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Ancient figurine reveals earliest known human-animal mythology and animistic beliefs
Archaeologists have uncovered a remarkable 12,000-year-old clay figurine depicting a woman and a goose, offering the earliest known representation of human-animal interaction in prehistoric Southwest Asia. Unearthed at the Late Natufian site of Nahal Ein Gev II near the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, the figurine provides profound insight into early symbolic and spiritual expression during a transformative period when hunter-gatherers began settling into communities.
The clay sculpture, standing just 3.7 centimeters tall, portrays a crouching woman with a goose perched on her back in a position suggestive of mating. Rather than depicting a hunting scene, researchers interpret this as a mythological or animistic narrative illustrating a symbolic union between human and animal spirits. This discovery marks the earliest naturalistic figurine of a woman in the region and signals an early mastery of clay modeling and pyrotechnology, as the piece was fired at around 400 degrees Celsius.
Found within a semicircular stone structure alongside burials and ceremonial deposits, the figurine dates to a time when Natufian culture was transitioning from nomadic foraging to settled life, foreshadowing the agricultural societies of the Neolithic. The presence of red ochre pigments and a possibly female fingerprint on the artifact further illuminate the cultural context and craftsmanship involved.
Experts highlight the figurine’s significance as a bridge between mobile hunter-gatherer societies and the earliest settled communities, capturing the origins of mythology, storytelling, and spiritual imagination. It enriches our understanding of how early humans conceptualized their relationship with nature, marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of human culture and symbolic thought.