11,000-Year-Old ‘Precision’ Stone Balls Discovered: WHY Did They Make Them?

When we imagine the Pre-Pottery Neolithic people that lived between 9 and 12,000 years ago, for some reason, we can often think of them as a somewhat serious people, building large and sometimes extravagant communal buildings, methodically hunting, gathering and processing their food, working hard for their strict settlement leaders by day and taking part in intense, spiritual shamanic rituals by night.

It’s easy to forget that these people were human. What’s to say they were not just like you and I? We know they were brewing and drinking beer, and feasting on some tasty meats, bread and crops. Yes, all indications showed they worked hard, but they must have also had forms of entertainment.

It was occupied at the same time at Gobekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe, and it contains some incredible examples of architecture and artefacts from this time, including , six hard, stone balls, all different colours, but the same size, polished and scattered on the floor.

How they were used is a mystery. Did they have a domestic use? Were they heating stones used in cooking? Were they ritual objects? Were they decorative? Or could they be pieces from an ancient game? Watch this video to learn more.

All images are either my own, are taken from Google Earth, Google Images or the sources listed below. Please subscribe to Ancient Architects, Like the video, and please leave a comment below. Thank you.

Video Contents:
0:00 Introduction
0:26 The People of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic
2:05 Tell 'Abr 3 Revisited
3:36 Special Building M1
5:42 Six Stone Balls Discovered
7:09 How Were the Stone Balls Used?
10:04 More Stone Balls in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic
12:09 Stone Balls Interpretations
13:38 Were the Stone Balls Used For Entertainment?
15:56 Concluding Remarks

Sources:

#ancientarchitects #gobeklitepe #prehistory

[williamcourtland]

Atlas Balls were used for making vellum. Hammering a skin thin will cause it to rip: you need a press. A ball would be rolled onto a leather, and from the center it was rolled out. The polish is needed to prevent deformities in the skin when it is being rolled out.

Such balls were used to crush grains, but also used to compress copper edges in cold forging, and press felt.

It was the regular press of the age.

[dropnoelfield]

Long nights, a roaring fire, friends, family, food, and beer.... I think the gaming hypothesis is a good one. Further to that thought, the pieces found congruent to graves may be markers for gaming champions. Love it. Thanks mate

[l.mcmanus]

More research is needed. Let’s get this ball rolling!

[AncientArchitects]

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[Womberto]

I'm pretty sure these communal buildings are the first pubs.

[alangregory]

A red ball, a black ball and a white ball, what's that if its not snooker?

[StirlingLighthouse]

I agree.
It’s great to imagine them having fun with the balls.
Thank you 🙏

[nurfuis]

When you described the building, I thought you were describing a kitchen. Basins, food storage, fire. Heating water with stones is a well-known practice. The different stone types may be to balance any minerals being imparted in the process of cooking. A sphere would be the best shape for dissipating heat. Smooth to be easy to clean and not trap particles. The recessed holes are likely mortars. Acorns or some seed would likely be processed and prepared along with the animals in the kitchen area. I do like exploring the possibility of games, though. Likely they were avid gamers.

[SmokeyTreats]

I agree Matt. Plus how many of us had a special ball that was our favorite toy in our early youth? I sure remember my little red rubber ball I loved. Thanks again for another nice vid Matt!

[NicolaHenry-ln]

Oh wow! I love this idea 😍 there are mysterious carved balls in Scotland and the north of England which might also be explained by this theory. You are right of course when you say they must have had more than stories to entertain themselves. Humans love challenge and competition, so games and sports make perfect sense!

[JonnoPlays]

I've got to say Matt... For making this video, you've got balls of stone! 😅

[phoneguy]

I think they just... lost their marbles. 😉 but hey: at least they got balls of granite. 😁

[michel]

The fact that balls can roll and that these are of the same diameter, more or less hand-sized, hints at some game. When I first saw them, as well as their equivalent in Scotland, I immediately thought of some pétanque set (calling for three balls per player). It's a game mostly played in Southern France, Italy and Spain in which players try to get closest to a small wooden ball (golf size) by rolling steel balls toward it, or strike balls already closest to take their place. Different stone qualities means different density, therefore weight and hardness, which may be a determining factor in choosing which ball to roll or throw at other balls. If so, the smaller wooden ball would've decayed with time, which could explain its absence.

But other games come to mind. An ancestor of snooker, of course, which would explain the different colours and circular openings in the ground leading to channels. How about a croquet set? Wooden sticks and arches would also have decayed over time. Perhaps some ancestor of bowling? Again, wooden pins would've disappeared.

[sgkfilms]

I just recently watched a video about the carved stone balls of late Neolithic Scotland, most of which were highly decorated. They are all around 7cms wide. 425 have been found. A lot were found as burial goods. One theory suggests they served a similar purpose to talking sticks, indicating who has the floor at a meeting.

[Hiddensecret]

By viewing them as more than just hardworking builders and ritual participants, we can appreciate the full humanity of these early people. They likely found joy and amusement even within the constraints of their environment, showing that community, laughter, and play have always been essential parts of the human experience.

[steveDC]

Once your stomach is full and you have shelter, art/craft/entertainment must surely follow?

[yesterdayschunda]

My guess is to process grain, put grain in a stone bowl, put a ruck under the balance point of the bowl, put stones in it then rotate the bowl to move the stones and crush grain.

[Slavador]

Examples of the world's first bowling league 😂
It definitely wasn't for dodge ball🤣🤣🤣

[paulroberts]

Egyptian builder's used Diorite balls as pounders, maybe used to pound plant or grains, or a early bowling game.

[affintlewoodlewix]

Interesting ideas. I find this obsession modern archaeologists seem to have with ritual very limiting considering the complexity of human existence and interest. It's nice to hear other interpretations.