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Slate plaques from astir 5000 years agone engraved with images of what look similar owls whitethorn person been children’s artwork alternatively than ceremonial offerings, but not everyone is convinced
Humans 1 December 2022By Carissa Wong
Could slate plaques similar these (the 1 connected the near is simply a replica) person been made by children? Juan J. Negro
Slate plaques engraved with owl-like features whitethorn person chiefly been children’s artwork alternatively than ceremonial offerings arsenic antecedently proposed, but the thought is controversial.
For implicit a century, researchers person debated the meaning of thousands of palm-sized slate plaques chiefly recovered astatine burial sites successful the south-western Iberian Peninsula, dating to communities surviving determination successful the Copper Age immoderate 5000 years ago.
Archaeologists person antecedently suggested that the dozens of plaques bearing an owl-like representation were symbols of goddesses that were placed connected deceased radical arsenic a burial offering. It is debated whether the engravings are of owls, radical oregon different figures.
Now, Juan Negro astatine the Spanish National Research Council and his colleagues suggest that children engraved owls connected the slate – utilizing copper, flint oregon quartz tools.
Each plaque has a assemblage and a caput with a scope of engraved features resembling owl beaks, feathers and ample eyes.
The squad compared engravings connected plaques with drawings of owls made by children aged betwixt 4 and 13 contiguous and recovered that the prime and saltation successful the “owliness” of the plaques was akin to the modern drawings.
“We suggest these plaques whitethorn person resulted from children playing – though we cannot enactment an property to it,” says Negro. “This is not incompatible with the thought that the plaques whitethorn besides person past been utilized successful rituals arsenic burial offerings.”
Many of the plaques besides person tiny holes successful them done which drawstring whitethorn person been passed, according to erstwhile interpretations. Instead of string, Negro’s squad suggest that vertebrate feathers could person been placed successful the holes to mimic the tufts connected a autochthonal owl.
This mentation isn’t accepted by all.
Drawings of owls done by children Juan J. Negro
“I applaud the effort to bring children, who are under-conceptualised successful archaeological theory, into our representation of prehistory,” says Jonathan Thomas astatine the University of Iowa. But comparing the engravings to modern drawings by schoolhouse children isn’t coagulated evidence, helium says.
The thought that feathers were stuffed successful the holes besides isn’t beardown successful examination to the accepted interpretation, helium says. “I don’t disagree that Copper Age adolescents apt made plaques, and that immoderate archaeological plaques look similar owls, but the authors don’t contiguous immoderate existent technological grounds that would suggest adolescents successful peculiar were making owl plaques successful particular,” says Thomas.
Katina Lillios astatine the University of Iowa is besides unconvinced. “If children, arsenic the largest demographic of these communities, were making them, these kinds of plaques should beryllium overmuch much common, erstwhile successful fact, those plaques with owl-like qualities marque up lone astir 4 per cent of each plaques,” she says.
The information that the owl-like plaques amusement specified consistency and are truthful wide dispersed suggests that determination was a modular mode successful which they were made, and that they weren’t the playful creations of children, says Lillios.
Journal reference: Nature Scientific Reports , DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23530-0
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