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A 14 000-year-old amber elk and the origins of northern European art

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Stephan Veil ,
Klaus Breest ,
Pieter Grootes ,
Marie-Josée Nadeau  and
Matthias Hüls
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Extract

A Late Palaeolithic amber figurine has been skilfully recovered and reassembled from a ploughed open site in northern Germany. Dated between 11 800 and 11 680 cal BC it occupies a key point between the Magdalenian and the Mesolithic. The authors show that the figurine represents a female elk which was probably carried on the top of a wooden staff. They argue for continuity of art but change of belief in this crucial transition period.

Keywords

GermanyLate GlacialMagdalenianAllerødFedermesserMesolithicartsymbolismamberelkcultural continuity
Type
Research article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 86 , Issue 333 , September 2012 , pp. 660 - 673
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2012 

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