5 Prologue In 1887 the British Museum acquired a masterpiece of Ice Age art found some twenty- one years earlier at the site of Montastruc in the Midi- Pyrénées region of France. The sculpture, carved from mammoth ivory, consists of a pair of reindeer, a male following a female, and is known as the ' Swimming Reindeer' because the animals have their heads up, antlers tipped back and legs extended as if they are in water ( Fig. 1). Their bodies are well proportioned and carved in the round to show their natural features in great detail. Found with tools, weapons, other works of art and animal bones, also now in the Museum's collection, the piece dates from the end of the last Ice Age and is at least 13,000 years old. Although only 22 cm long, the reindeer form the largest and most remarkable work on ivory known from this period. The sculpture is a masterpiece in a long tradition of figurative art that began in Europe after the arrival of anatomically modern humans about 38,000 years ago and lasted until about 10,000 years ago. This book takes a close look at the object as a work of art older than anything in the Museum's collections from Babylon, Greece or Egypt, and tells the story of its discovery and its historical and artistic significance to the world. oppositeMap showing the geography of Ice Age Europe 13,000- 15,000 years ago, and the modern location of Montastruc, where the Swimming Reindeer were found. 1 overleafThe Swimming Reindeer, carved from mammoth ivory. Found at Montastruc, Tarn- et- Garonne, central-southern France. At least 13,000 years old, L. 22 cm. British Museum

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