International Media Outlets Cover the Mesolithic-Era Figurine Discovered in Damjili Cave

Israel’s The Jerusalem Post (English and French editions), Greece’s Greek Reporter news network, India’s Indian Defence Review journal, and other international media outlets have published reports about a figurine from the Mesolithic period discovered in Damjili Cave.

According to Day.Az, the first official article about the stone human figurine, uncovered by a joint Azerbaijani-Japanese archaeological expedition (organized by the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology of ANAS), has been published in Issue 42 of Archaeological Research in Asia—a Q1-category journal indexed in Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus.

The authors of the article include:

Professor Yoshihiro Nishiaki, Director of the University Museum at the University of Tokyo;

Ulviyya Safarova, Researcher at the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology of ANAS;

Dr. Fumiko Ikeyama, Associate at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology;

Dr. Wataru Satake, Researcher at the Geo-Cosmology Institute of Chiba Institute of Technology;

Dr. Yaqub Mammadov, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology of ANAS and Doctor of Philosophy in History.

The figurine, measuring 51 mm in length and 15 mm in width, is made of sandstone. Due to surface erosion, modern laboratory technologies—such as computed tomography (CT), X-ray fluorescence analysis, and electron microscope scanning—were used for its examination. While the figurine features neatly carved hair patterns and a belt, facial details are absent.

Cultural and Historical Significance

In the South Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, the production economy spread around 8,000 years ago under the influence of Western Asia. Around the same period, clay female figurines—symbols of fertility—emerged. Interestingly, the Damjili specimen is depicted standing, whereas agricultural female figurines are usually seated. Debate continues over whether the figurine represents a man or a woman.

This artifact is the first human figurine from the Mesolithic period discovered in Azerbaijan and the broader region’s Middle Kura Valley, dating back approximately 8,000 years. Notably, no similar human figurines have been found so far among the known Mesolithic sites in the region.

Source: news.day.az

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