Non-Invasive Trace Element Fingerprinting of the Lion Man, a Left Mammoth Tusk and Mammoth Ivory Fragments Found at the Hohlenstein-Stadel Cave, Swabian Alb, Germany

The Lion Man sculpture (UNESCO World heritage), a left mammoth tusk and mammoth ivory fragments from the excavations in the Hohlenstein-Stadel cave, Lone valley, Swabian Alb, Germany, were non-invasively analysed by means of external ion beam analysis (IBA) at the microfocus beamline at the particle accelerator AGLAE. The Lion Man was reconstructed from about three hundred mammoth ivory fragments, while the tusk is a separate find, and the fragments are individual pieces that could not be placed in the Lion Man. A characteristic trace element fingerprint, based on zinc, bromine and strontium contents, was established according to previous IBA studies of Aurignacian-era mammoth ivory and allowed for a comparison of the mammoth ivory objects. The specific Hohlenstein-Stadel cave trace element fingerprint could be distinguished from that of other Aurignacian sites in Europe but closely resembles that of the contemporary ivories from the neighbouring Hohle Fels cave. Although this study highlights that the Lion Man sculpture is chemically inhomogeneous due to diagenetic alterations, the left tusk and individual ivory fragments are chemically very similar to the Lion Man. However, further analyses are required to relate them to the same animal. Secondary minerals such as black manganese oxide dendrites and iron-rich aluminosilicates could be identified on the Lion Man and the other ivory objects at the surface. While dendrites are a characteristic diagenetic feature of mammoth ivory, the origin of iron-rich aluminosilicates can be linked either to sediment traces or surface treatment and use wear of the sculpture. Iron-rich zones are identified on particular parts of the Lion Man, namely, at the snout and at the left forearm with decorative signs. The snout is also particularly enriched in carbon, whose origin still needs to be clarified.