Cited by 270Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologyArchaeology and Rock Art StudiesArchaeological and Geological Studies

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Palaeolithic ivory sculptures from southwestern Germany and the origins of figurative art

Conard, Nicholas J.·2003·Nature

DOI 10.1038/nature02186

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Abstract

Archaeologists have always viewed the origin of figurative art as a crucial threshold in human evolution. Here I report the discovery of three figurines carved from mammoth ivory at Hohle Fels Cave in the Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany, which provides new evidence for the appearance of figurative art more than 30,000 years ago. The finds include the oldest known representation of a bird, a therianthropic sculpture and an animal that most closely resembles a horse. The Aurignacian sculptures of the Swabian Jura belong to one of the oldest traditions of figurative art known worldwide and point to the Upper Danube as an important centre of cultural innovation during the early Upper Palaeolithic period.

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Authors: Conard, N. J.
Affiliations: University of Tübingen (DE)
Corresponding author: Conard, Nicholas J.
ORCID: Conard, Nicholas J.
Venue: Nature
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published: 2003-12
Volume: 426
Issue: 6968
Pages: 830-832
ISSN: 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
1476-4687
DOI: 10.1038/nature02186
OpenAlex: W2091859378
Cited by: 270
References: 17
Citations by year: 2026: 11 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 14
FWCI: 56.19
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations: Nature (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
Social Sciences › Archeology › Archaeology and Rock Art Studies
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology (arts and humanities) › Archaeological and Geological Studies
Keywords: Swabian Jura, Aurignacian, horse depiction, Upper Palaeolithic, Upper Danube, cultural innovation, human evolution
MeSH terms: Animals, Archaeology, Birds, Cultural Evolution, Biological Evolution, Germany, Horses, Humans, Sculpture, Hominidae, History, Ancient

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Palaeolithic ivory sculptures from southwestern Germany and the origins of figurative art

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