About 7000 years before the French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) cast his world-renowned Le Penseur (“The Thinker”) – a nude male sitting on a rock with his chin resting on one hand – the neolithic culture of Hamangia (located in what is present-day Romania and Bulgaria) created its own version of the philosophical intellect. This terracotta figurine, which was excavated in 1956 at the necropolis of Cernavodă in south-east Romania, is believed to be the oldest sculpture which depicts human cognition and introspection. It is unusual for its time as pre-literate art generally just depicted hunting or fertility.
Four-and-a-half inches tall, the Thinker of Cernavodă is seated on a stool with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He is joined by a woman – with huge buttocks. Today, both are kept at a museum in the Romanian city of Constanța.
—-
Image Credit:
Featured: The Thinker of Cernavoda by User “三猎”, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
—-
On Art and Aesthetics 
Excellent
LikeLiked by 1 person
I never knew of these ancient pieces! Thanks for sharing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. I find this art going back to such ancient times is fascinating.
LikeLiked by 1 person
using slovene language to distill the meaning, cernavoda could actually be understood as black water, as cerna is black and voda is water….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for that! I read that it happens to be the site of a nuclear power plant.
LikeLike
that explains it. strange coincidence. thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person