National Geographic History - 01 e 02.2022

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 23

A S

I A

Khotylevo 2 Gagarino

Kostenki

Avdeevo

BARENTS SEA

BLA

CK^ SEA

Europe during the last glaciation

(21,000 years ago)

Modern coastline

Maximum extent of glaciers

Venus statue location

Rock art location

AURIGNACIAN CULTURE

(ca 43,000 to 26,000 years ago)

GRAVETTIAN CULTURE

(ca 26,000 to 20,000 years ago)

Centered on modern-day

France and eastern Europe,

the period of the Gravettian

culture produces many Venus

figurines. Those found to

date include the Renancourt

Venus (France); the Venus

of Brassempouy (France);

and the Grimaldi Venuses

(Italy). The advance of the ice

sheets probably contributed

to a preference for portable

Venuses, as communities were

forced to migrate when cold

SOLUTREAN CULTURE temperatures intensified.

(ca 20,000 to 17,000 years ago)

This culture dawns during the

Last Glacial Maximum, the

last time in human history

the ice sheets extended over

central Europe. Human groups

occupied temperate regions

of southern Europe and

southern Russia. The wall art

and sculpture of this very cold

period is noted for its emphasis

on large herbivores, such

as bison, a shift from earlier

emphasis on wild predators,

such as lions.

MAGDALENIAN CULTURE

(ca 17,000 to 10,000 years ago)

Magdalenian culture is marked

by reindeer hunting on the

European tundra south of the

ice sheets. The beast makes

its way into the cave paintings

and portable sculptures of the

period. Both portable and cave

art are notable for the artists’

precise execution, exemplified

in the Venus of Laugerie-Basse

(top, left). Cave paintings of

animals emphasized color and

movement, such as the bison

from Altamira, Spain (left).

BISON, POLYCHROME CAVE

PAINTING, CIRCA 14,000 YEARS

OLD, ALTAMIRA, SPAIN

SPL /AGE FOTOSTOCK

LION MAN

MAMMOTH IVORY,

34,000 YEARS

OLD, FOUND IN

THE HOHLENSTEIN-

STADEL CAVE,

GERMANY. MUSEUM

ULM, GERMANY

FINE ART/AGE FOTOSTOCK

VENUS OF LAUGERIE-BASSE,

IVORY, 17,000 TO 12,000 YEARS

OLD, FOUND IN DORDOGNE,

FRANCE. MUSEUM OF

MANKIND, PARIS

J.ANGULO/M. GARCÍA

Homo sapiens settle in

Europe, coexisting with Homo

neanderthalensis, who will

eventually die out. Mimicking

Neanderthals, modern humans

also make art on cave walls.

They carve figurines of animals

(Lion Man, right) and people,

such as the Hohle Fels Venus

and the Venus of Willendorf.

The creation of female figurines

during this period convinced

archaeologists that modern

humans were capable of

producing complex art earlier

than previously thought.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 23