Rock Art Research

Since June 2019, systematic surveys carried out in the township of Villemanoche, a village located on the northern edge of France’s Yonne department, have led to the discovery of fine engravings similar to the Malmontagne rock art style associated with the Forêt de Fontainebleau. More than 140 engraved shelters exhibiting the traits of what we have called the Puisots style have been found so far in the woods of Villemanoche and adjacent plots in Champigny and Pont-sur-Yonne. The elements of the two ensembles, which seem to be linked to the late Bronze Age, share obvious typological links. In addition to a few shared symbols, the engravings in both groups are usually made in cramped cavities, are about the same size and in the same positions relative to their spaces, exhibit fine neat workmanship, and include representations of anthropomorphous figures, ‘fantastic beings’, geometric signs and zoomorphs. Some of the more complex compositions appear to be symbolic representations of mythological scenes or stories. These similarities indicate that the Malmontagne and Puisots engravers must have shared some cultural and spiritual traits, which they interpreted according to their region’s particular conventions and beliefs.