Women, Horses, and Spirituality in the Paleolithic World

Recent archaeological discoveries at Upper Paleolithic sites in Italy, France, and Spain have shown not only the intentional and intricate nature of these burials but also an interesting symbolic connection between women and horses in burial practices. 

Far from being mere food sources, horses appear alongside women in graves as potent symbols of ritual, spirituality, and the mysteries of life and death. 

In many Paleolithic burial sites of women, engravings of horses and the inclusion of horse bones have been found alongside human remains, sometimes with red ochre applied, suggesting a symbolic association.

One of these, the Donna di Ostuni—affectionately called Delia— was a young Pugliese woman, approximately 20 to 30 years old, who died in the final stages of pregnancy nearly 28,000 years ago. Her burial, found in the karst cave of Agnano near Ostuni, reveals the exceptional care and ritual significance surrounding her death. 

Delia was placed on her left side in a fetal position, her right hand resting protectively on her belly over her unborn child. She was adorned with a headdress made of deer teeth and shells, her body dusted with red ochre—an element strongly associated with Paleolithic ritual and symbolic practices.

Surrounding her were horse bones, pierced shells likely once forming a bracelet, and stone tools, all carefully arranged as part of her grave goods. 

The deliberate and ceremonial nature of Delia’s burial suggests she held a prominent role within her community, perhaps as a revered mother, healer, or spiritual figure.

Like the Lady of Cavillon (discussed in an earlier post) and other notable women of the Gravettian era, Delia’s burial challenges old assumptions about the roles of women in prehistory, highlighting the importance and the deep respect they commanded in their societies. 

La Donna de Cueva Del Miròn

In another cave, this time in what is now Spain, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a different woman who died around 18,700 years ago. This woman was found in a fetal position, her head gently tilted to one side and her arms crossed over her chest, pointing toward a stone block that marked her grave.

The limestone block beside her was decorated with numerous slit engravings from the time of her burial, including a distinctive "V" shape believed to symbolise the female pubic triangle. Nearby, the cave wall featured an engraving of a horse, with red ochre applied both to the animal’s body and the inside of the grave marker.

Although her skull and some bones had been disturbed and removed, likely by a large canine (wolf), making it impossible to know if she wore a headdress, the careful arrangement of her body and the ongoing use of the cave after her burial suggest she was a person of special importance much like the woman found in Ostuni. Like other prominent women of the Paleolithic era, the respectful treatment of her remains and grave goods highlights the powerful and sacred role she likely played within her community. 

Horses in prehistoric rituals

Horses may also have been totemic animals associated with the reincarnation process, viewed as symbols of rebirth, renewal, or regeneration, their connection to burials might be linked to beliefs about the life and death cycle. The conception of horses as sacred spirits accompanying souls in and out of the world mirrors that of later deities connected to horses, such as Rhiannon, Epona, and Macha.

Historian Pierre-François Puech et Bernard wrote in his paper ‘Can we still hear the Cro-Magnon Man’, that the outline of the horse found in the Cavillon cave ‘was a concrete symbol and primitive lower form of abstraction, that was necessary; for otherwise most people would not have understood the message.’

According to et Bernard, this engraving of a horse represents a form of early language with "a magical quality that adds another level of interpretation to what we ourselves can see with our untrained eyes." He likened the symbolism to hieroglyphics on Egyptian temple walls, which are readable but have magical, obscure meanings that only priests and shamans can understand.

Cave art from the Paleolithic era reveals a strong connection between feminine symbols and horses, suggesting deep symbolic or spiritual associations. 

In the Fontainebleau forest in France, for example, archaeologists have documented a cave where the natural shape of the rock was enhanced to resemble a woman’s pubic triangle, flanked by engraved horses on either side. 

The ceiling of this cave is rounded, evoking the image of a pregnant belly, and during heavy rain, water flows along the central slit in the rock, reminiscent of the breaking of waters before childbirth. This remarkable interplay of natural features, human modification, and artistic engraving is believed to represent Paleolithic ideas about fertility, creation, and the origins of humanity. 

Additional engravings in the same region show horses and other animals closely associated with feminine forms, reinforcing the idea that horses were linked to female fertility and the life-giving power of women.  Some images even blend animal and human traits, such as pregnant figures with both feminine and equine characteristics, highlighting the symbolic relationship between women, animals, and the cycles of life. 

Archaeologists interpret these artistic choices as evidence that Paleolithic people saw horses not just as important animals, but as powerful symbols connected to femininity, fertility, and the mysteries of birth and creation. The careful placement of engravings, the use of red ochre, and the manipulation of natural features to enhance symbolic meaning all point to a sophisticated understanding of the world, where feminine power and the animal kingdom were intimately intertwined.

Boris Valentin, a Professor at the Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris and a member of the prehistoric ethnology team studying the site, believes the artwork which was created at the end of a narrow stone passageway, is symbolic of the journey a baby makes when it is born.

In another ancient artwork found in France, at Pech-Merle, horses were drawn with large coloured spots inside and around the outline of their bodies on a cave wall. A team of archaeologists studying the area believe “…they were probably put there in the belief that they increased fertility.” (Lommel, 1966).

A carved fragment of a larger piece of stone from Étiolles, France shows an animal-headed woman with human breasts and a pregnant belly standing behind a horse that is “exhaling ” markings that might be interpreted as breath, sounds or blood. The animal-woman is emitting the same noises as the horse from her own mouth.

Duncan Caldwell in his paper ‘Supernatural Pregnancies’ believes that the animal-woman depicted “is crying out during labour as she transforms into her totem animal (the horse). She may have accessed the supernatural world as a result of taking plant-based hallucinogenic medicine in childbirth, and the artwork is a depiction of this experience.”

The presence of horse remains, engravings, and ritual elements in burial contexts aligns with the interpretation that these animals for thousands of years have been seen as more than just practical resources—they were imbued with spiritual significance.