This piece is much different than the other lion pieces. This "Lion Man", or "Lion Woman" is a very mysterious piece from roughly 30,000 years ago, in 28,000 BCE. Very little is known about this piece, and very little can be interpreted. It is the oldest known animal- shaped sculpture in the world, but it is also an anthropomorphic piece, combining both human and animal form into one sculpture. This piece may have represented a diety to the people who created it, and there has been some debate over whether or not it is male or female. People have argued that it is female because it has no mane, however, in European cave paintings from the time, both male and female lions have no mane, unlike the classic African lion, which has a very large one.
When this piece was originally found, it had no head, and it appeared to simply be a representation of a human, but through further exploration, pieces were found which formed the head. It is usually photographed from the right side, since it's arm hasn't been found or attached. The proportions are also very strange. It has short arms, a long torso, and very tiny feet. Little is known about this piece, and so all we know is what is shown to us. The context has caused more confusion than certainty by making the lion's gender unclear. The best we can do at this point is guess at it's original meaning or purpose.
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