Debris from Ravne tunnel labyrinth reveals ancient artifacts
Monday, September 19, 2011 at 3:48PM 
Photo: High relief carving of a human face in obsidian stone. Detail.
Photo Courtesy of Goran Čakic
Visoko, September 19, 2011
The debris brought out from Ravne tunnels reveals ancient hunting tools and a high relief carving of a human face on obsidian stone that may have been in place for thousands of years.
The territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina is so profusely littered with with remnants of prehistoric life that much more space would be needed to do it justice. Human life in Bosnia and Herzegovina reaches far back into so-called prehistory, from the Paleolithic period to the emergence of the first Illyrian tribes.
Research into the Paleolithic era indicates that the northern parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina near the Bosna, Ukrina, Usora, Vrbasa and Sava rivers have evidence of over a hundred Paleolithic settlements.
For example, the well-known open air hilltop sites, Kadar and Zobište, have archaeological layers stratified in a series of loam deposits. The lower series contains Mousterian artifacts dated between 55,000 and 60,000 years ago, and traces of Epigravettian occupation remains dated between 15,000 and 16,000 years ago. [ Kadar ]
Another example of prehistoric art comes from the Badanj Cave near Stolac in Herzegovina, where a rare example of prehistoric cave painting was found and dated between 12,000 and 16,000 B.C. There have been similar finds in only three other locations in Europe: Spain, France, and Italy. [ Badanj Cave ]
According to the official historical record, the end of the Paleolithic era saw climatic changes so drastic that much of human life disappeared from the Bosnian territory. After a long Mesolithic period, however, a rich and highly skilled Neolithic culture emerged between the 6th and 3rd millenium B.C.
Photo: Pottery fragment from Radinovići-Moštre-Visoko; Butmir culture 5500 to 4500 B.C. Credits Goran Čakic
Today, this culture is known as the Butmir culture. The Butmir culture signified the beginning of a golden age where spiritual life was matched by creative talent. Today, many of these fine artifacts are on display in the National Museum in Sarajevo. [ The Butmir Culture ]
Since the beginning of the Paleolithic period, and possibly before, ancient inhabitants of Bosnia picked up the raw materials needed for toolmaking from the gravel beds of the Bosna River. The river contained an abundance of cobbles made of radiolarite, a fine grained colorful chert derived from the mountains of central Bosnia. The cobbles provided a fine quality material that required little preparation in order to create the long and thin blades they used as knives or transformed into other types of scraping and cutting tools.
Photo: Tools and weapons recovered from the debris outside Ravne maze.
Humans of the Mesolithic era created stylized cave paintings and also featured 3-D art, including bas-reliefs and free standing sculpture. Early examples of the latter include the anthropomorphic figurines and statues of Lepenski Vir [ The Fish God ] in Serbia, dating from about 6,400 to 4,900 B.C. They depict either humans or hybrid figures: part human, part fish.
The most eloquent vestiges of the Old European cultures, however, are the scultpures, which bear witness to facets of life othwerwise inaccesible to archaeologists: fashions in dress, religious ceremonialism, and mythical beings. The inhabitants of southeastern Europe 7,000 years ago were not the primitive villagers of the incipient Neolithic. During two millennia of agricultural stability, their material welfare had been persistently improved by the increasingly efficient use of the fertile river valleys. Pottery technology and bone- and stone-working techniques advanced, and copper metallurgy was introduced into east central Europe by 5,500 B.C.
Archaeologists can infer the existence of far-ranging trade from the wide dispersion of obsidian, alabaster, marble and Spondylus shell. The seas and inland waterways doubtless served as a primary routes of communication, and obsidian was being transported by sea as early as the 7th millennium B.C.
This ancient carving of a human face was found together with chert and stone tools in material excavated from the Ravne tunnel labyrinth. Preliminary examinations of the artifact suggest it could belong to the early Neolithic period between 5,500 and 5,000 B.C., but it could also belong to the transitional period between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic period dating back to approx. 7,000 B.C.
Jump to Gallery
Member Gallery: Artifacts from Ravne tunnels and other locations in Visoko
References:
- The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe: Myths and Cult Images by Marija Gimbutas
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Reader Comments (7)
those are just rocks, i call bs.
Woow... that was the fastest comment I've ever received after publishing an article!
Please let me suggest you to read some nice book about Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic artifacts. In the meantime you can start to take look at Archaeology is Rubbish: A Beginner's Guide
P.S. Everything in the Balkans is older than in your country. Starting from the garden pickets of modern houses and so on...
Yeah, but pretty rocks.
It would have been helpful to see some shots of the artifacts in situ.
But for sure.. impressive debris from somewhere.
Dave P.
my god... some people even if they were inside the pyramid in the most amazing chamber they would still call it a hill... very nice photos, I had never seen the arrow points! must get a chance to have a look at them one day!
Rbrett, you're right, the Kali yuga made so many victims worldwide.
Forgive the person who dismisses so quick the importance of such great discoveries. Finding these artifacts helps archaeologists date the time or expand the line of time in which these caves were populated, by finding these tools it shows that someone inhabited this area in a particular time in history, giving more strong eveidences to the early age of these caves. Great job guys, peeling one page of history at a time.
Great article thank you for sharing