This unassuming lump of clay may be an avant-garde masterpiece of the prehistoric age, centuries ahead of any other artwork. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

The 3.7-centimeter-tall (1.5-inch) artifact was discovered at Nahal Ein Gev II, an archaeological site in modern-day northern Israel near the Sea of Galilee. Dating to over 12,000 years, it was recently unearthed by archaeologists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Although it's become eroded and smooth over centuries of time, the researchers believe the object was once carved into the shape of a goose embracing a woman (see image below). If true, this means it represents the earliest known artwork showing a human-animal interaction, pushing back the concepts o

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