A 7,800-year-old figurine was found in Turkey (3 photos + 1 video)

During excavations at the Ulucak mound in the west of Izmir province, a clay figurine of a female figure was found, which is 7,800 years old. Professor Ozlem Çevik, who heads the excavations, said that the mound is the site of the first settlement of farmers in Izmir.





"This was one of the oldest settlements in Western Anatolia, and we found artifacts that were 8,850 years old," Cevik said.

According to scientists, the mound was inhabited for 45 generations, and villages arose one after another.

“This year, during excavations of one of the houses, we found an entire female figurine made of clay. Previously, we had already found similar figurines, but they were most often broken. The latest find is important for us because this is the third copy in an intact form,” - Cevik added.



Previously, it was believed that such figurines depict gods and goddesses. However, they were also found in the dump of an ancient mound, where there is no place for sacred objects.

Archaeologists believe the figurines may be associated with important events such as birth, death or harvest, and may have been used for rituals.



The Ulucak mound, located 25 km east of Izmir, contains artifacts dating from the early Neolithic to the late Roman and early Byzantine eras.

The mound was discovered by British archaeologist David French in the 1960s, but remained unexplored until the mid-90s.

The first excavations, between 1995 and 2008, were carried out under the direction of Altan Çilingiroglu of the Izmir Archaeological Museum.

Since 2009, research has been led by Ozlem Çevik from Trakya University.

Excavations in Ulucak provided valuable information about the emergence and development of prehistoric cultures in western Turkey.