Les représentations de cervidés dans l’art mobilier du Paléolithique Supérieur européen

Abstract

The Representations of Cervidae in the Portable Art of European Upper Palaeolithic

Our contribution focuses on cervidae in the narrow sense of the term (deer – doe), although we also analyze the representations of reindeer and the elk when we discuss the cervidae in general. Although less represented than horses or bison, the deer dominates the portable art of the Upper Magdalenian Cantabrian area, from Pyrenees to Asturias, the Basque Country and the Levant. There are all the stylistic trends and modes of representation. The deer carries a Uranian symbolism, associated with fertility, virility and the cycle of life.

Keywords: deer, doe, portable art, Upper Palaeolithic, Europe.