437
it's obviously a thingamajig (ani.social)
submitted 3 weeks ago by to c/historymemes@piefed.social
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[–] 5 points 3 weeks ago (9 children)

Looks like a toy, the ancient equivalent of a fidget spinner.

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  • [–] 23 points 3 weeks ago (8 children)

    They never have any signs of wear, and children are always a destructive force, so this is unlikely.

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  • [–] 10 points 3 weeks ago* (6 children)

    The broken ones didn't get saved.

    Edit: I'm just now remembering the staggering amount of broken and discard pipes and pottery we have in display cases literally everywhere. Nevermind.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

    Would you put a fidget spinner in with your gold horde, like some of them have been?

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

    Have you ever seen a bronze fidget spinner?

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  • [–] 5 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

    It would be less remarkable to people who grew up with them :p

    Archaeologists get a lot of flak for defaulting to ‘it was for religious/ritual purposes’, but I think cult membership/usage might actually be a good explanation. Especially considering the existence of things like cults that think Platonic solids were some kind of sacred knowledge.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 child)

    It’s a very interesting characterization of archaeologists as “defaulting” to something that’s their entire field of study.

    Not criticizing; I just thought that was amusing.

    And do they get a lot of flack for that? Perhaps you’ve been watching too much Stargate SG1.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 weeks ago

    Archaeologists study a lot more than ritual spaces, many don’t even have anything to do with that. It’s a joke that archaeologists themselves make, because sometimes people get carried away and use it to explain things they’re unfamiliar with but aren’t ritual related.

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