Auriga: An Asterism Depicted in Upper Palaeolithic Caves?

Abstract

Despite constellations featuring in the skyscapes of all ethnographic cultures, including hunter-gatherer societies, there are only a few convincing representations of star clusters or constellations in Upper Palaeolithic cave art. We would like to raise the possibility that Magdalenian 'tectiforms' in Paleolithic cave art could represent another case.  Tectiforms display a number of distinctive features that also characterize the constellation Auriga. These include:  the pentagonal shape;  similar relative proportions, similar angles of intersecting parts, and unique “undercut” sides.  We think that Auriga was viewed by Magdalenians as representing a special structure in the heavens and that this structure was depicted in their art.  If the tectiforms were meant to depict Auriga, this raises the question of why Auriga may have held a special status.  Previous paleoart researchers have suggested that tectiforms were related to ritual symbolism, and indeed, caves seem to have been used for ritual purposes.  If there was a ritual conceptual link between tectiforms and Auriga, one possible reason for such a link could be that tectiforms were representations of a special kind of ritual structure considered to have existed in the sky (like the Nusmat'a sky house of powerful spirits among the Nuxalk First Nations of British Columbia).  Due to Auriga's relationship to the Milky Way and the north polar region, and because its seasonal motions match important cycles of nature, Auriga may have been imbued with additional special ritual significance.