The so-called Chauvet Cave, located near Vallon-Pont-d'Arc in the Ardeche region of southern France near present-day Avignon, contains well-executed paintings of large animals, done about 29,000 BCE.
The paintings of Chauvet Cave (named for Jean Marie Chauvet, a member of the original exploration team in late 1994) span the walls of at least five underground chambers.
The paintings of more than three hundred animals (mammoths, rhinoceroses, bison, lions, and others—many of them in motion) display a remarkable sophistication.
The gorges of the Ardèche region are home to numerous caves, many of them having some geological or archaeological importance.
The Chauvet Cave, however, is uncharacteristically large and the quality, quantity, and the condition of the artwork found on its walls are spectacular.
Based on radiocarbon dating, the cave appears to have been occupied by humans during two distinct periods: the Aurignacian and the Gravettian.
Most of the artwork dates to the earlier, Aurignacian, era (thirty thousand to thirty-two thousand years ago).
