Médard THIRY, Alexandre CANTIN, Boris VALENTIN, Éric ROBERT, Émilie LESVIGNES, Alain BÉNARD THE STAGING OF A FEMALE PALEOLITHIC SEXUAL FIGURE: the Ségognole 3 shelter at Noisy-sur-École (Seine-et-Marne)

Abstract

Among the 2,000 or so cavities in the sandstone chaos of southern Ile-de-France that are carved with mainly non-figurative rock art, the Ségognole 3 shelter stands out with its engraving of two horses framing a female pubis. A re-examination of the panel has shown that the pubis figuration was created by grooving slits and that further workings of the sandstone created a vulvar “fountain” that flows during long rainy events and which can also be caused by water supply. This complex installation is probably the first hydraulic set-up dating to the Palaeolithic.

Keywords