9,000-year-old mask found in the Hebron hills

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Rock ArtCountry: Israel Type: Rock Art

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**9,000-year-old mask found in the Hebron hills** submitted by motist : 9,000-year-old mask found in the Hebron hills by a settler going for a walk. (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Neolithic-era stone mask could have been a local way to stake a claim to land in the transition from hunting and gathering to farming, archaeologists suggest. Israeli archaeologists have retrieved a 9,000-year-old mask that was discovered by chance by a settler taking a walk in the hills south of Hebron, in the West Bank, officials said Wednesday.

The Neolithic artifact, made of stone, is among the oldest surviving ritual masks in the world, archaeologists believe. It was carved when humans were transitioning from a life of hunting and gathering to agriculture for subsistence, and were beginning to form complex societies. The discovery of the mask, and other finds at the site, may give archaeologists a chance to learn more about the function of these grotesque-looking masks, which have befuddled scholars for decades. While their function in prehistory cannot be known, archaeologists suspect the grotesque-looking masks may have played a role in ancestor worship.

The mask was spotted lying on the surface of a field late last year by a settler who had gone out for a walk, said Ronit Lupu, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority robbery prevention unit. Speaking to Haaretz, Lupu did not reveal the exact location of the find or the identity of the settler but she said there was “no reason” to believe there was any wrongdoing or attempted looting involved in the discovery.

Since its discovery, archaeologists have been surveying the site where the mask was purportedly found and have been testing the artifact to confirm its authenticity and provenance.

Only 15 other Neolithic masks have been confirmed as authentic, and almost all surfaced already in the hands of private collectors around the world rather than in archaeological digs, meaning experts cannot glean much information about their provenance or function. Rare prehistoric artifacts like these masks are a prime target for looters and forgers, and can fetch up to 1 million dollars each on the antiquities market, says Omry Barzilai, an IAA archaeologist and expert on prehistory who studied the find. The trade in bootleg antiquities is keenly frustrating to archaeologists because of the resulting difficulty in proving an artifact's authenticity, and the loss of opportunity to seek associated objects at the site.

While some of the masks have holes on the sides, it is not clear if they were attached to the face, or may have been too cumbersome for that purpose. They may have been used as death masks or displayed in some other way, experts postulate. Other stone representations of the human face from the Neolithic period have been found across the Levant, including at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey. But these tend to be relatively abstract and researchers are divided as to whether they can be considered actually masks. As a result, the Neolithic masks from southern Israel tend to be considered the earliest clear manifestation of this cultural phenomenon.

Source: Haaretz