9 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

8000-year-old unique “fish-figure” small home tool found in Turkey

During this year’s excavations in the Yeşilova and Yassıtepe mounds in İzmir, a unique “fish-figure” small home tool was found.

The small tool made of bone dates back 8,000 years and was used for cleaning fish scales.

Head of Excavation Assoc. Dr. Zafer Derin said that the find in the shape of a fish figure has never been seen similar before.

Excavations in the Yeşilova and Yassıtepe mounds continue with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, Bornova Municipality, and Ege University.

Fish figüre. Photo: Kadir Özen/ İZMİR, (DHA)
Fish figüre. Photo: Kadir Özen/ İZMİR, (DHA)

During the excavations, the city was dated 8,500 years ago, and 9 villages that were built on top of each other were unearthed. In addition, many remains such as sea bream, sea urchin, oysters, and mussels belonging to thousands of years ago were found during the excavations. It was understood from these excavations that the first people of Izmir consumed sea products, especially mussels, just like the inhabitants of today’s city.

During this year’s excavations, another remarkable find was unearthed. It was stated that the 8,000-year-old find was made from a 15-centimeter bone and in the form of a fish figure, and the tool was used for cleaning fish scales.

Head of Excavation Assoc. Dr. Zafer Derin said, “We have not seen such an example in Western Anatolia, in the Aegean Region. Photo: Kadir Ozen/ IZMIR, (DHA)
Head of Excavation Assoc. Dr. Zafer Derin said, “We have not seen such an example in Western Anatolia, in the Aegean Region. Photo: Kadir Ozen/ IZMIR, (DHA)

Head of Excavation Assoc. Dr. Zafer Derin said, “A tool made of bone representing a fish. It has scratches from heavy use. An interesting tool where various details are engraved, up to the scales and tail of the fish. We have not seen a similar example in Western Anatolia or the Aegean Region. A daily tool that belonged to the first Aegean and Izmir people 8 thousand years ago,” he said.

Providing information about the find, Assoc. Dr. Derin said, “The first Aegean people are a culture that lived together with the sea. Our find is also about the sea, water and fish. People of that period used various tools to clean fish. We also found such a tool from that period. This is a fish-shaped spatula made of bone, used for cleaning fish. We can see formed traces while cleaning fish scales on it. We see that the first people of Izmir transformed even a simple tool into an art form suitable for their lives.”

Related Articles

Khirbet Midras pyramid and  Archaeological Site in Israel

28 November 2022

28 November 2022

Khirbet Midras (Arabic) or Horvat Midras (Hebrew) is one of several antiquities sites located within the Adullam Grove National Park,...

A Batavian Cavalry Mask was found on the Battlefield of Roman Comrades

22 July 2022

22 July 2022

Archaeologists have discovered that a rusty corroded plate they found 4 years ago at an old battlefield in the city...

5000-year-old fingerprint found in Orkney pottery

23 April 2021

23 April 2021

Fingerprints were found on a pottery dating back 5,000 years in the Orkney archipelago, located in the northern region of...

Ancient terracotta dancers, and musicians unearthed in China

13 November 2022

13 November 2022

Chinese archaeologists recently discovered a large group of terracotta figurines from a tomb in a group dating to the Northern...

In Poland’s “Death Valley,” new evidence of Nazi atrocities

18 August 2021

18 August 2021

In October 1939, between 30,000 and 35,000 Polish intellectuals, Polish civilians, Jews and Czechs, and German prisoners from psychiatric institutions...

Neo-Assyrian Writing Boards: The Role of Beeswax, Orpiment, and Carbon Black in 7th Century BC Writing Techniques

13 April 2025

13 April 2025

Recent scientific investigations into the writing boards excavated from the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud have shed new light on...

Network analysis of prehistoric relationships using raw archaeological finds and AI

24 July 2023

24 July 2023

A project of the Cluster of Excellence ROOTS uses archaeological raw material finds for network analyses from the Middle Stone...

A large stone monument depicting the goddess Ishtar has been unearthed in the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud

26 June 2023

26 June 2023

Archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, working with an Iraqi excavation team, have unearthed a...

Well-Preserved Funerary Enclosures, Mausoleums, and Gladiator Epitaph Discovered in Ancient Roman Colony of Liternum, Italy

22 March 2025

22 March 2025

Recent archaeological excavations in the ancient Roman colony of Liternum, located in present-day Giugliano in Campania, Italy, have unveiled significant...

The sword, thought to be a replica, turned out to be an authentic 3000-year-old Bronze Age sword

22 January 2023

22 January 2023

A sword in Chicago’s Field Museum that was previously thought to be a replica has been revealed to be an...

In Turkey’s Gedikkaya Cave, a stone figurine was discovered inside a 16,500-year-old votive pit

17 December 2022

17 December 2022

A stone figurine was discovered in a 16500-year-old votive pit belonging to the Epi-paleolithic period, the transition phase from the...

Unique Gold Ring and Crystal Amulet among 30,000 Medieval Treasures Uncovered in Sweden

7 March 2024

7 March 2024

In the Swedish medieval city of Kalmar, archaeologists from the State Historical Museums unearthed the remains of over 30,000 objects...

One of the oldest known mosques in the world uncovered in Israel

23 June 2022

23 June 2022

A team of Israeli archaeologists has discovered what is one of the oldest known mosques in the world. Israeli archaeologists...

An 1800-year-old inscription was discovered in Hadrianaupolis indicating the existence of the Asclepius cult

5 September 2022

5 September 2022

An inscription pointing to the existence of the cult of Asclepius was found in the ancient city of Hadrianaupolis, which...

12,000-Year-Old rock art may depict extinct giants of the ice age

13 March 2022

13 March 2022

South America was filled with ice age animals more than 12,000 years ago, including car-sized ground sloths, elephantine herbivores, and...