The rucksack of the Homo sapiens who crossed the Pyrenees in the Ice Age
27/04/2025
Marta Sánchez de la Torre
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Professor at the Faculty of Geography and History
Marta Sánchez de la Torre
Professor at the Faculty of Geography and History
This morning, a fine mist accompanies the group as the sun rises and they begin their route. Today the whole clan is moving forward together: 12 people between adults and children. Some of them are so small that they are riding on the back of one of the women. They are one of the human groups that frequented the Pyrenean mountains during the period known as the Last Glacial Maximum or Ice Age. They carry a leather rucksack with them, with objects they treasure. Inside are flint cores and flakes that they will use on their journey as hunting tools or ornaments. They are pieces of their homeland.
Homo sapiens who lived between 11,000 and 35,000 years ago in Western Europe were hunter-gatherers with a nomadic way of life.
At mid-morning, the group arrives at what will be their destination for the next few days: the wide Pyrenean valley of La Cerdanya, where there is one of the enclaves that, generation after generation, serves as a refuge and meeting place.
Today, this chosen site is known as Montlleó and is an open-air Magdalenian high mountain site in the Catalan Pyrenees. Located at about 1,144 metres above sea level, in Coll de Saig, it is one of the most favourable mountains for crossing the Pyrenees. At that time, Cerdanya was passable despite the glaciers in the Ice Age.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.
At mid-morning, the group arrives at what will be their destination for the next few days: the wide Pyrenean valley of La Cerdanya, where there is one of the enclaves that, generation after generation, serves as a refuge and meeting place.
Today, this chosen site is known as Montlleó and is an open-air Magdalenian high mountain site in the Catalan Pyrenees. Located at about 1,144 metres above sea level, in Coll de Saig, it is one of the most favourable mountains for crossing the Pyrenees. At that time, Cerdanya was passable despite the glaciers in the Ice Age.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.