L’utilisation des reliefs pariétaux dans la réalisation des signes au Paléolithique supérieur

For a long time, the images of the Upper Paleolithic were represented in a way that emphasized their aesthetic qualities and ignored the specific characteristics of their natural supports. It is more damageable as the architecture of the decorated caves plays a real part, at different levels, in the elaboration of the parietal devices. As omnipresent elements of these devices, the signs play a determining part in this architecture. Analysing the links between the signs and their direct supports brings to light the various ways in which parietal devices can be used and also the integration and research for the volumes and frame. A study led inside the caves on a sample of 692 signs, distributed in the franco-cantabric paleolithic space, makes apparent the variety of the graphic choices left to the artists standing in front of the wall.