Between 38‑35 kyr ago the Aurignacian culture produced unprecedented symbolic artifacts, including the Venus of Hohle Fels, the Lion‑Man figurine, a vulture‑bone flute, and the Chauvet Cave paintings – the earliest undisputed human figurative art and evidence of long‑distance material exchange across Europe.
Aurignacian produced Europe's earliest figurative art
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Key facts
- By 38,000-35,000 years ago, Aurignacian culture created unprecedented symbolic artifacts
- Venus of Vogelherd Cave: 6cm mammoth ivory figurine of a female figure, earliest undisputed human depiction
- Lion-man figurine from Germany represents earliest human-animal hybrid creature
- Nearly complete flute carved from vulture wing bone found at Vogelherd Cave cave
- Chauvet Cave paintings in southern France dated to 36,000-32,000 years ago
- Cave paintings depict 13 animal species with advanced shading and volume techniques
- Shell beads and pendants found across Europe; Czech Republic site had 22 perforated animal teeth
- Long-distance trade networks existed, with materials moving up to 200km
Sources
nature.com
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journals.openedition.org
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pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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dspace.library.uvic.ca
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link.springer.com
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nature.com
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pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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