Articulated Human Figurine
Grave good
Brno type, Czech Republic
Central European Gravettian or Pavlovian
Around 26 000 years
More than 600 dentalium beads, a pierced stone disc, small rings and an ivory statuette of a man were found around the skeleton. It can be assumed that it was originally an articulated statuette with multiple parts.
K. Valoch, A. Leroi-Gourhan, Dictionnaire de la préhistoire, P.U.F, Paris, 1988
Commentary :
At Brno, in the Czech Republic, an ivory figurine representing a male individual, was discovered in a Gravettian burial dating back 26 000 years. It is composed of several body parts – arms, legs, head and torso – that were sculpted separately, and then assembled.
The figurine is deposited in the grave of a male, and is likely related to his social status and afterlife.
The fact that this statuette is equipped with joints to make it mobile, seems to be related to the bone pathology, from which the deceased suffered.
This male figurine is the oldest known articulated statuette.