Dinesh

Dinesh club

Posted: 27 Oct 2023


Taken: 27 Oct 2023

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From
Humanimal
Book
Author
Adam Rutherford


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The Lion Man of Hoblenstein-Stadel

The Lion Man of Hoblenstein-Stadel

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 Dinesh
Dinesh club
And then there is the ‘Lowenmensch’ – the Lion Man of the Hohlestein-Stadel. In the hills between Nuremberg and Munich in Swabian Germany there are caves that have yielded one of the most important works ever crafted by an unknown artist. Around 40,000 years ago, a woman or man sat somewhere in or near that cave, with the detritus of a hunt scattered around. They took a piece of ivory, a tusk from a wooly mammoth, and carefully considered that it might be the right material, shape and size for something that they had been pondering. Now extinct, cave lions were fierce predators at that time, posing a threat to people, and also to the animals that people would hunt and eat. That person thought about the lions, and how formidable they are, and maybe wondered what it would be like to have the power of a lion in the body of a human. Maybe this tribe revered the cave lions out of fear and awe. Whatever the reason, this artist took that mammoth ivory, a flint knife, and patiently carved the tusk into a mythical figure. ~ Page 179

The first of these that we know of is the ‘Lowenmensch’. It is an extraordinary piece of work, around twelve inches tall, the figure of a man with a lion's head and an important piece in understanding our evolution. Of the artist, it shows profound skill, fine motor control and foresight in selecting the right bone and having a plan to carve this figure. It shows an understanding of nature, and reverence of the animals in the ecosystem that impact upon the lives of those people. Crucially it shows a willingness to imagine a thing that does not exist. ~ Page 181

HUMANIMAL
7 months ago. Edited 7 months ago.
 Dinesh
Dinesh club
Lowenmensch
7 months ago.

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