In Search of Lost Time. Dating Methods for Prehistoric Art: the Example of Aurignacian Sites

The need for an accurate chronological framework is particularly important for the early phases of the Upper Paleolithic, which correspond to the first works of art attributed to Aurignacian groups. Carbon-14 is the only method used for the direct dating of organic pigments, but indirect methods are used to date subsequent deposits on rock art (thermoluminescence, OSL, Uranium/thorium, etc.). All these methods are based on hypotheses and present interpretative difficulties, which form the basis of the discussion presented in this article.