The World’s Oldest Ivory Sculpture

A carving of a reclining, voluptuous woman found in Germany’s Hohle Fels cave is dated to 35,000 years old is, for now at least, the world’s oldest ivory sculpture of a human figure.

Discovered in 2009, the little sculpture is about 2.4 inches (6 centimeters) long and has no head or feet. It bears a remarkable resemblance to the famous Venus figurines which have been found from the Pyrenees mountains to as far east as southern Russia, although those sculptures only date to about 25,000 to 29,000 years ago.

The little figurine was found in six fragments and has a loop near where the head should be. The left arm is missing but its discoverers hope to find it during further excavation work in the cave. It was likely designed to be worn as a pendant.

Because of the close resemblance between this ancient Venus and the hundreds of younger examples found across Europe, some experts believe it may represent the early beginnings of the "goddess" tradition which continued for many thousands of years. Others believe that since so much time had passed between the Hohle Fels sculpture and the much later figurines, the Hohle Fels sculpture is probably not related by tradition to the younger examples.

Hohle Fels cave and other nearby caves have yielded a variety of rich archaeological treasures, including carved ivory beads and pendants, along with other small ivory carvings of mammoths, bison, lions, horses and birds, along with two half-animal, half human figures.

If you’d like to see a few pictures of this little gem, go here