Scientists have unearthed a 12,000-year-old clay figurine from an ancient site in Israel that reveals pre-neolithic people engaged in early use of “pyrotechnology” before ancient humans organized into the first societies.
The research team behind the potentially historic discovery, made at a site overlooking the Sea of Galilee, says the ancient figurine—depicting a woman and a goose in what appears to be a mythological or ritual scene—is also the first known statuette depicting human-animal interaction.
The team also says the figurine’s subject matter and method of manufacture, having been baked to 400 degrees Celsius, suggest a potentially pivotal moment in symbolic, artistic, and spiritual expression, as well as an early understanding of the process of firing clay.
“This discovery is extraordinary on multiple levels,” says Dr. Laurent Davin, leading author of the paper detailing the team’s research. “Not only is this the world’s earliest figurine depicting human-animal interaction, but it’s also the earliest naturalistic representation of a woman found in Southwest Asia.”
12,000-Year-Old Figurine Reveals Unexpectedly Early Use of Pyrotechnology
According to a statement, Davin’s team discovered the 12,000-year-old figurine in the ‘fill’ of a semicircular stone structure containing burials and ceremonial deposits at the Late Natufian site of Nahal Ein Gev II, near the Sea of Galilee, during a series of excavations. The Natufian culture, which existed from approximately 15,000 to 11,500 years ago, marks a transitional period between ancient nomadic foragers and the world’s first settled communities.
At only 3.7 centimeters tall, the figurine was modeled in clay made from local materials. A closer analysis of the figurine revealed the clay had been heated to roughly 400°C. The team said this discovery suggests that the figurine’s maker engaged in the control of simple pyrotechnology in the heating processes required for its crafting, which archaeologists previously assumed had not been used during this early period in human history.
Project leader Prof. Leoore Grosman and Prof Natalie Munro from the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem also performed microscopic and chemical analyses of the figurine, with some unexpected results.
According to the statement, the chemical analysis revealed the presence of red pigment residues in the form of ochre on the woman and the goose. The microscopic analysis identified a surprisingly well-preserved fingerprint on the figurine’s base. The team suspects the ancient fingerprint was likely left by a “young adult or adult female artisan.”
More Than a Simple Act of Daily Life
A closer physical examination revealed that the figurine depicted a woman crouching beneath a goose positioned on her back, details suggesting the figurine represents “more than a simple act of daily life.”
Instead, the presence of a goose, a common component of the Natufian diet, shown alive rather than hunted, suggests a symbolic meaning, such as a mythological encounter. The team said this interpretation would be “consistent with animistic beliefs” of the Natufian culture that saw humans and animals as spiritually interconnected.
The team also found faunal remains at the site that reinforced the connection between geese and Natufian ritual life. For example, goose feathers were used for decoration, and certain of the animal’s bones were made into ornaments.
The researchers suggest this connection “points to an early mythic imagination, a symbolic vocabulary that later blossomed in Neolithic cults and figurative traditions across Southwest Asia.”
Foreshadowing Artistic Innovations That Would Not Fully Flourish Until the Neolithic
Along with the unexpectedly early use of pyrotechnology, the team’s analysis identified several artistic techniques employed by the 12,000-year-old figurine’s sculptor that were remarkably advanced for their time. For example, the ancient sculptor used light and shadow to create depth and perspective, “foreshadowing artistic innovations that would not fully flourish until the Neolithic.”
“The NEG II figurine captures a transformative moment,” Prof. Grosman said. “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 research team notes that the artist’s choice to combine naturalism, light manipulation, and symbolic imagination into one time sculpture “reveals how early communities used art to explore the relationship between humans and the natural world.”
“Beyond its craftsmanship, the piece embodies the earliest seeds of myth, storytelling, and spiritual connection, articulated in clay by hands that lived millennia before the rise of civilization,” they explained. “The discovery reveals that long before agriculture, these early villagers were already experimenting with narrative art, symbolic expression, and clay modeling techniques.”
The study “A 12,000-year-old clay figurine of a woman and a goose marks symbolic innovations in Southwest Asia” was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.