12 Giant Deer from the Ice Age
This skeleton of a giant deer from the Ice Age comes from a bog in Ireland. Giant deer had a wide distribution area in Europe during the last Ice Ages and to some extent also during the interglacials. Giant deer stood up to 2.10 m tall at the shoulders. Its most distinctive features, however, were its mighty antlers. The antlers of the deer on display measure 2.40 m from tip to tip; yet the antler spread of full-grown animals is known to have reached 4 meters. The last European giant deer lived 7000 years ago in Ireland.
Info: Showcase 12
Giant Deer (Skeleton)
Age: 10.000 v. Chr. Palaeolithic period
Palaeolithic period: Even before temperatures rose noticeably at the end of the last ice age, the first reindeer hunters roamed the North German Plain. The open steppe landscape of this time offered a rich supply of huntable game, including reindeer and other steppe animals such as the wild horse. The spear sling served as an important hunting weapon, giving the spear greater range and penetrating power with the leverage used by the thrower. With a warming of the climate and the disappearance of reindeer from Central and Western Europe, the most recent period of the Paleolithic Age ended 10,000 years ago.
Material: Animal Bones
Location: Ireland