PAVLOVIAN/GRAVETTIAN · ≈29,000–27,000 YEARS

Dolní Věstonice I

A fired clay figurine from the Palaeolithic

Analysis of the interior ruled out that the clay mixture contained powdered bone.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Contributed recreation: Female figurine in dark ceramic with a featureless head, two incisions instead of eyes and cracks in the legs, on a black background. — **CONTRIBUTED RECREATION · VISUAL INTERPRETATION**
Reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Recreation contributed to the project together with the 3D model of the piece. It is not an archaeological photograph or a metric facsimile. Materials, finish, proportions and visible details may differ from the original. The photograph of the original is kept as a documentary reference.

**CONTRIBUTED RECREATION · VISUAL INTERPRETATION**
Reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Recreation contributed to the project together with the 3D model of the piece. It is not an archaeological photograph or a metric facsimile. Materials, finish, proportions and visible details may differ from the original. The photograph of the original is kept as a documentary reference.

Explore in 3D

Load the model only when you want to explore it. Drag or use the arrow keys to turn it; + and − zoom. Closing it releases its memory.

User-supplied digital reconstruction; file metadata declares Tripo. It is not an archaeological scan or a metric replica; the supplied geometry is preserved intact. The model is displayed enlarged about five times so that it can be examined in the gallery: the original measures 111 mm. All the figurines in this section use the same enlargement, so they keep their relative sizes. The model’s finish does not reproduce the composition of the ceramic paste or the imprint documented on the original.

History and context

Found on 13 July 1925, figurine DV 30000 was modelled in loess or clay and fired. A small fingerprint remained on the surface; it does not allow identification of the age of the person who left it.

A 2024 micro-CT study ruled out powdered bone or ivory in the paste. The correction matters: a museum must be able to withdraw a "wow fact" when the material contradicts it.

Evidence and interpretation

Ceramic composition, dimensions, date and fingerprint are documented. The fingerprint does not prove child authorship; function and meaning remain open.

Catalogue facts

Date: ≈29,000–27,000 years
Location: Dolní Věstonice I · Moravia, Czech Republic
Inventory: DV 30000
Material and measurements: Fired loess or clay · 111 × 44 × 26 mm

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

You are viewing

≈29,000–27,000 years

Dolní Věstonice I

Prehistory

Approximate catalogue age; editorial reference 2026 for ordering only, not calibrated dating.

Current record

Clay32 dated objects

1 / 32In the centre: Dolní Věstonice I

Also connected, without a comparable date (8)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

A White Wall on the DanubeCeltic worlds · 6th century BCE
Blue that does not yieldMaya worlds · Documented use from the Classic, c. 300–1500 CE
Cyrus speaks as king of BabylonAchaemenid Persia · After the conquest of Babylon in 539 BCE
Early potteryMande Worlds · before ca. 9400 cal BCE
Made in GaramaGaramantes · I millennium BCE–I millennium CE
Piece-mold castingAncient China · c. 1600–1046 BCE
The unfinished gestureBatwa / Twa histories · 1947
Vessels without a languageBantu-speaking worlds · Urewe, broad regional range ca. 800 BCE–650 CE

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Ceramics

Dolní Věstonice I · ≈29,000–27,000 years · Prehistory — You are viewing
Before Sumer · mid-6th–5th millennium BCE · Sumer
Twin-chambered vessel from Cova de l’Or · Early Neolithic · VI–V millennia BCE · Prehistory
Before Egypt · ca. 4400–3800 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Before Nubia · V–IV millennium BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Before Gojoseon · Middle Neolithic, c. 4000 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Bevel-rimmed bowl · ca. 3500–3000 BCE · Sumer
Before Yayoi · Middle Jōmon, ca. 3000 BCE · Yayoi Japan
Vasiliki · ca. 2500–2200 BCE · Greek worlds
Before the Greeks · c. 2400–2200 BCE · Greek worlds
Cemetery R-37 · ca. 2550–2030 BCE · Indus civilisation
Before Ancient China · c. 2500–2000 BCE · Ancient China
Longshan · c. 2500–2000 BCE · Ancient China
Kerma vessel · c. 1802–1640 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Burial at K IV · circa 1750–1550 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Before Vedic India · c. 1900–1300 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Osmankayası and Ilıca · ca. 1700/1650–1200 BCE · Hittites
Grey bowl from Hastinapura · c. 1100–800 BCE in the classical sequence of Hastinapura · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Before Etruscans and Rome · ca. 850–800 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The urn under the helmet · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Ceramic stand 1010 · 8th–7th centuries BCE · orientalizing · Iberians
Ishtar Gate · 7th–6th centuries BCE · work of Nebuchadnezzar II · Sumer
Glazed brick guards · 522–486 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Orpheus among the Thracians · circa 440 BCE; attributed to the London Painter E 497. · Thracians
The Attic krater that took on a new life in Cástulo · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Thoth in the form of a baboon · 664–30 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Leipzig Fish Plate · Last third 4th–early 3rd century BCE · Greek worlds
Dove of the Amarejo · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Vas dels Guerrers · 3rd–early 2nd century BCE · Iberians
Warriors' Vase · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Iberians
Northern mound · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Yayoi Japan
Kalathos of Alcorisa · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Iberians
Urewe vessel · regional range c. 800 BCE–650 CE · Bantu-speaking worlds
Two rows of coffins · Mainly Middle Yayoi, 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi Japan
Ceramics that continued · Last third of the 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Iberians
Egyptian oil lamp with a fish, held in Laon · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Ancient Egypt
Laon lamp with fish · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Etruscans and Rome
Kabusanza, ca. 400 · ca. 400 CE · Batwa / Twa histories
Missing grave goods · 13th–15th centuries according to the heritage overview · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

A Kerma vessel deposited at Abydos · Second Intermediate Period · Ancient Egypt
A tradition that invents · collected in 1993 or 1995 · Batwa / Twa histories
A vase travels; the rite changes · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Akrotiri · c. 1700–1500 BCE · Greek worlds
Dia’s strata · 9th century BCE–2nd millennium CE · Mande Worlds
Early pottery · before ca. 9400 cal BCE · Mande Worlds
Jenne-jeno contexts · ca. 250 BCE–1400 CE · Mande Worlds
Liédena Flask · Roman period · individual chronology not published in the entry · Etruscans and Rome
Lothal · ca. 2400–1600 BCE · Indus civilisation
Made in Garama · I millennium BCE–I millennium CE · Garamantes
Nile towards Nubia · ca. 3300–2800 BCE · Ancient Egypt
The unfinished gesture · 1947 · Batwa / Twa histories
Three hundred lives in the sand · Mainly 4th century BCE–3rd century CE · Yayoi Japan
Travelling objects · Mainly Roman period · Garamantes
Trumpet from Numantia · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Urns from Adichanallur · Iron Age · samples towards 665 and 467 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Vessels without a language · Urewe, broad regional range ca. 800 BCE–650 CE · Bantu-speaking worlds

Figurines

Hohle Fels · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · Prehistory
Willendorf · ≈29,500 years · Prehistory
Brno II Articulated Figure · ≈28,000 years cal BP · by funerary association · Prehistory
Dolní Věstonice I · ≈29,000–27,000 years · Prehistory — You are viewing
Lespugue · ≈28,000 years · Prehistory
Kostenki I · ≈23,000–21,000 years · Prehistory
Zaraysk Bison · ≈23,000–21,000 years · Prehistory
Worshiper of Tell Asmar · Towards 2900–2600 BCE · Sumer
Offering 4 · c. 800–600 BCE · Maya worlds
Kushite king · c. 721–664 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Phoenicians
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Iberians
Shabti of Psamtek · 570–526 BCE · Ancient Egypt
La Venta grave goods · ca. 600–400 BCE · Maya worlds
Lady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Lady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Thracian Gladiator from Cádiz · 67–100 CE · Etruscans and Rome

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Four offerers · Iberian period · individual dating according to catalogue · Iberians
Lararium of Vilauba · Roman period · Etruscans and Rome
Made in Garama · I millennium BCE–I millennium CE · Garamantes

Human imagery

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Before Persia · Central core c. seventeenth century BCE; Neo-Elamite additions between the ninth and sixth centuries BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Bhimbetka · Mesolithic–historical and medieval period · Prehistory
Eland Cave · Regional tradition of ≈4,000 years · up to historical period · Prehistory
Four offerers · Iberian period · individual dating according to catalogue · Iberians
Game Pass Shelter · Regional rock art chronology · panel not dated in isolation · San histories
Lararium of Vilauba · Roman period · Etruscans and Rome
Leang Karampuang · Minimum 51,200 years · dating published in 2024 · Prehistory
Quinkan Country · Regional art up to ≈27,000 BP · modern continuity · Prehistory
Sierra de San Francisco · Broad tradition with direct dates ≈5290–295 BP · Prehistory
Tassili n’Ajjer · Corpus ≈6000 BCE–first centuries CE · Prehistory
The Thracian Horseman · Roman era · diffusion especially in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE · Thracians

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

Tomography also reveals how it was modelled

Internal images show no joins between added parts, supporting that the figure was worked from a single portion of paste. The sediment contains rock fragments and natural microfossils. It is a way of reconstructing the technical gesture without cutting the object. The research also detected significant internal cracks: knowing its interior not only expands the manufacturing narrative, but also helps decide how to handle it and avoid new breakages. Conservation and historical interpretation share the same tool here.

Research · Neruda et al. · Journal of Archaeological Science, microtomography of Dolní Věstonice, 2024Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

Reference images and provenance

Photograph of the Dolní Věstonice figurine — **PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL · Petr Novák, Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 2.5**
Photograph by Petr Novák, Wikipedia, taken at the Lovci mamutů exhibition of the National Museum in Prague in 2007. The piece belongs to the Moravian Museum; the location of this photograph is the Prague exhibition. Image resized and converted to WebP.
Documentary original · Exact correspondence
Petr Novák, Wikipedia · Moravian Museum · Anthropos · Inventory: DV 30000
Image provenance CC BY-SA 2.5

Location and territory

LOCATED SITE

Dolní Věstonice I · CzechiaPalaeolithic settlement marker.

Where it is held

Moravian Museum · Anthropos

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Open the institutional record and expand the object

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Explore in 3D

History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Dolní Věstonice I

Dolní Věstonice I

Before Sumer

Twin-chambered vessel from Cova de l’Or

Before Egypt

Before Nubia

Before Gojoseon

Bevel-rimmed bowl

Susa accounting bulla

Jemdet Nasr

Account of malt and barley

Before Yayoi

Vasiliki

Before Ancient China

Longshan

Before the Hittites

Before Pre-Inca Cultures

Queen of the Night

Plimpton 322

Sumerian King List

Love song to Shu-Sin

Si.427 tablet

Phaistos Disc

Sumerian Flood of Nippur

Boğazköy Archive

Linear B

Alaksandu of Wilusa

Treaty with Egypt

Flood Tablet

Babylonian map of the world

Glazed brick guards

Rations for women and children

Urewe vessel

A closer look

Tomography also reveals how it was modelled

Reference images and provenance

Location and territory

Where it is held

Moravian Museum · Anthropos

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?