Lovers before our time

We presume early humans copulated merely for the sake of reproduction, however there is an art piece that proves us wrong. At the end of the last ice age someone spotted a calcite cobble in the stream, picked it up and carved it into what is today known as the Ain Sakhri lovers figurine. It is the oldest known presentation of people having sex.

The fist size piece shows two naked people wrapped up in each other. Found in a cave near Bethlehem, has intrigued scholars and artists since. As British sculpturer Marc Quinn noted the figure looks differently depending on the viewer’s perspective. It may resemble a couple, a penis, breasts, or a vagina. The Ain Sakhri lovers can be seen in the British museum.