Nudism Wasn’t Practical in Ice Age, London Show Proves

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-07/nudism-wasn-t-practical-in-ice-age-london-show-proves.html

The more history unfolds, the less the description “Homo sapiens” -- man the wise -- seems to fit. Perhaps we should speak instead of Homo pictor, man the painter, or of human beings as the sculpting species.

That, at any rate, is part of the message of “Ice Age Art: Arrival of the Modern Mind” at the British Museum in London.

Two points strike you as soon as you step into the installation. One is that the objects that you are looking at are amazingly old. Among the first you see is the “Lion Man,” carved from a mammoth’s tusk approximately 40,000 years ago. That’s long enough ago to make the ancient Egyptians seem like newcomers, and the Venus de Milo a piece of contemporary art.

The other astonishing thing is the high artistic quality of many pieces on display. A Paleolithic critic might have found the “Lion Man” himself a little cartoony. Still, many of the only slightly newer items in the exhibition are nothing short of masterpieces.


The Zaraysk Kremlin Museum/Russian Federation/British Museum via Bloomberg
A bison carved from mammoth ivory. Found at Zaraysk in Russia, it is estimated to be about 20,000 years old.


British Museum via Bloomberg
A spear thrower made of reindeer antler and carved as a mammoth. Found in the rock shelter of Montastruc, France, it is estimated to be circa 13,000 year to 14,000 years old.


British Museum via Bloomberg
A fragment of reindeer metatarsal bone, with an engraving of two reindeer.