The Mask of la Roche-Cotard, also known as the "Mousterian Protofigurine", is an
artifact dated to around 75,000 years ago,[1] in the
Mousterian period. It was found in 1975[2] in the entrance of a cave named La Roche-Cotard, territory of the commune of
Langeais (
Indre-et-Loire), on the banks of the river
Loire.[3][4]
The artifact, possibly created by
Neanderthal humans,[2] is a piece of flat
flint that has been shaped in a way that seems to resemble the upper part of a face. A piece of bone pushed through a hole in the stone has been interpreted as a representation of eyes.
Paul Bahn has suggested this "mask" is "highly inconvenient", as "It makes a nonsense of the view that clueless Neanderthals could only copy their cultural superiors the
Cro-Magnons".[5] Though this may represent an example of artistic expression in Neanderthal humans,[6] some archaeologists question whether the artifact represents a face,[7] and some suggest that it may be practical rather than artistic.[8]
In 2023 the oldest known Neanderthal engravings were found in La Roche-Cotard cave which have been dated to more than 57,000 years ago.[9][10]