This thumb-sized ivory head, found in 1894 in the Grotte du Pape at Brassempouy in southwest France, is one of the earliest realistic human faces known. Carved about 25,000 years ago, it has a long neck, a straight nose and a strong brow, but no mouth. It was probably broken from a larger figure, and whether it shows a woman is uncertain.
Look closer
A grid of shallow cuts covers the head, read as a hood, a wig or braided hair. A vertical crack on the right follows the grain of the ivory.
Looks like this
Compared by a vision model
