The first excavation took place in 1870, yielding remnants of
cave bears,
reindeer,
mammoths and
horses as well as tools belonging to the
Aurignacian culture of the
Upper Paleolithic. Further excavations during 1958 to 1960, 1977, and 2002 yielded a number of spectacular finds, including several specimens of
prehistoric sculpture such as an ivory bird and a human-lion
hybrid figure similar to the
Löwenmensch figurine but only 2.5 cm tall. In 2005, one of the oldest
phallic representations was discovered. In 2008, a team from the
University of Tübingen, led by archaeologist
Nicholas Conard, discovered an artifact known as the
Venus of Hohle Fels, dated to about 35,000 to 40,000 years ago. This is the earliest known
Venus figurine and the earliest undisputed example of expressly human
figurative art. In 2012, it was announced that an earlier discovery of bone flute fragments in
Geißenklösterle Cave now date back to about 42,000 years, instead of 37,000 years, as earlier perceived. In 2020 a 20-centimetre long, 40,000 year old mammoth tusk with a line of four holes drilled into it was interpreted as being a device for making
rope. Grooves around each hole would have held plant fibres in place. The instrument was found near the base of the
Aurignacian deposits at Hohle Fels by a team led by
Nicholas Conard of the institute of archaeological sciences at the
University of Tübingen. Veerle Rots, of the
University of Liège in Belgium was able to make four twisted strands of twine, using a bronze replica of the Hohle Fels cave device, an example of
reconstruction archaeology. A similar 15,000 years old device, made of reindeer antler, was found in
Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset and at many other sites. The existence of these tools at different locations indicates rope-making had already become an important human activity by the
Upper Paleolithic.
Chris Stringer, Research Leader in Human Origins at the
Natural History Museum, London, said, "These devices were called
batons and were originally thought to have been carried by chiefs as badges of rank. However, they had holes with spirals round them and we now realise they must have been used to make or manipulate ropes." The ropes could then have been used to construct fishing nets, snares and traps, bows and arrows, clothing and containers for carrying food. Heavy objects, such as sleds, could now be hauled on ropes while spear points could be lashed to poles. ==Archaeogenetics==