The latest figurine recovered from Hohle Fels was discovered in September 2008, and reported in Nature on May 14, 2009. It is this nearly complete Venus figurine, and it was discovered broken into six separate pieces, about 3 meters below the modern floor of the cave.
The pieces of this venus figurine were recovered from the sixth and earliest Aurignacian levels at Hohle Fels, and Conard believes—although radiocarbon dates are somewhat shaky in the Swabian Jura—that the level dates to the earliest Aurignacian, or possibly as long ago as 40,000 years. The oldest venus figurine that I'm aware of is from Dolni Vestonice, from about 28,000-31,000 years ago.
Sources and Further Information
- Conard, Nicholas J. 2009 A female figurine from the basal Aurignacian of Hohle Fels Cave in southwestern Germany. Nature 459(7244):248-252
- Hohle Fels, site description
- Venus Figurines, a definition
- Prehistoric Pinup, video on the Nature website
- Conard, Nicholas J. 2003 Palaeolithic ivory sculptures from southwestern Germany and the origins of figurative art. Nature 426:830-832.
- Hardy, Bruce L., Michael Bolus, and Nicholas J. Conard 2008 Hammer or crescent wrench? Stone-tool form and function in the Aurignacian of southwest Germany. Journal of Human Evolution 54(5):648-662
