an international team of archaeologists have established the purpose of the mysterious flint figurines, which for several decades were found in the town of Harison in Jordan. It turned out that it was a ritual objects made in the Neolithic special for burial.
a study published in the journal Antiquity. Numerous flint figurines, male and female, were mostly discovered in the ancient tombs in the valley of the river Zarka in Jordan. There have been found more than a hundred.
by the Way, for a long time archaeologists did not recognize the detected objects, figurines. In the new study was conducted morphological analysis. It turned out that the artifacts from Harisena have a great similarity to the female figurines of the Neolithic period, discovered in Poland.
they are Made by primitive technology. By and large, the wizard just cut the notches to define the hips and shoulders. However, they are dated to the eighth Millennium BC. Scientists believe that these figurines were deliberately made for the rites of burial of the dead. Until recently, however, it was unconfirmed hypothesis.
the fact that a lot of the statuettes were found not in graves, in a sort of hiding-places, where they were stacked together. This finding challenged the hypothesis of a ritual use of the artifacts. Comparative analysis showed that similar caches, for example, found in the town of tel-Karass in the South of Syria. And there, in addition to figures in the recesses are kept and tools. And Harisena in the “caches”, except for the figurines were also found of a round figure. There is speculation that it was a “pawn” for some “Board” games.
At the same time in the recesses found no human remains. In the new study, scientists write that they were able to reveal this mystery. They believe that in fact, the caches were not intended for storage of figures. They were not even defend it as such. Scientists suggest that it was… a garbage pit, where I threw out figures, or rejected someone, or for some reason not suitable.
To such conclusion came the archaeologists, after examining the artifacts in the laboratory and not finding a trace of wear. According to them, this means that the figures fell into the pit almost immediately after manufacture. So they could be thrown.
