# Natufian clay figurines from Israel, up to 15,000 years old, were made by children and adults

- Published: 2026-11-15 20:41 UTC
- Section: Science › Research
- Tags: Natufian culture, clay figurines, earliest clay figurative tradition, Southwest Asia, Southern Levant, fingerprints on clay, children in prehistory, sedentism, Neolithic transition
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-a0de5c4c07a5ed3f696e9943_natufian_clay_figurines/

**154 clay figurative artefacts from three Natufian sites in Israel form the earliest clay figurative tradition in Southwest Asia, predating the Neolithic.**

![Natufian clay figurines from Israel, up to 15,000 years old, were made by children and adults](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/042e7b5844007161.jpg)
*xataka.com*

Researchers report 154 figurative clay artefacts from three Natufian sites in the Southern Levant, Israel, in PLoS ONE. The objects date to 15,000–11,650 years cal. BP. The authors describe them as the earliest clay figurative tradition in Southwest Asia. [1]

## What was found

According to the authors, children and adults made these objects, using clay as their primary medium of figurative expression and developing new figurative techniques and practices. [1] A press account of the work says that a team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem analysed about 150 fragmented pieces from roughly 40 kg of clay collected at the sites. Among them are about 15 figures of birds, gazelles and humans. Most figures are shorter than 2 cm and show no signs of intense use.

Fingerprints remain on about 60 pieces. The team estimated the age and sex of the makers from the distance between fingerprint ridges. According to this account, most figures were made by women and children, some younger than 10, and only a few by men. The torso of one human figure carries prints of both adults and children.

## Why the date matters

Clay technologies and their use in symbolic practices appear sporadically in the Upper Palaeolithic of North Africa, Europe and East Asia. In Southwest Asia it was commonly believed to emerge much later, as one of the innovations of Neolithic agricultural societies. [1] The Natufians were hunter-gatherers who formed some of the first permanent settlements in the region. They had neither agriculture nor pottery yet.

Lead author Laurent Davin suggested that the figurines probably served for learning: they could illustrate stories so that children learned the narrative behind them. This is the author's interpretation. The study, the authors say, provides insights into the demographics of craft production and the development of symbolic practices at the beginning of sedentism, which influenced the Neolithic transition in Southwest Asia. [1]

## Sources

1. [PLoS ONE](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360388)
2. [xataka.com](https://www.xataka.com/magnet/antes-ceramica-oriente-proximo-ninos-alli-hacian-manualidades-arcilla-hace-15-000-anos)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-a0de5c4c07a5ed3f696e9943_natufian_clay_figurines/