A 12,000-year-old fired-clay figurine from Nahal Ein Gev II in northern Israel appears to depict a goose and a squatting woman. The 3.7 cm object, made from a single block and found in three pieces, was hearth-fired and painted red. Researchers favor a symbolic interpretation — possibly a mythic human–animal mating scene — and note a partial fingerprint that may indicate a female maker. Found in a burial sector alongside other unique deposits, the piece points to complex symbolic and animistic beliefs among Natufian communities before the Neolithic.
12,000-Year-Old Natufian Figurine from Israel Depicts Goose and Woman — A Possible Early Mythic Scene
A 12,000-year-old fired-clay figurine from Nahal Ein Gev II in northern Israel appears to depict a goose and a squatting woman. The 3.7 cm object, made from a single block and found in three pieces, was hearth-fired and painted red. Researchers favor a symbolic interpretation — possibly a mythic human–animal mating scene — and note a partial fingerprint that may indicate a female maker. Found in a burial sector alongside other unique deposits, the piece points to complex symbolic and animistic beliefs among Natufian communities before the Neolithic.
10:48 AM, 11/18/2025Culture
12,000-Year-Old Natufian Figurine Sheds Light on Early Symbolic Thought
Archaeologists have identified a small fired-clay figurine from the Natufian site of Nahal Ein Gev II in northern Israel that appears to show a goose and a squatting human figure in close contact. The sculpted object, recovered in three fragments, measures about 1.5 inches (3.7 cm) tall, was hearth-fired and coated with a red mineral pigment.
"When I took this small block of clay out of its box, I immediately recognized the human figure and then the bird lying on its back," said Laurent Davin of Hebrew University, one of the study authors.
The figurine was modeled from a single block of clay and displays detailed features: an incised triangular mark interpreted as a female pubic region, paired oval impressions suggesting breasts, and a bird whose wings sweep backward to partly envelop the human form. Animal remains from the site indicate that geese were present and used by Natufian people, supporting the identification of the bird.
Researchers considered a practical interpretation — a hunter carrying a dead bird — but favor a symbolic reading. The posture of the human (a forward-leaning squat) and the apparent vitality of the bird led the team to propose the scene may represent a mythological or shamanic human–animal interaction, possibly a goose mounting a female figure. Such human–animal unions appear in myths around the world and may reflect animistic beliefs.
Notably, the clay bears a partial fingerprint; ridge-density analysis against modern reference samples suggests the artisan who shaped the piece was likely female. The figurine was found in an area of the site used for burial and special deposits, including a child interment and a cache of human teeth, which together hint at ritual or symbolic behaviors.
Significance: The find may be the earliest known representation of a woman in southwestern Asia and one of the oldest figurative depictions of human–animal interaction in the region. It suggests that complex symbolic imagery and animistic or mythological thinking were present among Natufian communities before the later Neolithic transition to farming and full sedentism.
Publication: The researchers published their analysis in PNAS (Nov. 17). Study authors include Laurent Davin and Leore Grosman of Hebrew University of Jerusalem.