Early symbolism in the Ach and the Lone valleys of southwestern Germany

The two cave sites of Hohle Fels in the Ach Valley and Vogelherd in the Lone Valley in southwestern Germany have yielded hundreds of personal ornaments and graphic symbolic expressions from the Aurignacian. They are mainly made of mammoth ivory and are among the earliest symbolic expressions worldwide. In this study, we examine the differences and similarities in the symbolic expressions among personal ornaments and symbolic markings from both sites. These finds allow a detailed view of the Aurignacian society in the Swabian Jura and the beginning of modern symbolic behavior.