The alleged phenological calendar in Palaeolithic art: critical analysis from the viewpoint of statistics and cultural astronomy

In a recent paper an interpretation of non-figurative Upper Palaeolithic signs has been proposed in numerical-calendrical terms: when found in association with animals, signs are interpreted as denoting lunar months of a ‘phenological calendar’. The same authors propose the (relatively common) Y sign to be a marker of the birth period. The combination of the two notations should, therefore, furnish information on the seasonal behavior of the specific prey which is represented in the painting. These ideas are allegedly supported by a rigorous statistical analysis. We show that this interpretation is a modern construct which is unrealistic from the point of view of cultural astronomy, besides being biased by an incorrect use of statistics.