parameters as much stable as possible keeping the natural ventilation of the cave, abandoning the idea of artificial systems of air conditioning. This team worked until 1983, issuing then a series of technical reports and

In this situation, it seemed essential starting a new plan which would deal with the conservation and spreading requirements Altamira needed. What at first had been proposed as a specific intervention, the building of the replica, became an extensive museological program which proposed a comprehensive solution to the multiple matters which affected directly to the preservation of the monument and its environment as well as to its adequate management and spread. 24

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It was understood that the reproduction of Altamira, the research and conservation of the original should be part of the same project, for which a series of essential actions should be tackled. In 1992 The Museological Plan was submitted to the Museum’s Patronage, which was promptly accepted, where the pending problems as well as the most advisable solutions were stated.

Interior: When the water with high values of the CO2 pressure springs into the cavity there is an out-gassing and the atmosphere of the cave is filled with this gas. The temperature and relative humidity of the air suffer natural fluctuations of a very low rank throughout the year. The entrance of visitors brings about some increases in temperature, relative humidity and CO2 modifying the microenvironment of the cave.

THE CONSERVATION OF THE CAVE AND ITS PAINTINGS

The external climatic conditions and the geological characteristics of the area, including its seismic activity, are natural factors which cannot be kept under control and condition the natural karstic evolution of the cave. The anthropic actions should be aimed at delaying as far as possible, the effect of those natural processes of decay. Unfortunately the destabilising factor which favours the progress of the deterioration processes and its support rock is related either directly or indirectly with these anthropic activities.

Within this plan of action, one of the first steps taken was that of purchasing, in 1993, the private land which still existed over the cave and its surroundings. Thus the perimeter of direct protection of the cave and its paintings was enlarged preventing any new activity in this pieces of land to be carried out, until now used as meadowland for cattle. The direct action inside the cavern also started in 1993, when the electrical and lighting installations were totally renovated. The new technologies allowed the perfect view of the paintings with fewer than 60% of lamps and less than 90% of power installed. It was thus ensured the elimination of the risks which for the preservation of the artistic representations involved an excessive and inadequate lighting.

The many factors which have an influence in the delicate balance of the caves which house rock-art imply the need to carry out multidisciplinary studies. By means of the implementation of a complex study methodology, it can be achieved a detailed knowledge of the problems of the karstic systems and the chance of incorporating the results in an integrated model. The multidisciplinary teams which had carried out the studies for the preservation of the Cave of Altamira were directed and co-ordinated by Manuel Hoyos Gómez until April 1999. This teams had been made up of members of the Geology Department of the national Museum of Natural Science (Madrid), Natural Product and Agrobiology Institute (Tenerife) and Natural Resources and Agrobiology Institute (Seville) all of them members of the CSIC. For some detailed aspects of the microbiological studies and aerosol particles there has been a collaboration with the Universities of Antwerp (Belgium) and Vienna (Austria). The research works carried out had been focused on the aspects which are stated below.

Another pending question was that of the definite diagnostic study on the geological status of the cave itself and the conservation state of the paintings since the works undertook in 1982 by the University of Cantabria needed verification after several years of limited opening of the cave to the public. The preservation of the rock-art paintings located in caves from the moment that they were made until their discovery, it is due basically to the lack of aggressiveness of the natural karstic and climatic conditions. Nonetheless, once the paintings are discovered, we can observe in most of them a relatively quick degradation in a short period of time, which if it had come from the past, it would not have allowed its preservation until the present time. In the Cave of Altamira the high degree of conservation noticed at the moment of its discovery occurred due to two favourable conditions, basically (Villar et al., 1986, Hoyos, 1993): (1) the low rate of infiltration water through the calcareous layer which separated the Polychromes Hall and the exterior surface. (2) The maintenance of stable microclimatic conditions since the natural closure of the cave until its discovery.

A. - Geologic study and analysis of the structural characteristics which control the morphology of the cave By means of these studies a delimitation of a total protection area of the cavity has been achieved where there is a chance that the infiltrational waters would reach the cave interior. Likewise, a context for the hydrology of the karstic system and a geo-structural analysis of the cavities could have been established. By means of these studies a delimitation of a total protection area of the cavity has been achieved.

The caves are natural systems whose balance is affected by any activity carried out both in its external area of influence and in the interior:

Facing a geological-karstic structure such as the one of Altamira, the precautions which should be taken with regard to the activities that produce vibrations must be the maximum. Irrespective of their origin, the vibrations borne by the host rock of the cavity favour the mechanical instability, bringing about the formation of the new fissures, and widening of the previous ones, rock-block fall and spalling of rocks some millimetres thick. A significant example is the influence which had the limestone quarrying made directly within the protection area of the

Exterior: The CO2 (gas) produce by the biologic activity of the exterior soil is dissolved by the rain water carried along with the atmospheric CO2 through the rock up to the interior of the cave. Likewise pollutants can be carried (e.g.: fertilisers). Any modification caused in the recharge area of the cavity (e.g.: quarrying of rock, change of the soil use) can influence negatively the conservation of the rock-art housed in it. 25

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- High rates of CO2 in the air of the cave which favours micro-corrosion processes.

cave before its discovery . It has been estimated that the rock quarrying brought about a reduction of the thickness of the cover in approximately 17%. The direct impact over the cave was the mechanic destabilisation of the ceiling of the cave, contributing to the rock falls, changes in the via and infiltration rates of the water. Possibly brought about the opening of the cave previous to its discovery.

C. - Characterisation of the microbiological populations which develop over the walls and ceilings of the cavity A basic aspect for the conservation studies is the identification and quantification of the microbiological populations present in the cave, as well as the assessment of their interaction with the support (paintings, speleothems, etc.) and with the infiltration waters. For that reason it is basic distinguishing the natures and origin of the nutrients, determinant in the growth and development of the communities of microorganisms. By means of the studies carried out, it has been proved that the metabolic activity of the colonies of microorganisms present in the cavity generates chemical precipitates, sometimes placed directly over the paintings. Their growth and development is generated and/or favoured by the contribution of the organic matter dissolved in the infiltration waters as well as because of its introduction into the system as a result of the visits (Cañaveras et al., 1998, 1999, 2001).

In any work which it is made the natural vibration level to which the cave is subjected must not be exceeded. This limitation has been noted in the recent works of building of the new museum, as it will be seen below. Another basic aspect for the research of the alteration processed suffered by the paintings, is the detailed study of the petrological characteristics and the chemical and mineralogical composition of the host rock of the rock-art paintings, the karstic deposits and the outer edaphic cover. With the integration of these data along with the hydrogeochemical, microbiological and microclimatic, we have been enabled to distinguish in each case the inorganic origin of the decay phenomenon. Thus, it can be established a quantitative and approximate assessment of the alteration processes and of the possible measures to take in order to optimise the preservation conditions.

A clear example of the action of micro-organisms lies in the development of the alteration crust made up by hydromagnetic crystals over the horse in the Polycromes Hall (figure 4). The accumulation of organic matter in the external soil because of the farming activities contributes to the heterotrophic bacteria (actinomycetes) growth inside the cavity. These organisms use the organic carbon springing from the dissolved organic matter in the infiltration water and contribute to the mineral precipitation (hydromagnesite) over the paintings disintegrating the pigments. The circulation and condensation of water over this on that area can cause the later break-up of the minerals that compose the coating, dragging the disintegrated pigment easily.

B. - Hydrogeochemical characterisation of the infiltrational waters. Analysis of the hydrological characteristics of the cavity and study of the water circulation through fissures and cracks Infiltrational water is one of the main factors in the physico-chemical equilibrium of the karstic system. It is the main transport agent of CO2 into the karstic system, having an influence as well as on the rest of the microclimatic parameters of the cavity. Its compositional characteristics define its capacity to precipitate or dissolve carbonate minerals. Any modification in its infiltration via and rates or in its composition can alter this equilibrium contributing to the accentuation of the deterioration processes.

D. - Characterisation of the micro-environmental conditions of the cave through high resolution and continual monitoring of the most significant environmental parameters

As it has been commented above, there has been a farm within the total protection area of the cave of Altamira. This activity has given rise to the creation of an organic mud and high rates of CO2 in the outer edaphic cover. From the national follow of the geochemical characteristics of the infiltration water, in 1996 it was detected the presence of nitrogenous compounds (NO3-, NH4+) High contents of dissolved CO2 , and dissolved organic matter an in suspension in the analysis of the dripping waters of the interior of the cave (Hoyos et al., 1998). This phenomenon in direct connection with the farming activities brings about a series of problems with regard to the conservation of the paintings.

The microclimate of the cavity is determined by the interaction of a large number of internal external factors. The alteration of the natural microenvironmental conditions of the cavities results in the breakage of the natural dynamic balance of the karstic system. The different anthropogenic modifications introduced both for the activities performed in the exterior and the ones introduced in the karstic environment cause the development and increase of the alteration processes of the paintings and their host rock.

- An increase of the rock dissolution rate in infiltration areas due to acidification and the formation of new precipitates in emergence areas.

For all of this, it is essential to characterise the microenvironmental conditions of the cave (in short and longterms) and their relationship with the external climatic variations, as well as assessing the anthropic influence (visits) in the micro-climate of the cavity.

- An increase of the organic matter available for the chemoautotrophic biological communities.

With this aim, it was carried out the design, installation and maintenance of a high resolution automated system for 26

C. de las Heras et al.: The Preservation of the Cave of Altamira (1880–2002)

Figure 4. A. General view of the alterations affecting the Horse of the Polychromes Room. B. Details of the coating made up of microorganisms that favour the mineral precipitation on the paintings disintegrating the pigments. Once disintegrated the pigments, the circulation and condensation of water on that area can cause the later breakup of the minerals that compose the coating, dragging the disintegrated pigment easily. C. Micrograph of the hidromagnesite crystals that compose the white crust.

had been stated in previous studies, modulating and modifying the climatic characteristics of the cave.

measuring environmental parameters (figure 5).The system consists of the combination of sensing instruments, and a hardware software package allowing the recording and logging the data. The environmental monitored parameters have been the following. Atmospheric pressure, temperature (atmosphere of the cave, exterior, rock, water), humidity (relative and total), 222Rn in the interior air and exterior soil, CO2 in the interior air and exterior, infiltration water rate, thermal flux, velocity of the currents of air inside the cave and exposure time to artificial lighting. Likewise, one thermal air flux sensor was installed in the Stalactites Cave with the object of obtaining a record of the natural evolution of this parameter in a cavity where disturbances are produced due to the entrance of visits. As a whole, the aim was to establish a study model and assessment of the alteration degree and the anthropogenic influence in the deterioration processes.

- It has been observed the important role played by the external vegetation layer which covers the upper part of the cave ceiling in the deterioration phenomena progression, both in the air content of CO2 and the infiltration water, and the natural ventilation of the system. - Precise characterisation of the amplitude and gap of the annual thermal cycle of the Polychromes and the Stalactites cave. - It has been established a first integrated quantitative model of the inorganic corrosion processes of the host rock of the paintings induced by the daily entrance and permanence of visitors in the cave (Sanchez-Moral et al., 1999). Besides the exchange of matter with the exterior, the entrance of visitors produces a series of variations in the microenvironment of the cavity: emission of heat through radiation via the skin, production of CO2 and vapour, and consumption of O2 through respiration. The global effect is translated into a destabilisation of the micro-environmental equilibrium and an alteration of the geo-chemical conditions of the System CO2-H2OCO3Ca which causes a significant increase of the host rock of the paintings corrosion. The results obtained show that the current conditions and the present regime of visits, the entrance of visitors inside the cave of Altamira brings about an increase of the corrosion processes 78 times higher to the ones which would happen in normal conditions (Table 1).

In this study, a monitoring of the micro-environmental parameters of the cave has been completed, particularly, a detailed one of the Polychromes Hall, during a two year period (1997-1998). Throughout the annual cycle of 1997 a complete record of all the parameters studied was obtained, immediately stating the need to incorporate new parameters to the recording system since the system performance is not as simple as the one of the previous model with which the current visits regime was established. Nonetheless, the development during the subsequent years of the necessary works for the building of a replica leading to a strong disturbance of the present microclimatic cycle, at the same time they have affected physically some sensing elements of the measuring equipment of microenvironmental parameters. Thus, the results awaited in principle could not have been achieved, based on the contrast, of at least two complete annual cycles. Nevertheless, from the study carried out some interesting results have been obtained among which stand out the following:

Nowadays, starting from all the data obtained through this multidisciplinary study, a proposal to minimise the deterioration phenomena and optimising the protection of the paintings. The first correction measures should convey: (1) the change of the current edaphic cover due to its high content of organic matter, nitrogenous compounds and CO2; (2) modification of the visits regime, redefining the

- The impact of the continual daily visits over the microenvironmental parameters is bigger than the one which 27

Muséographie et société contemporaine / Museum Studies and Modern Society

important consequences for the Cave of Altamira both from the point of view of its conservation – since it allowed important preventive measures to be taken-, and the best scientific knowledge of the original one – inasmuch an important cartographic and photographic documentation was generated. The new museum site has gone from comprising 60.000 square meters before to the current 160.000. This has been useful for incorporating most of the impluvium area of the cave and suppressing the road traffic above the cave itself for what a new path along the exterior has been built; the farms which were on the impluvium area and whose wastes affected the cavity have been purchased and eliminated, and of great significance, a Special protection Plan as an effective legal instrument environmental planning and prevention. In short, Altamira is now in better preservation conditions than before carrying out this museological project. In order to avoid any risk derived from the construction work of the new building and of its accesses (roads and parking places), the use of explosives or pneumatic percussion was banned excavating the rock by means of the exclusive use of expansive mortars. The monitoring by precision seismographs, let us know that the works did no increase the level of vibrations above the “natural noise” level that is to say, the opening and closing of the gate for the visits produce d more vibrations than the construction work. This seismographic control, permanently monitors, was entrusted to the Engineering School of the University of Cantabria. The reproduction of the Cave of Altamira was the longest awaited element of the whole museological project, and the one which aroused more previous expectations and the one which was more extended within the media but, why naming it neocave? The Cave of Altamira, as it has been already said, has suffered, since its last prehistoric occupation, notable and radical changes. Shortly after the last bison were painted on its ceiling a great natural collapse took place at the entrance area which left it totally sealed and inaccessible, until, through a little crack, it could be discovered in the 19th century. Some other collapses happened shortly after its discovery in 1875, and others in 1924 and in 1930. In order to avoid that they would affect the painted ceiling, several walls and pillars were built– skilfully camouflaged, the visitors do not notice them- besides, paths and stairs were created to render the cave suitable for visits. To sum up: the modern Altamira is much different to the Palaeolithic One. The project assumed a real tridimensional reproduction and we proposed “remaking” The Cave of Altamira restoring the cavern space such as we knew it was, and thanks to the archaeological and geological data,, and not as it has reached the present time. This new cave -The Neocave- actually is the end of a research process whose result is at the disposal of visitors to the museum. And this has been possible thanks to the previous research and the application of the most modern topographic and carving techniques controlled by digital processes.

Figure 5: A) Ground plan of Altamira Cave with the location of sensors. B) Scheme of the micro-environmental monitoring system (MMS) installed in Altamira Cave.

cave carrying capacity or visits capacity according to the seasonal micro-environmental conditions; (3) modification of the visit conditions, with the object of minimising the matter and energy exchanges between the interior and exterior of the cave. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW MUSEUM, THE PRESERVATION OF ALTAMIRA AND ITS REPRODUCTION: THE NEOCAVE The construction of a new building to house the museographical premises as well as the replica, named from now on Neocave of Altamira, brought about 28

C. de las Heras et al.: The Preservation of the Cave of Altamira (1880–2002) Table 1. Mean values of microenvironmental parameters, estimated condensed water and potential calcite dissolution during the annual studied cycle in Polychrome Hall. MODIFICATIONS INDUCED BY VISITORS

NATURAL PARAMETERS PERIOD

Dec.-May (165 days) 30 per./day May-Oct. (150 days) 45 per./day Oct.-Dec. (50 days)

Mean Air T

Atmosph. Air Pco2 P

Condensed water

Mean Air ∆T

Modified Air Pco2

Condensed water

14.0 °C

1.017 bar

10 bars

-2.43

0.132 kg

0.22 °C

10-2.38 bars

5.32 kg

13.8 °C

1.005 bar

10-2.96 bars

---

0.25 °C

10-2.79 bars

7.40 kg

14.5 °C

1.000 bar

10-2.33 bars

---

0.20 °C

10-2.29 bars

1.38 kg

25 per./day CALCITE CORROSION

3 Maximum: 6.8 mm /year 3 Effective: 4 mm /year

Maximum: 653 mm3/year 3 Effective: 314 mm /year

surrounding natural environment and deft in the use of plastic expression techniques who played an outstanding role within his hunter-gatherer band and who bequeathed, they bequeathed us an eternal present.

For this reason the National Geographic Institute of Spain made a digital model of the whole cave. The Polychromes Ceiling was recorded with a grid in an exact point every 5 mm (an irregular triangular grid of 5,600.000 points); at the entrance area 500,000 points were nearly recorded (one point every 10 cm) and, in the rest of the cave the record is practically one point every 35 cm. This allowed the automated carving of the painted ceiling – a milling machine directed by a computerised procedure – reproduced accurately the natural relief and the crack system over which the Palaeolithic artists made their work. Nothing, however, has been able to take the place of the hands of those who applied the artistic techniques to reproduce on an exact support and with the same pigments than in Prehistory this original art. The digital check elements guaranteed, in any case, the accuracy in the making of every painting and engraving.

Before getting into The Neocave, a short documentary film shows us the prehistory and history of Altamira; once inside we Will witness – holography? virtual reality?- an instant in the every day live of its primitive dwellers, we will see the encampment of an Magdalenian human group; we will pass by an archaeological excavation in progress (Although, to be honest, nobody has still seen the archaeologists working over there), we will see the remains of a cavern bear which died while being in hibernation, some millennia ago and, finally: the great painted ceiling, and no only the famous bison but the animal and anthropomorphic engravings and, the signs and the printed hands , the most ancient figures of red horses...

Two are the main restitutions that the Neocave has allowed us to make in order to get closer to the Palaeolithic Cave: (1) the recovery of the great mouth of the cave and (2) the removal of the modern walls which artificially separate the everyday life activities area, along with the exterior light, the ritual area, of the magic, of the sacred... which is located in the darkness.

There has been an accurate reproduction of the physics – the shape- and the chemistry- an 80 % of natural limestone, ochre carbon and water pigments – and instead the alchemy, the halo about which W. Benjamin speaks, and the emotion, the Neocave offers scientific information in a synthetic, kind and pleasant manner. It is like an open book, without hardly having any word, with a rigorous content, which can be read carefully or subtlety assimilated by many people. The surprise which rediscovering provokes in the visitor, the obvious quality of the reproduction and certain virtual reality museographical elements produce an stimulating and moving experience on its own when getting to know this master work of the universal Art.

This Neocave enables us to understand easily that in the original some aspects of Prehistory: “cave man” did not exist, nobody lived in the darkness of a cave as rabbits live inside a warren; the leading characters of the prehistory symbolised by Altamira were physical persons and neurobiologically like us, their mental abilities and their appearance were like the ours; their quality of living was remarkable, they planned their activities having selfcontrol, and their life expectancy was not surpassed until the end of the Middle Ages, their art was exactly that: creation, symbolic plastic; somebody who to his condition of hunter linked the position of artist, made the figures – and the rites associated with them? – which the group needed and understood; somebody aware of the

The Neocave is not an isolated element, although its visit has an entity of its own, it is really another hall of the museum. The entire museum is devoted to the time of Altamira, the art, its culture, the live and the huntergatherer bands techniques during the Upper Palaeolithic inhabited the old Europe. The exhibition is based upon the 29

Muséographie et société contemporaine / Museum Studies and Modern Society GROTH, I. SCHUMANN, P., GONZÁLEZ, I., SAIZJIMÉNEZ, C., 1999, Microbial communities associated to hydromagnesite and needle-fiber aragonite deposits in a karstic cave (Altamira, Spain). Geomicrobiology Journal 16, p. 9-25. CAÑAVERAS, J.C.; SÁNCHEZ-MORAL, S.; SOLER, V.; SAIZ-JIMÉNEZ, C., 2001, Microorganisms and Microbially Induced Fabrics in Cave Walls. Geomicrobiology Journal 18, p. 223-240. GARCÍA LORENZO, A., ENDERIZ GARCÍA, J., 1972, La conservación de las cuevas prehistóricas y de las pinturas ubicadas en ellas, en Santander Symposium [Actas del Symposium Internacional de Arte Rupestre, SantanderAsturias, 1970]. Santander: Patronato de las Cuevas Prehistóricas de la Provincia de Santander. HERAS MARTIN, C. DE LAS; LASHERAS CORRUCHAGA, J.A., 1997, La cueva de Altamira: historia de un monumento, en La cristalización del pasado: génesis y desarrollo del marco institucional de la Arqueología en España [Actas del II Congreso de Historiografía, Madrid, 1995], editado por Mora y Díaz Andreu. Málaga: Universidad de Málaga y Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, p. 359-368. HOYOS GÓMEZ, M., 1993, Procesos de alteración de soporte y pintura en diferentes cuevas con arte rupestre del norte de España: Santimamiñe, Arenaza, Altamira y Llonín, en La protección y conservación del arte rupestre paleolítico [Mesa redonda hispano-francesa, Colombres-Asturias, 1991], editado por Javier Fortea Pérez. Oviedo: Principado de Asturias, p. 5174. HOYOS GÓMEZ, M., 1994, Altamira en peligro: consideraciones previas, en Foros Banesto sobre el Patrimonio Histórico. Madrid: Fundación Cultural Banesto, p. 182-196. HOYOS GÓMEZ, M., 1998, Informe sobre la procedencia de contaminantes de origen orgánico en las aguas del interior de la cueva de Altamira y sus consecuencias. Informe inédito al Museo y Centro de Investigación de Altamira. Dpto. Geología MNCN - CSIC. Madrid. LASHERAS CORRUCHAGA, J.A, 1994, La cueva de Altamira y su Museo, en Foros Banesto sobre el Patrimonio Histórico. Madrid: Fundación Cultural Banesto, p. 178-182, LASHERAS CORRUCHAGA, J.A., HERAS MARTIN, C., 1998, Un nouveau musée pour la grotte d’ Altamira. Deux concepts unis: Muséographie et conservation de l’art rupestre. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Ariège-Pyrénées, LIII. Tarascon: Conseil Général de l’Ariège. LASHERAS CORRUCHAGA, J.A., HERAS MARTIN, C., 1999, Nouveau musée et nouvel environnement pour la grotte d’Altamira=A new museum and a new setting for the cave of Altamira, International newsletter on rock art (I.N.O.R.A) 22. Foix: Comité International d’Art Rupestre (C.A.R.-ICOMOS), p. 26-30. RODRÍGUEZ-FERRER, M., 1880, Apuntes de un diario, la cueva de Altamira. La Ilustración Española y Americana, nº XXXVII. SÁNCHEZ-MORAL, S; CAÑAVERAS, J.C.; SANZ-RUBIO, E.; SOLER, V.; VAN GRIEKEN, R.; GYSELS, K., 1999. Inorganic deterioration affecting Altamira Cave. Quantitative approach to wall corrosion (solution etching) processes induced by visitors. Science of the Total Environment 243, p. 67-84. SANZ DE SAUTUOLA, M., 1880, Breves apuntes sobre algunos objetos prehistóricos de la Provincia de Santander, Santander: Imprenta de Telesforo Martínez. SOLER, V.; SÁNCHEZ-MORAL, S.; CAÑAVERAS, J.C.; SANZ-RUBIO, E.; LASHERAS, J.A.; LARIO, J., 1999, Microenvironmental monitoring system at Altamira cave

best collection of original Palaeolithic objects of Spain, they are 400 exceptional pieces which finish off the museum‘s collection and they come from other state museums (National Archaeological, Anthropology, Natural Science Museums, of America) or of other ownerships such as the Prehistory Museum of Cantabria, Fine Arts museum of Santander, The Archaeological Museum of Valencia and Asturias. In the exhibition there is a coherent integration of the original objects found during the archaeological excavations of the main sites, the recreated objects so as to understand their production or use, some reproduced exceptional objects, and the ancillary information which is presented in the way of short documentary films, texts, graphics, photographs, interactive databases and also cartoons – for the first time in a museum – aimed to the youngest visitors and the unprejudiced adults. The visitors satisfaction – as one of the quality parametersand their number – more than 200.000 from the 19th July until the 30th December 2001 – allow us to asses the project in a favourable manner. The replica is no a substitute of the original, whose contemplation cannot be substituted in any way, is not the aim given. Pleasure and knowledge go frequently along: this is the purpose and aim for the Neocave and the Museum of Altamira. Authors’ addresses José Antonio LASHERAS & Carmen de las HERAS Museo y Centro Nacional de Investigación de Altamira 39330 Santillana del Mar, Cantabria, ESPAÑA Email: [email protected] Sergio SÁNCHEZ-MORAL & José BEDOYA Museo Nacional Ciencias Naturales (CSIC) José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2 28006 Madrid, ESPAÑA Email: [email protected] Juan Carlos CAÑAVERAS Dpto. CC. de la Tierra y del Medioambiente Unidad Asociada CSIC, Universidad de ESPAÑA

Alicante,

Vicente SOLER Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología (CSIC) La Laguna, Tenerife, ESPAÑA Bibliography Altamira Symposium, 1981, [Actas del Symposium Internacional de Arte Rupestre, Madrid-Asturias-Santander-, 1979]. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura. CAÑAVERAS, J.C.; HOYOS, M.; SÁNCHEZ MORAL, S. & SANZ-RUBIO, E. ,1998, The role of microorganisms in underground karstic environments: examples from Altamira, Tito Bustillo and Candamo Caves (Northern Spain). In: Sedimentology at the Dawn of the Third Millenium. 15th International Sedimentological Congress (Cañaveras, J.C., García del Cura, M.A. and Soria, J. eds.). Alicante, Spain, p. 697. CAÑAVERAS, J.C., HOYOS, M., SÁNCHEZ-MORAL, S., SANZ-RUBIO, E., BEDOYA, J., SOLER, V., LAIZ, L., 30

C. de las Heras et al.: The Preservation of the Cave of Altamira (1880–2002) (northern Spain). 2nd Internationational Congress on Science and Technology for the Safeguard of Cultural Heritage in the Mediterranean Basin. Paris, France. VILLAR, E., 1981, Proyecto científico-técnico elaborado para la conservación de las pinturas de la cueva de Altamira. Monografías del Centro de Investigación y Museo de Altamira, 5. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura. VILLAR, E., 1983, Estudio Físico-Químicos sobre la cueva de Altamira. Monografías del Centro de Investigación y Museo de Altamira, 9. Madrid, Ministerio de Cultura.

VILLAR, E., 1984, Cueva de Altamira: estudios físico-químicos de la Sala de Policromos. Influencia de la presencia humana y criterios de conservación. Monografías del Centro de Investigación y Museo de Altamira, 11. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura. VILLAR, E., 1986, Ambient temperature variations in the Hall of Paintings of Altamira cave due to the presence of visitors. Trans. Brit. Cave Res. Assoc., 11, p. 99-104.

31

LES COLLECTIONS DU MUSÉE DES ANTIQUITÉS NATIONALES (SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE, FRANCE) : CONSERVATION-RESTAURATION Françoise DOUAU, Marie-Émmanuelle MEYOHAS & Sophie TYMULA

Résumé : Alors que, dés le XIXe siècle, les préhistoriens ont été conscients de la valeur scientifique et esthétique des collections d’art mobilier paléolithique du Musée des Antiquités nationales à Saint-Germain-en-Laye, aujourd’hui parmi les plus riches du monde, les moyens de conservation et de restauration sont restés longtemps limités. On s’est contenté le plus souvent d’appliquer de la cire sur les objets pour les protéger des effets de l’environnement et de combler des lacunes pour tenter de restituer aux œuvres un profil d’origine, parfois hypothétique. Aujourd’hui, grâce au développement de nos connaissances sur l’art mobilier et, aux progrès des moyens de conservation et de restauration, notre approche est différente. L’environnement est contrôlé dans la mesure du possible pour assurer la pérennité des œuvres, tandis que leur restauration va de pair avec leur étude. Le respect des règles déontologiques précises et un choix judicieux des matériaux et des techniques de restauration permettent de retrouver les caractères particuliers des œuvres au moment de leur découverte. L’observation et l’analyse de ces caractéristiques peuvent dès lors servir de base à une étude des objets qui permet de faire progresser notre connaissance de l’art mobilier paléolithique. Abstract: Since the XIXth century, prehistorians were conscious of the scientific and esthetical value of the collections of Palaeolithic portable art of the National Museum of Antiquities in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which are today among the richest in the world, preservation and restoration means remained for a long time limited. Most of the time there was only the laying of wax onto the objects to protect them from the damages caused by the local surrounding and to complete the lacking parts with the intention to give them their original appearance, sometimes hypothetical. Today, due to the increase of our knowledge concerning Palaeolithic portable art and the improvement of preservation and restoration means our approach is different. The local surrounding is under control, to assume, as far as possible, the good preservation and restoration of the works, in the same time their restoration is accomplished according to their specific study. The respect of precise deontological rules and a judicious choice of the products and techniques of restoration allow giving back to the objects of art the specific profile they had when they were found. The observance and the analysis of those specific aspects can therefore be used as a basis for a study of the objects, which makes us improve our knowledge of Palaeolithic portable art.

1. DES COLLECTIONS D’ART MOBILIER AU MUSÉE DES ANTIQUITÉS NATIONALES. RAPPEL HISTORIQUE

même que la diversité des séries dont certaines ont un caractère unique, donnent à cette collection une importance exceptionnelle.

L’origine des collections d’art mobilier paléolithique du Musée des Antiquités nationales remonte à 1869, lorsque Édouard Lartet fait dont d’un ensemble d’objets préhistoriques1, parmi lesquels figurent un bâton percé orné de motifs animaliers, qu’il découvrit quelques années auparavant dans la grotte de Massat (Ariège) et qui est l’un des premiers témoignages de l’existence d’un art mobilier préhistorique2, ainsi qu’une série de pièces gravées de motifs géométriques provenant de la grotte d’Aurignac (Haute-Garonne).

C’est en effet vers le MAN, créé pour abriter les collections « d’Antiquités françaises »4 et qui reste jusqu’au début du XXe siècle la seule institution dotée d’une section entièrement consacrée à la Préhistoire5, que se tournent les préhistoriens s’intéressant à l’art mobilier : Édouard Lartet, Henry Christy, Louis Capitan, Édouard Piette… Ils entretiennent des contacts réguliers avec Alexandre Bertrand, puis Salomon Reinach, premiers directeurs du musée, et cèdent naturellement au MAN les collections qu’ils veulent transmettre aux générations à venir.

Dans les dernières décennies du XIXe siècle et tout au long du XXe siècle, des donations, des legs et des achats ne vont cesser d’enrichir ce premier ensemble pour faire de la collection d’art mobilier paléolithique du MAN3, aujourd’hui, l’une des plus riches au monde. Le grand nombre d’objets, leur valeur esthétique et scientifique, de 1

Donation qui correspond aux numéros d’inventaire MAN 3225 à 3601.

2

Numéro d’inventaire MAN 3582. BARRIÈRE C., 1990, pl. 80, fig. 74 ; DELPORTE H., 1990, p. 37, fig. 24 ; LEROIGOURAHN A., 1992, p. 53-54 ; BERTRAND A., 1996, p. 285, cat. 383.

3

2. RESTAURATION ET CONSERVATION : UNE LENTE PRISE DE CONSCIENCE DE CES DEUX CONCEPTS FONDAMENTAUX Admiratifs devant cet art mobilier au sujet duquel ils ne tarissent pas d’éloges6, ces préhistoriens ne semblent pourtant guère préoccupés par la conservation de ces

Abréviation pour Musée des Antiquités nationales.

33

4

LARROUY, P., 1998, p. 197-206.

5

DELPORTE. H., 1987, p. 29-37.

6

REINACH, S., 1902, p. 424-425.

Muséographie et société contemporaine / Museum Studies and Modern Society

fragiles objets qui leur semble souvent aller de soi. Peutêtre manquent-ils encore de recul, jusque dans la deuxième moitié du XXe siècle, pour prendre pleinement conscience des altérations irréversibles que peuvent engendrer des manipulations maladroites ou une présentation des œuvres dans un environnement inadapté.

visibles sur les cinq statuettes de Menton « […] la trace d’un dépôt ferrugineux […] » qu’il tenait comme preuve de leur authenticité11. La sensibilité à divers facteurs d’altération de traces de coloration et de dépôts de sédiment sur les objets ne devait pas toujours s’accommoder de ce mode de présentation.

Dés le début du XXe siècle, préhistoriens et conservateurs commencent progressivement à reconnaître qu’il s’agit d’objets fragiles demandant à être manipulé avec précautions. Pourtant, si on se réfère aux commentaires d’Henri Breuil dans sa préface de l’ouvrage de Marthe Chollot relatif à la collection Piette7, ou au récit du déménagement de la collection à Saint-Germain-en-Laye en 1902, comme la correspondance d’Édouard Piette à Salomon Reinach permet de l’imaginer, on constate un décalage évident entre ce qu’on pourrait appeler la « théorie » et la « pratique ». Édouard Piette se loue de l’habileté de Benoît Champion, chef des services techniques du MAN chargé de l’emballage et du transport des caisses vers Saint-Germain-en-Laye, mais nous savons cependant que l’ensemble de la collection provenant de sites pyrénéens de renommée mondiale n’a fait l’objet d’aucun inventaire avant son emballage et encore moins d’un constat d’état8. À cela s’ajoute qu’une partie des objets restera finalement en caisses pendant plusieurs années, faute de place pour les exposer.

De fait, le moyen considéré alors comme le plus efficace pour protéger les œuvres des effets de l’environnement, et en même temps les consolider, restait la cire d’abeille dissoute dans de la térébenthine et appliquée par imprégnation ou en badigeon à la surface des pièces les plus fragiles, comme les statuettes en ivoire de mammouth12. La fixation des objets dans les vitrines d’exposition représentait également des risques de dégradation puisqu’ils étaient maintenus par un système de griffes en laiton directement en contact avec la surface des œuvres. Il faudra attendre le reclassement de la collection Piette par Henri Breuil, après la deuxième guerre mondiale, pour que soit adopté un mode de présentation moins agressif pour certains objets : les supports de Plexiglas13. Toutes ces pratiques, auxquelles s’ajoute la réalisation de moulages en plâtre, ont eu un impact inévitable sur les œuvres. Faute de données comparatives suffisantes, il est difficile d’en mesurer l’ampleur exacte, mais heureusement, certaines de ces altérations sont aujourd’hui réversibles et des campagnes annuelles de restauration engagées depuis une dizaine d’années sur les collections d’art mobilier du MAN ont permis de rendre aux objets une grande partie de leur lisibilité.

Pendant une grande partie du XXe siècle, la notion de facteurs climatiques d’altération demeure assez floue et ces facteurs eux-mêmes sont très mal identifiés. Dans un article qu’il publie en 1931, cherchant à sensibiliser les préhistoriens aux risques environnementaux d’altération, Benoît Champion ne parle que « […] de l’action destructrice de l’air qui dessèche [les objets] », sans apporter d’autres précisions9.

F. D.

Dans ce contexte et en regard de la présentation des œuvres, comme les archives photographiques et autres témoins qui subsistent nous en donnent un aperçu, il est normal qu’il ait été fait peu de cas des risques d’altération par une exposition prolongée à la lumière du jour ou des variations de température et d’hygrométrie. Ainsi, pendant près d’un siècle, les objets d’art mobilier paléolithique restèrent exposés dans des salles éclairées par la lumière naturelle, sans stores aux fenêtres, ni volets intérieurs qui les protègent du rayonnement ultraviolet et des variations de température inévitables suivant les saisons (fig. 1).

3. RESTAURATION, DÉ-RESTAURATION : TROIS EXEMPLES PROVENANT DU SITE DE BRASSEMPOUY Il y a juste dix ans, en 1991, le projet de l’exposition « L’art préhistorique des Pyrénées » qui devait se tenir au MAN en 1996, a marqué le point de départ d’une campagne d’étude et de restauration de collections d’art mobilier en ivoire de mammouth, bois de renne et os. Dans les premières années, cette campagne a été menée principalement sur des objets provenant du Mas d’Azil (Ariège) et d’Isturitz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). En octobre 1995, un colloque ayant pour thème « Restauration, dé-restauration, re-restauration… » (Cascio, Levy, Meyohas, Thiault, 1995) a été l’occasion de faire part de la réflexion qui a présidé à l’ensemble des interventions réalisées sur ces objets.

Même replacée dans son contexte, cette présentation, qui comptait en outre des vitrines aménagées dans l’encadrement des fenêtres et donc particulièrement exposées à la lumière du jour, nous surprend aujourd’hui si on se rappelle, par exemple, que dés le tournant du XXe siècle, Louis Capitan émettait l’hypothèse de peinture sur la Dame à la Capuche (Brassempouy)10, tandis qu’à la même époque, Édouard Piette relevait dans les dépressions

Le travail effectué sur les œuvres provenant du site de Brassempouy dans les Landes tendait vers les mêmes objectifs : le désir de les restituer dans un état le plus

7

CHOLLOT. M., 1964, p. 12.

8

CHOLLOT, M., 1964, p. 22-27 ; DELPORTE H., p. 33-34.

11

PIETTE, E., 1902, p. 776-777.

CHAMPION, B., 1931, p. 36.

12

CHAMPION, B., 1931, p. 36-39.

WALTER, P., 1995, p. 265.

13

CHOLLOT, M., 1964, p. 33.

9 10

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binoculaire, à l’aide d’aiguilles et de fins scalpels qu’il est possible de l’éliminer, du moins en partie.

proche de celui de leur découverte pour leur rendre toute la richesse d’informations dont ils sont porteurs, et le souci de les conserver dans les meilleures conditions possibles. Chaque objet a été examiné minutieusement sous loupe binoculaire, les grossissements allant de 10 à 40 fois, ce qui permettait de mettre en évidence, d’une part les traces de mise en œuvre et les dépôts provenant du milieu d’enfouissement, et d’autre part, les restes des différents produits utilisés au cours des interventions effectuées dans le passé. En effet, les traitements subis par ses œuvres depuis leur exhumation sont nombreux : consolidations, collages, restitutions, moulages.

Dans l’album de planches de l’ouvrage d’Édouard Piette « L’art pendant l’âge du renne », publié en 1895, le Manche de Poignard et la Poire sont représentés chacun par un dessin aquarellé qui les reproduit fidèlement (fig. 5 et 10). Ces deux objets, fragmentaires, ont été assemblés et collés juste après la fouille et c’est après ces interventions qu’ils ont été représentés. Par la suite, ils ont fait l’objet l’un comme l’autre d’importantes restitutions. Le Manche de poignard est constitué de l’assemblage de quatre fragments. Le collage, réalisé probablement juste après la fouille, a été soigneusement exécuté et l’on n’observe aucune trace d’adhésif à la surface de l’ivoire ; on ignore donc quel type de colle a été employé. Plus tard, l’ivoire a été entièrement recouvert de cire, et a fait l’objet d’importantes restitutions (fig. 6 et 7). Une restitution complète le ventre, mais déborde sur la surface de l’ivoire et confère à l’abdomen un aspect excessivement proéminent. La fissure latérale qui longe la hanche droite a également été bouchée. En outre, une amorce de cuisse gauche, symétrique de la cuisse droite, a été restituée. Le matériau dont il a été fait usage est une cire d’abeille teintée dans la masse et recouverte en surface d’éclaboussures de peinture noire destinées à simuler les taches de manganèse qui recouvrent l’ivoire.

Les objets cassés accidentellement lors de la fouille, ou bien découverts en plusieurs fragments, étaient collés essentiellement à l’aide de gomme-laque ou de colle animale. Dans certains cas, l’objet jugé trop incomplet était partiellement reconstitué à l’aide d’un matériau cireux, teinté dans la masse et retouché en surface. Les consolidations visaient à protéger les œuvres soumises à de nombreuses manipulations, soit lors d’études menées par des chercheurs, soit lors de la réalisation de moulages. Elles étaient réalisées par imprégnations d’une grande diversité de produits qui pouvaient être organiques, comme l’huile de lin, la cire d’abeille, la paraffine, les résines, ou bien inorganiques, comme l’alun ou les fluosilicates. Les moulages, même s’ils ont parfois été réalisés à des fins commerciales, visaient également à protéger les œuvres puisqu’ils permettaient de remplacer les originaux lors d’expositions temporaires ou même permanentes. Suivant les époques, ils ont été réalisés à l’aide de plâtre, de gélatine ou à l’aide de résines élastomères. Le rôle fondamental qu’on leur accordait faisait oublier l’agression que les techniques employées pour les prises d’empreinte représentaient pour la surface des œuvres. En outre, l’élimination des résidus des produits utilisés ne semble pas avoir été alors une préoccupation.

Dans un premier temps, nous avons tenté d’éliminer la cire qui imprégnait la surface de l’ivoire. Ce n’est que dans un deuxième temps qu’il a été décidé d’éliminer les bouchages pour restituer à l’œuvre un état comparable à celui qui est présenté par Piette (fig. 8 et 9). Cet état rend mieux compte du modelé, car celui-ci avait été modifié par un ajout de matière trop important. En outre, il découvre à nouveau l’ensemble de la surface de l’ivoire qui était partiellement recouvert par les débordements des bouchages à la cire. La Poire a été mutilée par les fouilleurs, puis reconstituée. Un petit fragment arrondi, sans point de contact avec le fragment principal, a été mis en place à l’aide d’un étai de liège (fig. 11). Sous loupe binoculaire, de nombreux collages sont visibles, l’ivoire s’étant scindé suivant les cônes d’emboîtement de la défense. L’adhésif employé a un aspect brun translucide qui évoque la gomme-laque. Afin de limiter les interventions, ces collages, assez soigneusement réalisés, ont été conservés. En effet, la dissolution de la gomme-laque est longue et les risques de migration de la résine dans la porosité de l’ivoire sont importants, entraînant une coloration irréversible.

L’examen de deux clichés de la Dame à la capuche, dont l’un est antérieur à 1964, tandis que l’autre date de 1994, tandis que l’autre date de 1994, montre des différences qu’il faut sans doute attribuer aux opérations de moulage (fig. 3 et 4). De nombreuses traces brunâtres provenant du contact avec le milieu d’enfouissement ont disparu. Au revers, les sédiments blanchâtres d’aspect irrégulier, qui apparaissaient entre les mèches de cheveux sur le cliché plus ancien, ont disparu. Or, dans le temps qui sépare ces deux photographies, deux opérations de moulage à l’élastomère ont été réalisées, l’une en 1969 et l’autre en 1985. L’observation sous loupe binoculaire a révélé l’étendue des résidus de résine silicone. Celle-ci s’est infiltrée dans les fentes et dans les tracés qui séparent les mèches des cheveux. Ce type de résine forme une peau très adhérente à la surface des objets et permet donc la réalisation de répliques très fidèles. En contrepartie, elle induit une forte contrainte mécanique lors du démoulage avec pour conséquence des arrachements de surface et, dans ce cas précis, celui d’une partie des sédiments. En outre, sa forte adhérence et son élasticité rendent très difficile son élimination, d’autant plus qu’elle n’est soluble dans aucun solvant. C’est donc mécaniquement, sous loupe

Une dé-restauration, tel qu’elle a été effectuée sur le Manche de poignard, était plus difficile à envisager sur cet objet. En effet, l’emplacement exact du petit fragment placé au niveau de l’abdomen peut être contesté. Si le petit enfoncement qu’il présente en son centre figure bien le nombril, il n’est pas tout à fait centré, mais légèrement déporté sur la droite. Cependant, aucun point de contact n’existant entre ce fragment et le reste de l’objet, il a été convenu de le maintenir à cet endroit car un autre emplacement aurait été également sans certitude et aurait 36

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demandé non seulement le démontage de l’étai, mais la mise en place d’un autre support. Seuls ont été éliminés les excès de matière cireuse appliquée de part et d’autre de l’étai vers la zone fracturée de l’objet ainsi qu’un bouchage

à la cire recouvert d’une couche grisâtre destinée à imiter des sédiments qui recouvraient localement la cuisse (fig. 12).

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circonstances de la découverte - deviennent un objectif prioritaire du restaurateur. Il s’agit donc aux spécialistes des deux disciplines d’œuvrer désormais à la même échelle et en concertation permanente.

Ces trois exemples montrent que le travail effectué à présent sur ces objets vise essentiellement à les libérer des interventions effectuées depuis leur découverte afin qu’ils puissent livrer aux chercheurs, grâce à des techniques d’observation et d’analyse de plus en plus avancées, le maximum d’informations.

L’état de conservation des objets ne constitue donc plus la motivation première aujourd’hui. En effet, les altérations qui se sont produites au moment où les pièces ont été sorties de terre, il y a une centaine d’années, se sont stabilisées. De nos jours, les objets ne se trouvent plus dans un état de dégradation évolutif. Même s’ils ont beaucoup souffert, ils ne présentent ni soulèvement, ni perte de cohésion mettant leur conservation en danger. Partant de ce postulat, le souci principal est de retrouver un état de l’objet aussi proche que possible de ce qu’il était au moment de la découverte. Ce choix implique, comme il est démontré ci-dessus, d’une part de retirer dans la mesure du possible les matériaux provenant des restaurations précédentes, d’autre part de limiter les interventions en introduisant le minimum de matériaux actuels. En effet, les restaurations anciennes, souvent très présentes, masquent ou faussent la lecture de la surface des matériaux où de nombreux éléments peuvent être décelés. C’est ainsi qu’au cours de la dé-restauration du « bâton aux chevaux » provenant de la grotte du Mas d’Azil (Cascio, Levy, Meyohas, Thiault, 1995, p. 144, fig. 5), l’élimination de la cire a permis de retrouver la surface d’origine et de révéler que celle-ci présentait des traces de pigment. La dérestauration de la ronde-bosse au « cheval hennissant » du même site a également permis de mettre en évidence le travail minutieux de la traduction du pelage par de fines incisions, notamment sur la joue, lesquelles étaient obstruées par de la cire et donc invisibles.

M.-E. M. 4. L’APPORT DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE AUX PROGRÈS DE LA CONSERVATION ET DE LA RESTAURATION D’OBJETS D’ART MOBILIER Un siècle aura été nécessaire pour que le regard des préhistoriens sur les « objets d’art » mobilier attribués au Paléolithique supérieur se transforme. Les interventions diverses de restauration et de conservation constituent un excellent baromètre de l’importance accordée à ces artefacts, réduits pendant plusieurs décennies à l’état d’objets dont on cherchait avant tout à établir un classement chronologique sur la base de critères empruntés à l’histoire de l’art (style, renaissance, apogée, décadence…). Ce n’est que depuis une trentaine d’années seulement que ces objets ont peu à peu acquis le statut de document ou d’archive recelant des informations jusque-là ignorées. Ces informations représentent un tournant dans la recherche, car elles tendent à redéfinir les contextes archéologiques d’où sont issus les objets, bien que ces derniers aient été mis au jour au cours de fouilles à la fin du XIXe siècle et jusque dans les années vingt. Ces nouvelles investigations, que l’on pourrait regrouper sous le sigle « R.D.R. » (Restauration, Dé-restauration, Rerestauration), constituent en somme l’espoir d’une reconquête de ces sites anciennement fouillés et surtout celui d’une « recontextualisation » de ces objets que l’on croyait à jamais séparés de leur environnement archéologique primaire. D’un point de vue microscopique, la prise de conscience par les préhistoriens de l’histoire complexe que révèle chaque objet, qui passe par des phases de mise en forme - gravure ou sculpture - de fracturation, de réutilisation, de nouvelles phases de façonnage, de changement de fonction…, est sans doute à l’origine des progrès de la restauration et de la conservation, et surtout du renouvellement de l’approche scientifique de cet art paléolithique.

Grâce à l’interdisciplinarité qui s’établit progressivement entre restaurateurs et préhistoriens, l’étude de l’art mobilier paléolithique peut désormais suivre la voie défrichée par l’étude technologique de la taille du silex, à savoir que ces objets sont des produits finis avant tout, car ils portent les traces des procédures de fabrication, reflets d’un ensemble cohérent de savoir-faire. À l’heure actuelle, la plupart des objets restaurés ou dé-restaurés ne sont que la partie visible de l’iceberg et de nombreuses années de travail et des moyens conséquents seront nécessaires pour venir à bout de ces objectifs que se sont fixés conservateurs, restaurateurs et préhistoriens. S.T.

Les moyens d’observation rapprochée (microscope optique, microscope électronique à balayage, micrographies…) permettent désormais une meilleure compréhension des techniques mises en œuvre pour leur production et celles-ci apparaissent plus complexes aujourd’hui. Les travaux de Francesco d’Errico (1986), Michèle Crémades (1989) et Carole Fritz (1999), qui ont en commun l’analyse microscopique de l’art gravé paléolithique, ont montré la nécessité de surfaces « propres » afin d’accéder à un maximum d’information. Dans une telle perspective, la conservation et le dévoilement de toutes les traces présentes à la surface de l’objet - traces dues à la main de l’homme ou aux conditions d’enfouissement de l’objet ou encore aux

Adresses des auteurs Françoise DOUAU Musée des Antiquités nationales 78103 Saint-Germain-en-Laye FRANCE Email : Françoise. [email protected] Marie-Émmanuelle MEYOHAS 10, rue Simon Dereure 75 018 Paris FRANCE Email : [email protected] Sophie TYMULA Maison René Ginouvès 41

Muséographie et société contemporaine / Museum Studies and Modern Society gravure sur os et matériaux organiques. Thèse de Doctorat, université de Bordeaux I. DELPORTE, H., 1987, Édouard Piette. Histoire de l’art primitif. Paris : Picard. DELPORTE H., 1990, L’image des animaux dans l’art préhistorique. Paris : Picard. D’ERRICO, F., 1989, L’art gravé azilien. Analyse microscopique, reconstitution gestuelle, signification. Thèse de Doctorat, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle. FRITZ, C., 1999, La gravure dans l’art mobilier magdalénien. Du geste à la représentation. Paris : Édition de la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme. LARROUY, P., 1998, Les premières années du Musée des Antiquités nationales. Antiquités Nationales 30, p. 197-206. LEROI-GOURHAN, A., 1992, L’art pariétal. Langage de la Préhistoire. Présentation M. Groenen. Grenoble : Jérôme Million. PIETTE, E., 1902, Gravures du Mas d’Azil et statuettes de Menton. Bulletin et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris 3, p. 771-779. PIETTE, E., 1904, L’art pendant l’âge du Renne. Album de 100 planches. Paris : Masson. REINACH, S., 1902, La collection Piette au Musée de SaintGermain. Revue Archéologique 84, p. 424-425. WALTER, P., 1995, La peinture des femmes préhistoriques. In La Dame de Brassempouy, actes du colloque de Brassempouy, juillet 1994, Henri Delporte (éd.). Liège : ERAUL, 74, p. 259271. WALTER, P., 1994, Étude de restes colorés à la surface de Vénus paléolithiques conservées au Musée des Antiquités nationales. Rapport d’analyse n° 2067 du Laboratoire de Recherche des Musées de France (non publié).

Ethnologie Préhistorique UMR 7041 Archéologies et Sciences de l’Antiquité 21, allée de l’Université 92 023 Nanterre Cedex FRANCE et 1 bis, rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau Email : F-36 200 Argenton-sur-Creuse FRANCE Sophie. [email protected] Bibliographie BERTRAND, A., 1996, Massat. In L’art préhistorique des Pyrénées. Catalogue d’exposition, Musée des Antiquités nationales, 2 avril-8 juillet 1996. Paris : Réunion des Musées Nationaux, cat. 370, p. 280-231. CASCIO, A., LEVY, J., MEYOHAS, M.-E., THIAULT, M.-H., 1995, Anciennes pratiques de restauration et dé-restauration d’objets paléolithiques en matériaux organiques. In Restauration, dé-restauration, re-restauration… Actes du 4e colloque international de l’Association des Restaurateurs d’Art et d’Archéologie de Formation Universitaire (Araafu), Paris, 5-7 octobre 1995, p. 139-148. CHAMPION, B., 1931, Identification et conservation des objets préhistoriques. Mouseion, Revue Internationale de Muséographie 16, p. 35-48. CHOLLOT, M., 1964, Musée des Antiquités nationales. Collection Piette. Art mobilier préhistorique. Paris : éditions des Musées nationaux. CRÉMADÈS, M., 1989, Contribution à l’étude de l’art mobilier du Paléolithique supérieur du Bassin aquitain : techniques de

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DOCUMENTATION AND REGISTRATION OF ROCK ART Gerhard MILSTREU

Résumé : Le débat des années 1980 sur l’environnement a marqué de façon décisive la recherche en art rupestre. L’attention a été attirée sur le problème déjà connu de l’altération, et le musée a décidé d’utiliser l’expérience issue des nombreuses années durant lesquelles l’information a été récoltée pour recueillir systématiquement la documentation sur des zones entières de gravures rupestres. À la fin des années quatre-vingts, un nouveau programme de documentation systématique de l’art rupestre de Tanum a été initié au musée Underslös de Tanum, comme partie intégrante d’un séminaire international annuel ayant pour but de diffuser la connaissance sur les gravures rupestres de Tanum et de souligner leur importance, ainsi que d’enseigner aux nouvelles générations de chercheurs la méthode dite « du frottage ». On peut dire que les relevés par frottage fournissent une documentation plus objective des gravures et de la surface des rochers, en ce compris les informations concernant leur dégradation. La méthode est en usage aujourd’hui dans plusieurs pays d’Europe et est continuellement perfectionnée en coopération avec les pays concernés. L’état d’altération des rochers est décrit comme étant très grave, et il est effrayant de penser que la recherche future devra s’appuyer sur du matériel reproduit tels que les relevés par frottage, les dessins et les clichés photographiques. Abstract: The environmental debate of the 1980s influenced rock art research decisively. The attention was focused on the already established problem of weathering, and the museum decided to employ the experience from many years of documentation work on a systematic documentation of entire areas of rock carvings. At the end of the nineteen-eighties, a systematic re-documentation of the rock art of Tanum was started at Tanums Hällristningsmuseum Underslös as part of an annually recurrent international seminar with the purpose of spreading the knowledge of and interest in the rock carvings in Tanum and to educate new generations of researchers to the so-called Rubbing-method. The rubbings can be said to give a more objective documentation of the engravings and the rock surface including damage documentation. The method is now in use in different European countries and is continuously improved in cooperation with the involved countries. The weathering situation is described as very serious, and it is a frightening thought that future research will have to be based on reproduced material such as rubbings, drawings, and photos.

factors accelerating the weathering are acid rain, humic acid created in newly planted scientifically managed forests, and environmentally caused changes of the vegetation on the surface of the rocks.

The primary purpose of the reproduction and publication of rock carvings has always been to make this extensive and geographically scattered material accessible to research of different kinds. Formerly, it used to be possible to study a reproduced motif on location, if more detailed investigation was necessary, or if the accuracy of a reproduction needed to be verified. It is common knowledge that it is very difficult to reproduce a rock carving one hundred per cent correctly, and it is also known that many studies have been based on incorrect depictions.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION PROJECT In 1989 The National Heritage Board (NHB) in Sweden initiated an environmental pollution project with the express purpose of examining the influence of the pollution on relics of culture, including the rock carvings.

But recently, a new problem has arisen: The acceleration of weathering. Today we are in such a serious situation that the rock carvings must be documented in order to preserve the pictorial material - as a reproduction. In the future, research as well as the increasing public interest in prehistoric times must seek information from reproductions. It is a lamentable fact that the surfaces of the rocks are in an extraordinarily critical condition, and many of the rock panels documented within the last few years are simply disappearing. A three thousand- year-old picture tradition is about to disappear. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION Damages to the environment including weathering of ancient monuments have been in the full blaze of publicity for a long time. The condition of the rock carvings in Tanum is deteriorating drastically these years. The cause is to be found in the changes of the environment created by man, the so-called environmental pollution. Essential

Figure A. On this scene the left part of the rock surface is still intact. The weathering on the right part, however, is so bad that one of the ships has become almost invisible. Photo: Gerhard Milstreu 43

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many years of experience with documentation work, and the museum is all the time developing new methods for the various phases of the documentation and also continually assessing the suitability of the methods for different degrees of weathering. The rubbing technique is still the primary method, as no other method shows the surface of the rock including the carvings more precisely. Rubbing or frottage is a totally objective method since it is based on rubbing large sheets of paper laid on the surface with a soft sponge wrapped in carbon paper. The carbon is then fixed by rubbing the sheet of paper with grass, and the contours arise with more contrast. The method reproduces the carved figures and the surrounding rock surface very accurately.

This was done to get an idea of the extent of the damage. On the basis of the results of the examination, the NHB will adopt measures, acute as well as long-term, of preserving the carvings. NHB, however, point out that established techniques and methods do not exist, and therefore a great part of the project will consist in developing such methods. The project also includes documentation and registration of the rock carvings as they appear today. DEVELOPING NEW METHODS The degree of weathering of the rock surface varies a lot from one rock panel to the next, and even in the same panel. Some surfaces are intact with undamaged carvings – others are totally weathered, so that figures have disappeared completely in places where we know they used to be. This situation demands a lot from the method used and from the people using it. Naturally, an intact surface is relatively easy to document, and we can reproduce the figures almost 100 per cent correctly. Not so when the surface has been weathered.

The documentation must be seen as a total registration of the surface, that is figures, different types and degrees of weathering, plus fissures and areas with lichen or moss. The complexity of the actual conditions calls for a differentiated method, which can reproduce the original shape of the carvings as precisely as possible.

THE METHOD OF DOCUMENTATION STEP BY STEP 1. Localization Hardly visible or strongly weathered figures are identified by night by artificial light at an oblique angle and if necessary, photographing them. (You have to check all motifs thoroughly, but especially where the rock surface is weathered.) Motifs are marked with chalk and when they are difficult to distinguish, you also draw the contours. 2. The rubbing method The total panel of carvings is divided into rectangles measuring 100 by 70 centimetres in a system of coordinates. The sheets of paper used for the rubbing are also 100 by 70 centimetres. Most often, we use 110 gram paper, but difficult details may require thinner paper.

Figure B. This rubbing shows diagonal glacial strikes and a broad vertical rock fissure plus weathering damage all over the panel, e.g. exfoliation top left. Three phallic figures with bent knees, carrying sticks. Under the figures a deer with unusually beautiful horns. After Tanums Hällristningsmuseum.

The weathering makes it difficult to reproduce the original motif with absolute certainty, and we must either accept a certain amount of guesswork or omit those figures which we cannot reproduce correctly because of the weathering. A third possibility would be to mark those figures with a special code which are reproduced with a degree of uncertainty. This is indeed an ethical issue, which has not yet been discussed in the field of rock art research which is why we do not have any generally accepted standards for the correctness of our documentation. Figure C. The whole panel is covered with paper sheets, size 70 x 100 cm and the carving is documented by rubbing. After Tanums Hällristningsmuseum.

Tanums Hällristningsmuseum Underslös, Sweden, (Museum and Rock Art Research Centre of Tanum) has 44

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Figure D. The photographic version is based on the rubbings. AfteTanums Hällristningsmuseum.

3. Painting

Rain is a problem, and therefore we are experimenting with harmless rainproof dyes. Painting large panels may

The purpose of the painting of the figures is to make them visible and contrasting with the rock, so that the whole panel can be photographed for publication. We have experimented with various dyes which do not damage the granite: - Polysaccharide (C6HI005)n suspended in water. As it is a natural product that is suspended and not dissolved, it may be brushed away easily, leaving no damage or traces on the rock. It is easy to retouch if it proves necessary to correct the figures and therefore it is well suited for work with figures which are difficult to discern. - Suspended chalk (CaC03) may also be used. The chalk neutralises the acid environment on the surface of the rock and has a positive effect on the microflora, in that it makes the lichen disappear. - Suspended quartz (SiO2) is mild and neutral. Quartz is one of the elements of granite. All three materials have the quality that they go white when they dry up and thus make a good contrast for photography – and they disappear when it rains on them.

Figure E : This picture shows six rubbing sheets which have been digitised and combined to make a total picture. After Tanums Hällristningsmuseum. 45

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OBJECTIVITY

take several days, so we need a semi-permanent type of dye which will stay a while before it disappears.

The basis for research must be the documentation we provide in the rubbings, perhaps supplemented by night photos. This method is the closest you get to an objective reproduction and is defined as the documentation.

The painting is based on the rubbings, a thorough investigation of the rock surface, and sometimes night photos.

For publication, photographs of carvings painted and processed according to the method described above is a suitable method. But it should be realized that this method relies on interpretation: the person who performs the painting has to interpret, and this method can not be considered a one hundred per cent correct documentation – it has to be defined as an illustration. REGISTRATION Registration is part of the documentation and can be found in two systems of registration: Figure F : After the rubbing has been completed, the figures are painted with suspended chalk. A precise painting demands a careful study of the carving on the rock surface compared with the rubbing. Sometime, it is nescessary to use night photography, too. Photo: Henning Prøhl.

• HÄLLRIST – a central database established in 1998 by National Heritage Board (NHB) with the purpose of collecting all data on documentation and registration in Sweden. • HELIOS – the database developed by Tanums Hällristningsmuseum Underslös, which has been in existence for some years and collects data from our own project: re-documentation in Tanum.

4. Photography • Traditional black and white photos and colour slides. • Digital photography

These two databases are now being co-ordinated. Both methods can be processed in various ways, see the section: From Rock Art to Photographich Art. (1) ASPECTS OF THE REGISTRATION 5. Registration • Identification of county, parish, name of panel, Raä number, name of map, and co-ordinates.

Registration of figures and relevant conditions on and around the panel. This method is especially suitable when documenting total panels and when producing illustrations for publication.

• References to earlier registrations • The object: the dimension and orientation of the panel, the type of carving • The type of figures • The environmental situation on and around the panel Condition: Weathering damages, vegetation. SYSTEM AND CATALOGUE The documentation project produces an enormous material consisting of thousands of sheets of paper, and this demands a cataloguing system which makes it possible to quickly identify a particular carving or figure, or the degree of weathering at the time of documentation.

Figure G : Horse with line and disc/circle. Usually interpreted as the horse pulling the sun across the sky. Night photography. Barely visible and / or weathered motifs are usually identified in the darkness with artificial light. The outlines of the motif and the structure of the surface cast shadows by the inclined lighting. Photo: Gerhard Milstreu.

The panel is divided into rectangles the size of the paper sheets (100 by 70 cms) arranged in a system of coordinates. For every panel, there is a so-called work file with two corresponding systems of co-ordinates (part A and part B), in rectangles, which each represent a sheet of 46

G. Milstreu: Documentation and Registration of Rock Art

and to communicate. But there are some problems with storing this enormous material. And problems with storing on CD-Rom. Digitized information as archive material has to be discussed. DATABASE The data of the documentation material are transferred to a database, which contains pictures of each documented location, and the field observations from the work file. Information on position, orientation etc. is supplied. This method of registration makes it considerably simpler to get a general idea of what is in the material, and thus facilitates the use of the material in various connections. DEMANDS ON THE DOCUMENTATION PROJECT Documentation is a technical and an ethical challenge demanding total objectivity, which can never quite be achieved. The best documentation was left to us by our ancestors on the rock surfaces – and it is disappearing. As mentioned above, the situation is so critical that future research will often have to be based on documentation, i.e. reproduced material. And this makes heavy demands on the documentation project: The work has to be carried out as precisely as possible. The methods we employ must not increase the damage caused by weathering, and we must find all factors which increase deterioration in order to start an efficient strategy for preservation of the rock surfaces.

Figure H lys. The Fossum panel is being photographed. Every year thousands of tourists are visiting the Fossum rock carving , which is one of the very few painted panels in the World Heritage area. Photo: Henning Prohl.

paper on a scale of 1:50. In part A of the file, the dimension and the location of the panel are defined. In part B, the figures in the panel are sketched into the corresponding rectangle. The rectangles are marked with letters and numbers, e.g. C 13. In the county of Tanum, each rectangle is marked with a T and a number, e.g. T-255.

It is necessary to co-operate and thus make the most of the very limited resources assigned for this work. In recent years there has been a high degree of constructive cooperation between involved parties in all areas of documentation, registration and co-ordination. The original documentation is on paper and we know a lot about the durability of that. All other information is filed electronically. In that area we have a lot of optimism, but little experience.

For each rock art location, the rubbings, which are the primary documentation, are filed together. Part B of the file, the system of co-ordinates with the sketches of the carvings, makes it easy to find particular figures or combinations of figures on the correct sheet of paper. The size of this material is seen from the fact that the file for one location, e.g. Fossum T-255, consists of 66 sheets of paper sized 100 by 70 cms. The documentation material is kept in fireproof archives at Tanums Hällristningsmuseum Underslös and filed according to the system of NHB. The original material is accessible to those who are interested in working with it. SCANNING PROCESS In 1999 we started scanning the rubbing documents with great succes. We noticed that the rubbing method is working well even on badly weathered panels. And Outprints in scale 1:10 compromize the contours from the surface and it was possible to identify figures more precisely. In fact a montage of rubbings might be the best way to be able to see the images on extremely weathered panels. In addition the scanning and digitising of the rubbing documentation as a filingsystem is easy to handle

Figure I : In the winter, the panels are covered with snow and ice for several months. But the melting snow portends the coming spring. Photo: Gerhard Milstreu.

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Figure Fossum Grafik. The left part of the Fossum panel, which is called one of ”the pearls” in the World Heritage area of Tanum. The documentation in graphic version. Tanums Hällristningsmuseum.

Author’s address

The problem facing us today is how to preserve this wealth of pictures and this cultural heritage for posterity – not as documented reproductions, but as pictures to be found on the rock surfaces. The documentation material will only benefit a limited group of researchers and other curious people, and the material will only be accessible in various kinds of archives. The question cannot be answered today. But happily, the issue has come into focus.

Gerhard MILSTREU Director, PhDhc at Göteborg University Tanums Hällristningsmuseum Underslös SWEDEN SE-457 91 Tanumshede E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.ssfpa.se

Several of the important areas of rock art, among these Tanum, are on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. From 1997 to 1999, Tanum was under the auspices of an EU Interreg project and 1999-2001 of the RockCare project/ EU-Raphael-programme, collaboration between Sweden, Italy, Portugal and France, which supplies means for the preservation and documentation of our prehistoric cultural heritage – and that reflects an acknowledgement of the importance of the past for the people of today.

Bibliography MILSTREU, G., & PRØHL, H., 1999, Documentation and Registration of Rock Art in Tanum Vol 2 – Fossum and adjoining Areas, Tanum. C.C. & Co. Press, Denmark. EUROPEAN UNION, Final Report 2001, Rock Carvings in the Borderlands. An INTERREG IIA project. Cultural Heritage Section, SE-403 40 Göteborg.

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LE MUSEE DE TAUTAVEL OU L’HERITAGE DE L’HOMME DE TAUTAVEL Jacques PERNAUD

Résumé : Le Musée de Tautavel est un musée de site. Il présente l’aventure de l’humanité grâce à des exemples régionaux. C’est l’Homme de Tautavel qui est le point fort du musée. Ce musée s’inscrit dans le développement local et participe à la vie du village de Tautavel, dans l’arrière-pays catalan. Abstract: Tautavel museum is a site museum. The human adventure is presented by local examples. Tautavel men are the most famous attraction of the museum. This museum takes part in the local development and in the life of Tautavel city, in the Catalan hinterland.

présentant l’Homme de Tautavel, les animaux et les outils trouvés avec les restes humains, le patrimoine tautavellois.

Tautavel est un petit village de l’arrière-pays catalan, dans les Pyrénées-Orientales en France. Situé dans une petite plaine viticole, ce village n’aurait jamais atteint la renommée sans la découverte retentissante de l’Homme de Tautavel. Cette découverte a été rapidement mise en valeur par la création du Musée de Tautavel.

Ce Musée a été rapidement très populaire et il est devenu un des musées de province, comme on disait alors, les plus fréquentés. Ce petit musée a accueilli jusqu’à 74 000 visiteurs en un an. Toutefois, les années passant, l’équipe du Professeur de Lumley avait de plus en plus à dire, avait besoin d’un espace de recherche et il fallait penser à accueillir le public dans les meilleures conditions possibles. La décision a donc été prise par le Maire de Tautavel, Monsieur Guy Ilary, d’agrandir considérablement le Musée de Tautavel. Cela fut fait en 1992.

LA DECOUVERTE DE L’HOMME DE TAUTAVEL C’est dans la Caune de l’Arago que les hommes de Tautavel ont vécu et qu’ils ont été retrouvés. Il s’agit d’une grotte qui s’ouvre aujourd’hui à flanc d’un petit escarpement rocheux au dessus de la plaine de Tautavel. Un important remplissage daté de 690 000 à 35 000 ans (de Lumley et al.1984) contient un certain nombre de niveaux d’habitat dont le sol G, qui contenait le crâne de l’Homme de Tautavel.

LE MUSEE DE TAUTAVELCENTRE EUROPEEN DE PREHISTOIRE C’est donc en 1992 que le nouveau Musée de Tautavel a ouvert ses portes. Il est constitué de quatre parties : un espace de recherche, un ensemble administratif, une réserve archéologique et bien sûr une galerie d’exposition permanente. Le Musée de Tautavel prenait alors le nom de Centre Européen de Préhistoire. Il abrite actuellement plusieurs organismes de recherche : le Laboratoire de Préhistoire de l’Université de Perpignan, l’UMR 5590 du CNRS et le Centre Européen de Recherches Préhistoriques.

Bien des recherches se déroulèrent à Tautavel dans la Caune de l’Arago depuis le début du 19ème siècle. Mais les plus importantes sont celles menées par l’équipe de MarieAntoinette et Henry de Lumley depuis 1964. Cette exploitation scientifique très systématique a permis la découverte le 22 juillet 1971, du crâne de l’Homme de Tautavel. Très médiatisée, cette découverte a rapidement été mise en valeur. L’Homme de Tautavel est un Homo erectus (M.A. De Lumley, 1981) daté de 455 000 ans (Yokoyama et al, 1982).

La présentation muséographique allie modernisme technologique et classisme muséographique. Les collections sont présentées comme dans beaucoup de Musées par type d’objets et avec beaucoup d’explications sur les cartels et dans les panneaux. Mais en plus de cela des audio-visuels nombreux, des dioramas, et des reconstitutions animent cette visite. Un fac-simile partiel de la grotte est également présenté. Cette exposition permanente est très dynamique et très agréable à visiter. Après l’ouverture la fréquentation a dépassé 150 000 Visiteurs pour se stabiliser depuis à 110 000.

LE MUSEE DE TAUTAVEL Le sujet de cette communication n’est pas l’Homme de Tautavel mais le Musée de Tautavel. Une convergence d’intérêts s’est mise en place pour aller très vite vers la construction de ce musée. Monsieur Albert Pla, alors Maire de Tautavel voulait mettre en valeur cette découverte d’un point de vue culturel et touristique et Monsieur Henry de Lumley voulait poursuivre et exposer son étude scientifique. En 1979, le Musée de Tautavel était inauguré par Madame Giscard d’Estaing, épouse du Président de la République. C’est-à-dire seulement huit ans après la découverte du crâne.

LES PREMIERS HABITANTS DE L’EUROPE Dernière tranche de la construction du vaste complexe culturel de la ville de Tautavel, un espace de congrès de 500 places et une salle d’exposition temporaire de 500 m²

Malgré de fortes réticences, les choses sont donc allées très vite. Le Musée était alors constitué de deux salles 49

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induit un fort développement économique. Le Musée compte aujourd’hui 30 employés permanents. Parfois nous devons faire appel à des saisonniers. L’emploi n’est pas toujours direct, des boutiques, des bars et des retaurants se sont développés, et embauchent eux aussi. En outre, l’équipe de recherche comporte beaucoup de jeunes qui contribuent à la vie du village. Il y a à Tautavel une population croissante (de 650 à 850 habitants en 20 ans). L’école se développe, la poste et les commerces sont maintenus…

ont été construits en 2000. Une grande exposition consacrée aux Premiers Habitants de l’Europe a été réalisée en 2000. Elle présente des moulages de tous les restes humains trouvés dans les sites anciens d’Europe ainsi que le contexte archéozoologique et culturel de ces fossiles. Des vitrines plus aérées que celles du musée sont présentées avec des bandeaux explicatifs. Des théâtres virtuels, images projetées sur des vitres sans teint, rendent l’exposition accessible et agréable à visiter. L’ORGANISATION DE MUSEE

CONCLUSION Le Musée de Tautavel, musée municipal, a une organisation un peu complexe. Il est divisé en deux gros secteurs : le musée lui-même et les activités commerciales. Le musée est administré en régie autonome non dotée de la personnalité morale. La ville de Tautavel n’est donc pas solidaire automatiquement du musée, le budget du musée est un budget à part. L’Etablissement Public à Caractère Industriel et Commercial « TAUTAVEL Développement » s’occupe de la boutique et des activités vers les groupes, c’est-à-dire du secteur susceptible de développer des profits.

Pour conclure, la découverte du crâne de l’Homme de Tautavel, le 22 juillet 1971 a été à l’origine d’un extraordinaire développement culturel du village de Tautavel. Trois phases de construction municipale ont déjà été réalisées. Le Musée, basé sur une présentation classique ne peut exister sans le concours des nouvelles technologies muséographiques. Une restructuration fréquente est donc nécessaire. Le développement culturel de Tautavel est un des moteurs du développement économique et démographique du village. Il faut sans cesse aller de l’avant et il est possible qu’une quatrième phase de construction prenne la suite avec l’aménagement d’un circuit de plein air dans une friche industrielle.

UN MUSEE VIVANT Pour assurer la vie du musée nous organisons tous les ans un programme culturel varié. Des évènements d’animation comme une manche de Championnat d’Europe de Tir à l’Arc et au Propulseur préhistorique ou les Fêtes de la Préhistoire (ateliers de démonstration et d’initiation dans les rues, spectacles, repas préhistoriques…) se reproduisent tous les ans. Le programme est chaque année plus chargé.

Adresse de l’auteur Jacques PERNAUD Musée de Tautavel Centre Européen de Préhistoire Avenue Léon-Jean Grégory 66 720 Tautavel FRANCE

Pour rendre le musée vivant, il faut aussi penser à accueillir les groupes en fonction de leurs désirs. Visite de la grotte, ateliers, conférences, journées spéciales, classes du patrimoine… sont autant de manières de faire que nos animateurs maîtrisent.

Bibliographie LUMLEY H. de. et FOURNIER A, PARK Y-C-, YOKOYAMA Y. & DEMOUY A., 1984, Stratigraphie du remplissage pléistocène moyen de la Caune de l’Arago à Tautavel, étude de huit carottages effectués de 1981 à 1983. l’Anthropologie, 88 ( 1), p. 5 – 18, Paris.

LE CONTEXTE TOURISTIQUE

LUMLEY M.-A. de, 1981, L’Homme de Tautavel. Critères morphologiques et stade évolutif. Datations absolues et analyses isotopiques en préhistoire. Méthodes et limites. Datation du remplissage de la Caune de l’Arago à Tautavel. Colloque interne du CNRS. Prétirage.

Tautavel n’est pas exactement un lieu touristique au départ. Situé à une trentaine de kms de la côte, le village est hors des circuits habituels. Les touristes sont nombreux dans le département des Pyrénées-Orientales, l’été comme l’hiver mais à la mer ou à la montagne, pas dans l’arrière-pays. C’est donc un challenge que de les faire venir à Tautavel pour la préhistoire. La communication sur l’Homme de Tautavel, le Musée de Tautavel doit donc être particulièrement forte. Pourtant le succès a été au rendezvous tant avec le premier musée qu’avec le musée agrandi.

PERNAUD-ORLIAC J., 1996, Le tourisme et le développement local, l’expérience du Musée de Tautavel Centre Européen de Préhistoire. Actes du colloque : Musées, gérer autrement, un regard international , 27 et 28 janvier 1994 à Grenoble in La Documentation française, p. 91 – 95, Paris.

LE DEVELOPPEMENT LOCAL

PERNAUD-ORLIAC J., 1999, Le Musée de Préhistoire de Tautavel. Actes des colloques : Musées et nouvelles technologies 2, 13 – 17 décembre 1997, Hôtel des Invalides, in Musées et collections publiques de France, 224 (3), p. 28 – 31, Paris.

Ce qui importe particulièrement c’est de voir à quel point la mise en valeur d’une découvete préhistorique, médiatisée à l’extrême, peut-être un facteur de développement local. En effet, le Musée de Tautavel a

YOKOYAMA Y., QUAEGEBEUR J.-P., BIBRON R., LEGER C., NGUYEN H.-Y. & POUPEAU G., 1982, Paléontologie Humaine. Datation du site de l’Homme de Tautavel par la résonance de spin électronique (ESR). C. R. Acad. Science. Paris, t. 294, série II, p. 759 – 764, Paris. 50

THE REALITY OF THE SITE OF ISERNIA LA PINETA IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY Antonella MINELLI, Marta ARZARELLO, Federica FONTANA, Giuseppe LEMBO, Ursula THUN HOHENSTEIN & Carlo PERETTO

Abstract: The prehistory and its deposits are often unique, both from a scientific and didactic/popular point of view. There is a pressing need for intervention no longer restricted to specific fields but instead of a general nature, that considers the cultural heritage in its manifold aspects. Various initiatives have consequently been set up or are presently in progress on the prehistoric site of Isernia La Pineta that have contributed to a formidable mobilisation with regard to the many aspects involved in the research, protection, improvement and fruition. The proposed programme is intended to overcome the limitations imposed by the sectional interests and to apply an integrated, precompetitive operational project, one which embraces all aspects from fundamental research to fruition, with complete interaction between the various spheres. In fact, only creating and following up the greatest possible number of approaches shall the development of this research sector have the possibility of being integrated in a context of progress and development. Résumé : La préhistoire et ses gisement représentent, très souvent, un unicum autant au niveau scientifique que vulgarisation ; elle nécessite, donc, un apparat capable de valoriser ces aspects. La nécessité d’une invention non sectorielle mais générale, qui considère la patrimoine culturel dans toutes ses multiples valeurs, s’est transformée, dans le site paléolithique de Isernia La Pineta, en une série d’initiatives qui ont contribué à mobiliser un imposant déploiement vers la recherche, la sauvegarde, la valorisation et l’utilisation. Le programme proposé veut surpasser les limites imposées par la sectorisation en créant une intervention intégrée capable de remplir les aspects qui vont de la recherche de base à l’utilisation, avec une totale interaction des différents domaines. En fait, c’est en créant et en poursuivant le plus grand nombre de synergies possibles que le développement de ce secteur de recherche aura la possibilité d’être intégré au milieu d’un contexte de progrès et développement.

CONTEXT

presenting the results of the multidisciplinary research work in a form accessible to everyone.

The rich Italian cultural heritage ranges over a wide time span, in the context of which Prehistory and its deposits are often unique, both from a scientific and didactic/popular point of view.

The excavation pavilion represent the first completed structure of the extensive archaeological complex under construction; it delimits the area of discovery and has, since 1979, been the object of systematic signs of intervention under the scientific coordination of Carlo Peretto (Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, University of Ferrara); it can be exploited on a wide scale, not only for research purposes, but also by larger public (Fig. 1) (Peretto, 1999).

Particularly important is the prehistoric site of Isernia La Pineta in Molise (Italy), which offers a relatively complete panorama of the human population origins not only in the Italian peninsula itself, but also throughout the entire European continent (Accorsi et al., 1996; Coltorti et al., 1981). The Palaeolithic site of Isernia La Pineta was discovered in 1979 during the construction of the street Napoli-Vasto and the wealthniess of materials that it was found has contributed to a formidable mobilisation of scientific and political world and to set up various initiatives involving the research, protection, improvement and fruition of the particular cultural heritage represented by Isernia La Pineta (Coltorti, 1983; Cremaschi, 1983). The considerable discovery has brought to delimit the area which could be interested by anthropic interventions and then by the presence of prehistoric finds. Its extension is calculated of about 30.000 square metres in size.

Figure 1. Isernia La Pineta – The excavation pavilion.

The project in course of realization was planned with the specific intention of creating an archaeological park or complex that paves the way toward a fresh approach to culture and the archaeological heritage, particularly

The adjoining museum building is also nearing completion and will be a further step forward the reconstruction of our 51

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made it possible to subdivide the various sectors: this is functional not only for the researchers working there but also for visitors, who can thus follow directly the work in progress. The researchers, in this case, in their professional capacity, demonstrate the products of their work without playing down its scientific content and, at the same time, constituting an element of attraction to stimulate the exchange of curiosity and information (Fig. 4).

ancestors’ environment and way of life; it will be used not merely to display objects, but it will serve as an interactive means to present information and history (Fig. 2).

Figure 2. Isernia La Pineta – The Museum under construction.

As finishing of the archaeological complex it was realized a European Centre of Prehistoric Research that characterizes itself as a structure of high technological value, in which the research work is developed and is activated a wide circuit of cultural national and international interchanges (Fig. 3).

Figure 4. Isernia La Pineta – The fruition of the excavation pavilion.

Research and excavation work at the site have become more and more intense over the last few years (Anconetani et al., 1992; Peretto et al., 2001) and have had an evergrowing rhythm of continuity throughout the years alongside all the necessary operations entailed in an exhaustive study of the finds. The results of the first excavation campaigns has brought to light the remains of a hunters’ camp (Peretto, 1996, 1999) that has allowed to understand various problems regarding the continental Quaternary, the paleoenviroment, fauna, flora and human presence in the Mediterranean basin (Peretto et al., 1998a). It preserves evidences that allow us to reconstruct the social organisation and culture of Homo erectus; a social structure very complex, as the spatial organization, which testifies a thorough knowledge and domination of the territory and its exploitation for hunting and gathering activities the abundance of lithic tools and remains of hunted animals indicate prolonged occupation of the territory (Fig. 5) (Peretto et al., 1998b; Giusberti et al., 1991).

Figure 3. Isernia La Pineta – The European Centre of Prehistoric Research.

ORGANIZATION OF THE EXCAVATION AREA: RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND FRUITION

The exceptional wealth of material to be studied and restored, lends itself to a series of enterprises which in part are already under way: for example the educational camps for excavation and cataloguing of finds, the palaeontological and palaeoethnological restoration centre, the teaching laboratory, meetings on specific topics regarding the Quaternary and human evolution (Peretto, 1996), application of the most up-to-date techniques in archaeological investigation and the development of experimental projects of archaeological research with use of advanced technologies.

The excavation pavilion and the Palaeolithic Museum are two structures which harmonise perfectly with the particular nature of the deposit for the interdisciplinary aims of research, conservation, education and development within its present-day context. The architecture of the excavation pavilion, in its extension of about 700 square metres, and its internal layout have 52

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systematic explorations, collection of materials; from the stratigraphic and planimetric definition of materials using a Cartesian reference grid and a computerized topographic station which computes automatically the reference coordinates of finds to acquisition and transfer of recorded data on portable and the fixed computer; from the restoration of materials on place to favour their permanent exposition and the restoration in laboratory using chemical products, making thin sections and analysing the porosity of material (Corti, 1998); from the washing and sifting of sediments to individuate the resulting finds, particularly rests of microvertebrates, to marking, cataloguing and classification the material with the aid of advanced computer programmes (Anconetani et al., 1996). In fact, a sort of computerised laboratory is always at work in the excavation pavilion area; it ensures that all the information acquired is updated daily and immediately accessible on screen to both researchers and visitors, particularly the photographs organized in a specific data bank in Access, excavation diary, films, section reliefs, until to the computerized registration of excavation plans and their transfer into a record system like ArcView 3.2, useful to relate the spatial objects and the cataloguing cards (Figs. 7, 8) (Gubellini et al., 1983; Bisi et al., 1989).

Figure 5. Isernia La Pineta – A part of archeosurface 3a.

The management of the archaeological site, and then the cultural heritage, in terms of development and fruition, is well represented in a diagram that exemplifies the interchangeable connections, existing between the sectors involved into a potential program, distinct in steps, which can be transferred and applied to the sphere of Arts and Culture (Fig. 6).

Figure 6. Isernia La Pineta – Model of excavation management.

The quality and scale of interventions are only possible with the support of advanced technologies which speed up the sequence of routine activities on an archaeological site, thus proceeding rapidly from excavation work to fruition and providing greater certainty as regards the conservation and skilled treatment of the original data.

Figure 7. Isernia La Pineta – The computerized laboratory.

The planning of georeferencied models with their alphanumerical databanks allows to have a picture constantly been date up to the excavated area from the latest years until now, and it allows to have also an idea of relations between the finds and their spatial distribution (Peretto et al., 1996).

In the centre of the diagram there are the excavation plans, completely computerised, because they represent the starting-point to treat the original data and to create a circuit of possible interactions among documentation, stratigraphy, statistics, cards, themathisms, restoration until to arrive directly to the multimedial fruition.

This aspect is supported by a reconstruction of the stratigraphic sequence which documents the different areas or sectors where it’s possible to observe the big concentration of faunal remains and lithic artefacts as regards the other areas of the extension site and the different geological events that affected the Isernia basin.

The range of activities spans from the preliminary investigations, to the excavation of archeosurfaces,

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interested, or merely curious, by means of straightforward language and representation, without over-simplifying the content. It also represents the confirmation of an increasingly felt need to render national cultural heritage the patrimony of everybody; highlighting this heritage to make it more accessible is the most appropriate way to ensure that it does not remain on the sidelines of a highly competition system. Hence the importance of bringing the archaeology into line with the most advanced technology and of ensuring that it has an increasingly central role in the economic and entrepreneurial world. Figure 8. Isernia La Pineta – The creation of a system GIS.

The museum centre under construction, and the project of the future prehistoric complex at Isernia, represents something new of its kind, an experiment which, if extended to other situations, could indeed provide the necessary incentive to make our archaeological patrimony accessible on both a scientific and popular scale.

An equally significant contribution support to the museum project of the paleolithic site at Isernia is provided by the permanent exposition on display of portion of paleosurface 3a brought to light in the course of the first excavation campaigns (Giusberti et al., 1983; Cremaschi et al., 1988). This section, particularly rich in finds, exemplifies all the aspect connected with the interpretation of a prehistoric site: clearly visible to the visitor are the most part of animal species found, like bison, rhinocerous, eurasiatic elephant, bears, cervids and hippopotami (Peretto, 1996;Sala, 1996;Diez et al., 1997), the variety of lithic artefacts used for butchering, working wood, and so on, which documents their technological skills (Crovetto, 1994; Peretto, 1994; Crovetto et al., 1994a).

Authors’ address Antonella MINELLI, Marta ARZARELLO, Federica FONTANA, Giuseppe LEMBO, Ursula THUN HOHENSTEIN, Carlo PERETTO Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, University of Ferrara Corso Ercole I D’Este, 32 44100 Ferrara ITALY E-mail: [email protected]

The present phase of exploration of the site sees the constant presence of national and international researchers, working together to extend the explored area and bring fresh discoveries to light. Every new find, in fact, offers a further stimulus to deepen awareness of the themes underlying our cultural heritage.

Bibliography ACCORSI, C.A., CREMASCHI, M. & MERCURI, A.M., 1996, Qualche dato sul paesaggio dell’accampamento paleolitico di Isernia (Molise, Italia Centrale): dati litostratigrafici e spettri pollinici della serie “Isernia-Fiume Cavaliere”. In I reperti paleontologici del giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta, l’Uomo e l’ambiente, edited by C. Peretto. Cosmo Iannone Editore, Isernia, pp. 7-23. ANCONETANI, P., CROVETTO, C., FERRARI, M., GIUSBERTI, G., LONGO, L., PERETTO, C. & VIANELLO, F., 1992, Nuove ricerche nel giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta (Molise). Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche, XLIV, 12, pp. 3-41. ANCONETANI, P., GIUSBERTI, G., PERETTO, C., 1996, Metodica di raccolta, codifica e trattamento dati per la ricerca archeozoologica. In I reperti paleontologici del giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta, l’Uomo e l’ambiente, edited by C. Peretto. Cosmo Iannone Editore, Isernia, pp. 577-597. BISI, F., GIUSBERTI, G., GUERRESCHI, A., PERETTO, C., RUGGERI, M., 1989, Informatizzazione dei dati per lo studio delle paleosuperfici di Isernia La Pineta. Atti XXVII Riun. Scient. I.I.P.P., Ferrara 1987, pp. 315-320. COLTORTI, M., 1983, Le fasi principali della evoluzione del paesaggio nel bacino di Isernia (Molise). In (ed.): Isernia La Pineta: un accampamento più antico di 700.000 anni, edited by C. Peretto et alii . Catalogo della mostra omonima, Calderini Editore, Bologna, pp. 41-48.

The involvement also of pupils and students of all ages results to be of considerable educational value as it constitutes an all-round experience, further supported by the on-site reconstruction of situations and ways of life of prehistoric humans, as well as by introductory talks. It is a way of offering them the possibility to discover their own potential, explore their interests and develop professionally. The setting up of a development activity has finally entailed the realization of a Web site of about 400 pages in which is reconstructed the history of the site and the human origins with images, films and ipertextual connections. CONSIDERATIONS The project presently being carried out at the Paleolithic site of Isernia La Pineta has as aim to ensure that the scientific culture and the results of the research are no longer seen as the prerogative of experts in the field, but that they should be made accessible to all those who are 54

A. Minelli et al.: The Reality of the Site of Isernia La Pineta in Contemporary Society CORTI, P., 1998, Consolidamento, strappo e restauro dei reperti fossili della paleosuperficie di Isernia La Pineta. In Atti XIII Congresso U.I.S.P.P., vol. 1. Abaco Editore, Forlì, pp. 357-63. CREMASCHI, M., PERETTO, C., 1988, Les sols d’habitat du site paleolithique d’Isernia La Pineta (Molise, Italie centrale). L’Anthropologie, 92, 4, pp. 1017-1040. CREMASCHI, M., 1983, La serie pleistocenica di Isernia La Pineta (Molise) e la posizione stratigrafica dei suoli d’abitato paleolitici in essa inclusi. In Isernia La Pineta: un accampamento più antico di 700.000 anni, Catalogo della mostra omonima, edited by C. Peretto et alii. Calderini Editore, Bologna pp. 49-62. CROVETTO, C., 1994, Analisi tecnotipologica dei reperti di scavo. In Le industrie litiche del giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta, la tipologia, le tracce di utilizzazione, la sperimentazione, edited by C. Peretto. Istituto Regionale per gli Studi Storici del Molise “V. Cuoco”, C. Iannone Editore, Isernia, pp. 183-354. CROVETTO, C., FERRARI, M., PERETTO, C. & VIANELLO, F., 1994a, Le industrie litiche. La scheggiatura, descrizione degli insiemi, i rimontaggi. In Le industrie litiche del giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta, la tipologia, le tracce di utilizzazione, la sperimentazione, edited by C. Peretto .Istituto Regionale per gli studi Storici del Molise “V. Cuoco”, C. Iannone Editore, Isernia, pp. 87-118. DIEZ FERNANDEZ ROMANA, C., ROSELL Y ARDEVOL, J., MALERBA, G., THUN HOHENSTEIN, U., GIACOBINI, G. & PERETTO, C., 1997, Indagini sulle tracce di macellazione sui reperti faunistici di Isernia la Pineta (Molise, Italia): metodologia e nuovi risultati. Antropologia Contemporanea, XII Congresso degli Ass. Antrop. Italiani, Palermo. GIUSBERTI, G., FERRARI, M. & PERETTO C., 1991, Tipologia, frequenza e distribuzione dei reperti paleontologici e paletnologici della paleosuperficie t. 3a del I° settore di scavo di Isernia La Pineta (Isernia, Molise). In Isernia la Pineta, nuovi contributi scientifici, edited by C. Peretto. XXX Riun. Scient. I.I.P.P., Venosa-Isernia, Istituto Regionale per gli Studi Storici del Molise “V. Cuoco”, Isernia, pp. 5-41. GIUSBERTI, G., GUERRESCHI, A. & PERETTO, C., 1983, Le strutture d’abitato dell’accampamento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta. Prime considerazioni. In. Isernia La Pineta: un accampamento più antico di 700.000 anni, Catalogo della mostra omonima, edited by C. Peretto et al. Calderini Editore, Bologna, pp. 94-103. GUBELLINI, A., LOMBARDINI, G., RUSSO & P., 1983, Applicazione della tecnica fotogrammetrica nel rilievo dei

suoli d’abitato di Isernia La Pineta. In Isernia la Pineta, un accampamento più antico di 700.000 anni, edited by C. Peretto. Calderini Editore, Bologna, pp. 105-111. PERETTO, C., 1994, Le industrie litiche del giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta, la tipologia, le tracce di utilizzazione, la sperimentazione. Istituto Regionale per gli Studi Storici del Molise “V. Cuoco”, Cosmo Iannone Editore, Isernia. PERETTO, C.,1996, I reperti paleontologici del giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta. Cosmo Iannone Editore, Isernia. PERETTO, C.,1996, Considerations on the first human population of Italy. In (eds.) Archaeology, Methodology and the Organization of Research, edited by Milliken S. e Peretto C. A.B.A.C.O, Forlì, pp. 11-17. PERETTO, C.,1999, I suoli d’abitato del giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta: natura e distribuzione dei reperti. Cosmo Iannone Editore, Isernia. PERETTO, C., ANCONETANI, P., BISI F., CAVALLINI, E., FERIOLI, V., FORTE, M. & MILLIKEN, S.,1996, Le paleosuperfici di Isernia la Pineta: progetto per uno studio computerizzato. In Atti XI Congresso degli Antropologi Italiani, Isernia. A.B.A.C.O, Forlì, pp. 117-128. PERETTO, C., BENVENUTI, C., CAVALLINI, E., DIEZ, C., EVANGELISTA, L., FERIOLI, V., GIACOBINI, G., GUERRESCHI, A., LONGO, L., MALERBA, G., MILLIKEN, S., ROSELL, J., THUN HOHENSTEIN, U. & VULLO, N., 1998a, Modelling Middle Pleistocene behaviour at Isernia La Pineta (Central, Italy). In Dual Congress, Sun City, South Africa, Abstracts, p. 132. PERETTO, C., DIEZ, C., EVANGELISTA, L., GIACOBINI, G., MALERBA, G., ROSELL, J., THUN HOHENSTEIN, U., 1998b, New contributions to understanding the exploitation of animal resources at the palaeolithic site of Isernia La Pineta (Molise, Italy): taphonomic observations. Dual Congress, Sun City, South Africa, Abstracts, p. 131. PERETTO, C., ARZARELLO, A., FONTANA, F., GALLOTTI, R., GRUPPIONI, G., LEMBO, G., PAVIA, M., THUN HOHENSTEIN, U., MINELLI, A., 2001, Excavation in progress: the Palaeolithic site of Isernia La Pineta, Italy. In Prehistoria 2000, 1, pp. 138-149. SALA, B., 1996, Gli animali del giacimento di Isernia la Pineta. In I reperti paleontologici del giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta, l’Uomo e l’ambiente, edited by C. Peretto. Cosmo Iannone Editore, Isernia; pp. 87-186.

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INFORMATIC MANAGEMENT OF THE EXCAVATION DATA OF ISERNIA LA PINETA (MOLISE, ITALY) Rosalia GALLOTTI, Marta ARZARELLO, Giuseppe LEMBO, Antonella MINELLI, Ursula THUN HOHEINSTEIN & Carlo PERETTO

Abstract: The musealization of the Palaeolithic site of Isernia La Pineta, with the construction of a pavilion covering the whole archeosurface excavated, has permitted a new appraoch of informatics to archaeology, because the informatic application follows every phase of the excavation and research. A Geographical Information System application has been built to archive and visualize the faunal and the lithic remains in their spatial context. The possibility to link and to interrogate simultaneously both the graphical objects and the information connected with them in the database is important to generate different types of maps by visualizing finds on a paleosurfac,e either individually or in association with any other type of information. Résumé : La muséalisation du site paléolithique de Isernia La Pineta, avec la construction d’un pavillon couvrant la totalité de la surface archéologique fouillée, a permis une nouvelle approche de l’informatique à l’archéologie, en raison du fait que le traitement informatique des données suive toutes les phases de la fouille et de la recherche. Une application du Système d’Information Géographique a été crée au but de archiver et de visualiser les objets lithiques et les restes faunistiques dans leur contexte spatial. La possibilité de relier et d’interroger simultanément les objets graphiques et tous les informations liées avec eux permet de produire différentes sortes de plans en visualisant les objets archéologiques retrouvés sur la archéosurface soit individuellement soit en association avec une ou plusieurs sortes d’informations.

INTRODUCTION Our research is the result of a progressive approach to informatics and of an improvement of the technological potentialities for the management, study and interpretation of the Palaeolithic site of Isernia La Pineta.

Our aim is to reach a more immediate management of the data at our disposal and their use not only exclusively by the specialist but also by a larger public (Peretto et al., 2001).

The choice of making the excavation area a museum has allowed a new reading of the informatic application to archaeology, as the informatic management wasn’t conceived a posteriori, but it follows every research phases from the excavation. In fact the construction of a pavilion covering the whole surface offers the possibility to have a computerized workstation on the site and a Total Station, a compurized theodolite, with which every measurement and the cartographic relief of excavation surface are carried out (Fig. 1) (Peretto, 2001).

Such a solution has been necessary for the impossibility to manage so many data without any informatic application (the excavation area is about 300 square metres and we find thousands of remains) and to speed up both study and publications.

THE MODEL OF THE INFORMATIC APPLICATION For this reason it has been necessary to arrange a precise methodological rout, giving us the possibility to homogenise the previous data, which are part of the historical archives already documented and recorded, and the new ones (Peretto et al., 1996). The individualisation of this rout is well exemplified in this diagram, showing the relationship which must exist between the paper documentation an the informatic application to create a system which can be updated, queried and processed at any moment time (Fig. 2). The paper documentation in our hands, collected during years of excavation, consisted of a catalogue of the finds from the excavation, of the respective plans and sections, of a series of catalogues, in which the data concerning the study of lithic industry and faunal remains and the photographic archives were reported (Anconetani et al., 1996).

Figure 1. The Total Station (model GTS-605). 57

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AutoCad

Soprintendenza table

Sections

Excavation table

Lithic industry table

Plans

DBMS Access

ARCVIEW

Faunal remains table

Photo table

Figure 2. The model of the informatic application.

related with one another (Bisi et al., 1989; Anconetani et al., 1991).

As a management form of such a quantity of data collection a GIS system was chosen for its unlimited possibilities of alphanumerical and graphical data collection, of visualisation, analysis and processing. The choice of the software fell on Arcview 3.2 for its friendly use, for its diffusion, for its capacity to interface with several software programs and to process spatial analysis and statistics and for the possibility to read not only the bidimensional but also the tridimensional format.

The relationship between several tables is possible through the inventory number which corresponds with the primary key of the archaeological record (Fig. 3).

With this main management software two additional software have been partnered: AutoCAD, utilised for the plans and sections drawing, for its advanced drawing tools, and Access for the database management, for its capacity not only to archive, but also to create relationships between forms containing data connected with one another and for the possibility to make uniform the data. The establishment of a computerised process to describe the characteristics of each individual find is a decisive step towards any subsequent organisation before any queries as to possible variables and any associative or quantitative statistical analysis. An accurate analysis of the variability of each attribute is necessary prior to any precise thematic selection from the various records.

Figure 3. The relationship between tables.

The first step of the research lies in the computerisation of all the data.

The photographic database is structured separately. The next step consists of the computerisation into a vector format of the traditional cartography of the site plans.

Each card is structured in a table. There is the table concerning the Soprintendenza cards, the one concerning the excavation data, another relevant to the cards of lithic industry study and one more relevant to the study of faunal remains. Each of these tables contains univocal data, but

After the scanning of the plan of every square, each find is outlined with a line, whose colour changes depending on 58

R Gallotti et al.: Informatic management of the excavation data of Isernia La Pineta (Molise, Italy)

This makes it possible to generate any type of thematic plan, imaging any form of archaeological data on a prehistoric horizon and taking each individual find as a single object or in association with any other type of information.

raw material, and located on a layer named with the inventory number. Then the drawing is inserted in the general grid of excavation. The coordinates of every piece are calculated and recorded by the total station and then imported in AutoCAD, therefore the exactness of the drawing can be controlled at any moment (Fig. 4).

THE FIRST ELABORATIONS OF THE DATA The first analyses have been concentrated on archeosurface 3a, the main level in the stratigraphic sequence of Isernia La Pineta (Cremaschi, 1983; Cremaschi et al., 1988; Peretto, 1999). The archaeological deposit appeared to adapt itself particularly well to an experiment in the techniques of spatial statistics. There were several reasons for this: the area investigated (about 100 square metres), the enormous number of finds, the quantity and the quality of data (Fig. 6). Different thematic plans have been generated on the base of the mains categories of finds (Fig. 7, 8). The thematisation of the plans is an important function to distinguish the distribution of the remains (Peretto, 1994a; 1996) on the surface and to analyse the phenomena of correlation and significant association between the different categories of materials (Giusberti et al., 1991; Cavallini, 1993; Peretto et al., 1999). This kind of spatial analysis is very important to organise the thousands of the remains founded on this archeosurface and to understand and separate the anthropic from the post-depositional processes which led to the formation of the deposit

Figure 4. The digitalization of the plans.

Such a verification of the data ensures a great precision, a very important element for the following spatial analysis. Now the plans are exported in Arcview. The graphical objects through the primary key of the layers generated via AutoCAD, were easily linked to the database generated via Access. With an SQL query the several databases were linked. Data was extracted from the database using standard query language (SQL) to create a table which integrates the information stored on a one to one basis relative to the inventory number of the object (Fig. 5).

An attempt at the management of the stratigraphy has been carried out processing a tridimensional model generated via AutoCAD, constructed through meshes, a grid which is modelled according to the quoted points measured with the total station. The function of rendering allows to model the meshes and to reconstruct the whole body of the level and its trend (Fig. 9). Subsequent research will concentrate on the processing of frequency plans to obtain a topographical selection, to remove of post-depositional noise in order to reconstruct the anthropic or post-depositional processes responsible for modifications of the archaeological deposit and on the tridimensional analysis. Cross sections running the length and breadth of the site can be drawn up in any point to show the position of a find or group of finds on its vertical plane, overlapping to the relevant geological section. Authors’ address Rosalia GALLOTTI, Marta ARZARELLO, Giuseppe LEMBO, Antonella MINELLI, Ursula THUN HOHEINSTEIN, Carlo PERETTO Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, University of Ferrara Corso Ercole I D’Este, 32 44100 Ferrara ITALY E-mail: [email protected]

Figure 5. The link between graphical and alphanumerical objects.

The plans can be linked with any table, so it is possible to manage and process every data concerning an archeosurface. 59

Muséographie et société contemporaine / Museum Studies and Modern Society

Figure 6. Isernia La Pineta – a part of the archeosurface 3a. Distribution of lithic and faunal remains.

Figure 7. Isernia La Pineta – a part of the archeosurface 3a. Distribution of the faunal remains.

Bibliography

individuata nel giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta (Molise). Padusa, Quaderni, 1, pp.65-74. ANCONETANI, P., GIUSBERTI, G., PERETTO, C., 1996, Metodica di raccolta, codifica e trattamento dati per la ricerca archeozoologica. In (ed.): I reperti paleontologici del giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta, l’Uomo e l’ambiente, edited by C. Peretto. Cosmo Iannone Editore, Isernia, pp. 577-597. BISI, F., GIUSBERTI, G., GUERRESCHI, A., PERETTO, C., RUGGERI, M., 1989, Informatizzazione dei dati per lo studio delle paleosuperfici di Isernia La Pineta. In Atti XXVII Riunione Scientifica I.I.P.P., Ferrara 1987, pp. 315-320.

ANCONETANI, P., GIUSBERTI, G., PERETTO, C., 1991a, Schema raccolta dati per lo studio della fratturazione intenzionale delle ossa dei suoli d’abitato paleolitici di Isernia La Pineta (Molise). In Isernia La Pineta, Nuovi contributi Scientifici, edited by C. Peretto. XXX Riunione Scientifica I.I.P.P., Venosa-Isernia 1991, pp.97-99. ANCONETANI, P., FERRARI, M., GIUSBERTI, G., PERETTO, C., VINELLO, F., 1995a, Distribuzione dei reperti e studio archeozoologico in una nuova paleosuperficie

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Figure 8. Isernia La Pineta – a part of the archeosurface 3a. Distribution of the lithic industry.

Figure 9. Isernia La Pineta – the reconstruction of the stratigraphic relief of the archeosurface.

CAVALLINI, E., 1993, Nuove osservazioni sulla paleosuperficie t.3a del primo settore di scavo di Isernia La Pineta. Distribuzione e frequenza dei reperti litici e ossei. Tesi di Laurea, inedita, Relatore prof. C. Peretto. Università degli Studi di Ferrara. CREMASCHI, M., PERETTO, C., SALA, B., 1983, Isernia La Pineta. Un accampamento più antico di 700.000 anni, catalogo della omonima mostra. Calderini editore, Bologna. (CREMASCHI, M., PERETTO, C., 1988, Les sols d’habitat du site paléolithique d’Isernia La Pineta (Molise, Italia centrale). L’Antropologie, 92 n. 4, pp. 1017-1040. GIUSBERTI, G., FERRARI, M., PERETTO, C., 1991, Tipologia, frequenza e distribuzione dei reperti paleontologici e paletnologici della paleosuperficie t. 3a del I settore di scavo di Isernia La Pineta (Isernia, Molise). In Isernia La Pineta, nuovi contributi scientifici, edited by C. Peretto. Istituto Regionale per gli Studi Storici del Molise “V. Cuoco”, Isernia, pp.5-41.

GUBELLINI, A., LOMBARDINI, G., RUSSO, P., 1983, Applicazioni della tecnica fotogrammetrica nel rilievo dei suoli d’abitato di Isernia La Pineta. In Isernia La Pineta, un accampamento più antico di 700.000 anni, catalogo della omonima mostra, edited by C. Peretto. Calderini Editore, Bologna, pp. 105-111. PERETTO, C., 1994a, Le industrie litiche del giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta, la tipologia, le tracce di utilizzazione, la sperimentazione. Istituto Regionale per gli Studi Storici del Molise “V. Cuoco”. Cosmo Iannone Editore, Isernia. PERETTO, C., 1996, I reperti paleontologici del giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta. Istituto Regionale per gli Studi Storici del Molise “V. Cuoco”; Cosmo Iannone Editore, Isernia. PERETTO, C., 1999, I suoli d’abitato del giacimento paleolitico di Isernia La Pineta, natura e distribuzione dei reperti. Istituto 61

Muséographie et société contemporaine / Museum Studies and Modern Society Regionale per gli Studi Storici del Molise “V. Cuoco”; Cosmo Iannone Editore, Isernia. PERETTO, C., 2001, Archeological sector, Isernia. In Monitoring of European drainage basin, EcosOuverture, Final Report, Rovigo, Europrint, pp. 73-77 PERETTO, C., ANCONETANI, P., BISI F., CAVALLINI, E., FORTE, M., MILLIKEN, S., 1996, I suoli d’abitato di Isernia La Pineta; progetto per uno studio computerizzato. In Atti dell’XI Congresso degli Antropologi Italiani. PERETTO, C., BENVENUTI, C., BISI, F., CAVALLINI, E., CORTI, P., EVANGELISTA, L., FERIOLI, V., GUERRESCHI, A., LONGO, L., MILLIKEN, S., THUN

HOHENSTEIN, U., VULLO, N., 1999, Isernia La Pineta (Molise): type and distribution of the finds on the living floor 3a in sector I of the excavation. In Abstracts del II Congresso Internazionale CNR “Science and Technology for the safeguard of cultural heritage in the mediterranean basin” Parigi, p. 233. PERETTO, C., ARZARELLO, A., FONTANA, F., GALLOTTI, R., GRUPPIONI, G., LEMBO, G., PAVIA, M., THUN HOHENSTEIN, U., MINELLI, A., 2001, Excavation in progress: the Palaeolithic site of Isernia La Pineta, Italy. In Prehistoria 2000, 1, pp. 138-149.

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