posted on Jul, 10 2014 @ 05:14 AM
a reply to:
skalla
a reply to:
skalla
I hope you're feeling better, really with talk of aliens i am only playing Devils advocate to the current way of looking at things, for myself i
prefer the Guardians of the Divine Laws that emerged from the Abzu as explanation for the figures...
Putting things into perspective, Vinca appears to have been an epicentre for cultic beliefs attached to these figures that went on to extend over a
great geographic range for the best part of two thousand years and was a mayor cultural influence on the rise of the City States, they are pretty much
the only evidence for any sort of belief system during the period 7,000 to 5,000 years ago in those regions, so whatever they relate to is of huge
significance.
During that period they became household protective guardians and this probably also translates into the Sumerian Apkallu foundation bricks often
containing seven figurines, also during that period no doubt followers wore masks in imitation.
The art history context is as you suggested critical here, the genre of mannerism and seemingly natural portraiture evidence at the core sites, the
Jomon thinking man, the Vinca thinking man, the variability of poses before the standardized idol forms such as the Cycladian or Eye Idols of Tell
Brak, in similar manner people will reduce a great mystery into some coverall term, anthropomorphic, ritualistic, abstract, shamanistic, and you have
lost sight of the individuals behind the masks, the reality of what occured, and the ones that most readily dismiss are the ones that understand the
least what is involved.
The animal helmets you mentioned are interesting in that the Seven sages also appear to have brought their dogs with them through the Apsu, how crazy
is that...
The figurines of the fish apkallu and bird Apkallu have some of their most prominent attestations in this Apotropaic function and the ritual
instructions dictate that 7 bird apkallu were to be underneath the headboard of the bed, while 7 fish apkallu were to be buried underneath the
threshold barring entrance to any hostile force. The Apkallu figurines were to be fashioned of clay and "all beings of clay (including the dogs and
the apkallu) are called bīnūt apsê, "creature of the Apsû
abgal-apkallu-sages