Turkish archeologists have announced the discovery of an approximately 8,600-year-old, 5 centimetre high baked clay statuette interpreted as representing a bear, during excavation works in the Yeshilova Mound, one of the oldest settlements in Turkey's western province of Izmir (formerly Smyrna), on the Aegean Sea.
     Founded by the Greeks, taken by the Romans, rebuilt by Alexander the Great, the archaeological sites of Izmir include a Roman Agora, and the hilltop Kadifekale - the Velvet Castle - built during Alexander's reign, overlooking the city.
     The Head of the Excavation Committee, Zafer Derin, reports more than 200 important Neolithic finds in the mound. An 8,000-year-old little house sculpture provides details about the architecture of the period. Another unique find is a 5,000-year-old small bird-like pitcher described as resembling a little sparrow and thought to have been used to give milk to infants.

Edited from Daily Sabah (22 October 2017)