Fifteen millennia ago, along the banks of the Rhine River, an artist from the Ice Age etched a fleeting moment into stone—a fish trapped within a crisscrossing net. These carvings, newly uncovered at the Gönnersdorf archaeological site in western Germany, may be the oldest known depictions of fishing in human history.
“The Gönnersdorf engravings provide valuable insights into the fishing techniques and tools used by Palaeolithic peoples, and how these practices were translated into visual culture through the depiction of nets characterized by interlaced diamond-shaped and square meshes,” wrote the researchers.
“The minimalist artistic style of the fish engravings, combined with the intricate representation of nets, emphasizes the action of fishing rather than merely depicting fish themselves.”
A window into Ice Age fishing
The Gönnersdorf site, first unearthed in 1968, has long been celebrated for its Ice Age treasures. It boasts more than 81,000 artifacts, including jewelry, tools, and figurines, as well as 406 engraved schist plaquettes. Until now, the prehistoric artworks from the site focused on what appeared to be animals critical to survival—mammoths, reindeer, and wild horses—alongside stylized human figures. But some of these depictions were more ambiguous.
Researchers led by Jérôme Robitaille, lead archaeologist from the Monrepos Archaeological Research Center, used an imaging technique called Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) to reexamine some of the more enigmatic plaquettes. This cutting-edge technique enhances subtle surface details, enabling researchers to discern worn engravings invisible to the naked eye. What they found was astonishing: delicate grid-like patterns interwoven with the shapes of fish, unmistakably resembling nets or traps.
While depictions of animals such as horses and bison dominate the prehistoric art canon, aquatic life rarely takes center stage. At Gönnersdorf, however, the combination of fish engravings and grids suggests a deliberate portrayal of fishing techniques.
“The engravings show an intentionality,” the researchers said. “The fish were always carved first, followed by the grids.”
Art, Subsistence, and Society
Evidence of fish consumption by Paleolithic hunter-gatherers is not new. Archaeological digs across Europe have unearthed fish bones, hooks, and barbed tools from the period. But this discovery is unique—it is the first visual representation of how fish were caught during the Late Upper Paleolithic, an era spanning roughly 35,000 to 10,000 years ago.
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The findings also challenge our understanding of Ice Age society. Researchers have long speculated that fishing was integral to Upper Paleolithic diets, yet artistic depictions of the activity are rare. The researchers note that these depictions reflect fishing as a “structured, social, and possibly seasonal activity.” The act of fishing may have been tied to broader cultural practices, reinforcing bonds within the community.
The use of nets is particularly intriguing. Similar techniques are suggested by textile impressions found at other Paleolithic sites, such as Dolní Věstonice in the Czech Republic. Fishing nets, rarely preserved in the archaeological record, are often assumed to be a more recent innovation.
These small stones, etched with care, remind us of humanity’s enduring desire to document its world—whether through storytelling, painting, or, as in Gönnersdorf, carving stories into stone.
The findings appeared in the journal PLOS ONE.
