Date:

Mesolithic figurine found in Damjili Cave offers new clues to Neolithic transition

A stone figurine discovered in Damjili Cave, western Azerbaijan, is providing archaeologists with new insights into the cultural and symbolic transition from the Mesolithic to Neolithic in the South Caucasus.

The figurine, discovered in a Mesolithic context and dated to between 6400 and 6100 BC – immediately before the advent of the Neolithic period – is believed to represent an anthropomorphic human figure carved from a river stone.

- Advertisement -

The carvings suggest details such as hair, a belt, and possibly a loincloth, but notably, the figurine lacks any gender-specific features. This contrasts with the predominantly female clay figurines commonly found in Neolithic context layers.

The figurine also differs from Neolithic clay figurines in both material and style. While Neolithic figurines from the region are usually seated, stylised females made of clay, the Damjili example made from stone stands upright, with simplified features and no facial detail.

This suggests not only a different medium but a distinct cultural tradition of symbolic art within the communities of the South Caucasus.

Archaeologists have associated the discovery with the early Shomutepe culture, an ancient people that once inhabited the South Caucasus region, concentrated in the Middle Kura Valley (where Damjili Cave is located), the Ararat valley, and the Nakhchivan plain regions.

- Advertisement -

A study, published in the Archaeological Research in Asia journal, challenges the assumption that symbolic culture, often represented by figurines, was introduced wholesale during Neolithization.

Instead, it points to a gradual, selective adoption of Neolithic elements, where local Mesolithic traditions continued to shape symbolic and ideological practices.

This also reflects the eventual discontinuity in the region’s portable art traditions using stone, coinciding with the full Neolithization of the South Caucasus using clay and driven by cultural influences likely introduced from the Fertile Crescent.

Header Image Credit : Archaeological Research in Asia

Sources : ScienceDirecthttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2025.100611

- Advertisement -

Stay Updated: Follow us on iOS, Android, Google News, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, and our newsletter

spot_img
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan is a multi-award-winning journalist and the Managing Editor at HeritageDaily. His background is in archaeology and computer science, having written over 8,000 articles across several online publications. Mark is a member of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), the World Federation of Science Journalists, and in 2023 was the recipient of the British Citizen Award for Education, the BCA Medal of Honour, and the UK Prime Minister's Points of Light Award.
spot_img
spot_img

Mobile Application

spot_img

Related Articles

Project is restoring Costa Rica’s mysterious stone spheres

A joint team of specialists from Costa Rica and Mexico are restoring three stone spheres at the Finca 6 Museum Site in Palmar de Osa.

Inscription sheds light on First Emperor’s quest for immortality

China’s First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, was born in 259 BC in Handan, the capital of Zhao. He was originally named Ying Zheng, or Zhao Zheng, with ‘Zheng’ drawn from Zhengyue, the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar.

Artefacts from Battle of Dubienka unearthed near Uchanie

On July 18th, 1792, Polish forces under General Tadeusz Kościuszko clashed with Russian troops in what became one of the defining engagements of the Polish-Russian War.

Submerged port discovery could lead to Cleopatra’s lost tomb

Archaeologists have discovered a submerged ancient port near the ruins of the Taposiris Magna temple complex west of Alexandria, Egypt.

Archaeologists begin landmark study of Dzhetyasar culture settlements

Archaeologists from the Margulan Institute of Archaeology and the German Institute of Archaeology are conducting the first ever large-scale study of Dzhetyasar culture sites in Kazakhstan.

Study reveals arsenical bronze production during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom

A new open-access study published in Archaeometry unveils the first direct evidence of arsenical bronze production on Elephantine Island, Aswan, dating to Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (c. 2000–1650 BCE).

Hittite seals and tablets among new finds at Kayalıpınar

Archaeologists excavating the Hittite settlement of Kayalıpınar in Türkiye’s Sivas’ Yıldızeli district have unearthed a trove of cuneiform tablets and seal impressions.

Olmec rubber balls preserved with anoxia technology

Researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have developed a new anoxia technique to preserve ancient Olmec rubber balls found in southern Veracruz.