View source for Lion-man

{{short description|Prehistoric ivory sculpture discovered in the Hohlenstein-Stadel, a cave in Germany}}
{{about|the prehistoric sculpture|other uses|Lion man (disambiguation){{!}}Lion man}}
{{pp-move|reason=undiscussed move by IP|small=yes}}
{{Infobox artefact
| image = Loewenmensch1.jpg
| material = [[ivory]]
| created = {{circa}} 40,000 years ago
| location = [[Museum Ulm]], [[Ulm]], [[Blaubeuren]], [[Baden-Württemberg|Baden-Wurttemberg]], [[Germany]]
| discovered_place = [[Asselfingen]], [[Baden-Württemberg|Baden-Wurttemberg]], [[Germany]]
| discovered_date = 25 August 1939
| name = Lion-man
| discovered_by = [[:de:Otto Völzing|Otto Völzing]]
}}
[[File:Loewenmensch2.jpg|thumb|Side view showing the transverse gouges on the left arm]]
The '''{{lang|de|Löwenmensch}} figurine''', also called the '''Lion-man of {{lang|de|Hohlenstein-Stadel|italic=no}}''', is a prehistoric ivory [[sculpture]] discovered in [[Hohlenstein-Stadel]], a German cave, part of the [[Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura]] [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]], in 1939. The German name, {{lang|de|Löwenmensch}}, meaning "lion-person" or "lion-human", is used most frequently because it was discovered and is exhibited in Germany. It is an anthropomorphic figurine combining a human-like body with the head of a [[Panthera spelaea|cave lion]].
Determined by [[Radiocarbon dating|carbon dating]] of the layer in which it was found to be between 35,000 and 41,000&nbsp;years old, it is one of the oldest-known examples of an [[figurative art|artistic representation]] and the oldest confirmed statue ever discovered.<ref>"Lion man takes pride of place as oldest statue" by Rex Dalton, ''Nature'' 425, 7 (4 September 2003) doi:10.1038/425007a also [http://www.nature.com/news/2003/030904/full/news030901-6.html Nature News 4 September 2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318075014/http://www.nature.com/news/2003/030904/full/news030901-6.html |date=18 March 2016 }}</ref> Its age associates it with the archaeological [[Aurignacian]] culture of the [[Upper Paleolithic]].<ref>{{cite web
|title={{sup|14}}C dating - The age of the lion man
|publisher=[[Museum Ulm]]
|place=[[Ulm, Germany]]
|language=de
|website=loewenmensch.de
|url=http://www.loewenmensch.de/figur_3.html
|access-date=2016-12-15
|archive-date=2023-01-27
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127211614/http://loewenmensch.de/figur_3.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref> An example of [[Zoomorphism|zoomorphic]] art, it was carved out of [[mammoth ivory]] using a [[flint]] stone knife. Seven parallel, transverse, carved gouges are on the left arm.
After several reconstructions that have incorporated newly found fragments, the figurine stands {{convert|31.1|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} tall, {{convert|5.6|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} wide, and {{convert|5.9|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} thick. It is currently displayed in the [[Museum Ulm]], in the city of [[Ulm]].
==History==
Systematic excavations at [[Hohlenstein-Stadel]] cave began in 1937 under the direction of historian [[:de:Robert Wetzel (Mediziner)|Robert Wetzel]].<ref>{{cite web
|title=Discovery: 1939
|series=Löwenmensch: Entdeckung
|language=de
|publisher=[[Museum Ulm]]
|place=[[Ulm]], DE
|url=http://www.loewenmensch.de/entdeckung_1939.html
|access-date=2016-12-14
|archive-date=2022-12-02
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202065028/https://www.loewenmensch.de/entdeckung_1939.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
The discovery of a fragmented [[mammoth]] [[ivory]] figurine was made on 25&nbsp;August 1939 by geologist [[:de:Otto Völzing|Otto Völzing]].<ref name="spieg" /> The start of [[World War II|World War 2]] just one week later meant that the [[fieldwork]] was left incomplete and analysis of the finds was not undertaken. The excavation trenches were back-filled with the same soil in which the ivory had been found.<ref name="Lobell-2012-03" /> For approximately thirty years, the fragments lay forgotten at the nearby [[Museum Ulm]]. It was not until archaeologist [[Joachim Hahn]] started an inventory and assembly of more than 200&nbsp;fragments that a figurine with animal and human features began to emerge.<ref name="Lobell-2012-03">{{cite journal
|first=Jarrett A.
|last=Lobell
|date=March 2012
|title=New life for the Lion Man
|volume=65
|issue=2
|journal=Archaeology
|url=http://archive.archaeology.org/1203/features/stadelhole_hohlenstein_paleolithic_lowenmensch.html
|access-date=2016-12-14
|archive-date=2023-04-05
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405041354/https://archive.archaeology.org/1203/features/stadelhole_hohlenstein_paleolithic_lowenmensch.html
|url-status=live
}}{{page needed|date=July 2021|reason=neccessary part of citing a work inside a journal or embedded in a book is giving the page where its found}}</ref>
Wetzel continued to spend summers digging at the site until 1961,<ref>{{cite web
|title=Discovery: 1956
|series=Löwenmensch: Entdeckung
|language=de
|publisher=[[Museum Ulm]]
|place=[[Ulm]], DE
|url=http://www.loewenmensch.de/entdeckung_1956.html
|access-date=2016-12-14
|archive-date=2022-12-02
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202051503/https://www.loewenmensch.de/entdeckung_1956.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref> and further finds of ivory were made on the cave floor in the 1970s. In 1982, paleontologist [[Elisabeth Schmid]] combined the new fragments with Hahn's reconstruction, correcting some errors and adding pieces of the nose and mouth which emphasized the figurine's feline characteristics.<ref name="Lobell-2012-03" />{{efn|The images at this reference:<ref>{{cite AV media
|title=Images of a preliminary lion-man reconstruction
|year=1980
|series=Löwenmenschen
|medium=photos
|url=http://donsmaps.com/images29/lionmenschhhh.jpg
|access-date=2016-12-15
|archive-date=2021-02-24
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224144649/https://www.donsmaps.com/images29/lionmenschhhh.jpg
|url-status=live
}}</ref> show how much has been achieved after years of painstaking reconstruction.<ref>
{{cite book
|author1=Adam, K.
|author2=Kurz, R.
|year=1980
|title=Eiszeitkunst im süddeutschen Raum
|language=DE
}}
</ref>}}
In 1987, a comprehensive restoration began in the workshops of the [[Landesmuseum Württemberg]] by Ute Wolf in cooperation with Schmid. During the work, which took more than six months, it was realized that the figurine was only about two-thirds complete. The back was severely damaged and the legs were missing some ivory [[Lamella (materials)|lamellae]]. The ears, eye-holes, two-thirds of the mouth and nose, and the back of the head were preserved. To fill gaps in the head and body, a reversible substance consisting of a mixture of beeswax, artificial wax, and chalk was used.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.loewenmensch.de/entdeckung_1987.html
|title=Discovery: 1987
|series=Löwenmensch: Entdeckung
|language=de
|publisher=[[Museum Ulm]]
|place=[[Ulm]], DE
|access-date=2016-12-14
|archive-date=2019-01-01
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101002716/http://www.loewenmensch.de/entdeckung_1987.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
From 2008, further excavations were carried out in the cave. All layers were sifted systematically, which led to many minute fragments being discovered. The first new adjustments were simulated virtually so that fragments could be added without having to disassemble the original recreation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.loewenmensch.de/entdeckung_2011.html |title=Discovery: 2011 |publisher=Ulm Museum |language=de |access-date=2016-12-14 |archive-date=2022-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202071403/https://www.loewenmensch.de/entdeckung_2011.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|This reference:<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://donsmaps.com/images24/lionladyreconst.jpg
|title=X-ray computed tomographs
|series=Löwenmenschen
|access-date=2016-12-14
|archive-date=2022-04-03
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403110354/https://www.donsmaps.com/images24/lionladyreconst.jpg
|url-status=live
}}</ref> shows the lion-man after restoration 1987–1988 with new fragments from the 2010 excavation (red) and free fragments from the stock of the museum (green).}}
In 2012, a second restoration was begun in the workshops of the State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments in Esslingen under the leadership of [[Nicole Ebinger-Rist]]. The figurine was disassembled into its individual parts and newly discovered fragments were added along with the old ones, allowing further completion of areas of the head, back, and right side of the body, and artificial additions used during the first restoration were discarded.<ref name="ulmer2013" /> The {{lang|de|Löwenmensch}} figurine grew in height from 296 to 311&nbsp;millimetres.<ref>{{cite news
|first=Henning
|last=Petershagen
|date=2 November 2013
|title=Löwenmensch ist gewachsen
|language=DE
|trans-title=The Lion-man has grown
|newspaper=Südwest Presse
|url=http://www.swp.de/ulm/lokales/ulm_neu_ulm/loewenmensch-ist-gewachsen-11005726.html
|access-date=15 December 2016
|archive-date=21 July 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721000033/http://www.swp.de/ulm/lokales/ulm_neu_ulm/loewenmensch-ist-gewachsen-11005726.html
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> Work was completed in late 2013.<ref name="ulmer2013">{{cite web
|url=http://www.loewenmensch.de/entdeckung_2013.html
|title=Discovery: 2011
|publisher=Ulm Museum
|series=Löwenmenschen
|language=de
|access-date=2016-12-14
|archive-date=2022-12-02
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202064655/https://www.loewenmensch.de/entdeckung_2013.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
==Interpretation==
Some researchers have ascribed sexual characteristics to the object. Initially, the figurine was classified as male by Hahn who suggested a plate on the abdomen could be a flaccid penis. Schmid later classified this feature as a pubic triangle;<ref name=spieg>{{cite news
|first=Matthias
|last=Schulz
|date=5 December 2011
|title=Puzzle im Schutt
|magazine=[[Der Spiegel]]
|place=[[Hamburg]], DE
|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-82612721.html
|access-date=14 December 2016
|archive-date=22 January 2017
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170122031418/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-82612721.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref> however, from examination of new parts of the sculpture, she proposed that the figurine was that of a woman with the head of a female [[Panthera spelaea|cave lion]] (''Panthera spelaea'').<ref name=Duckeck-2008-12-10-de>
{{cite web
|first=Jochen |last=Duckeck
|date=2008-12-10
|title=Der Löwenmensch
|series=Darlegen Archäologie [Explain Archaeology]
|website=showcaves.com |edition=German |language=de
|quote=Joachim Hahn hatte die Figur als männlich betrachtet. Elisabeth Schmid kam zu dem Schluß, dass es sich um die Figur einer Frau mit dem Kopf einer Höhlenlöwin handele.
|url=http://www.showcaves.com/german/explain/Archaeology/Loewenfrau.html
|access-date=2009-05-17 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090521210909/http://www.showcaves.com/german/explain/Archaeology/Loewenfrau.html
|archive-date=2009-05-21 |df=dmy-all
}}
</ref><ref name=Duckeck-2008-12-10-en>{{cite web
|first=Jochen
|last=Duckeck
|date=2008-12-10
|title=Lionheaded figurine
|series=explain Archaeology
|website=showcaves.com
|edition=English
|language=en
|url=http://www.showcaves.com/english/explain/Archaeology/Loewenfrau.html
|access-date=2009-05-17
|df=dmy-all
|archive-date=2001-05-30
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010530025549/http://www.showcaves.com/english/explain/Archaeology/Loewenfrau.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Male European cave lions appear to have largely or completely lacked the distinctive manes of their African counterparts, so the absence of a mane could not determine categorically that the figurine was that of a lioness, and a debate about its sex ensued among some involved in the research and the popular press. Kurt Wehrberger, of the [[Museum Ulm]], stated that the statue had become an "icon of the feminist movement".<ref name=spieg/>
After the 2012–2013 restoration, it was realized that the triangular platelet in the genital area was processed all around, separating it from the figurine. A fracture point suggests that originally it may have been square in shape, which most commonly could be interpreted as a stylized male sex organ.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sex?|url=http://www.loewenmensch.de/bedeutung4.html|series=Löwenmensch: Bedeutung|publisher=[[Museum Ulm]]|language=de|place=[[Ulm]], DE|access-date=2016-12-15|archive-date=2008-09-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914062131/http://www.loewenmensch.de/bedeutung4.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Debate continues, even though an objective determination of the sex of the {{lang|de|Löwenmensch}} figurine may be impossible.
The {{lang|de|Löwenmensch}} figurine lay in a chamber almost {{convert|30|m}} from the entrance of the Stadel cave, accompanied by many other objects. Bone tools and worked antlers were found, along with jewellery consisting of pendants, beads, and perforated animal teeth. The chamber was probably a special place, possibly used as a storehouse, hiding-place, or maybe as an area for cultic rituals.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Depot, hiding place, or cult place?
|series=Löwenmensch: Bedeutung
|language=de
|publisher=[[Museum Ulm]]
|place=[[Ulm]], DE
|url=http://www.loewenmensch.de/bedeutung2.html
|access-date=2016-12-15
|archive-date=2008-09-25
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925203722/http://www.loewenmensch.de/bedeutung2.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
A similar but smaller lion-headed human figurine was found in [[Hohle Fels]].<ref name=Conard-2003-Palaeolithic/> Archaeologist [[Nicholas Conard]] suggested that "the occupants of Hohle Fels in the Ach Valley and Hohlenstein-Stadel in the Lone Valley must have been members of the same cultural group and shared beliefs and practices connected with [[therianthropic]] images of [[felids]] and humans" and that "the discovery of a second {{lang|de|Löwenmensch|italic=no}} lends support to the hypothesis that [[Aurignacian]] people practised a form of [[shamanism]]."<ref name=Conard-2003-Palaeolithic/>
The figurine shares certain similarities with later French cave paintings, which also show hybrid creatures with human-like lower bodies and animal heads, such as the "[[The Sorcerer (cave art)|Sorcerer]]" from the [[Trois Frères]] in the Pyrenees or the "[[Bison-man (cave art)|Bison-man]]" from the [[Grotte de Gabillou]] in the Dordogne.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Animal and human being
|series=Löwenmensch: Bedeutung
|language=de
|publisher=[[Museum Ulm]]
|place=[[Ulm]], DE
|url=http://www.loewenmensch.de/bedeutung3.html
|access-date=2016-12-15
|archive-date=2008-09-25
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925203727/http://www.loewenmensch.de/bedeutung3.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite report
|last1        = Kind
|first1       = Claus-Joachim
|last2        = Ebinger-Rist
|first2       = Nicole
|last3        = Wolf
|first3       = Sibylle
|last4        = Beutelspacher
|first4       = Thomas
|last5        = Wehrberger
|first5       = Kurt
|title        = The smile of the Lion Man – recent excavations in Stadel Cave (Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany) and the restoration of the famous Upper Palaeolithic figurine
|publisher    = State Office for Cultural Heritage
|place        = [[Baden-Württemberg]], DE
|url          = http://www.quartaer.eu/pdfs/2014/2014_07_kind.pdf
|access-date  = December 22, 2019
|archive-date = August 22, 2017
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20170822143451/http://www.quartaer.eu/pdfs/2014/2014_07_kind.pdf
|url-status   = dead
}}</ref>
Debate exists as to whether the figurine depicts a lion or human-lion hybrid figure at all; with similarities to a standing bear, and the unreliable nature of the reconstructions cited.<ref>{{cite web
|last1=Clifford
|first1=Elle
|last2=Bahn
|first2=Paul
|title=A new view of the so-called'Lion-Man'
|date=19 March 2020
|publisher=World Archaeology
|url=https://www.world-archaeology.com/features/the-bear-necessities/
|access-date=19 December 2022
|archive-date=13 April 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413214543/https://www.world-archaeology.com/features/the-bear-necessities/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
==Manufacture==
The carving of the figurine from hard mammoth tusk would have been a complex and time-consuming task.{{efn|This reference:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://donsmaps.com/images29/lioncarvinginsitu.jpg |title=Image showing the positioning of the lion-man figurine within the original tusk |access-date=2016-12-15 |archive-date=2014-02-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209080105/http://donsmaps.com/images29/lioncarvinginsitu.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref> shows the position of the figurine inside the original tusk. Schmid found that the groin area coincided with the apex of the tusk's [[Pulp (tooth)|pulp cavity]]. "The long axis of the figure follows the nerve canal with the head at the narrowing end. This expert positioning suggests that the maker deliberately selected a portion of the tusk suitable for a preconceived work." (Cook, 2013)<ref name=cook/>}} A similarly sized tusk found in the same cave has marks that "indicate that the skin and thin bone around the tooth cavity of the upper jaw were cut through to the surface of the tooth, which was then exposed for detachment with a hammer. The tip was harder and had to be removed by wedging and splitting."<ref name=cook/>
Wulf Hein and Kurt Wehrberger conducted an [[Experimental archaeology|experimental]] replication with the kinds of stone tool available at the time. Removing the base of the tusk took ten hours. The body was carved with a steep-fronted scraper; the [[Burin (lithic flake)|burin]]s requiring regular resharpening. Several tools were needed to separate the torso from the insides of the arms while shaping the head and shoulders, which involved difficult cutting across the grain of the ivory, often requiring two hands on the tool. The basic shaping is estimated to have taken around 200&nbsp;hours, and in total the recreation likely took more than 370&nbsp;hours.{{efn|The Ulm Museum site says 360&nbsp;hours, Cook (2013)<ref name=cook/> says 320&nbsp;hours, whereas the video made by the team says 370+&nbsp;hours.}} Jill Cook, Curator of Palaeolithic collections at the British Museum, suggests that "unless the sculpture was created slowly at odd moments over several months, someone as skilled as an artist may have been excused from other subsistence tasks to work specially on this piece."<ref name=cook>{{cite book |author=Cook, J. |title=Ice Age art: Arrival of the modern mind |publisher=The British Museum |date=18 February 2013 |isbn=978-0714123332}}</ref>
In his October 2017 [[BBC Radio 4]] series ''[[Living with the Gods]]'', [[Neil MacGregor]] asked Cook
<blockquote>...&nbsp;so why would a community living on the edge of subsistence, whose primary concerns were finding food, keeping that fire going, protecting children from predators, allow someone to spend so much time away from those tasks?<ref name="BBC Living With The Gods"/></blockquote>
She replied that it was about
<blockquote>...&nbsp;a relationship to things unseen, to the vital forces of nature, that you need to perhaps propitiate, perhaps connect to, in order to ensure your successful life.<ref name="BBC Living With The Gods">{{cite episode |title=The Beginnings of Belief |series=Living with the Gods |credits=Presenter: [[Neil MacGregor]]; Producer: Paul Kobrak |network=BBC |station=[[BBC Radio 4]] |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b099xhmj |minutes=06:08 |air-date=23 October 2017 |access-date=23 October 2017 |archive-date=23 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023090126/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b099xhmj |url-status=live }}</ref></blockquote>
==See also==
;General stone age art topics:
* [[Art of the Upper Paleolithic]]
* [[List of Stone Age art]]
* [[Prehistoric art]]
;Examples of zoomorphic stone age art:
* [[Lascaux]]
* [[Caves in Cantabria#Hornos de la Peña|Bird-horse-man from Hornos de la Peña]]
* [[Vogelherd Cave#Vogelherd figurines|Vogelherd figurines]]
* [[Venus of Hohle Fels]]
;Related ancient history lion-headed figures:
* [[Arimanius]] – obscure lion-headed god in [[Mithraism]]
* [[Bastet]] – cat-headed goddess in [[Ancient Egypt]] (originally lion-headed)
* [[Sekhmet]] – lion-headed war goddess in [[Ancient Egypt]]
* [[Narasimha]] - lion-headed Hindu god, an avatar of  [[Vishnu]].
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
{{reflist|25em|refs=
<ref name=Conard-2003-Palaeolithic>
{{cite journal
|last=Conard |first=Nicholas J.
|date=2003
|title=Palaeolithic ivory sculptures from southwestern Germany and the origins of figurative art
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02186
|journal=Nature |language=en
|volume=426 |issue=6968 |pages=830–832
|doi=10.1038/nature02186 |pmid=14685236 |bibcode=2003Natur.426..830C
|s2cid=4349167
|issn=1476-4687
|url-access=subscription
}}
</ref>
}} <!-- end "refs=" -->
==Further reading==
* {{cite book
|editor=Ulmer Museum
|title=The Return of the Lion Man: History – myth – magic
|publisher=Ostfildern
|year=2013
|isbn=978-3-7995-0543-7
|postscript=;}}  museum edition: {{ISBN|978-3-7995-0544-4}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Löwenmensch|Lion-man}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.loewenmensch.de/lion_man.html |title=Lion Man |website=lowenmensch.de |publisher=[[Museum Ulm]] |place=[[Ulm]], DE}} — museum official Lion-Man website with information about the figurine
* {{cite web |url=https://www.donsmaps.com/lionlady.html |editor=Hitchcock, Don |website=Don's Maps |title=Der Löwenmensch |trans-title=The lion person}} — materials and photos of the figurine
* {{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgbvT9_pjzo |title=Lion Man 2.0 - The Experiment |medium=video |via=YouTube |lang=de}} — showing the manufacture of a replica using authentic tools, in German with English subtitles
* {{cite AV media
|people=presenter Neil MacGregor
|date=23 Oct 2017
|title=The Beginnings of Belief
|series=Living with the Gods
|id=series&nbsp;1, episode&nbsp;1
|department=[[BBC Radio 4]]
|publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation]]
|quote=Neil MacGregor begins his series on the role and expression of shared beliefs in communities around the world with the Lion Man, an ivory sculpture which is about 40,000&nbsp;years old. 15&nbsp;minute episode
|lang=en
|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b099xhmj
|access-date=2021-07-18 }}
{{Prehistoric technology| state=expanded}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowenmensch figurine}}
[[Category:Archaeology of Germany]]
[[Category:Archaeological discoveries in Germany]]
[[Category:Prehistoric sculpture]]
[[Category:Figurines]]
[[Category:Anthropomorphic lions]]
[[Category:Prehistoric art]]
[[Category:Art of the Upper Paleolithic]]
[[Category:Sculptures of lions]]
[[Category:Swabian Jura]]
[[Category:Archaeology in Europe]]
[[Category:1939 archaeological discoveries]]
[[Category:Ivory works of art]]