'Feline, mammoth, wisent and human polymorphic sculpture' interpreted by Ken Johnston. Acheulean cleaver, ca. 450,000 to 400,000 BP, private collection, France
The presence of the mammoth icon at the back of the feline head (or the feline head at the posterior of the mammoth) is illustrated.
A cut out of the head of an interpreted 'wisent' or European wood bison facing right which is nested together with the mammoth's head. The wisent and the mammoth share the same worked eye feature in the stone. The left eye of the human (see below) is the dark muzzle of the wisent. These two creatures are intertwined throughout Paleolithic art and are related to humans by their combinations in polymorphic sculptures like this.
It is long past time for Archaeology to recognize the significant amounts of cultural information which may have been recorded in stone materials in the most subtle and sophisticated ways by our early ancestors.
It is long past time for Archaeology to recognize the significant amounts of cultural information which may have been recorded in stone materials in the most subtle and sophisticated ways by our early ancestors.
Human face carving illustrated in lower right of stone as pictured here
Artifact, interpretation and illustration here is by independent rock art researcher Richard Wilson, Watford, England. This too is a 'feline head chopper.'
I propose it also depicts a mammoth in the same tradition as the France example here, where the curvature of the extended trunk may be seen at the back of the feline head in the lower left and upper right identical images above.
Provenience: Colne Valley > 475,000 years BP
Material: Chert
Comments: Heavily used chopper-chopping tool
Dating: Early to Middle Pleistocene
Etic Interpretation: 'feline head'
"Much of what is written about the 'behaviour' of ancient hominins simply does not take into account established empirical evidence from the archaeological record." -Richard Wilson, palaeoart.com