Oldest ceramic figurine

Depicting a female nude figure, the "Dolní Věstonice Venus" (aka the Black Venus) is an oven-fired statuette made from clay and tempered bone that has been dated to c. 25,000–29,000 years old in the Upper Palaeolithic period. The figurine measures 11.1 centimetres (4.4 inches) tall and 4.3 centimetres (1.7 inches) at its widest point. It is named after the location it was found in 1925, in the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, south of Brno.

The figurine was discovered in two pieces by Czech archaeologist Karel Absolon on 13 July 1925, while excavating a mammoth hunter dwelling site.

Dolní Věstonice itself is considered one of the longest permanently inhabited settlements; some say it is the world's oldest village, however others argue the term "village" places too much stock on its original size, suggesting it was more of a camp.

The style of the figurine – a female nude with exaggerated breasts and hips – is similar to earlier works, including the oldest known figurative sculpture overall: a figure found at Hohle Fels Cave in south-west Germany in 2008. This "Venus of Holhe Fels" is made from mammoth ivory and has been dated at 35,000–40,000 years old. Other contemporary statues have been made of bone, ivory or stone, but the Dolní Věstonice example is the earliest made from fired clay found to date.

Hundreds of ceramic sculptures, modelled on both humans and Ice Age animals (e.g., lions and mammoths), as well as thousands of fragmented pieces and pellets have been recovered from the Dolní Věstonice site. Two kiln structures are also well-preserved there, representing the earliest-known ovens for firing clay.