Multidisciplinary Analysis of the Engraved Pebble From the Magdalenian Horizon of the Open-Air Site Hošťálkovice II - Hladový vrch (Czech Republic)

Multidisciplinary Analysis of the Engraved Pebble From the Magdalenian Horizon of the Open-Air Site Hošťálkovice II - Hladový vrch (Czech Republic)

Článek WoS

For many decades, a Gravettian site cluster situated on the left bank of the Odra River (near Ostrava City, Czech Republic) has represented the prevailing and best documented evidence of Palaeolithic occupation in the Odra Basin (Northern Moravia and the Czech part of Silesia). The Magdalenian occupation was unknown until the excavations in 2022-2023 at Ho & scaron;& tcaron;& aacute;lkovice II. Finds were concentrated in a small anthropic structure consisting of sandstone plates, mostly broken, lithic industry based on blades, quartz river pebbles and the remains of a combustion area. Directly in this structure, a siltstone pebble with an engraving of a mammoth and a horse was found. This unique piece of art is the first example of Magdalenian art in northern Moravia and the Czech part of Silesia. 3D microscope analysis shows the presence of two engraved animals-a horse and possibly a mammoth-with additional grooves and pits on the surface. The style of the engraving corresponds to the typical Magdalenian template known from Central Europe, although we note certain deviations in the depiction of individual anatomical parts. The presence of the horse is not surprising, contrary to the second animal that we identified as a mammoth. This animal has not yet been depicted in the Moravian collections. Such interpretation opens the questions related to the extinction of megafauna in Moravia during the Magdalenian period.

For many decades, a Gravettian site cluster situated on the left bank of the Odra River (near Ostrava City, Czech Republic) has represented the prevailing and best documented evidence of Palaeolithic occupation in the Odra Basin (Northern Moravia and the Czech part of Silesia). The Magdalenian occupation was unknown until the excavations in 2022-2023 at Ho & scaron;& tcaron;& aacute;lkovice II. Finds were concentrated in a small anthropic structure consisting of sandstone plates, mostly broken, lithic industry based on blades, quartz river pebbles and the remains of a combustion area. Directly in this structure, a siltstone pebble with an engraving of a mammoth and a horse was found. This unique piece of art is the first example of Magdalenian art in northern Moravia and the Czech part of Silesia. 3D microscope analysis shows the presence of two engraved animals-a horse and possibly a mammoth-with additional grooves and pits on the surface. The style of the engraving corresponds to the typical Magdalenian template known from Central Europe, although we note certain deviations in the depiction of individual anatomical parts. The presence of the horse is not surprising, contrary to the second animal that we identified as a mammoth. This animal has not yet been depicted in the Moravian collections. Such interpretation opens the questions related to the extinction of megafauna in Moravia during the Magdalenian period.

Magdalenian, Portable art, Petrography, Microscopy, FTIR

Magdalenian, Portable art, Petrography, Microscopy, FTIR

NERUDA, P.; NERUDOVA, Z.; KMOSEK, M.; PRICHYSTAL, A.; SLAVICEK, K.; VSIANSKY, D.; NEBOJSA, A.; SVETLIK, I.; GOSLAR, T.; MOSKA, P.

2026

09.11.2025

Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology

8

1

Spojené státy americké

25

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41982-025-00234-1