In this article, we propose an approach to reconstruct the timing of human activity at Points Cave, an Upper Paleolithic rock art site located in the middle of the Ardèche River Gorge (Rhône valley, France), based on the dating and characterisation of a stalagmite containing soot. Points Cave (‘Grotte aux Points’ in French), also called the ‘little sister of Chauvet Cave’, is famous for its parietal art including a series of dots made of palm prints. A large number of stalagmites formed in the cave during the last 500 ka. However, quarrying of the cave floors during historic times led to the partial destruction of the sedimentary deposits, and many of the stalagmites were found lying on the floor. In particular, one of them (STM‐18‐04) showed the presence of at least four dark layers in cross‐section, which appeared as possible remnants of fire‐related activities in the cave. Despite being present at the same site, no other specific link between STM‐18‐04 and the rock art has been documented. This stalagmite, however, allows us to identify phases of human presence, located at the cave entrance. To do so, we performed a series of analyses to determine its period of growth and the nature of the dark layers that it contains. Scanning electron microscopy and Raman microspectroscopy confirmed that the dark layers include soot, and uranium‐series dating indicated that the fire events occurred, respectively, around 14,200–14,100 and 12,500 years ago, in agreement with the radiocarbon ages of charcoal specimens recovered from the excavation areas nearby. We thus highlighted phases of human activity at the site during the Upper Magdalenian and/or beginning of the Epipaleolithic. By comparing our results with the regional paleoclimatic record, the soot layers trapped in the stalagmite appear to be synchronous with two cold periods, likely the Older Dryas and the Younger Dryas.

中文翻译：

---

点洞石笋中记录的旧石器时代晚期人类活动年表（法国加尔艾盖兹）

在本文中，我们提出了一种基于石笋的年代测定和特征来重建 Points Cave 人类活动时间的方法，Points Cave 是旧石器时代晚期的岩石艺术遗址，位于阿尔代什河峡谷（法国罗讷河谷）中部。含有烟灰。Points Cave（法语“Grotte aux Points”）也被称为“Chauvet Cave 的小妹妹”，以其顶壁艺术而闻名，其中包括一系列由掌纹制成的圆点。近500年来，洞内形成了大量的石笋。然而，历史时期对洞穴底部的采石导致沉积物的部分破坏，并且在洞穴底部发现了许多石笋。特别是，其中之一（STM-18-04）显示横截面中至少存在四个暗层，这可能是洞穴中与火灾相关的活动的残留物。尽管存在于同一地点，但 STM-18-04 和岩石艺术之间没有其他具体联系的记录。然而，这种石笋使我们能够识别位于洞穴入口处的人类存在的阶段。为此，我们进行了一系列分析，以确定其生长周期及其所含暗层的性质。扫描电子显微镜和拉曼显微光谱证实暗层中含有烟灰，铀系测年表明火灾事件分别发生在 14,200-14,100 年前和 12,500 年前，与挖掘中发现的木炭样本的放射性碳年龄一致附近的地区。因此，我们重点介绍了马格达林晚期和/或旧石器时代初期该遗址的人类活动阶段。通过将我们的结果与区域古气候记录进行比较，石笋中的烟灰层似乎与两个寒冷时期同步，可能是旧仙女木期和新仙女木期。