Page:Smithsonian Report (1909).djvu/675

Rh same school of art as the relief and incised figures from the floor deposits of the shallow caves and rock-shelters, so well known through the works of the earlier investigators. This statement applies equally to all the caverns thus far explored.

The cavern of Bernifal was first explored in 1903. It was discovered by accident. The original entrance near the base of an escarpment is completely obstructed by earth and stones. The present artificial entrance is at a point where the ceiling of the cavern comes close to the surface of the wooded sloping upland. The descent into the cavern is almost vertical, and made by means of an iron ladder about 3 meters long. There is a joint in the ladder, the upper portion of which may be inclined and locked so as to secure the interior against vandalism. Within are three large chambers united by rather narrow corridors. The first is 22 meters long, with high ceiling and a maximum breadth of 8 meters. The others are not quite so large. The beautiful stalactites overhead have been left undisturbed. Most of the engravings are to be found in the second chamber. They are cut rather deeply into the calcareous walls, and generally coated over with a thin, hard layer of stalactite. Twelve groups, numbering in all 26 figures, have been recognized. These include geometric triangular signs in addition to various animal figures—reindeer, mammoth, horse, bison, and antelope. Some are simply engraved, others are painted with red ocher and manganese. Many are probably wholly hidden beneath thick mural incrustations. Tectiform signs, the significance of which is unknown, were also met with at Les Combarelles and Font-de-Gaume.

The Font-de-Gaume frescoes and engravings were discovered in 1901 by Capitan and Breuil with the assistance of M. Peyrony, the school principal of Les Eyzies. The entrance is some 20 meters above the valley and near the top of the escarpment (pl. 8, fig. b).

A passage about 65 meters long, and much restricted in places, leads to an ample gallery 40 meters in length, 2 to 3 in breadth, and 5 to 6 in height. A majority of the paintings—and Font-de-Gaume is especially rich in paintings—occur on the walls of this gallery and in a little side chamber farther on (fig. 7, no. 16). The latter contains 13 remarkable figures, in color, of the bison and a group of reindeer (pl. 9). The coloring matter was red ocher and manganese, either mixed so as to give various intermediate shades or used separately. Both these materials are found on top of the neighboring plateaus. The dimensions of the figures vary from 2.70 meters down to 0.20 meter. Some are on regular surfaces, while others include natural prominences in such a way as to give the effect of relief. They are veritable frescoes, the whole figure often being covered with