In Germany, depictions of fish and nets have been identified in engravings created by Paleolithic people. So, are these excavations merely aesthetic or are they a concrete expression of a life practice? Do the drawings unearthed at this prehistoric campsite in Gönnersdorf display the oldest known representation of “fish netting” from the Upper Paleolithic to date?
Using advanced imaging technologies such as Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), new research has revealed some schematic fish and net motifs engraved on plaques. In this artistic collection of 406 drawings in total, eight unique plaques identified using RTI technology depict fish as if they were caught in nets. The researchers state that these dynamic drawings do not only represent fish, but also the process of catching them. So what does this mean?
The overlapping grid-like lines seen in these depictions, in which the fish are interestingly positioned in the center, seem to form a type of fishing tool or net. The idea that these grids are a type of trap or trap stems from the order in which the drawings were made. The researchers, who observed that fish motifs were first engraved and then net-like lines were added, believe that this process symbolizes the catching of freely swimming fish with a net.
Compared to other Paleolithic artworks at Gönnersdorf, such as detailed and naturalistic depictions of wild animals such as deer and bison, the fish drawings remain abstract and minimalist. This contrast provides a striking clue. It suggests that the artist may have wanted to develop a narrative about the process of catching the fish rather than the fish itself. Could these ancient people have had an urge to “document” fishing, a vital activity, beyond their search for a primitive artistic expression?
Fish Remains and Prehistoric Textiles
In addition to the visual evidence provided by these drawings, the actual fish remains found at the Gönnersdorf site also support this thesis. These remains show that fish were a part of the diet of the people of the Magdalenian culture, and therefore that they probably developed techniques for catching fish. So, what kind of fishing method could these fish have been caught with?
Researchers suggest that fishing with structures such as nets was an ideal method for catching large numbers of migratory fish. Nets, which are still common in fishing today, could have provided a high catch rate in the Paleolithic period. Other archaeological finds at Gönnersdorf include figurines with clothing and traces of plant fibers, probably used for textile production. This suggests that people living in the Magdalenian period produced textiles from plants such as milkweed or nettles, and perhaps used these textiles to make fishing nets.
A Link from Magdalenian Culture to the Present
The excavations at the Gönnersdorf site indicate that these stone slabs, dating back 15,800 years, present not only an artistic but also a functional narrative. Could the minimalist depictions of fish caught in nets be the first representation of net fishing in the Paleolithic? A definitive answer to this question may be revealed with more evidence, but with the findings at hand it is possible to see that the Magdalenian culture had an impressive innovation in technology.
Far from getting lost in the fine details of Magdalenian art, we can imagine that people of that period carried their daily needs beyond their own and brought these needs to the excavations in search of an artistic expression. Could each drawing be not only a hunting scene, but also a carrier of a cultural heritage? Perhaps we are faced with the oldest depictions of net fishing in human history.