The 7,000-year-old bird-like granite figurine has puzzled archaeologists in Greece. The statuette was found in the museum storerooms, carefully studied, but could not accurately determine its origin and meaning.
The 36-centimeter Enigma carved from granite belongs to the late Neolithic. The figurine has a pointed, birdlike nose, a long neck that flows into a rounded body, and short flattened "legs".
“It can be a person with a bird's head or a bird that has nothing to do with humans, but is associated with the symbolism of the Neolithic,” - Katya Manteli, museum archaeologist.
Experts are also not sure about the origin of the statuette, since it came to the museum from a personal collection. It can only be assumed that the figurine was carved in the northern Greek regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. Unlike most figurines and figurines of the Neolithic period, made of "soft" stone, "Enigma" was carved from granite, the tools for processing which were not yet widespread in such early times.
“In terms of technique and size, the statuette is one of the rarest and most unique pieces of the Neolithic era in Greece,” adds Manteli.
The lack of clear sexual characteristics also makes the figure mysterious …