Lot 54I
Central Europe, Pleistocene, 40000 to 15000 years ago. The skull of the horse (Equus caballus) is quite delicate and VERY SELDOM does the skull survive in prehistoric horse remains. This is a VERY RARE opportunity to acquire a EUROPEAN specimen that is missing a portion of the maxilla but such a feature offers up a rare anatomical glimpse of the inside of the nasal of this skull. Like a cut-away medical model, this is an otherwise complete and intact fossil horse skull from Central Europe. Size: 18.5" L x 5" W (47 cm x 12.7 cm)
Delicate bones and processes are still intact and other than the missing maxilla region, all the molars, pre-molars and incisors are perfectly preserved and still present.
This specimen IS PREHISTORIC IN ORIGIN and was collected by a river dredge removing deep gravel deposits also producing fossils of Woolly Rhinoceros, Woolly Mammoth, Cave Lion and other extinct Ice Age beasts. The entire skull has been chemically stabilized to protect its condition but is in its original form as retrieved from deep in a Pleistocene river gravel deposit. It is 100% AUTHENTIC WITH NO FABRICATION OR COMPOSITING OF TEETH. COMPLETE original dentition in perfect condition and intact. Bone is in superb condition and rich in color.
The horse played a very important part in the lives of prehistoric humans in both, Neanderthals, Cro-Magnons and most probably, Homo erectus. Prehistoric carvings and cave paintings in Europe show the horse well-represented with other Ice Age beasts such as the Woolly Mammoth, Woolly Rhinoceros, Aurochs, Bison and Cave Lion. It is highly likely that prehistoric humans marveled at the beauty of the horse as we do today, watching the herds roam free across the European continent. Prehistoric humans relied on their hide and meat to survive. To this day, horse meat is a delicacy in the same regions in Europe where they were formerly hunted by prehistoric humans. The horse lived in the same environments as prehistoric humans, played a vital role for resources in human survival during the last Ice Age and were hunted / revered by both Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon humans.
Provenance: Purchased in 2008 from a private German collection
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#120934
- Condition: No repair or restoration, 100% original as found with original teeth - sealed and stabilized
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