Limeuil (prehistoric site) facts for kids
Limeuil is a really old place in the Dordogne region of France. It's famous for almost 200 amazing pictures carved into stone. These carvings were made by people who lived there during a time called the Magdalenian period, many thousands of years ago!
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Where is Limeuil?
The Limeuil site is right in the middle of the old village of Limeuil. It's located where two rivers, the Vézère and the Dordogne, meet. Imagine a long, long time ago, at the end of the Upper Paleolithic period (which was the Stone Age!), hunters set up their camps here. They chose this spot because there was a small cliff made of a type of rock called limestone that offered some shelter.
The ancient tools and art were found on a long slope, about 30 meters (that's like 100 feet!) long. This slope was below two rocky areas. So, the camp was mostly out in the open. But parts of it were also protected by the rock ledge that hung over them.
How Was Limeuil Discovered?
The ancient layers of the site were found by accident! This happened during building work at a bakery owned by someone named Léo Bélanger. After this discovery, the Ministry of Education asked J. Bouyssonie, a prehistorian (someone who studies very old human history) from Brive, to explore the site.
The digging and study happened between 1909 and 1913. It was a very tricky job because the area was already built up with houses and other structures.
What Did They Find?
All the amazing things found at Limeuil belong to a specific time in history called the Magdalenian VI period.
The stone tools found here were mostly a type called burins. These were sharp tools used for carving or engraving. Some of them were shaped like a parrot's beak! Among the tools made from bone, they found harpoons with two rows of sharp points.
What makes Limeuil really special are the engravings (carvings) found on bones and reindeer antlers. These carvings are typical of the late Magdalenian period. One cool piece of art is a pierced stick decorated with pictures of reindeer and fish. Other pieces show bison and wild horses. One even has a picture of a fox – which is super rare for Magdalenian art!
The carvings at Limeuil look a lot like those found at another site called Teyjat. They are very detailed and look almost like photographs! Just like in Teyjat, pictures of deer and reindeer are the most common (about half of all the pictures). Horses come next (about 30%), followed by aurochs (an ancient type of wild cattle), bison, and ibex (a type of wild goat). They even found two bears and the rare fox we mentioned!
Why is Limeuil Important?
The most unique thing about Limeuil is the nearly 200 engravings carved onto different sizes of limestone slabs. More than a hundred of these were studied and published by Bouyssonie. Because there were so many of these carved slabs, a famous expert named André Leroi-Gourhan thought that Limeuil might have been a special place for art. He wondered if it was a sacred place, an art workshop, or even an "academy" where artists learned and practiced!
Another important discovery for understanding ancient art is that some of the animals in the carvings show the ground between their legs. This was one of the first times artists showed this detail!
How Old is Limeuil?
We don't have exact dates for Limeuil from scientific tests. However, the style of the engravings clearly matches the Magdalenian VI period. This means the artwork was made around 12,000 years ago!
See Also
- Teyjat
- Magdalenian
