{
  "id": 19539253,
  "title": "Symbolic clay figurines change our understanding of the prehistoric Middle East",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/symbolic-clay-figurines-change-our-understanding-of-the-prehistoric",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-11T19:00:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-11-clay-figurines-prehistoric-middle-east.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Newly discovered artifacts are evidence of the earliest known example of a tradition of making clay figurines in the Middle East—and challenge long-held beliefs about when and how clay began to be used for symbolic purposes in the region, according to a study published in PLOS One by Laurent Davin from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, and colleagues.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}