In the following a selection infos from Wikipedia via Panthera spelaea - Wikipedia and some bits of commentary.
Panthera spelaea, commonly known as the cave lion is an extinct Panthera species that was native to Eurasia and northwest North America during the Pleistocene epoch.
Cave lions and bison depicted in the Chauvet Cave, France
The earliest fossils of the P. spelaea lineage in Eurasia date to around 700,000 years ago (with possible late Early Pleistocene records). It is closely related and probably ancestral to the American lion. The species ranged from Western Europe to eastern Beringia in North America, and was a prominent member of the mammoth steppe fauna, and an important apex predator across its range along with other large carnivores like cave hyenas, which cave lions came into conflict with.
Panthera spelaea interacted with both Neanderthals and modern humans, who used their pelts and, in the case of the latter, depicted them in artistic works.
Size comparison of various specimens attributed to the P. spelaea/fossilis lineage spanning from the early Middle Pleistocene to the end of the Late Pleistocene
Cave lions became extinct about 13,000 years ago as part of the end-Pleistocene extinction event, the precise cause of which is unknown, though climatic change, changes in prey abundance, and competition with other carnivores and humans have been suggested as possible causal factors.
Both Neanderthals and modern humans interacted with cave lions. Findings of cave lion phalanges (hand bones) in archaeological layers from Einhornhöhle in Germany, dating to at least 190,000 years ago, are suggested to represent remains of a skinned cave lion pelt that had been transported to the site by Neanderthals. At Scladina Cave in Belgium, dating to around 130,000 years ago, cave lion bones were fashioned into tools by Neanderthals that were used to retouch stone artifacts. At Siegsdorf in Germany, a cave lion skeleton dating to around 48,000 years ago has a puncture wound on the underside of a rib, suggested to have been produced when the cave lion was killed by a wooden spear thrust into its chest, again probably by Neanderthals, with cut marks found on other bones suggesting that it was subsequently butchered.
Following the arrival of modern humans into Europe into the Upper Paleolithic, they drew cave paintings of cave lions, engraved their likeness on bones and created sculptures of them, including the famous anthropomorphic lion-man (Löwenmensch) figure from Hohlenstein-Stadel cave in Germany dating to around 41-35,000 years ago with the body of a human and the head of a lion. Cave lion canines with perforated holes may have been worn as personal ornaments.
Copy of prehistoric engravings from Lascaux cave estimated to have been created around 17 000 years ago. This is vital art, which may have helped to educate the tribe about hunting, where to aim for, or what parts of the animal are best for preparation.
Decorated stones with engravings representing cave lions have been found in southern Italy. Modern humans also like Neanderthals utilized their pelts, as evidenced by phalanges found at the La Garma site in Spain dating to the Magdalenian, around 16,800 years ago. Some bones of cave lions found in Upper Paleolithic layers (such as the Aurignacian and Gravettian) of the Swabian Jura of southern Germany display cut marks and modification into tools, which may represent evidence of hunting, though evidence of hunting cave lions by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic is uncommon.
The Lion-Man Lion-man - Wikipedia
A similar but smaller lion-headed human figurine was found in Hohle Fels Archaeologist Nicholas Conard suggested that “the occupants of Hohle Fels in the Ach Valley and Hohlenstein-Stadel in the Lone Valley must have been members of the same cultural group and shared beliefs and practices connected with therianthropic images of felids and humans” and that “the discovery of a second Löwenmensch lends support to the hypothesis that Aurignacian people practised a form of shamanism.”
The figurine shares certain similarities with later French cave paintings, which also show hybrid creatures with human-like lower bodies and animal heads, such as the “Sorcerer” from the Trois Frères in the Pyrenees or the “Bison-man” from the Grotte de Gabillou in the Dordogne.
The lion-man has been tied to the Aurignacian - associated with Early European modern humans (EEMH) lasting from 43,000 to 26,000 years ago in most areas and lasting until about 17,000 years ago in Ukraine in the form of the Epi-Aurignacian.
One of the oldest examples of figurative art, the Venus of Hohle Fels, comes from the Aurignacian or Proto-Gravettian and is dated to between 40,000 and 35,000 years ago (though earlier figurative art may now be known, such as at the Lubang Jeriji Saléh site in Indonesia). It was discovered in September 2008 in a cave at Schelklingen in Baden-Württemberg in western Germany. The German Lion-man figure is given a similar date range. Aurignacian - Wikipedia
The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Last Glacial Coldest Period, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period where ice sheets were at their greatest extent between 26,000 and 20,000 years ago. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Europe, and Asia and profoundly affected Earth’s climate by causing a major expansion of deserts, along with a large drop in sea levels.
Commantary
The cave lion as the name suggests lived in caves, the same place where also the early humans and neanderthals lived. And this location was probably the most important constant in their lives during 40-35K yrs ago and even more so up until around 13K when temperatures were 5-10C lower than today.
The notion that the lion figures are a sign of shamanism appears reasonable, to help organize a tribe against the various unpredictable challenges. It may be an early sign of rituals, for important functions. The hybrid figure may even be a reference to our Neanderthal ancestors.
Modern Humans May Have More Neanderthal DNA Than Previously Thought https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-research-expands-neanderthals-genetic-legacy-modern-humans-180974099/
The market has a couple of lion hybrid models - but not yet models depicting the extinct larger lion species Panthera spelaea
- Lion Warrior Lion Warrior | Fab
- Animals Warrior Pack https://www.fab.com/listings/be0d1014-cd06-4fc8-a442-b107ee75b81f
- Lion Gladiator Lion Gladiator | Fab