The posts I enjoyed this week, a sad wolf mummy, a new sphinx and some miniature Neolithic masks and the tale they tell.
New sphinx found in Egypt. This statue (smaller by a lot than the famous sphinx) of a lion body and human head dates to the Ptolemaic period. It was discovered while archaeologists drained water in a temple in the city of Aswan. I wonder if it will ask a riddle? Anyone want to propose what it will ask the modern day Oedipus? Click here for Archaeology News Network “Ptolemaic statue of sphinx discovered in Egypt”
Mummified, 50,000 year old wolf pup and caribou calf revealed by melting permafrost in the Yukon. This find is both creepy and intriguing. The bodies are so well preserved, skin, fur, paws and so much detail that the pup, in particular, is very edgy and sad to look at. But such preservation gives researchers a lot to study about their DNA and how closely the modern wolves and caribou are to these decidedly long-ago critters. Disturbing on two fronts: that climate change is melting places that have been frozen for over 50,000 years and that a mummy can look like a modern puppy and inspire heartbreak. Click here for The Guardian “Spectacular ice age wolf pup and caribou dug up in Canada”
Neolithic stone masks have been found over the years in Israel, in Turkey at the Göbekli Tepe site and elsewhere. Some are bigger than life and may have been hung on walls for ritual use. Others are miniature and may represent masks made from organic materials that people wore in rites. They have minimalist, almost abstract, depictions of the human face, creating a haunting evocation. Göbekli Tepe is fascinating in so many ways, but one of them is that during the Neolithic period the huge site of stone pillars and structures was purposefully buried and put out of use in a planned respectful process. We can only guess why. The miniature masks and other anthropomorphic figures were buried in the fill near the central pillars. This ASOR article suggests this explanation: “If we assume that the stone masks are miniature or supra-sized representations of real organic masks worn by humans, they might attest that ritual activity at Göbekli Tepe and other sites included masquerades, where people acted out parts of a complex mythology. When enclosures were put out of use, masks and miniatures were buried with them, freezing rituals in time and space.” I want the time machine to go back and observe these “masquerades,” please! Any of you coming with me? Click here for ASOR Blog “Behind the Mask: Early Neolithic Miniature Masks (and One Larger-Than-Life Example) from Göbekli Tepe (and Beyond)”