Images of the Ice Age

By Paul G. Bahn and Jean Vertut

Images of the Ice Age, here in its third edition, is the most complete study available of the world's earliest imagery, presenting a fascinating and up-to-date account of the art of our Ice Age ancestors. Authoritative and wide-ranging, it covers not only the magnificent cave art of famous sites such as Lascaux, Altamira, and Chauvet, but also other less well-known sites around the world, art discovered in the open air, and the thousands of incredible pieces of portable art in bone, antler, ivory, and stone produced in the same period. In doing so, the book summarizes all the major worldwide research into Ice Age art both past and present, exploring the controversial history of the art's discovery and acceptance, including the methods used for recording and dating, the faking of decorated objects and caves, and the wide range of theories that have been applied to this artistic corpus. Lavishly illustrated and highly accessible, Images of the Ice Age provides a visual feast and an absorbing synthesis of this crucial aspect of human history, offering a unique opportunity to appreciate universally important works of art, many of which can never be accessible to the public, and which represent the very earliest evidence of artistic expression.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199686009
• ISBN13: 9780199686001
• Release Date: April 2016
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 2.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 7.8" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

Older version of JOURNEY THROUGH THE ICE AGE...

IMAGES OF THE ICE AGE by Paul Bahn and Jean Vertut is the 1988 edition of JOURNEY THROUGH THE ICE AGE published in 1997. Bahn says in the preface of the 1997 edition that it is "fully revised and updated." Comparing the two volumes leads me to believe Bahn incorporated much new information from peer reviewed articles and scholarly papers delivered/published in the 1990s in the 1997 version. The 1997 edition is much more beautiful than the 1988 version, although the older edition remains quite interesting. Much of the original material in IMAGES (1988) can be found in JOURNEY (1997). Differences between the two editions include: 1/ Added sections to the 1997 version entitled "The Oldest Art in the World"; "Fakes and Forgeries"; "Portable Art"; "Rock Shelters and Caves"; "Art in the Open Air", and 2/ Dropped a section in the 1988 version entitled "Forms and Techniques". Much of the material in the 1997 "Forms" section has been expanded to create the new sections on portable and parietal art. Bahn has also added enhancements throughout the 1997 version including a nifty text box that shows a "Chronological Chart of Cave Drawings" with radiocarbon dating results (estimates and standard errors) listed for each entry. The photographs in the 1997 version are larger than those in the 1988 version. Bahn added a few new photographs to the newer edition (by the late Paul Vertut). Overall the text of the 1988 version is less polished. The 1997 version includes shaded text boxes and larger, easier to read print. The maps in the 1997 version are more articulated and the resolution is better. The 1997 edition JOURNEY THROUGH THE ICE AGE is the better buy.