DAMASCUS, (ST)_ A small basalt painting with a polished surface dating back to the Neolithic age is displaced at the Prehistoric Syrian Archeological Antiquities Department at Damascus National Museum.

 

The painting was found in Al-Jerf Al-Ahmar “Red Cliff” site on the Euphrates River in Aleppo governorate, and it dates back to 9200 to 8800 A.D.

 

On the front surface of the painting, one can see an inscription of an owl catching an insect with its feet, while the other surface contains drawings that represent bulls heads.

 

According to archeologists, this painting is one of the most important paintings because it represents the beginning of counting by the ancient Syrian human.

 

Al-Jerf Al-Ahmar site was discovered by American Archeologist Tom McClellan, and later a joint Syrian-French mission headed by Researcher Dr. Bassam Jamous worked at the site.

 

The site proves that Syria is one of few regions in the world that witnessed the early Neolithic revolution and the emergence of agricultural villages.

 

Basma Qaddour