HaitiLibre Quiz

Riddles of the Past 3.1 WORLD

Difficulty Level: N3 Advanced
Welcome to the heart of the labyrinth of shaken certainties. This advanced level quiz is aimed at enthusiasts whose libraries are overflowing with archaeological theses and forgotten archives. Here, the obvious gives way to the technical anomaly and the raw fact. Prepare to probe the deepest layers of history, where only the most well-informed researchers dare to venture.
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Which Mesopotamian site, dating from the Obeid period, presents anthropomorphic figurines with reptilian features (lizard heads), defying the usual iconographic codes ?

75% of players answered correctly.

THE CORRECT ANSWER: Tell al-Ubaid

Discovered at the site of Tell al-Ubaid in Iraq, these terracotta figurines date from around 4000 to 5000 BC. BC, well before the flourishing of Sumerian civilization. They represent human figures, often breastfeeding women, but with elongated heads and almond-shaped eyes reminiscent of saurians.For researchers, these features are not representations of extraterrestrial beings, as some popular theories suggest, but could symbolize artificial cranial deformation, a practice attested in several ancient cultures to mark high social status. However, the deliberate choice of a reptilian aesthetic remains a major iconographic enigma.Were these specific deities linked to fertility or primordial waters? The absence of written texts at this time leaves the interpretation of these "lizard men" open to the most complex debates between archaeologists and anthropologists of the ancient Near East.