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The Cave Bear Story
This portrait of the cave bear conveys facts about this animal, including its structure, habits, and society, the Ice Age environment, sexual and racial variations, and extinction. The text also details the relationship between man and bear, and theories surrounding bear-hunting and bear cults.
163 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 1976
About the author
Björn Kurtén
44 books15 followersBjörn Olof Lennartson Kurtén (1924–1988) was a distinguished vertebrate paleontologist. He belonged to the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. He was a professor in paleontology at the University of Helsinki from 1972 up to his death in 1988. He also spent a year as lecturing guest professor at Harvard University in 1971.
In Not from the Apes (1971) Kurtén argued that man's development has been separate from that of monkeys and apes for at least 35 million years, and that man did not descend from anthropoids, but rather the reverse.
He was also the author of an acclaimed series of books about modern man's encounter with Neanderthals, such as Dance of the Tiger (1978, 1980). When asked what genre these works belonged in, Kurtén coined the term paleofiction to describe his oeuvre. This genre was popularized by Jean M. Auel in her Earth's Children series of books. He received several awards for his books around popularized science, among others the Kalinga Prize from UNESCO.
In the 1980s, Kurtén also hosted a 6-part TV series about the ice age, co-produced by several Scandinavian TV channels.
In Not from the Apes (1971) Kurtén argued that man's development has been separate from that of monkeys and apes for at least 35 million years, and that man did not descend from anthropoids, but rather the reverse.
He was also the author of an acclaimed series of books about modern man's encounter with Neanderthals, such as Dance of the Tiger (1978, 1980). When asked what genre these works belonged in, Kurtén coined the term paleofiction to describe his oeuvre. This genre was popularized by Jean M. Auel in her Earth's Children series of books. He received several awards for his books around popularized science, among others the Kalinga Prize from UNESCO.
In the 1980s, Kurtén also hosted a 6-part TV series about the ice age, co-produced by several Scandinavian TV channels.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 17, 2021
Originally written in 1975, this book provides much detailed information on the Cave Bear (Ursus spelaeus). A search of the internet reveals surprisingly little subsequent information on these animals.
The cave bear was somewhat larger than the biggest of the Kodiak brown bears. They had a step at the forehead with a domed skull in which the brain was located at the back, most of the space taken up by large sinuses. Large nasal cavities suggest a keen sense of smell. The cave bear's molars are much lengthened and the carnassial teeth used by carnivores for slicing meat are missing, indicating that the bears were vegetarians. Feeding on cellulose based plant cells requires much grinding, the anchoring of the jaw muscles being the reason for the high skull. Cave bears had large heavily clawed feet. Preserved scratches show a breadth of 14 cm compared to 10 cm for a modern brown bear. The upper bones in the legs were longer in proportion to the lower than in the brown bears, suggesting an even lesser ability to run. Females were smaller than males.
The earliest animal than can be seen as a bear is Ursavus which lived in the early Miocene, about 20 million years ago. While dog-like, it had already showed the development of the molars and the shrinking carnassials. Evolution produced a succession of species leading to the cave bear. The brown bears split off only 500,000 years ago. The polar bear originated less than 100,000 years ago, evolving rapidly to a unique bear with its carnivorous lifestyle.
The author provides a description of the conditions in Europe during the Eemian interglacial when the warm conditions allowed an abundance of life to develop and was home to Neanderthal man. The Cave Bear lived then and into the last glaciation, the Weichselian, when a partial change in fauna occurred due to the colder conditions. The remains of cave bears are virtually all found in caves, with no lake or river deposits associated with other animals.
The variation found in skulls and skeletal dimensions is large for a species. Early studies concluded that dwarfing and perhaps maladaptive variation occurred at various sites. However, Kurten shows that this is likely a result of collection bias. For example, in the Hohlestein cave excavation the state museum had first choice of fossils and selected all the biggest which turned out to be male remains while the cave society got the remainder. Most museum collections show a disproportional representation of males versus females. Cave bear fossils show an increase of size with glaciations likely due to the advantage of size in cold weather. This increase has also been noted in the brown bear, cave hyena and wolverine.
The author examines a few situations where is was thought that early man had arranged the bones of cave bears, but finds the evidence uncompelling. Examination of most cave art suggests the subject to be the brown bear rather than the cave bear. There is little conclusive evidence showing that the Neanderthals hunted the cave bears. While sluggish, they were likely formidable animals that would be bypassed in favour of other herbivores such as the deer family. Two examples of bears being hunted are noted, but in both cases the animals killed were brown bears.
While cave bears were probably killed by packs of cave hyenas on occasion and sometimes in accidents, many died in hibernation. The result is caves filled with cave bear remains. Examination of the milk canines which the young bears left in the winter cave suggests that the infant mortality may have been on the order of twenty percent. Tooth wear placed an upper limit on the life of the cave bear, estimated to be twenty years.
The Florida cave bear (Tremarctos floridanus) shows similar physiology and habits to the cave bear Ursus spelaeus, including an apparently vegetarian diet, although it does not seem to have frequented caves to the same extent. It is a descendant of the North American bears, the last living member being the Andean Bear.
An early theory for the extinction of the cave bear, not supported by the author, sees a process of degeneration. The cave bear started to decline during the Weichselian glaciation, holding out to the end of the Ice Age in some locations. Arguments have been made that the cause was the vanishing tundras, tiagas and steppes, but that had also occurred at previous times. It is also the time that modern man appeared, suggesting the possibility that they did away with the cave bears. However, it is noted that many of the other large animals that man hunted did not go extinct: brown bear, bison, moose and red deer. The author leaves the question at an impasse.
The cave bear was somewhat larger than the biggest of the Kodiak brown bears. They had a step at the forehead with a domed skull in which the brain was located at the back, most of the space taken up by large sinuses. Large nasal cavities suggest a keen sense of smell. The cave bear's molars are much lengthened and the carnassial teeth used by carnivores for slicing meat are missing, indicating that the bears were vegetarians. Feeding on cellulose based plant cells requires much grinding, the anchoring of the jaw muscles being the reason for the high skull. Cave bears had large heavily clawed feet. Preserved scratches show a breadth of 14 cm compared to 10 cm for a modern brown bear. The upper bones in the legs were longer in proportion to the lower than in the brown bears, suggesting an even lesser ability to run. Females were smaller than males.
The earliest animal than can be seen as a bear is Ursavus which lived in the early Miocene, about 20 million years ago. While dog-like, it had already showed the development of the molars and the shrinking carnassials. Evolution produced a succession of species leading to the cave bear. The brown bears split off only 500,000 years ago. The polar bear originated less than 100,000 years ago, evolving rapidly to a unique bear with its carnivorous lifestyle.
The author provides a description of the conditions in Europe during the Eemian interglacial when the warm conditions allowed an abundance of life to develop and was home to Neanderthal man. The Cave Bear lived then and into the last glaciation, the Weichselian, when a partial change in fauna occurred due to the colder conditions. The remains of cave bears are virtually all found in caves, with no lake or river deposits associated with other animals.
The variation found in skulls and skeletal dimensions is large for a species. Early studies concluded that dwarfing and perhaps maladaptive variation occurred at various sites. However, Kurten shows that this is likely a result of collection bias. For example, in the Hohlestein cave excavation the state museum had first choice of fossils and selected all the biggest which turned out to be male remains while the cave society got the remainder. Most museum collections show a disproportional representation of males versus females. Cave bear fossils show an increase of size with glaciations likely due to the advantage of size in cold weather. This increase has also been noted in the brown bear, cave hyena and wolverine.
The author examines a few situations where is was thought that early man had arranged the bones of cave bears, but finds the evidence uncompelling. Examination of most cave art suggests the subject to be the brown bear rather than the cave bear. There is little conclusive evidence showing that the Neanderthals hunted the cave bears. While sluggish, they were likely formidable animals that would be bypassed in favour of other herbivores such as the deer family. Two examples of bears being hunted are noted, but in both cases the animals killed were brown bears.
While cave bears were probably killed by packs of cave hyenas on occasion and sometimes in accidents, many died in hibernation. The result is caves filled with cave bear remains. Examination of the milk canines which the young bears left in the winter cave suggests that the infant mortality may have been on the order of twenty percent. Tooth wear placed an upper limit on the life of the cave bear, estimated to be twenty years.
The Florida cave bear (Tremarctos floridanus) shows similar physiology and habits to the cave bear Ursus spelaeus, including an apparently vegetarian diet, although it does not seem to have frequented caves to the same extent. It is a descendant of the North American bears, the last living member being the Andean Bear.
An early theory for the extinction of the cave bear, not supported by the author, sees a process of degeneration. The cave bear started to decline during the Weichselian glaciation, holding out to the end of the Ice Age in some locations. Arguments have been made that the cause was the vanishing tundras, tiagas and steppes, but that had also occurred at previous times. It is also the time that modern man appeared, suggesting the possibility that they did away with the cave bears. However, it is noted that many of the other large animals that man hunted did not go extinct: brown bear, bison, moose and red deer. The author leaves the question at an impasse.
November 6, 2016
Personally, I love Björn Kurtén's work. He makes his own science come alive for me in a way that the Cave Bear, sadly, never will again. He, the Cave Bear, met his end with the Ice Age and, through his own humane scholarship, Kurtén brings its milieu back to life to enhance our understanding. For me, a completely absorbing read.
February 11, 2016
This book was interesting but very dry, I was hoping it would tell me more about Cave Bears than it actually did. This is more of a comparison between bones book detailing various fossil finds with not many conclusions or potential insights into the life of these great creatures. Well worth a read for the detail of the environment the bears would have lived in and interesting questions raised as to how they became extinct.
Want to Read
October 11, 2009neanderthals
July 19, 2013
Interesting read about this little known but much talked about animal
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews