Home / Science / 12,000-Year-Old Figurine: Woman Mates With Goose
12,000-Year-Old Figurine: Woman Mates With Goose
18 Nov, 2025
Summary
- Rare 12,000-year-old figurine found in Israel depicts a goose and woman.
- Scientists believe it is the world's earliest human-animal interaction art.
- The sculpture offers insight into early animistic beliefs and imagination.
An extraordinary 12,000-year-old clay figurine, discovered in northern Israel, has been identified as the earliest known depiction of human-animal interaction. This small sculpture, measuring only 1.4 inches, illustrates a goose in a mating pose with a woman, offering profound insights into the symbolic world of the ancient Natufian people. The figurine suggests a rich imaginary life within these early settled communities.
The artifact was found at the Nahal Ein Gev II prehistoric settlement and is believed to represent a mythological or spiritual encounter. Researchers interpret the scene as consistent with animistic beliefs, where humans and animals are seen as spiritually interconnected. This discovery sheds light on the Natufians' transition from nomadic hunter-gatherers to settled communities, highlighting the growing complexity of their symbolic thinking and cultural practices.
This rare find is significant not only as the earliest naturalistic representation of a woman in Southwest Asia but also for its unique depiction of a mythological interaction. The Natufians, who inhabited the Levant region between approximately 15,000 and 11,500 years ago, were among the first to cultivate crops and establish permanent villages, demonstrating a significant leap in human societal development.
