This 12,000-Year-Old Artwork Shows An "Extraordinary" Moment In History And Human Creativity

This unassuming lump of clay may be an avant-garde masterpiece of the prehistoric age, centuries ahead of any other artwork.

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The 3.7-centimeter-tall (1.5-inch) artifact was discovered at Nahal Ein Gev II, an archaeological site in modern-day northern Israel near the Sea of Galilee. Dating to over 12,000 years, it was recently unearthed by archaeologists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Although it's become eroded and smooth over centuries of time, the researchers believe the object was once carved into the shape of a goose embracing a woman (see image below). If true, this means it represents the earliest known artwork showing a human-animal interaction, pushing back the concepts of artistic expression and symbolic imagination that had been thought to develop in the later Neolithic period. It's also the first naturalistic depiction of a woman in the region.

But the story might go even deeper. The figurine was crafted with skill, knowledge, and care. The study found it was modeled from local clay and heated at about 400°C (752°F), suggesting the epipaleolithic artist had mastered fire and pyrotechnology.

The researchers propose that the figurine depicts a scene from a mythological narrative rooted in an animistic belief system. If that interpretation is accurate, it would provide strong evidence of storytelling, symbolism, and complex cognitive thought in prehistoric society.

Humans have been creating art for at least 100,000 years, perhaps longer, slowly developing the ability to express increasingly complex ideas in stone, pigment, and clay. While there are many older artistic creations than the figurine from Nahal Ein Gev II, it is exceptional in its layers of artistry, symbolism, and craftsmanship, making it one of the most multifaceted prehistoric artifacts found in recent times

"This discovery is extraordinary on multiple levels," Dr Laurent Davin, leading author of the paper, said in a statement.

Its dating is also remarkable. Around 11,700 years ago, agriculture took root in the Fertile Crescent, while other regions around the globe were independently sowing the seeds of farming at the same time. Growing crops in set spaces created surpluses of food and reinforced the need to establish territories, two forces that allowed the emergence of more complex societies, centralized power, and great cities.

This period of radical change also saw the emergence of specialized skills. As communities shifted from a primarily hunter-gatherer lifestyle to more settled ways of living, people had more opportunities to focus on craftsmanship, artistry, and other areas of expertise. The Nahal Ein Gev II figurine sits squarely at this pivotal moment and acts as a beautiful artifact to express this cultural and technological transition.

“The NEG II figurine captures a transformative moment,” added Professor Leore Grosman of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “It bridges the world of mobile hunter-gatherers and that of the first settled communities, showing how imagination and symbolic thinking began to shape human culture.”

The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.