Representation of the Deer
Stag representation
The male red deer has often been regarded as a bearer of meaning or symbolism in numerous cultures. Its vigor in combat, its majestic appearance, its unchanging physiology across seasons, and the marked dichotomy of sexual characteristics have made it a universally recognized figure across time and space.
Thus, it has been depicted throughout history in many works (paintings, engravings, sculptures) of either informative (hunting scenes) or symbolic (religious or mythical) nature (Drouard 1980).
Deer, for example, are a major theme in the art of the Lascaux cave, even though they likely held a marginal place in the local environment at that time. Often more discreet than the large aurochs, they nonetheless constitute, by their number and recurrence within the arrangements, a subject of importance. The depictions of deer in Lascaux occupy the entire cavity, sometimes painted within large frescoes, sometimes drawn, and sometimes engraved at the heart of the palimpsests in the Apse and the Absidiole. They are arranged in friezes (Axial Diverticulum, Nave), in registers (Apse, Absidiole), or are completely isolated (the deer of the Shaft). For Norbert Aujoulat (2004), these representations become essential, as they bear the mark of autumn and serve to balance the evocations of summer and spring carried respectively by the horse and the aurochs. It then becomes evident that emphasis is placed on the antlers, which, in all cases, are those of adult males in their full expansion—that is, in autumn, the time of the rut.
During the Iron Age, for example, it is a psychopomp animal, capable of transporting souls to the realm of the dead and returning (engravings of Val Camonica or the deer stones of the Altai).
It is certain that the majestic antlers it bears (which are still prized as trophies today) and their regeneration are at the origin of its mythical or symbolic status. Indeed, during the rut, one not only hears its impressive roar (which carries far) but also the striking sounds of antlers clashing when the dominant male fights against its rival to defend its harem: the image of the deer fighting to protect its does is thus accompanied by a violent sound, the two combined being assimilated to the archetype of virile behavior. Similarly, one can understand that the annual renewal of the antlers, which begins in spring and marks the life and age of the deer, could symbolize rebirth and the rhythms of life. In this regard, the deer has commonly been associated with longevity, even abundance, and its antlers with the tree of life.
Valérie Feruglio, archaeologist, specialist in prehistoric art, associate researcher UMR 5199 PACEA
Quote this text (English version): Feruglio V., 2025. Stag representation in: Averbouh A., Feruglio F. & Plassard F. Dir. The Jean-Clottes database, Animal representation in Prehistory (BJC), "Deer File", English version online on 12/03/2025
Quote this text (French version): Feruglio V. 2023. Représentation et symbolique du cerf in : Averbouh A., Feruglio F. & Plassard F. Dir. Base Jean-Clottes - Animal Representation, Les représentations animales de la Préhistoire, "Dossier cerf" mis en ligne le 18/10/2023
References used
Aujoulat, N., 2004. Lascaux. Le geste, l'espace et le temps. Seuil, Paris. Collection «Arts rupestres», 274 p.,
Averbouh A., Feruglio V. 2016. L’ancrage du symbolique dans le réel – Réflexions sur les représentations de bois de cerfs à Lascaux (Dordogne, France), Numéro Hors Série en hommage à Norbert Aujoulat, Paléo, numéro hors-série, p. 91-102.
Drouard B. F. 1980. Les bois du cerf élaphe (Cervus elaphus). Aspects scientifique et culturel. Thèse de l’Ecole Nationale vétérinaire de Toulouse,175 p.