Researchers at the Israel Museum spent a decade studying roughly 9,000-year-old limestone masks from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. Only 16 are known worldwide, all from the Judean Hills and Desert between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. Carved to resemble human faces with sunken cheeks and exposed teeth, the masks have eyeholes aligned with a wearer's field of vision and weigh 1–2 kg with balanced weight. In 1983, fragments of two masks were found in Nahal Hemar Cave in the Judean Desert; one retained human hair, a mustache and a beard. The cave also yielded decorated, asphalt-coated skulls, bone figurines, flint knives and partial remains of 23 people. The video argues that living people wore the masks to enter trances and become vessels for ancestor spirits.
9,000-year-old pre-Pottery Neolithic stone masks from the Judean Hills and Desert
Site mentioned
📍 Nahal
Key facts
- The masks are approximately 9,000 years old, carved from limestone, and date to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic.
- Only 16 are known worldwide, with the known examples coming from the Judean Hills and Desert between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.
- Israel Museum researchers spent about a decade studying the masks, which are fashioned to resemble human faces with sunken cheeks, prominent temples and exposed teeth.
- Computer analysis found that the eyeholes match a wearer's field of vision; the masks weigh 1–2 kg and are evenly balanced.
- Excavations at Nahal Hemar Cave in the Judean Desert in 1983 produced fragments of two masks, one preserving human hair, a mustache and a beard. The cave also yielded decorated, asphalt-coated skulls, bone figurines, flint knives and partial remains of 23 people.
- The video argues that living people wore the masks to enter trances and become vessels for ancestor spirits; this is the presenter's interpretation, not an established finding by the Israel Museum researchers.
Sources
Mask | The Israel Museum, Jerusalemimj.org.il
This carved stone mask depicting a human face belongs to a rare group of masks from the Neolithic Period that were discovered in the Judean Desert and on ...
Nahal Hemar Cave - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Replica Stone Mask, Nahal Hemar Cave, Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period ... There were also ceremonial masks similar to other neolithic masks found inside a ...
9,000-year-old stone mask discovered in southern Hebron Hillsjpost.com
A stone mask from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period was discovered in the Pnei Hever region of the southern Hebron Hills.
Israel reveals eerie collection of Neolithic 'spirit' maskstimesofisrael.com
Ahead of Purim, 12 relics of 9000-year-old ancestor worship from Judean Desert, Hills to go on display at Israel Museum for first time.
A Rare Neolithic Stone Mask Was Just Unveiled In Israelallthatsinteresting.com
A 9,000-Year-Old Stone Mask From The Neolithic Era Was Just Unveiled In Israel · Just 16 similar masks have ever been found, and they were likely ...
9000-year-old stone mask from Hebron Hills on display at ...timesofisrael.com
Masks of this type are traced to the south Hebron area, where archaeologists say their use was part of a belief system developed during the ...
Jerusalem israel museum mask Stock Photos and Imagesalamy.com
The masks are the oldest in the world and were discovered in the Judean hills and desert between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. They are made of limestone and ...
Face to Face | The Israel Museum, Jerusalemimj.org.il
These extremely rare 9,000-year-old stone masks all originated in the Land of Israel and are considered among the most ancient human portraits.
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