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.

Research highlights►New forms of symbolic culture appeared at the end of Late Palaeolithic related to ecological changes in NW Europe. ► Elk became one of the most important animals on the Great Plain. ► There were produced symbolic artefacts made of its antler, and the elk itself is a subject of art. ► Hunters and gatherers of Final Palaeolithic created special arrangements of zigzag motifs and anthropomorphic representation. ► Proliferation of zigzag line motif in the Final Palaeolithic may be connected with importance of water symbolism.