French scientists working in the Ségognole 3 cave, located in a sandstone massif south of Paris, identified a unique engraving that could be the oldest three-dimensional map ever found, dating back over 20,000 years, according to Enikos.
According to Archaeology Worldwide, the research team led by Médard Thiry and Anthony Milnes hypothesizes that the engravings in the Ségognole 3 cave form a miniature representation of the surrounding landscape, serving as a scale model that represents hydrological and geomorphological variations in the Noisy-sur-École area.
The discovery, published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, reveals how prehistoric hunter-gatherers shaped the cave environment to detail the surrounding landscape, modeling it to reflect water flows and local geographical features, according to Scienze Notizie.
According to Enikos, the engravings represent the area's hydrographic system, including rivers, lakes, deltas, and surrounding hills, while also symbolizing the female body through a vulva-like depression. Researchers observed that water passing through grooves in the cave floor ended in this depression, suggesting the patterns had a specific meaning, as reported by Scienze Notizie.
"The carved motifs and their relationship with natural features in the sandstone of the shelter can be compared with major geomorphological features in the surrounding landscape," the researchers said, according to Archaeology Worldwide.
According to Enikos, the cave contained artistic representations of animals and the female human form, indicating that femininity was a theme during the Upper Paleolithic. These engravings may have held cultural and spiritual significance, leading archaeologists to conclude that their arrangement symbolically connected to femininity, as reported by Scienze Notizie.
When it rains, water flows through channels and basins, bringing the engraving to life and showing how rivers and streams might have moved in the actual landscape. This dynamic element suggests that the engravings served not only a decorative role but also had functional and educational purposes, possibly reflecting the geography of the region and the symbolic conception of femininity, as reported by Scienze Notizie.
The discovery at Ségognole 3 is unique and has implications for understanding the cognitive abilities and social organization of prehistoric people. Paleolithic hunter-gatherers were experts in their natural environment and demonstrated an ability to abstract and use symbolic practices, suggesting a complex view of the world surrounding them, as reported by Scienze Notizie.
According to Enikos, similar but less advanced examples include engravings in Ukraine and the Iberian Peninsula that depict features of the natural landscape in rudimentary form. However, the Ségognole model stands out for its three-dimensional integration and possible practical use. It combines natural features of the shelter with human adaptations, creating a unique functional and symbolic system.
According to Archaeology Worldwide, the engravings in the Ségognole 3 cave are considered the earliest known three-dimensional terrain map, marking a departure from the portable two-dimensional representations of the past.
The discovery culminated an investigation that began in 2020 when researchers realized that the natural features of the cave had specific meaning, according to Scienze Notizie.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.