January 16, 2025
Can you find the horses in these 22,000-year-old carvings? French archaeologists did

At first glance, these yellow-brown stones don’t look very exciting. They’re not made out of some hard-to-find material. They’re not decorated with faded but preserved pastel paints. They look like, well, rocks.

Yet French archaeologists are calling these rocks — and their engravings — “exceptional.” Why? You’ll see after a closer look.

Archaeologists were excavating a site near Bellegarde, France, and uncovered four pieces of art from the Paleolithic era, the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research said in a March 31 news release also shared with McClatchy News in English. The engravings were left by the Magdalenians, an ancient culture that emerged about 20,000 B.C.

The Bellegarde archaeological site.

The Bellegarde archaeological site.

Two of these carvings were 22,000 years old and showed horse profiles with “many precise anatomical details,” archaeologists said.

One carving showed the left-hand side of a single horse’s head, photos show. The animal’s nose reaches the far left edge of the stone, its ears almost touch the top, and its neck — topped with a flowing mane — extends off the right-hand side.

Highlights show the shape of the horse carving.

Highlights show the shape of the horse carving.

A second carving showed a trio of horses, also facing the left side, photos show. The horses are grouped closely together, depicted by their disconnected, almost floating, heads. The animal on the farthest left has a distinctly carved eye. The center horse is defined by its jawbone. The right-hand horse appears to be looking partially downward, its neck extending off the rock.

Highlights show the trio of horses.

Highlights show the trio of horses.

Archaeologists uncovered another Magdalenian engraving from 18,000 years ago, the release said. This carving represents a female and shows an exaggerated vulva framed by legs. Photos show the design.

Experts emphasized the significance of this “exceptional” design, which has been found in “only one other specimen” of Magdalenian art, the release said.

The stone with a carving of a vulva.

The stone with a carving of a vulva.

Highlights show the design of the vulva carving.

Highlights show the design of the vulva carving.

The fourth ancient artwork archaeologists unearthed was the most puzzling, the release said. This piece was a fragmented stone slab about 19 inches long. It probably sat upright but was found broken on the floor of a dwelling among pieces of knapped flint, researchers said.

The fractured slab has many small incisions on it, but archaeologists could not figure out what these carvings meant, the release said. Photos show the fractured piece and the thin carvings decorating it.

The fragmented slab with thin incisions on it.

The fragmented slab with thin incisions on it.

A close-up of some of the incisions on the fragmented slap.

A close-up of some of the incisions on the fragmented slap.

Ancient art thrived among the Magdelinians. They lived “semisettled” lives and had “abundant food” allowing them the “leisure time” for creative and decorative pursuits, according to Britannica.

Other fragments of Magdelinian culture were also uncovered at the Bellegarde site, the release said. Archaeologists found many flint tools and weapons, reindeer bones and seashells that were used as beads, worn as adornments or attached to clothing. Photos show these ancient relics.

Some of the small blades found at the site.

Some of the small blades found at the site.

A shell with signs of use as an adornment.

A shell with signs of use as an adornment.

Another seashell with signs of use.

Another seashell with signs of use.

The archaeological site was found during the extension of a nearby landfill waste site, the release said. Subsequent excavations uncovered evidence that the site had been routinely, but not continuously, occupied since around 20,000 B.C., archaeologists said.

An archaeologist working at the Bellegarde site.

An archaeologist working at the Bellegarde site.

In total, archaeologists have found about 1,000 structures from a variety of periods and peoples. The structures included dwellings, storage spaces, craft workshops and agricultural buildings. Burials were also found at the site.

The site seen from afar.

The site seen from afar.

Bellegarde is near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and about 415 miles southeast of Paris.

Google Translate was used to translate the release from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP).

Signs of life in mummy exhibit in Mexico have experts worried for those who get close

2,000-year-old Roman sanctuary — and nearby burial ground — uncovered in France

Abandoned mine — turned Roman rubbish dump — reveals life in France 1,800 years ago