Rhinos and Horses: on Plate 167 from Gönnersdorf (Lkr. Neuwied)

Abstract

The ornamented slate plates from Gönnersdorf have been an invaluable source for the study of Magdalenian art in Central Europe. The image engraved on plate 167 was identified in the past as a representation of two horses (?) (no. 167,1-2), and a rhinoceros (no. 167,3), the latter depicted upside down (at 180°) in relation to the other two. However, in the light of our analysis of lines which build figure 167,3 it appears to actually belong to figure 167,2; the whole complies in appearance and proportions with rhinoceros depictions known from other Magdalenian sites. Moreover, the proportions and placement of figure 167,1 prove that this is also a rhinoceros. It is likely therefore that the whole is a scene of a mating ritual, a subject known from other engraved representations recovered in Central Europe (Schweizersbild, Pekárna).