Magical amber animals

Many of the Mesolithic period’s artistic masterpieces have been found in Denmark. Among them are five bears, a bird and an elk of amber. The figures are elegant and shaped in a way that is true to nature. The people who made them must have had a good knowledge of how a real bear looked. Like many other amber finds from the Stone Age, the animal figures have been found in bogs or on beaches. Therefore the amber pieces can be hard to date. In some cases the Stone Age people decorated their objects with refined designs or geometric art. Decorated amber artefacts can be dated by association with other objects, which the Mesolithic period is known for, most often bones.