1,000-Year-Old Doll From Early Muslim Period Unearthed in Northern Israel

Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a bone doll, dated to about 1,000 years ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said on Monday. The doll was discovered in excavations at Usha, an archaeological site near the Mediterranean coastal city of Haifa in northern Israel. Such dolls, the IAA said, were popular among all strata of Palestine’s population from the seventh century CE, during the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate in the Early Muslim period, until the end of the Crusader period in the 13th century CE. They were used not only as toys but also as educational tools, preparing girls for their role as mothers in Muslim society, the IAA said. Religious opposition to making objects with a more detailed human appearance, beginning in the eighth century, resulted in the production of simpler dolls. When the bone doll found in Usha was made, during the latter part of the Early Muslim period, the production of such human figures was already prohibited in some parts of the country due to a religious ban. The IAA did not say what animal was the source of the bone, but dolls were typically made from the leg bones of cows, camels, goats, or sheep.