Archaeologists have identified 154 clay figurative artefacts from Natufian sites in Israel, revealing an early tradition of symbolic clay modelling among some of Southwest Asia’s first sedentary communities.
The artefacts were recovered from el-Wad Terrace on Mount Carmel, Hayonim Terrace in Galilee, and Eynan-Mallaha in the Upper Jordan Valley.
According to a study published in PLOS One, the finds date to the Natufian culture, which flourished between approximately 15,000 and 11,650 years ago.
During this period, hunter-fisher-gatherer communities in Southwest Asia began adopting increasingly sedentary lifestyles, preceding the development of fully agricultural societies during the Neolithic.
Researchers re-examined collections containing tens of thousands of small pieces of heated clay and sediment from the three settlements, previously associated largely with the production of mineral pigments.
The study identified 15 figurines and 139 cylindrical fragments interpreted as probable fragments of figurative objects, including body parts and appendages.
Eleven of the 15 figurines represent birds, while the remaining examples include other animals and human forms.
Some of the birds appear to represent waterfowl, such as ducks, geese or swans, while others may depict birds of prey.
Several were modelled with cylindrical necks and downward-facing heads, a posture that researchers suggest could represent courtship displays observed among waterfowl.
The recurrence of similar forms across the assemblage indicates that clay modelling was part of an established figurative tradition rather than a series of isolated experiments.
Two fragments have been interpreted as representations of hoofed animals, including one that may depict a mountain gazelle.
Small impressions in the clay suggest that perishable materials, possibly twigs, were inserted to represent horns or antlers.
If this interpretation is correct, the artefact would be among the earliest known composite figurines from Southwest Asia, combining clay with perishable materials.
Two anthropomorphic figurines were also identified at Eynan-Mallaha.
One depicts the upper part of a human body with modelled arms, while another represents a stylised face that may have carried decorations made from grasses, fibres, hair or feathers.
Microscopic examination revealed fingerprints, palm impressions and fingertip depressions, in addition to marks produced by shaping, smoothing, grooving and incision.
Traces of colour were also identified on many of the artefacts.
Ten of the eleven bird figurines have traces of red colouring; one Early Natufian example was coated with an iron-rich clay slip (engobe).
It is possible that the coating was applied and smoothed with a finger. An uncoloured diagonal line seems to have been formed using plant fibre as stencil during application (see above).
The study says that the artefact is therefore the earliest evidence known for use of an engobe colouring technique.
All of the clay objects examined had also been heated; researchers don’t know whether they were fired intentionally, passively heated near fires or accidentally burned after deposition.
Further analysis will look at their heating histories and try to establish what temperatures they were exposed to.
Fingerprints and other manufacturing traces show that children as well as adults made clay objects; this demonstrates the demographics of craft production in Natufian communities.
Prior to this study only two clay figurines had been identified in the Natufian record; figurative use of clay in Southwest Asia was generally associated with later Neolithic societies.
The newly identified assemblage puts the development of a mature clay figurative tradition much earlier (among hunter-gatherer communities transitioning towards sedentary life).
Researchers say the findings push part of Southwest Asia’s so-called “revolution of symbols” back into Epipalaeolithic times: Developments in symbolic expression and clay technology were already happening before agriculture emerged.
Sources : PLOS ONE