Revealing the true visage: the mystery of the ancient human portrait has been unveiled (photo).

In the 1920s, archaeologists unearthed a 26,000-year-old artifact made from mammoth ivory at a prehistoric site in the Czech Republic. This small carving, measuring 4.8 cm in height and 2.4 cm in width, is considered the oldest known portrait of a human, reports Live Science.

The sculpture depicts a human face with distinct features, including engraved eyes, a dimple on the chin, as well as a prominently defined nose and mouth.

Some researchers suggest that the figure may be adorned with a headdress or have styled hair. Unlike other figurines from this site, such as the Venus of Věstonice, this carved figure seemingly represents a specific individual.

The settlement of Dolní Věstonice, located at the southern border of the Czech Republic, was once home to a group of mammoth hunters during the Upper Paleolithic period. Excavations in the last century have uncovered a substantial collection of artifacts, including stone tools, pottery, and bone items.

Due to the wealth of archaeological finds, this area is sometimes referred to as the "Pompeii of the Stone Age." In 1949, researchers discovered the burial of a middle-aged woman adorned with red ochre and fox teeth.

Her skull exhibited asymmetrical features, likely due to an injury sustained in early childhood. A forensic reconstruction of her face in 2018 revealed a striking resemblance to the discovered artifact, whose left eye is smaller than the right.

Dolní Věstonice is notable for its Late Gravettian artifacts (29,000-24,000 years ago), particularly some of the oldest pottery ever found.

We also covered the unknown Etruscan tombs that researchers excavated in Italy.