minor ’ owl - draw ability do n’t appear to have progressed much over the past five millennia , according to the findings of a raw investigation into Copper Age animal engravings . Previously , these ancient owlish depictions had been interpret as ritualistic artefacts , yet the “ cartoonlike ” nature of the etching implies that they may actually have beentoyscreated by and forchildren .
Several thousand engraved slate plaque resemble owls have been found in Copper Age burials across the Iberian Peninsula . And while archaeologists have debated the function of these carvings for over a hundred , most scholars privilege the thought that they make up goddesses and were used in funerary rituals .
However , the authors of a young survey challenge this theory by pointing out that the owl plaque appear too simple to have held such ceremonial importance .
An engraved plaque representing the little owl (Athene noctua). Image credit: Negro et al., Scientific Reports 2022(CC-BY 4.0),cropped by IFLScience
For instance , they observe that many ancient funerary physical object of were crafted from “ treasured materials or rare rocks including amber , elephant ivory or rock’n’roll crystal , which originated in distant orbit sometimes hundreds of kilometers away from the land site of discovery . ” In direct contrast , slating was readily abundant in and around Iberian settlements , and would not therefore have been considered a valuable fabric .
what is more , they say that scratch on slating is easily done , and can be fulfil by even the most inexperienced craftsperson . “ Plaque manufacturing and figure were simple and did not take mellow skills nor intensive labor , ” they excuse , pointing to previous experiments in which untrained participants managed to recreate the memorial tablet in just a few hours .
The fundamental nature of the objects therefore guide the research worker to suspect that they were n’t create by master journeyman , but by children . After all , the availableness of slate , combined with the fact that it is so easy to etch , makes it the perfect cloth for tike to exercise draw on .
“ In some of the engraved brass we see … a cartoonlike owl … as if conceived by a child , ” they say .
To validate their theory , the study author gather 100 Copper Age owl plaques and rat their “ owliness ” based on how well they represented six different traits that are characteristic of the nocturnal birds . More specifically , the researchers attend for a flat facial disk , a beak , patterned feathers , two eye , wings and feathery tufts .
While some of the plaques clearly depicted all of these features , others were somewhat loose in theirowlishlikeness . This execute the researchers to wonder if the birds were absorb by children of dissimilar ages , with the younger artist producing more abstractionist - expect birds .
They therefore gathered a second hardening of 100 owl drawing that were created by modern - solar day nipper aged between four and 13 . Using the same owl paygrade system to appraise the sketches , the study generator found that those drawn by younger minor tend to let in few of the six rudimentary owl traits , while older children generally admit all of these key feature in their delineation .
“ There is a progression related to long time in the owliness of the depictions , with more and more owl role add together by old children , ” compose the research worker . This , they say , “ may facilitate explain at least partially why there are so many plaque types , and why some are more reminiscent of bird of Minerva than others . ”
sum up up their findings , the author tell that “ owl engravings could have been execute by tyke , as they resemble owl paint today by elementary shoal student . ”
They therefore conclude that the plaques were likely intend for use during “ playful activity ” , and that some children may also have offered their owls as interment goods as a way of participating in radical ritual .
The study has been print in the journalScientific Reports .
