Carved cave turtle may have been worshiped 35,000 years before Christianity
The “cosmic turtle” that carries the country and even the entire world on its back appears in creation myths around the world.
Now, a mysterious rock sculpture of a sea turtle has been discovered deep in a remote cave in Israel, suggesting worship of the creature may date back at least 35,000 years.
The Mano Cave in Galilee is understood to have been used by Neanderthals and humans for thousands of years, but its inhabitants are thought to have always lived near the cave entrance, where evidence of animal slaughter and flint hammering has been found.
Now experts have discovered a large gallery in the deepest, darkest part of the cave, which may have been used as a gathering area for rituals.
In a niche in the center of the cave, a three-dimensional tortoise or tortoise-shell sculpture carved from a dolomite boulder appears to be the focal point of the sacred room.
“It could represent a totem or a spiritual figure,” said Omry Barzilai, director of the University of Haifa’s Material Culture Paleolab and the Israel Antiquities Authority, who led the team.
“Its special location, away from everyday activities near the cave entrance, suggests it was an object of worship.”
Deep within the cave is a soaring chamber with a massive dome-like ceiling that provides favorable natural acoustics for large gatherings.
Evidence of wood ash on nearby stalagmites suggests prehistoric humans carried torches to light up the chamber.
Experts have discovered a large gallery in the deepest part of the Mano Cave that may have been used as a ceremonial gathering area – Assaf Peretz/Israel Antiquities Authority
Linear microscratches within the carved grooves indicate that it was carved by humans using sharp flint tools, shaped to resemble a turtle or tortoise shell.
The boulder weighed 46 pounds (28 kilograms) and experts said “any chance occurrence” was ruled out as it accidentally rolling into the cave due to gravity. It leans neatly against the wall, with its uncarved side facing the wall.
Galilee is the place where the Bible records that Jesus performed many miracles, including walking on water, turning water into wine, and feeding five thousand people. This is also where he delivered the Sermon on the Mount.
But the new ceremonial chamber represents the earliest evidence of religious practice in the Levant, often called the Holy Land.
The significance of the turtle sculptures is unclear, but sea turtles and tortoises appear in religion and mythology in Asia, Africa, North America, and the Indian subcontinent and are believed to represent longevity and strength.
embodies the known universe
In Hindu mythology, the world turtle is called Akupara, Kurma or Kurmaraja, and it holds up mountains or symbolizes the known universe.
Some 19th-century Western writers such as John Locke also claimed that Hindus believed the world was supported by an elephant standing on a tortoise.
In Chinese mythology, after the mountains supporting the sky were destroyed, Nuwa held up the sky with the legs of a turtle.
Zulu folklore holds that many of the world’s nations are held up on the shell of a turtle, while some North American natives believe that a solar eclipse occurs when the “giant turtle that holds up the earth” changes position in the sky.
Some 19th-century Western writers claimed that Hindus believed the world was supported by an elephant standing on a turtle
It is known that the Sea turtle and spur tortoise inhabited the Levant during the occupation of the cave. They were slow-moving and easy prey, and in some cases their remains account for up to 30 percent of the animal bones found in their habitat.
Turtle remains often show signs of cooking, butchering and processing, and their carapace may have been used as a container. They have also been found in suspected shamanic burial sites, suggesting their importance to prehistoric people in the Levant.
The Mano Cave was discovered in 2008 by workers building apartments in a mountain resort near the Israeli-Lebanese border.
In 2015, researchers from Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio, helped identify a 55,000-year-old skull that provided physical evidence of interbreeding between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, with every feature clearly visible in the skull fragments visible.
The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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