Tiny ivory birds illuminate the cognitive leap behind Ice Age Europe’s expansion
Archaeologists at Hohle Fels Cave in Germany uncovered 40,000-year-old mammoth-ivory bird figurines and vulture-bone flute fragments, joining the Venus of Hohle Fels and Lion Man as evidence of Aurignacian artistry; the craftsmanship and symbolism suggest cognitive and cultural advances that may have helped early Homo sapiens flourish across Ice Age Europe, with sediment DNA tests planned to explore the drivers of this artistic flowering.