Aurignacian yielded Europe's oldest known figurative art

March 06, 2026

GermanyArt

Source: The First Europeans Who Conquered Neanderthals 45k years ago by Timeless with Fred Snyder

Site mentioned

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Early Aurignacian communities produced some of Europe's oldest known human figurines and other symbolic objects between roughly 43,000 and 32,000 years ago. The roughly 6 cm Venus of Hohle Fels and the 31 cm Lion-Man both came from Hohle Fels Cave in Germany; the nearly complete vulture-wing-bone flute came from Geissenklösterle Cave; and Chauvet Cave in southern France preserves sophisticated animal paintings. Personal ornaments and materials transported over distances of up to roughly 200 km provide evidence of long-distance exchange across Europe.

Key facts

Aurignacian-associated sites dated roughly 43,000–32,000 years ago yielded symbolic artifacts including some of Europe's oldest known figurative works.
The Venus of Hohle Fels—not Vogelherd—is a roughly 6 cm female figurine carved from mammoth ivory at Hohle Fels Cave, Germany, generally dated to about 40,000–35,000 years ago. It is among the oldest known human figurines.
The roughly 31 cm mammoth-ivory Lion-Man, also from Hohle Fels Cave, is commonly described as the earliest known human-animal hybrid figure.
The nearly complete five-holed flute carved from vulture wing bone came from Geissenklösterle Cave, Germany, not Vogelherd, and dates to about 43,000–42,000 years ago.
Chauvet Cave paintings in southern France are commonly dated to around 36,000–32,000 years ago. They depict about 14 animal species and use shading and perspective to suggest volume.
Shell beads, pendants and perforated animal teeth were widespread in the Upper Paleolithic; Pavlov I in the Czech Republic yielded 22 perforated animal teeth.
Some materials were transported over distances of up to roughly 200 km, supporting long-distance exchange across Europe.