A new study suggests that children from the Iberian Peninsula carved slate into the shape of owls thousands of years ago. Archaeologists thought the figures were only used in rituals. A new study shows that they could have been used as toys.
Researchers from the Spanish National Research Council looked at 100 of the engraved slate owl plaques that have been collected over the years at tomb and pit sites. The carvings were rated for how many owlish features they had, including two circles for the owl's large frontal eyes. Researchers think the pieces could have been used to make bird feathers.
According to Juan J. Negro, the study's lead author, the engravings were easy to make. They could be finished in a few hours because the carvers didn't invest a lot of time or skills into making them.
Slate, a soft material composed mostly of chlorite, was used to make the carvings. Slate's malleability gave it the ability to be carved with pointed tools. Negro said that anyone could engrave into it.
RECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU...
Iron Age warriors were buried near a bird.
The kids in the copper age focused on owls instead of other animals.
Negro said that owls were a common sight in urban areas. The little owl and the long-eared owl are the two most abundant owl species in that part of the world.
Negro said that owls are known to get rid of rats and mice and that these youngsters would see them frequently. Owl's large heads and frontally placed eyes make them different from other birds. Since everyone has an image of an owl in their brain, children don't need a model to draw an owl. Like horses, dogs and elephants, they're icons.
Negro and his team asked a group of modern-day children to draw pictures of owls and the artwork looked eerily similar to ancient carvings.
The creation of owls is part of a learning process for young people.
The author of an article on ice age children's toys but not part of the study agreed.
Langley told Live Science that children all over the globe will create their own toys. "These toys are likely to be created out of common or otherwise easy to get raw materials and their form will follow what is in their surroundings." owls would fit that picture because dolls and figurines are universal and will likely be of common or important animals to the community.
In the journal Scientific Reports, the findings were published.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
