Neolithic phallus points to brooding macho men
By Roger Highfield,
Science Editor
02/09/2008
Figurines shaped like phalluses have emerged from excavations in the north of Israel, surprising archaeologists because of their thrusting, macho nature.
While fertility symbols during this period are often associated with female imagery, at the site in Kfar HaHoresh only phallic figurines have been found to date, including one placed in the foundation.
(1) Phallic figurine,
(2) Small symbolic axe made with serpentine,
(3) Shell pendants,
(4) Engraved token
The team from the Hebrew University has found the fertility symbols in a prehistoric walled enclosure, some 10 by 20 metres, that dates back almost nine thousand years, nearby a burial ground.
Burials at the site now total at least 65 individuals, and display an unusual demographic profile - with an emphasis on young adult males, between the ages of 20 and 30.
The site in the Nazareth hills of the lower Galilee is thought to have been a regional funerary and cult centre for nearby villages.
Prof Nigel Goring-Morris of the Hebrew University's Institute of Archaeology, who is leading the excavations, says there were "intensive ritual practices in the area."
It is not known exactly how these symbols were used, though in general terms many people in the Neolithic period put emphasis on fertility symbols, particularly female, at the dawn of farming.
As for the male bias of the symbols and the burials, Prof Goring-Morris speculated that the ritual centre served the lowland communities five or six miles away, and could have been a conservative reaction to the new fangled beginnings of agriculture, such as herding, by traditional local men who yearned for the mannish days of hunting.
advertisementThe enclosure is just one of the many finds discovered at the site this year - including remains of a fully-articulated 40 year old adult male who is in a foetal position.
Graves occur under or associated with lime-plaster surfaced L-shaped walled structures, and are varied in nature from single burials through multiple secondary burials with up to 17 individuals.
Many had their skulls removed.
Bones in one had been intentionally re-arranged in a deliberate way, to look like an animal, such as boar or even cattle, in profile, he says.
Accompanying grave goods include a sickle blade and a sea shell, while a concentration of some 60 other shells were found nearby.
The sea shells - a form of currency - provide evidence for extensive exchange networks from the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Symbolic items include small plain or incised tokens. An entire herd of cattle was also found buried nearby.
Exotic minerals found at the site include malachite from south of the Dead Sea, obsidian (natural volcanic glass) from central Anatolia, and a votive axe on serpentine from either Cyprus or northern Syria.
The enclosure dates from the time when the first large village communities were established in the fertile regions of the Near East when agriculture and trade networks began to extend throughout the Levant.
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