Esther Leslie • Mater explores materials through the eyes of artists and researchers.
"In 2022, a team of researchers examined fifty Upper Paleolithic limestone plaquettes from a cave in Montastruc. A form of mobiliary art, the rectangular tabloids have engraved images on them, including figurative or stylised animals, humans and humanoid forms, rivers or other landscape features and abstract or geometrical motifs. The surface of the plaquettes shows various types of damage and stress, fragmentation, recompositions and, around the edges of the stones, evidence of pink-coloured heat damage. This last aspect, the scorching erosion on the exterior of the rock, led them to conclude that the plaquettes had been placed close to fire. The researchers observe:
The plaquettes from Montastruc were likely positioned in proximity to hearths during low ambient light conditions. The interaction of engraved stone and roving fire light made engraved forms appear dynamic and alive, suggesting this may have been important in their use. 1
The plaquettes, then, performed something like the service of a digital tablet today, providing a surface for animated delight, with flickering movements, the play of entertainment, allowing for fascinated viewing. Human brains, this might suggest, have long enjoyed dreamy shifts of light and shadow, the illusions of pareidolic experience. The leaping of animals, the movement of figures, the twirl of patterns: animation as a cultural form might be much older than we have imagined. It comes from the fires around the caves of our first dwelling."
