In the ever proceeding scramble to identify the earliest, or oldest, rock art, we have another claim, this time from Europe. In the category of finger marks may I have the envelope please? And our winner is - - finger fluting on the cave walls of La Roche-Cotard left there by Neanderthals.
“The oldest known engravings in Europe, discovered in a French cave sealed up for tens of thousands of years, likely weren’t crafted by modern humans but rather Neanderthals, a new study finds. Within the cave of La Roche-Cotard 150 miles (240 kilometers) southwest of Paris, the researchers analyzed a series of non-figurative markings thought to be made by ancient human fingers, according to a study published – in the journal PLOS One. The cave had been sealed up by sediments until the late 19th century. Modern excavations at the site have yielded numerous stone tools whose style is associated with the Neanderthals, suggesting that they created the art.” (Killgrove 2023) In addition to the style of stone tools the investigators used hard dating to infer the age of the marks.
The finger marks themselves were not dated, but optical stimulated luminescence dating told the investigators when the cave became inaccessible due to sedimentation. “OSL dating indicates that the sediment deposition closed the cave > 51 ka (95% confidence) ago, or at 57 ± 3 ka (68% confidence interval). This age makes access to the cave interior by anatomically modern humans (AMH) highly unlikely, as we believe that evidence for their arrival in Western Europe prior to 45 ka - is not yet demonstrated. The non-figurative engraved marks at La Roche-Cotard are necessarily older than 57 ± 3 ka, and can be, therefore, confidently stated to be of Neanderthal origin.” (Marquet, Jean-Claude et al., 2023) This adds even more proof of the cognitive sophistication of our hominin relatives.
While
the term ‘graphic productions’ may be a little overly optimistic for the
collections of markings left on the cave wall, they marks were made
intentionally and apparently by hominins, not cave bears or other fauna.“The graphic productions identified on the
walls of La Roche-Cotard demonstrate a deliberate creative process visible in
the spatial arrangement of the engraved marks on the cave wall. This is perhaps
one of the most remarkable aspects evidenced by the creative ensemble at La
Roche-Cotard. As discussed above, there is little graphic evidence associated
with Neanderthals, and that is mainly on mobile objects (pebbles, slabs,
bones…), rather than walls. In contrast, the walls of La Roche-Cotard testify
to something different: the frequent repetition of thoughtful gestures, organized
in space both on the wall surfaces and with respect to the cave as a whole.”
(Marquet, Jean-Claude et al., 2023) I cannot go quite as far as Marquet’s last
sentence in describing the marks, but I applaud his enthusiasm.
Now, of course, we have to address the question of whether finger-fluting is art and deserves to be lumped in with rock art. In the case of RockArtBlog I say yes. It is intentional modification to the cave wall in the same way that a magnificent painted animal on a cave wall is and that is the definition I am using.
NOTE: Some images in this column were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Killgrove, Kristina, 2023, Neanderthals created Europe’s oldest ‘intentional’ engravings up to 75,000 years ago, study suggests, 21 June 2023, LiveScience.com. Accessed online 10 September 2025.
Marquet, Jean-Claude et al., 2023, The earliest unambiguous Neanderthal engravings on cave walls: La
Roche-Cotard, Loire Valley, France, 21 June 2023, PLOS One, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286568.
Accessed online 8 September 2025.
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