The world's oldest doll toy unearthed in child's grave

• It was found in the grave of a small child in a remote region in Siberia
• The tomb also contained a mythical dragon-like animal head made from bone
• The finds have been added to what has been described as 'the oldest toy collection in the world'

A prehistoric doll with almond-shaped eyes has been unearthed in Siberia.

Another plaything, a mythical dragon-like animal head, made from antler or horn, was found alongside the artifact in the Bronze Age grave of a small child.

The finds have been added to what has been described as 'the oldest toy collection in the world' following a series of 4,500-year-old discoveries in the remote Khakassia region.

The toy, which is made of soapstone, is believed to be the oldest doll designed for play ever found.

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A prehistoric doll has been unearthed in Siberia. The rest of the toy would
have been made of organic material, which did not survive.

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A mythical dragon-like animal head made from antler or horn, was found in
the same grave of a small child.

Wooden dolls of a similar age have been discovered in Egypt, but these were engraved with reproductive symbols and so were unlikely to have been playthings.

Archaeologist Dr Andrey Polyakov, from the Institute of History of Material Culture in St Petersburg, said the doll had 'carefully worked out facial features', including bushy eyebrows and high cheekbones.

Like the animal, the rest of the toy would have been made of organic material, which did not survive.

The finds were made in the grave of a 'common' child from the Okunev culture, a grouping which held sway in southern Siberian in the Bronze Age and is believed to have genetic links to Native Americans.

The burial was not an 'elite' member of society, suggesting that 'ordinary' children had access to intricate toys.

The latest finds add to others in or near the Itkol II burial ground in Khakassia in recent years.

A figurine of a pagan god pulled out of a Siberian river several years ago by an angler was a child's toy or rattle to ward off evil spirits, believe archaeologists.

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Eight intricately carved figurines with the faces of humans (left), birds
(right), elk and a boar lay on the chest of the ancient infant - each was
around 8 cm (3 inches) long.

'I stopped and washed the thing in the river - and realised it wasn't a stone of an unusual shape, as I thought earlier - but a statuette.'

Meanwhile a collection of ghoulish figurines discovered with a baby's remains in a birch-bark cradle two years ago have been hailed as the oldest rattles ever found.

Eight intricately carved figurines with the faces of humans, birds, elk and a boar lay on the chest of the ancient infant - each was around three inches long.





Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...ollection.html



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