Ever wondered what the oldest appearance of a person is? It would be incredible to see a photograph of one our forefathers. This is not a photograph, but a 3D model of the oldest human facial features. Archaeologists discovered the face of a human (or woman) during an excavation in Brassempouy in France, which was the late stone age. Some of the names it has received include Venus of Brassempouy or Lady of Brassempouy.
Édouard Piette, a French archaeologist, unearthed the Venus of Brassempouy. Researchers claim that the face of the woman was carved in mammothic ivory. It is 3.65 cm high, 1.9 cm wide, and over 2 cm deep. It is thought to be a 25,000 year-old artifact, the oldest known human description and has a forehead, nose and head, but no mouth.
The sides and top of Egyptian-style braids are trimmed. Carver has added realistic facial details making it a unique work of art. Unfortunately, the rest her body was destroyed by time.
Venus of Brassempouy, dated around 23000 BC, is from the Gravettian period of Upper Paleolithic age, the last part of Stone Age.
Other Venus figurines (Upper Palaeolithic statuettes) were made simultaneously with Venus in Doln Vestonice, Venus in Willendorf (Austria), Venus at Lespugue (France), Venus at Savignano and Venus bas-relief of Laussel (France).
The Venus of Brassempouy collection is housed at a lovely museum in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, called the National Archaeological Museum, and is generally only open to the public during short Stone Age art shows.
The House of Ladies in Brassempouy has the replica, along with replicas of other figurines found at Grotte du Père, as well other well-known Paleolithic artifacts and culture such as the Venus of Willendorf or Lespugue.
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