In the cramped confines of a small cave south of Paris, scientists have uncovered what may be the oldest three-dimensional map of a region once inhabited by hunter-gatherers at the end of the Stone Age.
The discovery was announced by the leading authors of the study—Médar Thiry from the French Geological Sciences Center and Anthony Milns from the University of Adelaide, Australia. According to the researchers, around 20,000 years ago, prehistoric people carved engravings into the stone floor and polished images, resulting in a miniature model of the surrounding valley.
As water flowed into the map from outside, the ancient rivers, deltas, ponds, and hills laid out by the early cartographers came to life on the stone surface. The scientists noted that the flow of water indicates a “functional, staged ‘installation’ of the river system,” which generally corresponds to the valley where the cave is located.
“The accuracy of this hydrological network’s depiction reflects an extraordinary capacity for abstract thinking in both the creators and the intended audience,” the team wrote in an article published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology.
A) Engravings on the cave floor. B) A map of the local valley showing comparative models.
What else is known about the discovery?
The Segonzac 3 cave, where the three-dimensional map was found, is part of a famous sandstone structure complex in France, where archaeologists have discovered over 2,000 prehistoric engravings from the Stone Age over the years. The cave is particularly interesting to researchers because it dates back to the end of the Stone Age—the late Paleolithic era—when the first human settlements began to appear in the area.
During their research, scientists Thiry and Milns traced how rainwater seeped into the cave through cracks and flowed across the floor, partially pooling in depressions. The most prominent and deepest of these basins shows signs of having been enlarged and deepened by human hands. It likely functioned as a water tower, channeling rainwater further into the cave.
Notably, along with the oldest map, the team discovered carved images of animals in the Segonzac 3 cave, including horses, as reported by Science Alert. This potentially suggests that the ancient map served as a guide for hunters.
As they examined the stone engravings of the map, archaeologists observed winding river channels, river deltas, and wetlands. A distinct terrace may represent the plateau of the local valley, while the grooves running through it could depict the École River and its tributaries. The creators of the map did not overlook the surrounding ponds, ravines, and foothills.
Overall, “the engraved floor of the Segonzac 3 cave likely represents the spatial relationships of landscape features and can be considered a miniature of natural objects and their interconnections in the adjacent landscape,” the authors noted. “Any interpretation of prehistoric rock art always requires caution,” emphasized Thiry and Milns. However, if this is indeed a graphic map of the region, the scientists believe that prehistoric people may have used it for hunting, teaching, storytelling, or conducting water-related rituals.