Ice Age art engages something within us that feels deeply and inherently human. Most of us feel it immediately: awe, curiosity, and perhaps even sometimes a feeling that borders on spiritual. Yet, while this response is nearly universal, the opportunity to study and understand these images is far less widely shared. Ice Age art is rarely taught in schools, and much of the scholarship surrounding the topic can be dense and methodologically complex. Making Art in the Ice Age offers a refreshing alternative.
Written by Paul Bahn and Elle Clifford, this colourful and accessible book provides a broad overview of European Ice Age art, from its creation and discovery to the debates that continue to shape interpretation. The book opens with a simplified timeline to help situate readers, before moving into the discovery of the art and the early controversies surrounding its authenticity. It then explores the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of Ice Age art, covering cave paintings, portable objects, and depictions of humans and animals.
The approach is firmly evidence-based, supported by numerous sites, dates, and high-quality images throughout. The section on techniques and methods offers a clear and comprehensive overview without overwhelming readers with technical detail. The final chapters address age, authenticity, and interpretation in a particularly thoughtful way. Where discussions of interpretation elsewhere often swing between sweeping and largely unevidenced claims or the unsatisfying ‘we simply don’t know’, Bahn and Clifford strike a careful balance.
