The Aurignacian technocomplex marks the earliest widespread cultural horizon of anatomically modern humans in Europe, emerging around 43,000 BP and lasting until approximately 33,000 BP. Geographically expansive, it extended from the Levant and Central Europe into Western Europe, including France, Germany, and Austria. It is defined by distinctive lithic technologies (notably carinated scrapers and blade production), personal ornaments, bone and antler tools, and early examples of symbolic behaviour. The Aurignacian is particularly notable for producing the earliest known three-dimensional anthropomorphic representations, including the Venus of Hohle Fels in Germany, carved from mammoth ivory. This figurine, dated to at least 35,000 BP, represents the earliest securely dated Venus figurine and underscores the Aurignacian’s central role in the emergence of Palaeolithic art and symbolism (Conard, 2009; Teyssandier, 2008).
