Scientists exploring a deep cavern in Galilee, Israel, have discovered evidence that ancient humans used the location to worship a symbolic object seemingly representing a turtle god more than 35,000 years ago.
In a release announcing the unusual discovery, the prominently placed “touchstone” found within the cavern “is an engraved rock, deliberately placed in a niche in the cavern, with a turtle-shell design carved into its surface.” The researchers say that this three-dimensional representation of a turtle “is contemporaneous with some of the oldest cave paintings in France.”
The culmination of over a decade of excavations by archaeologists at the site, the team says this discovery represents the oldest example of ritualistic group behavior on the Asian continent. The research also offers rare insight into the spiritual thoughts and behaviors of archaic human societies from this period.
In their published study, the research team noted that the cavern’s deep, dark location far from the domestic areas of the enclosure, which were all near the entrance, indicated it was a special location and not part of the inhabitants’ everyday activities. This also suggests that the turtle god object carefully placed within the cavern was similarly significant.
“Its special location, far from the daily activities near the cave entrance, suggests that it was an object of worship,” explained team leader Omry Barzilai, Head of Material Culture PaleoLab at the University of Haifa and the Israel Antiquities Authority. “It may have represented a totem or spiritual figure.”
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