Orion in the Ice Age

Any subject such as this spawns all kinds of strange ideas and web sites. However, at http://mathildasanthropologyblog.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/stone-age-star-chart-of-orion/ the subject is dealt with in a sober manner, and the story is all about a small piece of mammoth ivory found in the Ach Valley of Germany and dating back over 30,000 years ago. It depicts a hunter, with spread out legs, one shorter than the other, and raised arms, and according to Dr Michael Rappenglueck is a representation of the constellation of Orion. It is the product of Aurignacian, early Homo sapiens about whom little is known apart from the fact they replaced the Neanderthals. Was Orion the first man in the sky – a sort of Adam figure, but we do know a prominent meteor stream issued forth from that part of the sky in which Orion is a background feature. At  www.articlesbase.com/history-articles/historic-importance-of-oriontaurus-sky-region-to-the-ancients/ the subject matter is cave art, much of which has been dated to the Magdalenian culture towards the close of the Ice Age. However, it is now recognised many cave paintings were added to in the Magdalenian era but the originals go back to the Aurignacians, 32,000 years ago. The Magdalenians were particularly interested in the Pleiades, Hyades, and in general the constellations of Taurus and Orion.