|
Lion - Cultural
Depictions |
|
|
|
Lions have been an important symbol for thousands of years
and appear as a theme in cultures across Europe, Asia, and
Africa. Despite the recorded incidents of attacks on
humans, lions enjoy positive depiction in popular culture
as creatures that appear strong, but gentle at the same
time. The most consistent depiction is in keeping with
their image of "king of the jungle" or "king of the
beasts", hence lions are popular symbols of royalty and
stateliness and a symbol of bravery. |
The earliest recorded depictions of lions can be found in some
of the earliest paleolithic human cave art possibly dating to
32,000 years ago in the Chauvet Cave in the Ardèche region of
southern France, where lionesses are depicted hunting for the
pride in much the same strategy as contemporary lions. Some
have proposed a more conservative estimate in line with the
better known cave paintings of Lascaux, that are 15,000 years
old. In the Lascaux, two lions were depicted mating in the
Chamber of Felines. The ivory carving from Vogelherd cave in
the Swabian Alb in southwestern Germany has been determined to
be about 32,000 years old from the Aurignacian culture.
|
|
