We think, and we believe you will all agree with us, that art has been here on earth for far longer than we ever thought possible. The oldest drawing that was found is a hashtag, literally a #, and ancient, archaic art forms have been present for thousands of years. Then it would come as no surprise that even when humans hunted for living and nourishment, that is, even when our ancestors were true cavemen, they could not make do without their artsy side. This has been proven right on numerous occasions, and today, the oldest sculpture of the horse is here to reaffirm our belief. Called the Vogelherd Horse sculpture, this small and ancient horse sculpture is 32,000 to 35,000 years old.
That practically means nearly 400 generations before us sculpted this stallion!
Located in the eastern Swabian Jura, south-western Germany, the Vogelherd cave is supposed to have been a place where humans gathered to eat their latest hunt, after catching their prey during an extensive hunting expedition. The wild horse has been carved from mammoth ivory, and belongs to a wider collection of ivory carvings of mammoths, bison, lions and a snow leopard.
The Vogelherd Horse sculpture measures a mere 2.5cm×4.8cm×0.8cm, but the details on his face like the eyes, the nostrils and the mouth show the artistic prowess of our super ancestors.
The horse sculpture that we see now is only a part of a more well-rounded bearing, because flaking has shortened its legs and reduced its width. Still, what we see is astounding. The stallion has been represented with alert ears, an arched back, and cross diagonal incisions represent its mane.
Looks to us like it’s ready to get going!
Read about the 10 coolest artifacts we know of.
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