The Dolní Vĕstonice Portrait Head, a minuscule yet profound face carved from mammoth ivory, offers a glimpse into the distant past. Discovered in the 1920s at the archaeological site of Dolní Vĕstonice in the Czech Republic, this sculpture is believed to be the oldest surviving portrait of a person, dating back approximately 26,000 years. Crafted with stone tools during the Upper Paleolithic period, it stands as a testament to early human artistry and innovation.
The intricately carved head measures just 1.9 inches (4.8 centimeters) in height and 1 inch (2.4 centimeters) in width. A band of mammoth hunters who set up camp at Dolní Vĕstonice, now a quaint village near the southern Czech border, likely created this marvel. This site is renowned in Europe for its rich collection of artifacts from the Late Gravettian period, spanning 29,000 to 24,000 B.C.
Dolní Vĕstonice has yielded tens of thousands of ceramics, stone tools, and bone objects during extensive excavations over the past century. This abundance has earned it the nickname "Stone Age Pompeii." Among these treasures is the Dolní Vĕstonice Portrait Head, which is now displayed at the Anthropos Pavilion in Brno, Czech Republic.
The sculpture represents possibly the earliest personal portrait in human history. In 2018, researchers employed forensic techniques to reconstruct the woman's face from her skull and found a striking resemblance to the tiny ivory carving. Notably, the left eye of the sculpture is significantly smaller than the right, adding an intriguing detail to its mysterious history.
