Dawn had not yet broken, yet the camp was already a hive of activity. Children ran around waving wooden sticks, while the youngest ones cried in their mothers' arms, not understanding what was going on: two days earlier, one of the group's best trackers had glimpsed a herd of white-tailed deer and had told the other hunters. Gradually, members of other communities congregated in the camp, ready to join the hunt. Large numbers of women made all the necessary arrangements so they could help the hunters in the various jobs that needed doing, or they gathered berries and wild cherries to go with the delicious meal that was coming up.

Not far away, several hunters were sharpening the tips of their spears, carefully scraping the stone edges before fitting them with deer tendons into long wooden lances. The adolescents, who were novices when it came to hunting but who were ready to help their elders, were very excited, but did not know what to do. Suddenly, silence fell. The best hunter made a sign, and the group divided into two. The hunters began to advance across the plain, moving against the wind so as not to alert the animals. A large male with splendid antlers reared up on the horizon and sniffed the wind, waiting for some sign of danger.

Slowly and with great patience, the first group of hunters advanced, crouching in the long grass of the plain, until they formed an invisible semi-circle around the herd. Then came another signal: a number of torches were lit, and everyone started running towards their prey. The hunters were all shouting at the same time as they blandished their burning torches. The deer panicked and began to rush in disarray towards the east, which was the only place where no shouts were coming from and no human silhouettes could be seen. The females ran to protect their young, and the fawns bellowed behind them. Pursued by the hunters, the deer came to the edge of a high cliff, and fell over this without realising what was happening until it was too late.

Very few members of the herd survived the hunters' manoeuvre. At the bottom of the cliff, meanwhile, the other group of men killed off the few animals that did survive the fall, and began to organise the job of cutting up the dead deer. Once the shouts and embraces that celebrated the victory had subsided, the main camp was notified and further groups arrived to help with the butchery activities and with curing and tanning the skins.

Some people cut firewood, and by midday there was already a good number of simple areas at the edge of the rock wall where everyone was engaged in some task or other. Virtually every part of the animal was used in some way. The tendons were removed so they could be used as cords, the skins were tanned so they did not rot outdoors, the bones, once the meat had been removed from them, were used to fan the fires, and the organs were cooked, taking advantage of the fat that came from the meat itself. Some of the women struck the larger bones, vertebrae and skulls with hard rocks, like hammers, so they could extract the bone marrow and brains, which they then put in leather bags with water and burning hot stones to prepare broths and soups.

Finally everything was ready for the celebration. Equal amounts of the meal were set out for each family, although the hunters took the finest parts, like the livers and hearts. They were followed in order by the women and children. These latter would certainly have danced around the bonfires to recall the images of the hunt on that memorable day, while the adults sang and played bone flutes and ocarinas made from snail shells, all highly appropriate for such an occasion. Here's hoping the hunt by the precipice is just as good next year, and that we can have another party like this one with people from other groups when the herds of deer migrate!

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America at the end of the Ice Age

Stones tell their own story

Colombia: Gateway to South America

A splendid dinner 8,000 years ago