Archaeological digs in Europe have found ivory carvings dating back to approximately how many years ago?

• A. 10,000 years ago
• B. 50,000 years ago
• C. 30,000 years ago
• D. 100,000 years ago

Answer: (C)

During the Upper Paleolithic in Europe, people created portable art from mammoth ivory, and these carvings are dated to about 30,000 years ago. Radiocarbon dating and the archaeological context place many of these ivory pieces around this time, fitting the period when modern humans in Europe produced early representational art. Substantially later dates, like around 50,000 or 100,000 years ago, would push these works outside the established timeline for European ivory carvings, while about 10,000 years ago is far enough into the Mesolithic that such early Paleolithic art wouldn’t align with the known evidence. So approximately 30,000 years ago is the best-supported dating for these European ivory carvings.