Palaeolithic Cave Art at Creswell Crags in European Context

Cave art is a subject of perennial interest among archaeologists. It was once assumed that it was largely restricted to southern France and northern Iberia, but recent discoveries have demonstrated that it originally had a much wider distribution. In 2003 the first British examples of cave art, in two caves at Creswell Crags on the Derbyshire/ Nottinghamshire border, were discovered by the editors of the present volume. This book is the product of a conference in the village of Creswell in 2004, which brought together a number of Palaeolithic archaeologists and rock art specialists from across the world to study the Creswell art and debate its significance, and its similarities and contrasts with contemporary Late Pleistocene ('Ice Age') art on the Continent.

The papers in this book fully contextualize the Creswell discoveries, which have changed our perception of Upper Palaeolithic cave art as well as of the hunter-gatherer societies that created it. Studies examine the local archaeology at Creswell, the archaeology of caves in the region, and the cave art of Western and Central Europe that is believed to be contemporary with the 13,000-14,000 year old Creswell art. Other papers cover the history of research at Creswell Crags, the scientific basis on which the age of the art is known, and some current issues in cave art research. This fully illustrated record of a vital discovery will be of interest to archaeologists, prehistorians, and rock art specialists, as well as to general readers who wish to be informed about this fascinating aspect of Britain's prehistory.