Summary
A 35,000-year-old carved turtle sculpture, discovered deep in Manot Cave, Israel, may represent the earliest evidence of religious behavior in the Levant.
Found in a secluded chamber possibly used for rituals, the dolomite boulder was intentionally placed and shaped with flint tools, suggesting its use as a totem or spiritual figure.
Turtles hold symbolic significance in global mythologies, often representing longevity and strength.
The discovery highlights the ritual practices of prehistoric humans and adds to Manot Cave’s significance, already known for evidence of Neanderthal-human interbreeding.
All hail
SimpsonsFuturama did it. “Is the Space Pope reptilian?”Behold, Dog.
See the turtle of enormous girth! On his shell he holds the earth. His thought is slow but always kind; He holds us all within his mind. On his back all vows are made; He sees the truth but may not said. He loves the land and loves the sea, And even loves a child like me
Literally came here to post this. Glad to find another Dark Tower fan
Here is Great A’Tuin, the world turtle. Its meteor-pocked shell dwarfing continents, flippers paddling the interstellar void with the slowness and inevitability a glacier. Swimming through space, its city sized eyes fixed on a distant point forever unknown.
The turtle moves!
Glaciers these days don’t have the inevitability they used to, what with all the melting. Although that’s here on Roundworld.
Makes sense, the whole world is carried around on four elephants balanced on one.
Yes, but that’s no excuse for you to stop and read articles about it when there’s packages due to be delivered in Ankh-Morpork.
Manot Cave, Occupied Palestine
Lots of things were worshiped before Abrahamic religions came around.
Yeah why is this article framing things as if Anu wasn’t being crafty in sumerian mythology before Yahweh even showed up.
It really is turtles all the way down!
Isn’t “it was probably a part of their religion” what archeologists always say when they don’t know what it was used for?
I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure your statement is probably religious or ritualistic.
I’m not sure
I’m pretty sure
Jokes are funnier when we explain them.
Woooosh
Here another source with with zero paywall/registration demands. It also goes into much greater depth.
The Turtle moves
When will archeologists just admit that sometimes we don’t know the purpose of things, and say so. Maybe somebody just liked carving turtles, surely not every fucking thing ever crafted in antiquity was religious.
Might I suggest Motel of the Mysteries? It’s about a future amateur archeologist excavating a modern day motel room and absolutely being 100% correct about everything he sees.
that would make a sweet hipster sleuth hat
