50,000-12,000 years ago the world was in the grip of the last glacial period (the Ice Age). During this time, reindeer were abundant across Eurasia’s glaciated landscape. Huge herds of them provided a vital source of food and materials to our late Stone Age ancestors. At the same time, early human artwork was flourishing. There are several examples of ice age art from modern-day France that reveal how significant reindeer were to the people living there – not only as a resource but as a source of inspiration.
One of the oldest examples is the ‘Reindeer Panel’ in Chauvet-Pont D’Arc cave, featuring reindeer alongside other animals. These palaeolithic paintings are estimated to be up to 36,000 years old!
17,000-11,000 years ago, Magdalenian culture emerged in Western Europe. Reindeer were such an important source of food and materials for these people that it’s sometimes referred to as the ‘Reindeer Era’.
The Font-de-Gaume cave in France is home to the ‘Two Reindeer’ piece. The original is very faded, but reconstructions reveal a duo of reindeer facing each other. This site is dated at about 19,000-17,000 years old.
This engraving of a calf – and what looks like the broken remains of a larger reindeer – is carved into a reindeer metatarsal (foot bone). It’s dated to 14,000-10,000 years ago.
The ‘Swimming Reindeer’ piece might be the most famous example of palaeolithic reindeer art. This carving depicts two reindeer carved into a piece of mammoth tusk. It’s thought to be 13,000 years old. This was around the time that a changing climate caused reindeer populations in France to start to fragment.
About 11,000 years ago, the last glacial period retreated, and with it the ice sheets and reindeer were pushed north and to higher altitudes. Our planet entered its current ‘interglacial state’ – the Holocene. As humans adjusted over the millennia to a warmer world, reindeer became a distant memory in most of western Europe. In the Arctic/Subarctic regions though, humans formed an even closer relationship with reindeer which eventually transitioned from hunting to herding.
Kate
Links/References:
Chauvet Cave:
https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/chauvet/en/reindeer-panel
Magdalenian Culture: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Magdalenian-culture
Font-de-Gaume Cave: https://www.lascaux-dordogne.com/en/patrimoine-culturel/grotte-de-font-de-gaume/
Engraved Bone: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_Palart-419
Swimming Reindeer: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_Palart-550