Lion-man

Lore & Background

Systematic excavations at Hohlenstein-Stadel cave began in 1937 under historian Robert Wetzel. The fragmented figurine was discovered on 25 August 1939 by geologist Otto Völzing, but the start of World War II left fieldwork incomplete and the fragments forgotten at Museum Ulm for about thirty years. Archaeologist Joachim Hahn later inventoried and assembled over 200 fragments, revealing a figurine with both animal and human features. Further fragments were found in the 1970s, and paleontologist Elisabeth Schmid combined them with Hahn's reconstruction in 1982, adding pieces of the nose and mouth that emphasized feline characteristics. A comprehensive restoration in 1987 by Ute Wolf and Schmid showed the figurine was only about two-thirds complete; gaps were filled with a reversible mixture of beeswax, artificial wax, and chalk. In 2008, new excavations yielded minute fragments, and virtual simulations allowed adjustments without disassembling the original. A second restoration from 2012 to 2013 under Nicole Ebinger-Rist disassembled the figurine, added newly discovered fragments, and discarded artificial additions, increasing its height from 296 to 311 millimeters.

Reader's Guide

The Lion-man is significant as one of the earliest known examples of artistic representation and the oldest confirmed statue, providing insight into the symbolic and possibly spiritual life of Aurignacian people. Its hybrid human-lion form suggests complex beliefs, possibly related to shamanism or cultic rituals, as the figurine was found in a chamber nearly 30 meters from the cave entrance, accompanied by bone tools, worked antlers, and jewelry. Debate continues about its sex: initially classified as male by Hahn, later interpreted as female by Schmid, and after the 2012–2013 restoration, a triangular platelet in the genital area was found to be separated from the figurine, with a fracture point suggesting it may have been a stylized male sex organ. The figurine's manufacture from hard mammoth tusk was time-consuming; an experimental replication took over 370 hours, indicating that the sculptor may have been excused from subsistence tasks. A similar smaller lion-headed figurine from Hohle Fels supports the hypothesis that Aurignacian people shared beliefs and practices connected with therianthropic images. The Lion-man also shares similarities with later French cave paintings of hybrid creatures, though some debate whether it depicts a lion or human-lion hybrid at all, citing similarities to a standing bear and the unreliable nature of reconstructions.

Did You Know?

• The figurine was discovered on 25 August 1939, just one week before the start of World War II, causing fieldwork to be left incomplete.
• Seven parallel, transverse, carved gouges are on the left arm of the figurine.
• After the 2012–2013 restoration, the figurine's height grew from 296 to 311 millimeters.
• An experimental replication of the figurine using flintstone tools took more than 370 hours.