The Oldest Mask in the World (Pre-Pottery Neolithic B)
12 comments
·August 15, 2025nemomarx
So how do we think it was made if it's pre pottery? Pure stone carving for this kind of detail seems very impressive
YeGoblynQueenne
>> This carved stone mask depicting a human face (...)
It's carved stone. Must weigh a ton to carry on one's face.
noselasd
2.2-4.4 pounds, not that much tbh. (source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/140610-ol...)
hopelite
That does seem relatively presumptuous of the "scientists". Maybe "humanoid" would be more appropriate, especially considering that it does not seem to demonstrate any effort to accurately represent the human face. It could very well represent some sort of spirit or "demon".
It also could very well not have been a mask humans would have worn, but instead it could have been part of some other thing like a statue or maybe an effigy that was burned, i.e., the "mask" could have been added to a straw or wood statue/figure that was then burned; saving the "mask" for next season/time.
It could have also very well just have been a kind of thing you would use to deter intruders by having or placing it somewhere.
A mask presumes that a human would wear it or it emulates such a purpose. It does not even need to be that. Think of old porcelain dolls whose face was porcelain but the rest of the head was stuffed fabric. That would also explain the holes on its perimeter. That kind of thing is also still done in certain places during various pagan celebrations that have survive and are so old no one knows how old they are, probably handed down and evolved from even before the time of this "mask's" creation.
nemomarx
The teeth marks look kinda like a skeleton to me. I could see it being part of an effigy but also maybe sewn into a headdress or something?
Evidlo
8800-6500 BC if you were wondering
dyauspitr
That’s insanely old. I didn’t even know we knew of communities that old outside of Gobleki Tepe
hopelite
It depends on your definition of communities. The oldest preserved cave paintings and artifacts from what is now Germany indicate that there were communities 35,000-40,000 years ago.
Just take a moment and contemplate that the best estimate we have has a range of 5,000 years.
contingencies
Aborigines arrived in Australia ~50K-65KYA
backprop1989
At once familiar and also utterly alien. Perhaps part of a ritual to honor the dead, or perhaps worn to scare children into eating their vegetables. We'll never know.
I'm going to print this for my kid's orthodontist's office.