A female terracotta figurine was discovered at the Neolithic site of Ulukak in Izmir, western Turkey. It is the sixth female figurine found at Ulukak, but it is different from the others because it has a mouth – and a hole that extends to the neck, probably to allow a necklace to be passed through it. The other figurines only have eyes and noses.

Side view of an 8,000-year-old clay female figurine. Photo courtesy of Kadir Özen / İzmir (DHA).

The statuette is less than four inches tall and can easily fit in the palm of a hand. It was found next to a family hearth. It was buried in a pit under the threshold, near the stove. Grindstones and flint were also found in the pit.

Archaeologists think it may represent a woman in a position of power in the community, such as an oral historian or storyteller, which would explain the large mouth. It may also have been used for rituals and had nothing to do with any living person in the community.

Urukak Mound is one of the earliest settlements of farmers in western Anatolia, with its earliest strata dating back 8,850 years. It has been inhabited continuously for the next 1,150 years.