Although the imprint page of this book states that it is a ‘First Edition’, the Prefaces make clear that it is the third edition: the first was published in 1988 by Winward (an imprint of W H Smith & Son Ltd) under the same title, but the second edition, published in 1997 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, bore the title Journey through the Ice Age. Neither of these enjoyed a long life on the shelves of bookshops because soon after they were released, the publishers ‘rationalised’ their stock. However, as the third edition is published by Oxford University Press, it will, it is to be hoped, be available for some time to come.

The first edition appeared under the co-authorship of Paul Bahn and the late Jean Vertut, thus giving credit to Vertut’s superb photographs that graced the book. That contribution continues to be acknowledged fully in the latest edition, but as the study of the subject has developed, with the need to supplement both the text and the illustrations with fresh material, Bahn is properly credited with the authorship of the new work. He must be thanked for including good photographs of newly discovered material, especially when access is often severely restricted and the dissemination of images is strictly controlled. The latest edition has a smaller format and typeface than earlier versions. Yet, the number of pages has doubled and the quantity of figures has trebled since the first edition, even if the less-glossy finish produces some variation in colour from the original.

The subject of the book is challenging: as Bahn reminds us, it embraces two-thirds of art history, 25,000 years and a vast area of the world. Although the ancient nature of the subject has only been accepted for little more than a century, debate has been intense, so that the sum of academic (and populist) literature is now immense. Not all of it is profound, and Bahn is not slow to offer his critical opinion on some of it. Nonetheless, he provides an incomparable digest of a huge amount of significant material.

There are many ways to ‘cut the cake’, but the same book structure, in twelve chapters, is retained from the second edition. The text, however, incorporates much new material throughout, reflecting the author’s broadening interests throughout the world. The narrative is backed by copious footnotes (1,266 of them) and an impressive list of references, which itself covers seventy-seven pages. The substance covers some familiar territory, such as the history of discovery (Chapter 1), but even these sections benefit from the results of recent research, which offer new perspectives on historic events. The principal geographic focus remains western Europe, especially France and Spain, albeit Bahn surveys the evidence for an early origin for symbolic behaviour and rock art in other parts of the world (Chapters 2 and 3). Revised distribution maps of decorated sites in Europe usefully remind the reader of the variable density of known sites across the region. A consideration of the ways in which images have been recorded (Chapter 4) is a salutary lesson in the unintended bias than can easily distort a ‘true’ likeness of the original, and can have an unwanted effect on interpretation. By contrast, modern techniques have no direct impact on the fragile resource, yet produce digital data, which can be enhanced and manipulated without detriment to the original. The narrative is not restricted to the known parietal art, whether in caves and rock shelters (Chapter 8) or increasingly in the open air (Chapter 9), but compares it with contemporaneous portable pieces (Chapter 7). Doubtless, many readers will be reminded of the mobiliary art they were able to study during the superb British Museum special exhibition organised by Dr Jill Cook, and illustrated in the excellent accompanying publication (Cook Reference Cook2013), both of which should have stimulated the market for Bahn’s book. The question of what was depicted (Chapter 10) is answered by a review of the many naturalistic and abstract symbols purposefully employed by the image-makers.

No single book can provide all the information necessary to encompass fully the subject of Upper Palaeolithic image making, and hence certain aspects are not detailed. I hasten to add that this is not a criticism, but merely a reflection of the pragmatic decisions taken over the content and length of the book, and as a guide for the would-be reader. For example, descriptions of particular sites, or inventories of their contents, are best found by following the bibliographical references. The growing number of facsimiles provides multitudes of visitors with an impression of what is preserved in the authentic sites, but in the future it may be necessary to offer a critique of these copies: despite the best intentions of their creators, they cannot provide the same experience as visiting the original. Similarly, the full statistical details of individual age determinations are beyond the scope of this book: a laboratory report which suggested that an object dates to 14,480 years ago on the basis of radiocarbon dating, for example, would normally require qualification.

Paul Bahn has a large following in Britain and hence his opinions can be influential. His views on such aspects as direct dating or the interpretation of meaning, for example, are sometimes stated in a forthright manner and hence have impact. I suppose it comes down to personal style, but to my mind the merits of a particular argument are more persuasive when they are set out in a dispassionate logical manner rather than in an emotional tirade. His recent paper with Paul Pettitt (Pettitt and Bahn Reference Pettitt and Bahn2015) on the dating of Chauvet, for example, is measured and restrained, yet it puts over their point of view effectively. In the book under review too, the ‘Chauvet Puzzle’ (pp 105–7) is not allowed to outweigh the broader evidence for the dating of images across the entire Upper Palaeolithic and beyond (Chapter 5). Nonetheless, Chauvet demands special consideration because of its remarkable content and the implications of an early date for the study of Upper Palaeolithic humanity. It demonstrates the fundamental importance of accurate chronology and the necessity of having independent methods of relating one site to others, so that continuity and innovation can be identified within the universal context.

Bahn is less reserved in his views on certain interpretations of meaning (Chapter 11): ‘particularly a huge amount of utter nonsense about “trance”’, ‘altered states of consciousness’, and ‘shamanism’, which he considers ‘bogus’ and ‘utter rubbish’ (p 275). Yet, trance and an altered state of consciousness are practices within many belief systems. In certain societies, great weight has been placed on dreams, visions and ‘out-of-body’ experiences, sometimes induced in different ways. Shamanism (or whatever label might be used to describe similar practices) is considered to have ancient origins, and has even enjoyed a resurgence in some parts of the modern world. It is, therefore, potentially productive to review how the images left to us from the Ice Age might reflect such beliefs, and what their function tells us about early human cognition, alongside such anthropologically derived theories as hunting magic, fertility cults or binary opposition.

In summary, this volume is a comprehensive textbook, crammed with information. It cites examples from far and wide to elaborate the point under discussion, and consistently links the selected topic to the published sources. If necessary, readers can thus find the original account and develop their own opinion of it. The well-produced volume is extremely competitively priced (during a recent visit to Oxford, OUP’s shop was selling it for only £25). The publisher must be applauded for marketing such a useful book at an attractive price, when other titles in their catalogue seem comparatively expensive. At that price, it is simply the best textbook available on the subject.