Miniature, 40,000-year old ivory birds on display

Researchers say they have discovered two tiny ivory bird figurines in a cave in Germany, where early modern humans used tools to make Ice Age art, some 40,000 years ago.

The figurines, discovered in the Hohle Fels cave in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg, are set to join other mammoth ivory finds, including musical instruments, on display at the Blaubeuren Museum of Prehistory and Ice Age Art until April of next year.

One of the two birds measures just 2 centimetres in length, making it the smallest known Ice Age artwork found in the World Heritage region, according to the University of Tübingen and the Museum of Prehistory and Ice Age Art in Blaubeuren.

The discovery of the figurines was announced as the "find of the year" by Nicholas Conard, head of research in prehistoric and early history at the University of Tübingen and the museum.

"The latest finds consist of an almost complete depiction of a resting, perhaps brooding, bird and a depiction of a bird with outstretched wings, the left wing of which, however, is broken off and cannot be reattached due to missing parts," the announcement said.

The cave - one of several that form a UNESCO World Heritage Site - are some of the world's most important Palaeolithic sites. In 2008, researchers at the cave found the oldest known figurine of a human and the world's oldest known musical instrument.

The figurines were recovered from the lower layers of the Old Stone Age Aurignacian culture, which is dated to 40,000 years ago.

"At just under 1.3 and 0.7 grams, the two newly discovered ivory birds are true lightweights," Conard said.

What the birds meant to people at the time remains unclear. Were they personal talismans or group symbols of shared identity? It is also unknown why people 40,000 years ago were so preoccupied with birds at this particular site. A water bird was excavated there a quarter of a century ago.

At the other three sites of Ice Age artworks in the World Heritage area, animal depictions such as mammoths, cave lions and wild horses have been found - but not a single bird.