A Forest of Symbols—The Art of the European Upper Palaeolithic (40,000–12,000 ybp)

Abstract

Let us take stock of our conclusions so far: existential fears combined with the necessity of securing one’s own territory drove the men and women of the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic and found their representation in elaborate, demonstrative burials. While the humans of the Middle Palaeolithic were still content with the funeral itself and the demonstrative placing of the manipulated skulls of the deceased, funerals became more and more elaborate during the Upper Palaeolithic: added value was produced, which demonstrated the economic power of the group—the group could signal meaning (Trinkaus, Erik, Alexandra P. Buzhilova, Maria B. Bednikova, Maria V. Dobrovolskaya (2014). The People of Sungir. Burials, Bodies, and Behavior in the Earlier Upper Paleolithic. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 14–33.). In the Upper Palaeolithic, therefore, we see a behaviour with signalling function which was primarily aimed at communicating territorial claims. Existential fears were the causes for this behaviour: fears of losing one’s hunting grounds or safe habitat in a cave.