Lowenmensch, a lion-headed person, found in Germany, has been dated to 35,000 to 40,000 BCE, making it the oldest sculpture so far known. Carved out of mammoth ivory, it is found in a cave at Hohlenstein-Stadel, part of an Upper Palaeolithic Cultue, the Auringnacian.

The sculpture, preserved in a museum in Ulm town, is 31.1 cm high. There is a dispute about whether it is a male or female.

A similar, slightly smaller figurine has been found at Hohle Fels, also the site of a carved female figurine, known as the Venus of Hohle Fels. These figurines also belong to the Upper Palaeolithic.

Was it a deity or some kind of Shamanic emblem?

Lion-headed deities of later times are known from several cultures. Among them:

Sekhmet: goddess of ancient Egypt.

Narasimha: Avatar of the god Vishnu in Hinduism.

The Auringnacian culture in Europe and Asia, is estimated to begin around 46,000 BCE, and is known for bone and flint tools, elaborate cave paintings as in the Chauvet Cave in France, animal and other figurines, and even jewellery.

Hohle Fels also has the earliest bone flute, while the Vogelherd cave in Germany has animal figurines, including of horses.

The sequence of cultures was:

Mousterian

Auringnacian and Perigordian

Solutrean.