` Paleolithic Eurasia `

To begin to piece together the past, one must begin with context. Our ancestors lived on the icy shores of Europe as well as the vast tundra of the Eurasian Plain, which for 100,000+ years was a practically a continuous ecosystem which stretched from Central Europe through Asia, over the theorized land bridge, and across North America. Broadly they ate mammoth, other meat, fish and seafood, and only foraged for berries and mushrooms when the seasons allowed. They did not survive off any roots or grains at this time. Through the Ice Age there were warmer periods where forests expanded and less snow covered the land, and cooler periods when mammoth herds proliferated and migrations were necessary to find scarcer food.

There was a large number of now-extinct or -endangered species in this environment. Large herds of huge mammoths, a large lion (small lions survived in Europe until Antiquity), a rhinoceros, bison, as well as the deer/elk, bears, and wolves we still strongly associate with the boreal landscapes today. There were perhaps lost species of the berries, herbs, and mushrooms we enjoy today also.

One of the most important things to keep in mind is the ancient sky our ancestors knew, the significance of which is unfortunately lost on modern people. Essentially living their lives outdoors for thousands and thousands of years, they bore witness to all manner of astronomical phenomena and knew them well. This was especially true in the North, where aurorae and parhelia are common occurrences. All these celestial phenomena must have been foundational to their spirituality, and not just the ritual tracking of the stars that continued well into written history. This aesthetic of the cosmos is something modernity does not comprehend, literally and figuratively, because it has divorced itself from bearing witness to nature.