Archaeoforum.de

Guten Tag,

Englisch, nun : In an interview with "Clan of The Cave Bears" author Jean M. Auel, I heard her say that archaeologists found squirrel tail bones behind a paleolithic human skull... indicating that perhaps this person was wearing a 'Davy Crockett' style hat! (see http://www.hatsinthebelfry.com/hatstore ... incap.html for a modern example of this type).

Does anyone know to what find/excavation she was refering to?

Danke schön,


Kelvin Wilson

I did not hear anything about this find, too.
Did squirrels exist in the European Paleolithics ? Never heard about one.

But even if this is the case, a "Davy-Crockett-cap" is not what springs into my mind.
A decorated headband or hood is also possible.

Thomas.

Oh, I agree, Thomas, on it possibly being anything ELSE but a Davy Crockett-hat It's just quite interesting.

The interview, by the way, can be heard at http://www.wiredforbooks.org/jeanauel/index.htm ... the remark about the squirreltail is at about 17'00"


Kelvin

Oh, I might have found it... From http://www.unl.edu/rhames/courses/current/venus1.pdf:

"...in later Palaeolithic burials (Grotta delle Arene Candide) bunches of squirrel caudal vertebrae suggestive of a fur are associated with infant remains (Cardini 1980)."

So that doesn't quite suggest a hat, just a skin with tail, or a bunch of tails.
The squirrel, by the way, might be the arctic kind.

Here is more on that cave site http://www.quotidianoligure.it/itinerar ... andide.htm including the full Cardini-reference.


Kelvin

Kelvin,

many thanks for the Soffer et al. paper. It's important because they give an overview not only of upper palaeolithic fur but also of textile use.

I appreciate especially their investigation of textile impressions in Dolni Vestonice clay pieces.

Arne