This is the third video in my new series on Ice Age cultures of Europe, people who lived tens of thousands of years earlier than those of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites of Ancient Anatolia, but with clear artistic ingenuity, with well-developed skills to make effective tools and hunting weapons, and an ability to carve objects including animal figurines and musical instruments.
They were not mere primitive hunter-gatherer cave men and women; they were people with real skills and a real culture. In my last two videos we looked at the lion man statue of Hohlenstein-Stadel cave, as well as the incredible animal figurines of Vogelherd, both sites being situated in the Swabian Jura Mountains of Southern Germany.
In this video we are looking at a relic from the nearby cave of Geißenklösterle, archaeologists found one the oldest human sculptures ever discovered in Europe and this is known as The Adorant.
It was found in 1979 and probably dates to between 32,000 and 35,000 years ago.
One side has been cut, smoothed and carved with a human form, and the other side and four edges were finely notched.
It is thought the notches have an astronomica significance. Some say they count three lunar cycles, but Dr Michael Rappenglueck believes they are counting the number of days the star Betelgeuse from the Orion constellation disappear from the night sky and that the figure is the world's oldest depiction of the Orion constellation.
Watch this video to learn more and how it could be related to astronomy, conception and birth, 33,000 years ago in Ice Age Europe.
All images are taken from Google Images and the below sources for educational purposes only.