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Bison Licking Insect Bite

Bison Licking Insect Bite is a prehistoric Upper Paleolithic sculpture from Abri de la Madeleine near Tursac in Dordogne, France, the type site of the Magdalenian culture. Made from reindeer antler, it is a carved and engraved fragment of a spear-thrower. The work depicts an extinct steppe bison with its head turned back and its tongue extended. It was created sometime between 20,000 and 12,000 years ago, with the museum dating given as about 15,000 years. The spear-thrower was already broken into its present form before the carving was made, which explains the unusual pose. The object was formerly in the Musée des Antiquités Nationales in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and is now in the enlarged National Museum of Prehistory in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil.

Carved bison figurine with its tongue extended, showing an engraved eye and textured fur details.
Bison Licking Insect Bite, a carved bison figure shown against a dark background.
September 2017 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Carved bison sculpture with its tongue extended toward its flank, showing engraved fur details and a cracked, incomplete form.
Bison Licking Insect Bite, an Upper Palaeolithic carved figure shown against a dark background.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bison Licking Insect Bite carving in pale bone or antler, shown recumbent with engraved details and a long curved tongue.
The Bison Licking Insect Bite carving shows a recumbent bison-like figure with engraved features and a long tongue reaching toward its chest.
July 2013 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Carved bison head in profile with an extended tongue reaching toward its neck.
Close-up of Bison Licking Insect Bite, showing the carved bison’s head and tongue in profile.
September 2017 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Two-panel image showing a carved antler bison fragment above and a dark bison lying in a field of white dandelions below, with its tongue extended.
A carved bison fragment is shown above a living bison in a field of dandelions, echoing the same licking pose.
May 2023 © · CC BY-SA 4.0

Identification

TitleBison Licking Insect Bite
TypePrehistoric sculpture
Title in PortugueseBisão Lambendo a Picada do Inseto

Historical context

PeriodUpper Paleolithic
CultureMagdalenian culture

Discovery and provenance

Discovery locationAbri de la Madeleine near Tursac, Dordogne, France
Site significanceType site of the Magdalenian culture
Date rangeCreated sometime between 20,000 and 12,000 years ago
Museum date estimate15,000 years old according to the museum

Materials

MaterialReindeer antler

Physical characteristics

Height10.5 cm
Object typeFragment of a spear thrower

Technique

TechniqueCarved and engraved

Iconography and meaning

Depicted animalBison
Animal speciesExtinct steppe bison (Bison priscus)
DepictionThe bison is shown with its head turned back and its tongue extended, apparently licking an insect bite

History and restoration

Breakage and engraving sequenceThe spear thrower was probably broken into its present shape before the carving was made on the fragment
Interpretive explanationThe turned-back head was likely necessary to fit the existing structure of the broken fragment

Location and ownership

Former locationMusée des Antiquités Nationales, Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Current locationMusée National de Préhistoire, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil
Relocation noteTransferred to the enlarged National Museum of Prehistory, which opened in 2004
Current museum contextThe museum is not far from the place of discovery