The Importance of Hunting for Our Ancestors

Hunting was an activity of subsistence symbolism

Among the hunting weapons, spears were the most remarkable. These are weapons whose manufacture and upkeep required great technical knowledge mastered by the hunters. By launching their spear, hunters can take down a horse more than 30 m away!

The spear is a hunting weapon owned and used only by hunters, probably the majority of men in the group. Finely prepared using reindeer antlers or ivory, spears were made by the hunters themselves who possess very specialized knowledge directly related to the survival and protection of the group. To be effective, these projectile weapons must be straight and firmly mounted. Hunters had to possess and carry several spears, which means that the needs of the group were taken into consideration.

For these people, hunting was a vital activity. It was an essential activity serving to feed the members of the group but also a cultural and symbolic act necessary for community cohesion.

What role did animals play for the Aurignacians?

Animals were a food resource. Archeological evidence throughout Europe shows that hunted species differed by geographic area. These differences depended on ecosystems and cultural choices. In this respect, the archeological sites show that the Aurignacians of northern Europe favored reindeer while those of southern Europe preferred bovines, deer, or even ibex (wild mountain goat) in steep mountainous regions.

In Eastern Europe (especially the most eastern areas of Europe, such as present-day Russia), they preferred bison, saiga antelopes, and mammoths, whose bones make up the majority on the ancient dwelling sites.

What role did the mammoth play?

The Aurignacian hunters were able to hunt mammoth opportunistically. They were also scavengers who collected morsels. The remains of mammoths (bones and ivory) become increasingly rare, moving towards southern Europe.

Abundant in present-day Russia, they become rare or even disappear in the Iberian Peninsula (the territory of France today has an intermediate status where worked ivory is not rare unlike the more exceptional bones). This raises the question of the importance and role of ivory for Aurignacian societies.

The value of ivory among the Aurignacians

Mammoth ivory is one of the most worked materials by the Aurignacians. With this material, our ancestors made tools and weapons and, in particular, portable objects with high cultural value such as statues and ornaments.

Once finished, the ivory object (which is incomparably stronger than wood) probably acquired a value due to its function, aesthetics, and longevity, rather than the material itself.

There is a difference between Eastern Europe and Western Europe. In Russian territory, ivory objects were very finely worked (bowls, weapons, etc.) while in Western Europe the sophistication was less accomplished. This difference may be due to the abundant presence of fossil ivory in Eastern Europe where mammoths were more numerous.

The ivory material depends on animal presence. However, many sites containing ivory do not show the presence of mammoths, thus implying that this material was transported. Ivory is identified as having esthetic and technical qualities related to the ease of the activity involved in working on it. In this context, ivory objects are essentially ornaments rather than tools and weapons. This material can give artisans a special status because of the work effort and its high cultural added value.