11.8 Outline carving of a mammoth

As the most typical and most visible animal of the glacial fauna, the mammoth’s portrayal in Upper Palaeolithic art occurs relatively frequently. It was modelled in clay, carved in ivory or painted onto the walls of caves, and its depiction appears even in areas where it was rarely seen and during the period when it was gradually disappearing from the European landscape.

Material: mammoth ivory

Dimensions (length): 67 mm

Exhibit type: copy of original (plaster)

Archaeological site: Pavlov I (Pavlov near Dolní Věstonice, Moravia)

Collection: Institute of Archaeology of the CAS, Brno v.v.i., Czech Republic

This schematic, contoured carving of a mammoth, portrayed from a lateral viewpoint, is distinguished by the characteristic curve of the head and back, the line of which reminds one of the Pálava range.

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11.8 Outline carving of a mammoth