16: The Room of the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age

Head of a Female Elk

3rd - 2nd millennium BC

This head of a female elk may have decorated the handle of a ritual vessel, although some scholars maintain that it served as the terminal of a ritual staff. The surface is well polished, perhaps through long use. The elk is depicted in a realistic manner: the eyes, ears, quivering nostrils and the typical prominent top lip all clearly delineated.