According to the newspaper The Siberian Times, the sensational discovery was made three months ago in the Denisova Cave, the place where the phalanx of a hitherto unknown human species, the Denisovan hominid, was found in 2010 by the team of archaeologists from the Novosibirsk Institute of Archeology and Ethnography.
The figurine, 42 millimeters long, 8 thick and 11 high, of a cave lion (Panthera spelaea ) dates from the Upper Palaeolithic, between 40,000 and 45,000 years ago, and was found in the 11th layer of the south gallery of the cave.
It should be remembered that so far 22 strata containing archaeological artifacts have been identified in Denisova Cave, dating back to about 125,000 to 180,000 years ago.
It is the oldest zoomorphic sculptural image ever found in Siberia and in the entire territory of North and Central Asia. If the dating given by Siberian archaeologists (40,000-45,000 years) is confirmed, it may be the oldest animal figure in the world.
The small sculpture is missing the lion's head, what we see are its hind legs, groin, back and belly, covered with eighteen rows of notches. There are two additional rows with four notches on the right side of the lion.
It represents an animal with its belly tucked in and its hind legs bent in an attitude of jumping or preparing to jump. The animal is shown in the typical position of big cats at the moment when they are ready to catch a prey said Mikhail Shunkov, head of the Institute's Stone Age Archeology Department.
The mammoth ivory from which the statuette is made comes from at least 100 kilometers away from the cave, from the northern passes of the Altai mountains.
Traces of red ocher have been found around the stomach area - supporting the idea that it could symbolize a wound - but researcher Alexander Fedorchenko believes the entire animal was most likely painted red.
In 2018 a pencil was discovered and a marble stone with traces of ocher dust in the same area where archaeologists later found the lion figurine.
It is unclear whether the figure represents a male or female lion, as well as its purpose. Archaeologists think it's too simplistic to assume it was a toy, but there's no evidence it could have been a cult object.
The researchers assume that its creator was a Denisovan, but according to Professor Shunkov Homo sapiens were already in Siberia 45,000 years ago, so it is very likely that they could have influenced the Denisovans .
What they are sure of is that the way it was made, the Denisovan cave lion is unlike anything previously found in the world.
The closest thing is the figures of lions in the Vogerfelt cave in southwestern Germany and in the caves of southwestern France.