Des sites à voir et à entendre : les abris à motifs schématiques de la falaise de Baume Brune (Vaucluse)

In the North of the plain drained by Calavon and at the foot of the mounts of Vaucluse, the cliff of Baume Brune is long about 900 m. We count 43 natural shelters of which only 10 are marked by painted figures belonging to the schematic iconography of the Neolithic period. The painted shelters are chosen, according among others, to four criteria, which are their dominant visual position, their southern exposure, the “red” tint of their walls and their episodic humidity. While a selection of these criteria might be present in the non-decorated shelters of Baume Brune, all of them are always found in the painted shelters. Yet, sometimes their presence if not so obvious, as there are shelters once painted in red tint whose walls are now covered by small carbonate flowstones formed by the flow of water after centuries of rain events. We also propose that iconography was perceived as a factor contributing to the placement of rock art, for single shelters were chosen by prehistoric artists to paint schematic key themes (male figures, idols, quadrupeds). Finally, we investigate the acoustic dimension of Baume Brune by comparing the distant and close auditory perception of painted and non-painted shelters. In this framework, we argue that shelters with rock art possess the greatest acoustic qualities of the whole cliff.