Mammoth tusk patterns used in Ice Age art - study
University of YorkDesigns engraved on Ice Age female figurines were inspired by growth patterns in mammoth tusks, a study has found.
The research looked at 18 "Venus" models discovered in Mizyn in Northern Ukraine and thought to be 18,000 years old.
Carved from mammoth ivory, the study found Ice Age craftspeople carefully observed and mimicked the natural lines of the ivory on the figurines, using them to structure their artistic engravings.
Teams at the University of York, University of Stavanger in Norway, and the National Museum of the History of Ukraine said the microscopic analysis challenged traditional views on how Stone Age art evolved across Europe.
Due to the war with Russia, access to the physical artefacts at the National Museum of History of Ukraine in Kyiv was limited so 3D digital scanning was used instead.
Dr Aimée Little, from the University of York's archaeology department, said: "This discovery offers an extraordinary window into how Palaeolithic peoples perceived and engaged with their material world.
"Identifying visual evidence of how mammoths were integrated into artistic traditions, both through the use of their ivory and the deliberate inscription of its natural patterns, represents a genuine breakthrough in our understanding of prehistoric art and material culture."
The team found that the carvers explicitly incorporated Schreger and Owen lines - the natural growth rings found in mammoth tusks - into the surface patterns of the figures.
'Independent artistic path'
The analysis found a significant gap of 1,000 to 3,000 years in the creation of human figurines across Europe, coinciding with the Last Glacial Maximum - the coldest peak of the last Ice Age.
Dr Andrew Needham, also from York's archaeology department, said: "When figurine making re-emerged around 18,000 years ago it began earlier in Eastern Europe than in the West.
"While later Western European styles also featured abstracted female forms, none reproduced the internal tusk patterns seen at Mizyn.
"This indicates that Ice Age artists in Eastern Europe forged their own independent artistic path rather than simply following trends from Western Europe."
Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
