The NEG II excavation near the Sea of Galilee revealed a 3.7 cm clay figurine dated to about 12,000 years ago that appears to depict the earliest known human–animal interaction. Fired at roughly 400°C, it preserves red pigment and the artisan’s fingerprint and was found in a semicircular ritual/burial feature. The scene shows a woman beside a live goose, linking dietary and symbolic roles and indicating early narrative art in Late Natufian communities. Researchers argue the object reflects growing symbolic complexity as people transitioned toward settled life.
12,000-Year-Old Figurine Near the Sea of Galilee Reveals Earliest Human–Animal Connection
The NEG II excavation near the Sea of Galilee revealed a 3.7 cm clay figurine dated to about 12,000 years ago that appears to depict the earliest known human–animal interaction. Fired at roughly 400°C, it preserves red pigment and the artisan’s fingerprint and was found in a semicircular ritual/burial feature. The scene shows a woman beside a live goose, linking dietary and symbolic roles and indicating early narrative art in Late Natufian communities. Researchers argue the object reflects growing symbolic complexity as people transitioned toward settled life.
09:02 AM, 11/20/2025Culture
Archaeologists excavating the Late Natufian site of Nahal Ein Gev II (NEG II), overlooking the Sea of Galilee, have uncovered a tiny clay figurine that appears to be the oldest known representation of a human interacting with an animal. The 3.7-centimeter sculpture dates to roughly 12,000 years ago and offers a rare glimpse into symbolic life at the threshold between mobile foraging and early settled communities.
Discovery and analysis
The figurine was recovered from within a semicircular stone feature that contained burials and other ceremonial deposits. Laboratory analysis published in PNAS, led by Dr. Laurent Davin with Professors Leore Grosman and Natalie Munro, shows the object was intentionally fired at about 400°C, suggesting deliberate control of heat and an early form of pyrotechnology. Traces of red pigment survive on both the human figure and the goose depicted beside her, and the maker’s fingerprint is preserved on the surface.
What the scene means
The figure pairs a woman with a live goose rather than portraying the bird as prey. Geese were a common food source for Late Natufian communities but also carried symbolic weight in ritual contexts—feathers and bone ornaments linked to geese have been found at other Natufian sites. The naturalistic depiction and narrative content of this tiny object suggest experimentation with representational art and symbolic storytelling well before the Neolithic era.
"This discovery is extraordinary on multiple levels," Dr. Laurent Davin said. "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."
Beyond its craftsmanship, the figurine opens a window on the spiritual and imaginative lives of people living during a critical transitional period, when communities were increasingly sedentary and social practices were becoming more complex.
Context: the Natufian world
The Natufian culture occupied parts of Southwest Asia between roughly 15,000 and 11,500 years ago and is widely recognized for shifting lifeways from mobility to greater settlement. Finds such as the NEG II figurine show that along with changes in subsistence, these communities were developing visual narratives and ritual behaviors that foreshadow later Neolithic traditions.