Desscribed by Professor Clive Finlayson as a flake indicating human activity at Vanguard Cave, Gibraltar
Ken Johnston identifies the stone flake here as a possible recognized or intentionally manufactured figurative representation of a proboscidean (from proboscidea, Order of elephants). The elephant representation is in profile facing right, with its head turned slightly toward the viewer and its large ear visible as a raised area of flint between the "head" and "body."
This piece may be a good indicator of the presence of more iconographic flints to be found by the archaeologists at the caves of Gibraltar.
Photograph is from Clive Finlayson's June 21 blog posting here.
-kbj
Lovely elephants nice one
ReplyDeleteThe elephant head icon looking skywards trunk tucked under, very typical in my own finds.
ReplyDeleteContextualy I lean more to the idea of more sophisticated human ancestors, rather than smarter neanderthals.The artistry in these artifacts seems almost man+ not super neanderthal.
Lovely elephants:-)