An archaeologists accidentally discovered a clay figurine in a field near Kosina, South-eastern Poland. The figurine turned out to be 7000 years old and is unique as only a handful are known from that age from the area of Poland.

The figurine measures about 7 centimetres in height and was found in a ploughed field by an archaeologists being on his holiday. The artefact was made from clay and preserved to our times with a partially damaged head, torso and part of an arm. It is possibly one of the oldest depictions of a human known from the area of Poland. According to the archaeologists, the find is unique due to the age of the find and because similar finds are very rare.

The style in which the figurine is made resembles to specimen known from Slovakia and Romania. Other figurines known from the area of Poland from same time, are more schematic and have more distinct gender parts. In this case the details of the head are more detailed, as the hair, nose, and chin have been clearly marked. The upper torso contains a characteristic cut, resembling an outfit, and the neck is adorned with a necklace.

The archaeologists also noticed large numbers of pottery vessel fragments and obsidian surrounding the figurine in its place of discovery. Obsidian is known to come to Poland in Prehistory from Slovakian and Ukrainian deposits. It is believed that the Subcarpathian area where the find was made might have been the site of a settlement of early farmers that inhabited the area 7000 years ago. Excavations at the site are planned for the future, as are chemical analysis of the figurine to reveal where the clay was extracted.

(after Nauka w Polsce & Piotr Alagierski)