Mesolithic Art Research Articles

MESOLITHIC ART IN STEFAN KAROL KOZŁOWSKI’S PAPERS

In his publications on the Mesolithic in Poland and Europe, S. K. Kozłowski mostly focused on lithic artefacts in terms of their styling, cultural origin, and archaeological context. On the margins of the above pursuits, S. K. Kozłowski examined finds of Mesolithic art from Poland, his main interest here being their cultural classification. Additionally in his works, S. K. Kozłowski mentioned the possibility of dating zoomorphic figurines and some amber pendants to the Mesolithic due to the similarity of their forms to those known from today’s Denmark. In his opinion, Mesolithic art objects found in Poland were linked to the Northern Complex – either through its influence or due to the presence of Maglemose Culture communities in north-western Poland.

New radiocarbon dates for ornamented Mesolithic objects from north-west Poland: chronology and regional connections in the western Baltic region

During the northern European Mesolithic, new types of objects were ornamented with different geometric motifs. Many examples, however, are stray finds and their dating is poorly understood. The authors present new AMS radiocarbon dates for ornamented artefacts from Pomerania that contribute to an absolute chronology of Mesolithic art and allow for new consideration of connections between cultural groups in the western Baltic region. A baton, featuring an anthropomorphic figure, dates to the end of the Boreal period; three other objects date to the early Atlantic period, revealing a combination of regional and local innovations. The results demonstrate the value of absolute dating of stray finds for refining knowledge of wider cultural trends.

The Shigir idol in the context of early art in Eurasia

In 1890 the so called “Shigir Idol” was found in a peat bog and for a long time discussion on the dating of the wooden sculpture was going on. In the 1990s first conventional radiocarbon dates suggested a Mesolithic context, but a series of recent AMS-results date the object close to the beginning of the Holocene (c. 10,000 calBC). The surprisingly early date makes the find the earliest monumental wooden sculpture of the world. A direct parallel is not available and this hampers the interpretation and contextualization of the find. Here we discuss the find according to aspects such as wood working and the type of sculpture and decoration in the Late Palaeolithic to Early Mesolithic context of Eurasia. We can show that there is a long tradition of wood working since the Lower Palaeolithic and the very limited evidence of wooden objects from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic is due to preservation conditions. Anthropomorphic figures are sometimes present in Late Glacial art and less anthropomorphic representations are available from the Early Mesolithic. The geometric patterns of the Shigir sculpture such as simple lines and zigzag-ornaments are common elements of Late Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic decoration. In conclusion the different elements of the Shigir sculpture fit better to the record of Late Glacial to Early Mesolithic art in Eurasia than expected. We see this as a confirmation of the early date of the monumental sculpture. The figure demonstrates a complex expression of symbolic behavior and art of hunter-gatherers at that time. The only general parallel of monumental anthropomorphic figures from that time can be mentioned from the far distant Göbekli Tepe site in eastern Anatolia.

Zigzag lines and other protective patterns in Palaeolithic and Mesolithic art

This article contends that Stone Age art served a protective, magical purpose. Applied ornamental patterns to some extent were inspired by natural patterns taken from teeth, fur, shells and skins of particular animals, such as vipers, turtles and fawns, which were regarded as “magically” equipped. By wearing powerful animal body parts (like tooth pendants), or applying mimetic surface designs to amber amulets and “personal objects” like bone daggers and antler axes, the hunters tried to enact the supposed magical protection of such items for the persons using them.The Zig Zag ornaments of the Shigir Idol illustrate the importance of nonfigurative patterns in Mesolithic art, and this paper describes the abundance of zig zag patterns and snake symbolism on antler batons, clubs and bone daggers found at settlement sites and in burials belonging to the Maglemose, Kongemose and Ertebølle cultures of Southern Scandinavia.

Mesolithic anthropomorphic sculptures from the Northern Europe

This article presents and discusses a small but distinctive group of anthropomorphic antler sculptures from Northern Europe. Five sculptures from two locations, dated to the late 7th – early 6th millennia cal BC, are included in this study. By contextualising this group with broader traditions of Mesolithic art in the Northern and Eastern European forest zone, the distinctive elements – a deliberate lack of bodily and facial details or a peculiar way of depicting faces – are demonstrated. A significant resemblance with these sculptures and wrapped corpses suggests that the sculptures depict either the dead members of these communities or persons capable of switching between different conditions. If this interpretation is correct, it suggests that the agency of the dead members at that time was perceived very differently from what we see in anthropological analogies or in the anthropomorphic figurines from the later archaeological record.

Facts, fakes and fantasy: A critical review of upper and late Palaeolithic engravings, perforated objects and personal ornaments from the Netherlands

This paper briefly presents and critically discusses decorated objects (stone, bone and antler), personal ornaments and other perforated objects from the Upper and Late Palaeolithic in the Netherlands. The finds can be attributed to the Hamburgian, the Federmessergruppen and the Ahrensburgian. To date no engravings and ornaments are known with certainty from the Late Magdalenian or the Creswellian. Finds from the Federmessergruppen confirm the transition from a more naturalistic way of representation to more stylized, geometric Mesolithic art. Besides directly dated objects and objects from secure contexts a number of controversial pieces is discussed as well.

Human representations in the Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic art of north-western Europe

Anthropomorphic motifs in Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic art of north-western Europe are extremely rare. In this article they are reviewed and discussed from the perspective of style and narrative character. Most of the anthropomorphic images were engraved on various materials - antler, bone or stone; a much less common technique of portraying the human figure was by drilling small holes. Quite often these representations appear in company with other motifs, mostly geometrical. Late Palaeolithic human images are rather diverse in their style: next to the semirealistic style, the geometric style is much in evidence. The latter becomes widespread during the Mesolithic, occurring in various conventions: linear geometrical (the human figure is built by lines, strokes or drilled dots), figural geometrical (the figure is built by geometric figures or densely engraved lines) and with an exaggerated face. The style of these representations becomes particularly heterogeneous during the late Mesolithic, possibly as a result of increasingly sedentary mode of life and the rise of many local variants of the artwork styles. Most of the anthropomorphs under discussion are portrayed in action: dancing, carrying various objects, engaged in rituals. However, the nature of these activities is difficult to fathom due to the geometricised, often quite spare style of these anthropomorphic representations.

A Unique Engraved Shale Pendant from the Site of Star Carr: the oldest Mesolithic art in Britain

In 2015 an engraved shale pendant was found during excavations at the Early Mesolithic site of Star Carr, UK. Engraved motifs on Mesolithic pendants are extremely rare, with the exception of amber pendants from southern Scandinavia. The artwork on the pendant is the earliest known Mesolithic art in Britain; the 'barbed line' motif is comparable to styles on the Continent, particularly in Denmark. When it was first uncovered the lines were barely visible but using a range of digital imaging techniques it has been possible to examine them in detail and determine the style of engraving as well as the order in which the lines might have been made. In addition, microwear and residue analyses were applied to examine whether the pendant showed signs that it had been strung or worn, and whether the lines had been made more visible through the application of pigments, as has been suggested for some Danish amber pendants. This approach of using multiple scientific and analytical techniques has not been used previously and provides a methodology for the examination of similar artefacts in the future.

La placa grabada de Balma Guilanyà (Prepirineo de Lleida) y las manifestaciones artísticas del Mesolítico de la Península Ibérica

A carved rock with geometric and/or abstract signs discovered at the Balma Guilanya site has made possible the analysis of the artistic patterns developed after the end of the Upper Palaeolithic in the Iberian Mediterranean region. Archaeo-stratigraphic, chronometric and chrono-cultural attributes link this finding to the Mesolithic, probably during the tenth millennium cal BP. Graphic analysis and the comparison with different kinds of representations from this same area allows the evaluation of the problematic that surrounds the characterization of West Mediterranean Mesolithic art.

A new ornamented artefact from Poland: final palaeolithic symbolism from an environmental perspective

An ornamented artefact made of antler, found in the environs of Świdwin (Pomerania, NW Poland), was subject to structural and environmental analysis. Radiocarbon dating (10 700 ± 60 BP or 10 910–10 680 cal. BC) places it in the Final Palaeolithic, at the end of Weichselian (boundary of the Allerød and Younger Dryas). The surface of the artefact bears a complex ornament of zigzag lines and an anthropomorphic drawing, representing most probably a woman with spread legs. Palynological analysis of the deposit in which the object was found indicates forest communities (pine-birch forests) with some open areas, in a cool climate. Ultrastructural examination points to the elk Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758) as the source species; the antler was at the stage of intense growth which indicates that the elk was killed or died in the spring-summer period. The antler was large, and the object made of it was used for a long time, playing a role in rituals and symbolic culture of a hunting group. The ornamentation shows an affinity to the early Mesolithic art and makes it possible to better trace the relations between the hunters of the late Pleistocene and those of the early Holocene.

Essai de synthèse à propos de l'art schématique mésolithique dans les massifs gréseux du Bassin parisien

Abstract Schematic Mesolithic art is to a large extent executed using veiy simple symbolic signs. Representations of grids, lattice-work, huts, smoking frames and all sorts of weaves appear first, followed by anthropomorphic figures. These are few in number, but their meaning is evident when they are found associated with numerous squared lattices, thus prefiguring the whole Mesolithic symbolic system of these nomadic ethnic groups. A few rare examples of Cervidae illustrate the fauna of the time and several harpoons and a spear are the only hunting weapons identified so far. it is mainly the "géodes " engraved on almost all their inner walls which reveal to us the symbol of the hut raised to the status of an ethnic emblem.