ANTLERS IN CAVE ART - MEGALOCEROS OR REINDEER:

Caribou, Wikipedia.

Public domain.

Large numbers of cave images in the painted caves of France show hoofed animals with antlers, and a large number of these are identified as European reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) or caribou (the North American version of the species). These Reindeer and caribou are of the same species, but their subspecies have slightly different characteristics, and these subspecies tend to be found in different geographical locations. Examining a number of pictures of reindeer and caribou we can see differences in the antlers. North American caribou often have palmate antlers while reindeer tend to have antlers with tines along the main beam. I believe that it is this difference that has led to mislabeling of some of the creatures illustrated in European cave art.

Megaloceros, Internet photo.

Public domain.

"Megaloceros is an extinct genus of deer whose members lived throughout Eurasia from the early Pleistocene to the beginnings of the Holocene and were important herbivores during the Ice Ages. The largest species, Megaloceros giganteus, vernacularly known as the "Irish elk" or "Giant elk" is also the best known. Most members of the genus were extremely large animals that favoured meadows or open woodlands. they are the most cursorial deer known, with most species averaging slightly below 2 metres (6ft 7in) at the withers. Despite its name, the Irish elk was neither restricted to Ireland now closely related to either species commonly referred to as elk (Alces alces in British English and other European languages; Cervus canadensis in north American English) but instead is closely related to the fallow deer genus Dama." (Wikipedia)

Megaloceros, Chauvet

Cave, France. Internet

photos. Public domain.

"Cave art from early humans depicts Megaloceros as having a dark coat of fur with a white underside, quite similar to other deer today. The art also shows Megaloceros to have had a small hump above its shoulders which has been interpreted as being for the storage of body fat for survival in lean times. The presence of a hump is supported by observation of the forward dorsal vertebrae on Megaloceros which have enlarged neural spines (bony projections that point up from the vertebrae) that would have granted structured support for a hump."  (prehistoric-wildlife.com)

Megaloceros, Grotte de la Greze, France.

Internet photo, Public domain.

Megaloceros, Cougnac, France.

The Neanderthal Museum,

Mettman, Germany.

(Note the hump on left animal

and antlers on the right animal.)

Curiously enough, most Paleolithic parietal portrayals of Megaloceros, while readily identifiable by this hump, seem to lack the gigantic antlers of the adult male. This suggests that they are either meant to picture female animals or males during the season when the antlers have dropped off and not yet re-grown. Modern deer shed their antlers in the first quarter of the year, between January and April, so if these images are meant to picture Megaloceros males it may indicate that time of year. When the antlers of a Megaloceros are pictured they are large palmate antlers reminiscent of the antlers of our North American moose.

Reindeer, Chauvet Cave, France.

Reindeer, Chauvet Cave, France.

Reindeer, on the other hand, are frequently pictured in cave art, perhaps because in many instances they were the most important food animal for the people who lived there. Their remains are often the most common bones found in excavations in those locales.

Reindeer, Lascaux Cave, France.

Internet photo, Public domain.

Reindeer, Lascaux Cave, France.

Internet photo, Public domain.

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) are European members of the caribou deer family. "In the largest subspecies, the antlers of large males can range up to 100 cm. (39 in) in width and 135 cm (53 in) in beam length. They have the largest antlers relative to body size among living deer species. The prominent, palmate brow tines extend forward, over the face. The antlers typically have two separate groups of points, lower and upper." (Wikipedia) As to whether reindeer antlers are palmate or not there is considerable variation, but, in general, reindeer seem to lack this trait (except for the brow tines) while caribou antlers can be quite palmate. A black painting of a reindeer in Lascaux Cave shows the upper antlers to be slightly palmate, but certainly not to the extent of a Megaloceros, while a red reindeer from Lascaux lacks that trait. Reindeer images from Chauvet Cave, however, seem to lack the palmate antlers altogether.

So, with careful attention to the presence or absence of a hump, the presence or absence of a brow tine on antlers, and the degree to which the antlers are shown as palmate, we should be able to confidently identify which members of the deer species are being depicted, the Megaloceros (Megaloceros giganteus), or the Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus).

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

REFERENCES:

http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/m/megaloceros.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaloceros

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reindeer