The Monsters of Pergouset

Bibliographic Data

ID6045288
AuthorsMichel Lorblanchet (corresponding author), Ann Sieveking (Suffolk University)
Year1997
Volume7
Issue1
Pages37-56
Publication date1997-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCambridge Archaeological Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0959-7743 • E-ISSN: 1474-0540
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0959774300001463
OpenAlexW2166914147
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited19

The last underground room at Pergouset is engraved with a variety of signs and a series of unreal, or distorted, animal figures that are presented as variations on several themes. These fantastic creations are the Pergouset monsters. A few similar depictions are known mostly from nearby caves, but as a group the Pergouset monsters are unparalleled in Franco-Cantabrian art. The engravings of Room IV contrast with the conventional Upper Palaeolithic animal depictions found in the three preceding rooms but the use of particular tricks of depiction, as much as the style of certain figures, makes it likely that the same artist drew both conventional figures and monsters. Conditions in the cave suggest that few, if any, visitors reached this last room. In the light of these circumstances the authors consider possible explanations for the occurrence of the monster engravings and their implications

Archaeology · Art · Art history · Cave · Depiction · Literature · Monster · Visual arts · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · History · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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