the cave’s animal figures. In the Gravettian period (c.25,000–20,000 years ago) in Western Europe this situation appears to alter radically towards the heavy emphasis on herbivores that is so well-known in later caves, though it persists somewhat longer in Central Europe, as seen in the portable art of Dolní Ve ˘stonice and Russia’s Kostienki Culture. A CHARCOAL DRAWING of an animal-human from the Apollo 11 cave in Namibia. The rock slabs date from about 25,000 years ago and are the earliest dated rock paintings in Africa. This one shows what appears to be a feline creature with a heavy head, deep chest and thin tapering legs. The drawing seems to have been retouched at some stage, with the possible alteration of the hind legs to resemble those of a human. P A C I F I C O C E A N A T L A N T I C O C E A N O C E A N Pedra Furada rock shelter; fallen fragments of painted wall N O R T H A M E R I C A S O U T H A M E R I C A MESOAMERICA N G I A bison giant sloth GREENLAND 1 Palaeolithic Art coastline at height of last Ice Age, c. 20,000 years ago greatest extent of ice cover tundra steppe forest tropical forest desert main routes of colonization using land bridges parietal art find site portable art find site dominant animal, source of food and materials Grotte Chauvet Grotte Cosquer Rhône Loire Ardèche MEDITER R A N EAN SE A West European Palaeolithic Art parietal art find site portable art find site music and song leave no trace. So the surviving examples of Early Ice Age art are merely the tip of the iceberg, a tantalizing glimpse of a wealth of varied artistic activity which probably stretches back in time to the very first fossil humans. One particularly important find of recent years is the small ‘Venus’ of Galgenberg (Austria, between Dolní Ve ˘stonice and Willendorf), carved in green serpentine, and dated by charcoal around it to c.31,000–32,000 years ago. Its lively pose, so different from those of later, more symmetrical and static female figurines, is quite remarkable. SUBJECT-MATTER Where the Early Ice Age art of Eurasia is concerned – and for the moment this is the greater part of the corpus that is reliably dated to this period – one noteworthy aspect that was already evident in the small but sophisticated ivory carvings from several sites in southwest Germany (Vogelherd, and nearby Geissenklösterle and Hohlenstein-Stadel, all more than 30,000 years old), and in the later terracotta figurines from Central Europe is the marked emphasis on depictions of what might be called large, powerful or dangerous animals. This has really come to the fore through the discovery of the Chauvet Cave. The horse, bison and deer that would dominate in later Ice Age art were already present, but the art of Chauvet is dominated by rhinoceros, mammoths and big cats. When combined with the site's striking bear figures, these four categories account for about two-thirds of the cave’s animal figures. In the Gravettian period (c.25,000–20,000 years ago) in Western Europe this situation appears to alter radically towards the heavy emphasis on herbivores that is so well-known in later caves, though it persists somewhat longer in Central Europe, as seen in the portable art of Dolní Ve ˘stonice and Russia’s Kostienki Culture. A CHARCOAL DRAWING of an animal-human from the Apollo 11 cave in Namibia. The rock slabs date from about 25,000 years ago and are the earliest dated rock paintings in Africa. This one shows what appears to be a feline creature with a heavy head, deep chest and thin tapering legs. The drawing seems to have been retouched at some stage, with the possible alteration of the hind legs to resemble those of a human. his cave’s art suggest a later le art sites, several have us’ figurines, such as that ivory from Lespugue and the the ‘Venus with a horn’ from rate is a carved head of a assempouy. 1 Palaeolithic Art coastline at height of last Ice Age, c. 20,000 years ago greatest extent of ice cover tundra steppe forest tropical forest desert main routes of colonization using land bridges parietal art find site portable art find site dominant animal, source of food and materials Mesoamerica Andean North America