The gate of the year

Bear skull found in the cave of Mas d’Azil, Ariège, France. In the caves animal bones have been frequently found that seem disposed in a purposeful way. Animal skulls, in particular those of the bear, have been subjected to peculiar attention. Such conclusions, however, have been sharply debated among scholars. Nevertheless, it is to be recognized that many similarities exist between the prehistoric hunters remains and contemporary hunter-gatherer ritual practices, among which the several prescriptions regarding the bones of slain animals. For example, it is not permitted to break the bones of the game killed and eaten in order to maintain as much as possible the entirety of the skeleton, rendering possible in this way the animal’s rebirth (Eliade 1976: p. 26-27). Animals, as well as men, were thus regarded as embedded in a continuous cycle of death and rebirth. Museum of the Grotte du Mas d'Azil (Ariège, France).

[Image: http://donsmaps.com/masdazil.html]




World of the Dead

Back


Bear skull found in the cave of Mas d’Azil, Ariège, France. In the caves animal bones have been frequently found that seem disposed in a purposeful way. Animal skulls, in particular those of the bear, have been subjected to peculiar attention. Such conclusions, however, have been sharply debated among scholars. Nevertheless, it is to be recognized that many similarities exist between the prehistoric hunters remains and contemporary hunter-gatherer ritual practices, among which the several prescriptions regarding the bones of slain animals. For example, it is not permitted to break the bones of the game killed and eaten in order to maintain as much as possible the entirety of the skeleton, rendering possible in this way the animal’s rebirth (Eliade 1976: p. 26-27). Animals, as well as men, were thus regarded as embedded in a continuous cycle of death and rebirth. Museum of the Grotte du Mas d'Azil (Ariège, France). [Image: http://donsmaps.com/masdazil.html]