Ophidian terracotta figurines from the Ubaid culture have elongated heads, coffee-bean-shaped eyes and snake- or lizard-like features. They are associated with southern Mesopotamia's Ubaid period, including the 5th millennium BC, and are known from Eridu and other Ubaid sites. Many were found in domestic, funerary or temple-related contexts. The figurines are small, often about 5–10 cm tall and slender. Their identities and uses remain debated, with proposed readings including youth, elite status or ritual use.
Ophidian (reptilian) figurines of the Ubaid culture
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Key facts
- The archaeological term is "ophidian," not "aphidian," for Ubaid terracotta figurines with elongated, snake- or lizard-like features.
- They are associated with southern Mesopotamia's Ubaid period, which includes the 5th millennium BC.
- They are known from Eridu and other Ubaid sites, with examples found in domestic, funerary and temple-related contexts.
- The figurines are small and slender, commonly about 5–10 cm tall. Their identities and uses remain debated, with proposed interpretations including youth, elite status and ritual use.
Sources
Enigmatic Ubaid Lizardmen: 7000-Year-Old Artifacts With Reptile ...howandwhys.com
Enigmatic Ubaid Lizardmen: 7000-Year-Old Artifacts With Reptile Head Found In Iraq ... What do these lizard statues symbolize then? Some ...
Unraveling the Mystery of the Ubaid Lizard Figurines – Indrosphereindroyc.com
Notably, the Lizard Figurines, with their unique reptilian features, suggest complex societal beliefs, including possible connections to ...
What is known about the Ubaid lizard-people figurines?history.stackexchange.com
I find the Ubaid lizard-people figurines visually captivating. ... reptilian? (Going by the bug-eyes, snouts, and open nostrils, in the ...
Ubaid figurine resembling alien stumps archaeologists in Kuwaitfoxnews.com
A strange alien-like clay head dating back thousands of years has been retrieved from an excavation in Kuwait, stumping archaeologists about how it came to be.
Ubaid perioden.wikipedia.org
figurine of a lizard-headed nude woman. The majority of Ubaid figurines represented various animals, including sheep, cattle, and dogs.
The ophidians Dr/ Inass Mostafa abd el mohsen Ebrahim ...journals.ekb.eg
by عبد المحسن · 2023 — The term "ophidians" is used for a type of terracotta figurines of the Ubaid civilization. The “ophidian” literally means “like a snake, or in the shape of a ...
Ubaid culture figurine: a unique 7000-year-old discovery ...researchinpoland.org
The enigmatic figurine was not created by the local community; it was brought from the Mesopotamian region, approximately 200–300 km away from ...
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