Rock and roll

So, I had a character of sorts. A girl from the Stone Age, who finds herself transported to the modern world and has to learn all about modern life. The first step towards developing this character, was to learn about the world she came from.

And, well, I discovered that the Stone Age lasted for 3.4 million years, meaning that it would probably be beneficial to narrow down the time period slightly.

A stroke of good luck

I had been thinking that my character couldn't be completely ignorant and useless. She needed some kind of skill, something that she could contribute to the new world. Well, cave people liked drawing. Perhaps our little girl is a talented artist?

I learned that there is only one instance of cave art in the UK, at Creswell Crags in Derbyshire. The cave art there dates back to approximately 11,000BC (Creswell Crags 2010). Boom. This gave me a time period that my character came from, and a place where she lived. Now I knew exactly what to research.

Cave art at Creswell Crags (Collyer)

Prehistoric life

So here is a brief summary of what I have learned about the period from various sources.

• This was a period between Ice Ages. Humans returned to the UK around 13,000 BC as the climate became tolerable, but migrated back to mainland Europe around 10,800BC when the country once again froze over. Weather would therefore have been cold and dry.
• The technical name for this time period was the Late Glacial Interstadial.
• The people were known as Magdalenian (or Creswellian) Man. They were short in stature, with prominent brow ridges.

Forensic reconstruction of a Magdalenian skeleton found in France, created by Elisabeth Daynès (the colours of skin, hair and eyes are guesses) (Ancient Near East 2013)

• Magdalenian people were nomadic, always searching for new sources of food and water. Depending on the resources available to them, they would live in caves, tents, or huts covered in animal skins and mud.
• Agriculture had not been developed yet, so they lived by hunting animals and gathering nuts and berries. Reindeer and fish would have been the main sources of meat.
• Other animals alive at the time would include arctic hares, mammoths, aurochs, horses, bison, and wooly rhinoceros.
• They lived in groups of 20 to 60 people, usually comprising just one family.
• They did have some form of language, but obviously not writing.
• They could use fire, and could make a variety of tools from stone, bone or ivory, including spears, harpoons, fishing hooks.
• They were also keen on jewelry, wearing sea shells, fangs and fossils.
• They were capable of sewing and making fairly sophisticated clothing from animal skins, furs, leather, and roughly woven woolen cloth.
• There are some dolls and toy animals from the era made from clay, stone and bone. However, it is assumed that the majority of toys would have been made from organic materials such as straw, leather, fabrics and wood, which have not survived to the modern day.

Analysis of Magdalenian clothing, based on forensic reconstructions on display in the Musée des Confluences, Lyon. (These people are from 17,000 BC whereas I am aiming for 11,000 BC. However, prehistoric clothing reconstructions are few and far between!)

Forensic reconstruction of a Magdalenian child from the Lascaux Caves, France, approximately 15,000 BC. (Daynès 2012)

Sketches of examples of cave art.

Thinking about costume ideas for my character, based on the evidence I have gathered.

Adapting facts into a character

This is obviously a very condensed version of what I have learned. But you get the point. Taking the above information, I was able to construct more of an idea of who my protagonist is: -

• She is five years old, so that my target audience can relate to her.
• She has come from the year 11,000 BC, and lived in the caves at Creswell Crags, Derbyshire.
• She has never encountered strangers before; she has only lived with her extended family. She is therefore very wary of strangers, and scared of crowds.
• Family and bonding is very important to her.
• By modern standards, she is short for her age.
• I will take the same creative decision as Elisabeth Daynès and give her pale skin, light eyes and red hair. This is based on no evidence, but gives the opportunity to use a bright colour in my character design.
• Her clothing will be made from organic materials (therefore in natural, neutral colours), with large, visible stitches.
• Her family have taught her to paint. She is therefore very observant and inquisitive about the world around her.
• In the modern world, she will encounter animals that are unusual to her, and may well think they are a source of food!
• She will wear jewelry or clothing decorations. Bones and fangs would be unacceptable for a pre-school programme. Perhaps pebbles, fossils, feathers or seashells. Because she lived inland, seashells would probably be very valuable treasures to her.
• She will have a doll of some sort as a comfort object and link to her past. Perhaps made for her by a family member. Some kind of rag doll.
• She will be able to speak. Not grunts but probably some kind of simplified language.
• Growing up in a cold era, she will probably find modern times quite warm. Maybe she will enjoy this experience and the chance to play outside.

Next time, we will continue to develop the character's appearance, and give her a name at last!

ANONYMOUS (2010). "About Creswell Crags". Creswell Crags Museum & Heritage Centre [website]. Available online at http://www.creswell-crags.org.uk/About-Us/site-history.aspx [accessed 5 April 2018]

ANONYMOUS (2013). "Magdalenian Girl...or Woman...or Girl?". Ancient Near East: Just the Facts [website]. Available online at https://ancientneareast.org/2013/04/14/magdalenian-girl-or-woman-or-girl/ [accessed 5 April 2018]

BALEN-LATUNIC, D. "An Overview of Prehistoric Toys" (2014). Etnološka istraživanja. No. 18/19. Available online (translated from Croatian into English) at https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/197032 [accessed 5 April 2018]

BEDNAR, B. (2015). "Paleolithic and Neolithic Societies". Slideshare [website]. Available online at https://www.slideshare.net/bbednars/paleolithic-and-neolithic-societies [accessed 5 April 2018]

COLLYER, C. [undated]. Creswell Crags: Paleolothic Cave Dwellings and Carvings [website]. Available online at http://www.stone-circles.org.uk/stone/creswellcrags.htm [accessed 5 April 2018]

DAYNÈS, E. (2012). "Reconstitutions Hominides". Atelier Daynès [website] [in French]. Available online at http://www.daynes.com/fr/reconstitutions-hominides/homo-sapiens-enfant-exposition-lascaux-53.html [accessed 5 April 2018]

HONOUR, H. and FLEMING, J. (2005) A World History of Art. 7th Ed. London: Laurence King Publishing.

INSOLL, T. (2017). The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines. Oxford: Oxford University Press.