Dancing Dwarf: 3,500-Year-Old Clay Tablet May Be Ritual Counting Tool

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Dancing Dwarf: 3,500-Year-Old Clay Tablet May Be Ritual Counting Tool
CLAY TABLETRITUALSANCIENT EGYPT
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A small clay tablet, named Doban-kun, found near prehistoric stone circles in Japan is thought to be a 3,500-year-old tool used for counting during rituals. The tablet, resembling a human figure, features a series of holes that may have represented numbers. Researchers believe it offers insights into the Jōmon culture's complex social structures and understanding of astronomy.

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Doban-kun, which means"flat clay man" in Japanese, is 2.3 inches tall and 1.5 inches wide and weighs about 1.7 ounces . It was found near theThe Jōmon period spanned roughly 14000 to 300 B.C. Although there was no large-scale agriculture in this period, the Jōmon culture was largely sedentary and very complex, creating pottery, jewelry, statues and tools from a variety of natural materials, such as stones, bones and antlers.

Numerous small clay tablets were found during excavations at the stone circles over the past several decades, but Doban-kun is unique. Researchers think it was created as a tool for counting. The largest hole, representing the person's mouth, is 1; the eyes are 2; the right side of the chest is 3; the left side is 4; and the vertical line of circles in the center of the chest is 5.

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CLAY TABLET RITUALS ANCIENT EGYPT JOMON CULTURE STONE CIRCLES

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