8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

8000 years old fingerprint and ceramic production workshop found in İzmir Ulucak Mound

It was understood that the structure unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the 8850-year-old Ulucak Mound (Ulucak Höyük), the oldest settlement of Izmir in the west of Turkey, is the oldest ceramic production workshop. Fingerprints of pottery masters who lived in the city 8000 years ago were also discovered on the dough used to make ceramics.

Prof. Dr. Ozlem Cevik, the excavation’s director, stated that the workshop is very important as it physically demonstrates the first specialization in ceramic production.

Ulucak Höyük is located in the Kemalpaşa district of İzmir. Trakya University Faculty of Letters Protohistory and Near Eastern Archaeology Faculty Member of the Department Professor Dr. Özlem Çevik took over the excavation directorship in 2009,  and the work carried out on the mound continues.

Prof. Dr. Özlem Çevik. Photo: DHA

During the excavations, it was discovered that Ulucak Mound was home to the Aegean Region’s first farmers. It was also understood that the first settlers built their homes on top of each other along the 7.5-meter cultural layer and settled in the same place for 1150 years without interruption.

A 7800-year-old female figurine was found on the mound recently days, which was used to increase abundance and fertility.

One of the oldest settlements of Western Anatolia Ulucak Mound,  ceramic production workshop, and the findings provided access to much new information.

It was noted that in the 100 square meters structure, which is thought to be the oldest ceramic production workshop in history, there are kilns in which ceramic pots were fired and many ground stones were used to grind hematite paint in the painting of ceramic pots.

Photo: DHA

Prof. Dr. Ozlem Cevik, the head of the excavation, said, “Historically, we know that the first ceramics were made 9 thousand years ago in a wide geography from Mesopotamia to the Aegean Region. When these first ceramics were made, they were probably produced by women in the household. A thousand years after the emergence of the first ceramics, it was assumed that these were made by pottery masters, based on the examinations made on the ceramics found in this wide geography that I mentioned. This workshop we found in Ulucak is important for the near east or world archeology. Because for the first time, there is physical proof that ceramics were made by experts.”

Specialization in Ceramic Production

Professor Özlem Cevik informing about the workshop:  “This structure is very different from houses. A place with 6-7 rooms. All stages of ceramic production are applied in these areas. n other words, the entire chain of ceramic production takes place, from the preparation of the dough to its shaping, from the use of the primer to the finishing. We can easily say that this is a ceramic production workshop. According to the analysis of the seed samples, we know from the radiocarbon datings that the structure was dated to 6 thousand BC, so this is an 8,000-year-old workshop. The workshop is very important as it physically demonstrates the first specialization in ceramic production in the history of humanity. This workshop is the oldest evidence of specialization in ceramic production” she said.

8000 years old fingerprints found in Ulucak Mound. Photo: DHA

Adding that fingerprints were found in the finds in the workshop, Cevik said, “Clay dough must be prepared before making ceramics. Workshop burned. In the dough we found, we saw that the fingerprints on it were solidified. The fingerprints and hands of people who touched it 8,000 years ago are thus preserved.”

Excavations at Ulucak Höyük continue with the support of the Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, Kemalpaşa Municipality, and Kemalpaşa Organized Industrial Zone.

Related Articles

The ‘boiler room’ of the bath in the Ancient City of Metropolis was unearthed

11 August 2022

11 August 2022

The vault section, called the ‘boiler room’, which provides a heat source, has been unearthed in the historical bath of...

God Vishnumurthy Statue Found in a Well in Karnataka

28 February 2021

28 February 2021

A statue of the god Vishnumurthy dumped into a well was found near a destroyed Udupi temple in the state...

Unique Scythian glass pendants found in the Poltava region of Ukraine

8 October 2021

8 October 2021

Archaeologists have unearthed unique amphora-shaped pendants near the town of Kotelva in the Poltava oblast of central Ukraine. A team...

2nd-Century BC Thracian Warrior with Ceremonial Wreath Discovered

3 August 2025

3 August 2025

Archaeologists Uncover Richly Furnished Grave of Thracian Warrior with Horse, Weapons, and Gold-Gilded Ornaments in Southern Bulgaria A new archaeological...

More than 1,300 prehistoric burial mounds in western Azerbaijan systematically surveyed for the first time

2 January 2025

2 January 2025

Over 1,300 archaeological sites in Azerbaijan were systematically surveyed and documented in two field campaigns in 2021 and 2023 by...

A rare statue of K’awiil, Mayan god of Lighting have uncovered in Mexico

1 May 2023

1 May 2023

In southeastern Mexico, archaeologists uncovered a rare sculpture of a powerful Mayan god near the path of a large-scale rail...

The world’s northernmost Palaeolithic settlement has been discovered on Kotelny Island in the Arctic

20 August 2021

20 August 2021

During the Paleolithic period, hominins lived in tiny groups and subsisted by collecting plants, fishing, and killing or scavenging wild...

Archaeologists Reconstruct the Face of a 7th-Century Anglo-Saxon Woman Buried with “Trumpington Cross”

21 June 2023

21 June 2023

In a remarkable archaeological discovery near Cambridge, England, the face of a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon woman buried with a rare gold...

Two statuettes of Demeter discovered in Aigai, the ‘city of goats’ of the Aeolians in western Türkiye

20 November 2023

20 November 2023

Two statuettes of Demeter, the Greek goddess of earth and fertility, were discovered in a cistern in the ancient city...

Archaeologists found a mysterious stone tablet in Georgia that contains an unknown language

5 December 2024

5 December 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed a basalt tablet with inscriptions in an unknown language near Lake Bashplemi, in the Dmanisi region of...

A unique gold brooch talisman with inscriptions in Latin and Hebrew was found in the UK

19 February 2022

19 February 2022

A Medieval gold annular brooch with prayerful inscriptions has been discovered in the parish of Manningford in Wiltshire, in the...

Feline and anthropomorphic 29 new geoglyphs discovered in Peru

21 December 2023

21 December 2023

In Ica, a region south of Lima on the coast of Peru, 29 geoglyphs were found by an archaeologist from...

Archaeologists discovered a mausoleum dating back to Golden Horde era in Kazakhstan

8 July 2023

8 July 2023

Remains of a mausoleum dating back to the Golden Horde in the 15th century were discovered on the territory of...

Long-Awaited Excavation to Commence at Mount Ararat ‘Noah’s Ark’ Site

9 May 2025

9 May 2025

The legendary search for Noah’s Ark, a tale that has captivated imaginations and spurred countless expeditions for generations, is poised...

Syria uncovered a large intact mosaic that dates back to the Roman era

12 October 2022

12 October 2022

Syria uncovered a large intact mosaic that dates back to the Roman era, in the central town of Rastan, describing...