What it is: Sculpture of a bird carved from mammoth ivory Where it is from: Hohle Fels cave, Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany When it was made: Around 40,000 years ago Related: Tumaco ...

What it tells us about the past: Archaeologists excavating Hohle Fels cave in southwestern Germany over two decades ago discovered three tiny figurines carved out of mammoth ivory. Dated to around ...

suggested that the animal was a water bird such as a diver, cormorant or duck. The other two ivory sculptures discovered at Hohle Fels at the same time included a carved head of a horse or cave ...