The so-called Venus of Dolní Vestonice, a ceramic statuette of a nude female figure dated to 29,000–25,000 BCE (Gravettian industry), which was found at a Paleolithic site in the Moravian basin south of Brno, is the oldest known ceramic in the world.
Predating the use of fired clay to make pottery, the figurine is one hundred and eleven millimeters (4.4 in) tall, and forty-three millimeters (1.7 in) wide at its widest point.
This figurine, together with a few others from nearby locations, is made of a clay body fired at a relatively low temperature.
The Paleolithic settlement of Dolní Vestonice in Moravia, a part of Czechoslovakia at the time organized excavation began, now located in the Czech Republic, has been under systematic archaeological research since 1924, initiated by Karel Absolon.
In addition to the Venus figurine, figures of animals—bear, lion, mammoth, horse, fox, rhino and owl—and more than two thousand balls of burnt clay have been found here.
