The Stitched Man of Grotta del Genovese

Hidden away on the island of Levanzo, in the Aegadian Islands, lies the Grotta del Genovese, home to astonishing remnants of Sicily's prehistoric age, dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period. Inside the cave, the walls are adorned with images of Quaternary animals, like red deer, aurochs, and hydrontin, as well as human figures with bird-head masks and headdresses.

The most intriguing figure is a man wearing what appears to be a stitched jacket and a remarkable, elongated and convex headdress. Bracelets can be seen on his arms. Beside him are two other figures, one with a bird head or mask, possibly in a dancing position, and the other in motion, with a hairstyle similar to the central figure. It is not yet known whether this depicts a ritual dance or a prayer before the hunt.

Carbon-14 datings based on stratigraphic analysis indicate an age of 9230 BCE (Advanced Epigravettian). This dating was made possible by the presence of a significant limestone fragment with an engraved bovid, in a style very similar to the mural representations. The cave is open to visitors, and admission is charged.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons