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Archaeologists found 6400-6100 BC in the Damjili cave of Azerbaijan. Ave. Cr. a sandstone figurine representing a rare find from the Mesolithic era.
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Microscopic and CT analyzes have revealed intricate engravings, including hairlines and a possible belt, showing the craftsmanship of the early artists.
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The unique style of the figurine highlights the local art tradition during the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras in the South Caucasus and provides insights into cultural changes.
The oldest piece of art, a small sandstone human figurine from the Mesolithic era, does not have a face ever found in a single region of modern-day Azerbaijan.
In a study published by Archaeological Research in Asiaa team of archaeologists from Japan and Azerbaijan showed how they used technology to study the details of a stone figurine that help tell the story of cultural change from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic.
“Its stylistic features are very different from Neolithic human figures in the region,” the authors of the study wrote, “providing a valuable reference point for understanding cultural processes in symbolic aspects during the Mesolithic-Neolithic interface in the South Caucasus.”
Archaeologists discovered the figurine in Damjili Cave, which was first explored by archaeologists in 1953. The layers of the cave show a high density of Neolithic settlements, and traces of life go back to the Middle Paleolithic and Mesolithic times.
The figure in question (labeled Unit 5.2) was originally almost discarded when it was discovered among a layer of sediment along the banks of the Kura River – why would an ovoid piece of sandstone be anything other than a rock lying on the river bed? Fortunately, someone noticed the faint lines carved into the rock, which were clearly the work of an artist. The team needed microscopic analysis to actually see the engraving patterns (the only modification to the stone). “The general pattern suggests that the artifact is a human figure,” the authors wrote.
A carbon date places the artifact between 6400 and 6100 BC. Ave. BC, but this required CT analysis, X-ray fluorescence analysis and scanning electron microscope analysis to really clarify the cultural value and stylistic differences from the Neolithic examples.
One side of the figure has more intricate engravings, which most likely indicate that this is the front of the figure. Two inches long, half an inch wide, and about a third of an inch thick, the craftsmanship was detailed, requiring stone tools for engraving. The vertical lines at the top of the stone probably represent hair. There is also a clearly delineated horizontal hairline, which researchers believe was a hairband or cap brim, especially since the top of the head is undecorated. The figurine has no facial features and there is no way to tell the intended gender of the figurine.
The lower part of the body is less heavily decorated, but has three horizontal lines, which are most likely a belt, and vertical lines representing a waist or apron. The team found pink areas with higher iron content, raising the possibility that the red pigments were part of the original design.
“Most parts of the engraving appear to have been done with care, reflecting the high level of skill of the craftsman, although there is also a noticeable difference in the intensity of the work,” the team wrote. The engraving style used various depths and widths to indicate the deviation of the strokes. “The most intense engraving marks on the front side of the head indicate that the maker emphasized the head, although the figure’s facial details were not depicted,” they wrote.
Next to the figurine, the team found the remains of stone hearths, bone and flake stones, but ground stone artifacts are rare. “The stone figure from Unit 5.2 is a rather exceptional find,” they wrote.
The style shows a local tradition of artistic representation, although the cultural influence may be from Southwest Asia. “This specimen is unique in the prehistory of the South Caucasus,” the team wrote. “We hope that this study will provide a cautionary note for the study of small stone tools from areas where an agro-pastoral social economy began to develop in the South Caucasus. More discoveries of Mesolithic wearable arts should certainly contribute to a better understanding of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the South Caucasus.”
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