In 1939, a geologist dug up mammoth-ivory fragments inside a cave in Germany. Two weeks later, World War II began and they were forgotten. The fragments were reconstructed later, and turned out to be the oldest art in the world.
Dagmar Hollmann [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
The figurine dates back 35-40,000 years, which puts it squarely in the Aurignacian tradition – along with art like the Venus of Hohle Fels and the paintings of Chauvet Cave. It’s always possible that we’ll find something earlier (the Lubang Jeriji Saléh in Borneo is a good contender), but there’s something haunting about this item from tens of thousands of years ago.
Categories: Art Arts & recreation History Prehistory
The Generalist
I live in Auckland, New Zealand, and am curious about most things.
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