Special Presentation "Design of a Society that Continued Hunting"

2025.02.18-2025.03.02
MODULE

Since 2008, the University Museum, the University of Tokyo has been excavating prehistoric sites in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The object on display is a Mesolithic stone figurine excavated in 2019 from the Damjili Cave, located in the Avey National Historical and Cultural Reserve in Azerbaijan. Although the surface demonstrates significant weathering, detailed examination with a microscope and CT scanning has revealed figure representations, including a pigtail hairstyle and waistcoat. The gender of the figure remains unknown. In the South Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, farming was introduced from West Asia approximately 8,000 years ago. Additionally, the production of female clay figurines, a symbol of fertility, began around this time. It is intriguing that the Damjili specimen is standing, while the female figures of the farmers are seated. Moreover, the gender remains unclear. In Western Asia, a comparable change in the representation of human figures occurred approximately 10,000 years ago, with the introduction of world’s oldest agriculture. Similar changes in figure representation occurred at different times, but in comparable contexts of the transition from hunter-gatherer to agro-pastoralist societies. This finding suggests a major change in ideology at the beginning of farming. Furthermore, it suggests a change in the use of figurines from amulets to god statues.

Organizer: The University Museum, The University of Tokyo (UMUT)
Cooperation: Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties and Tansei TDC Co., Ltd.

●Small Human Figurine
Mesolithic (c. 8500 years ago)/Sandstone/Excavated by the UMUT expedition/Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

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Related Event:
Special Lecture “Design of a Society that Continued Hunting” - Report of the UMUT Excavations in Azerbaijan
2025.2.11