A sculpted piece of mammoth ivory may be the earliest representation of a bird in the archaeological record. The 30,000-year-old figurine, found at Hohle Fels Cave in Germany's Ach Valley, depicts what looks to be a diving cormorant with swept-back wings.
It was found with carvings of a similar style - one shaped like a horse's head; the other is half-animal, half-human.
Experts have told the journal Nature that the figurines are among the most exquisite examples of early human art.
It is not possible to say for sure which particular hominid species made the objects.
However, Professor Nicholas Conard, from the department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Tubingen University, who reports their discovery, says the sculptors were probably modern humans (Homo sapiens).
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