When they aren’t glued to their electronic devices, today’s kids play with action figures and Barbie dolls. Five thousand years ago, Copper Age children on the Iberian Peninsula played with owls. Carved owls. Owls which they probably made themselves. Imagine a child, using a tool diligently, concentrating, mimicking parental activity, practicing for adulthood — what a wonderful toy.
Many important artisan techniques, such as the making of pottery, are learned in childhood by copying the actions of adults.
Of the many small statues of owls found in Spanish and Portuguese sites, some are very crudely cut; others appear to have been carved by somewhat more experienced knife wielders, older children perhaps. This lack of sophistication contrasts sharply with the exquisitely worked examples of copper jewelry from the same time and place.
Once thought to be ritual items, and maybe some were, these slate and bone carved owls were probably children’s playthings.
Why do we think these figures were made by and/or for young people? A recently published paper compared the figurines with owl drawings by contemporary children 4 to 13 years old.
Using six owl traits to score the complexity of each object or drawing — two big eyes, feathers on the front, rostral mask, facial disc, beaks, and wings — the authors found the ancient carvings and the modern drawings remarkably alike in the way in which the owls were represented across the age spectrum.
Most of the carvings resembled either the little owl (Athena noctua) or the long-eared owl (Asio otus), both of which were and are common species in the area.
Some of the figures have two holes in the top of the head; improperly placed for stringing on a necklace, these were likely meant to hold upright feathers like the erect tufts of the long-eared owl.
The carvings were two-dimensional, and most were made of slate, which was common and easily obtainable. A child could find a likely shard almost anywhere.
Why owls? Why not foxes with their lovely long tails? Why not hares or squirrels?
These two owl species live close to people; long ears especially are common urban dwellers. They prey on mice and voles, considered pests even back then, and so were considered friends. They have big eyes, which humans deem to be attractive. Lastly, they resemble little humans in shape: head at the top, feet at the bottom, vertical rather than horizontal, and so seemingly people-like.
Modern polls tell us that the bird species most liked or preferred by people are those with the shortest necks and the largest eyes — in other words, owls. This preference hasn’t changed in 5,000 years.
Are we certain that these little owls were made by children for their own use? Of course not. Nothing in science is ever absolutely proven. Still, when the preponderance of evidence fits a hypothesis, and no facts refute it over a period of time, it becomes a theory. Theories are accepted by most people as the closest we can come to truth at a given time. New tools or new methods of inquiry may change or adapt a theory; that’s how science works.
That the multitude of miniature owls found on the Iberian Peninsula were toys made by children is an hypothesis well supported by known facts. Future studies may reinforce this view, or not.
It will take a lot of negative data, however, to undermine the warm fuzzies of research that involves little kids and their toys.
Marion Kyde is a mycologist living in Tinicum.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
