Lydenburg Heads
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| (Lydenburg Heads, Lydenburg, South Africa ca. 500 A.D.) |
These heads are known as the Lydenburg Heads, each head dates back to about 500 A.D. Even though they're so old, there is little known about them. Except for this fact, these heads are the earliest forms of iron age art, south of the equator. But how were they found; surprisingly a ten-year-old boy named Ludwig von Bezing in 1957 discovered them. After playing on his father's ranch, he noticed some iron fragments in the dirt, at first he didn't pay too much attention to them. Ten years later after studying archeology Bezing returned to discover an important artifact. That is now known as the Lydenburg Heads, named after the location they were found.
While there is little information on these heads, the African people believe that these heads were used for religious purposes or ceremonies for children. Based on the size of these heads which are like tiny helmets that only children could use. Possibly, for inducting the children into a specific familial organization. On the other hand of things, the heads could have been used to show power or showcase the head. But these two were not the only ones found there have been many other heads just like these all over Africa.
Looking at the design of the heads, they have a really simple look to them, but I also noticed, both have a set of rings near the bottom. Where the African people believe this to be a sign of beauty and prosperity. Although they could be right about this; and the other facts. We don't know for sure what these heads were used for, or what they could have represented.
Dhwty. "The Lydenburg Heads: The Earliest Iron Age Art South of the Equator." Ancient Origins. Ancient Origins, July 17, 2015. https://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/lydenburg-heads-earliest-iron-age-art-south-equator-003440/.
2019. Metmuseum.Org. 2019. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/lyde/hd_lyde.htm/.
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I want to say that I can tell that you have taken some time to make your blog aesthetically pleasing, and I think it looks really good. You mentioned that it is unknown what purpose these heads served. In addition to religious rituals, I think that these heads could have been worn during war or battle (based on their appearance). Good job!
Amanda Garrett
Hello David,
ReplyDeleteYour post was written very well and clear. I didn’t struggle at any point trying to understand what you were saying. It is truly crazy how old they are and yet we really have no knowledge about them. I can tell they don’t know much about them just based off their name. I hope when they find what these heads actually were, they change the names. I am really curious as to what they were used for like you stated, what do you honestly think they were used for?
Hey David,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post. I almost wrote about these heads myself and I'm glad to see you chose the same source I tracked down! Kind of hard to find these heads, isn't it? Either way, regardless of the amount of information you were able to find, I think that you did a good job of summarizing the information that you did have and making it thoroughly understandable. I have to applaud the commitment of Bezing to return to discover the artifact after studying archeology. He certainly was not about to mess up such an amazing find. Overall, nice work!
Hey David,
ReplyDeleteI did my blog on the same art pieces. Very fascinating masks, especially with how they’re constructed. Great post!
It seems like we all had the same struggle this week with finding sources and information. I really enjoyed reading your post and thinking about what the purpose of these heads could have been. All we can do is look to what we know from the surrounding cultures and offer up theories. It's likely we will never know. I read that some of these sites are so acidic that we're lucky to have found the artifacts that we have. I think it would have been really cool to put a bit of incense inside the heads and watch the smoke come out the eyes. It's also really interesting to know that these were the first bits of iron age work south of the equator. I wish I could unearth something like this in my backyard.
ReplyDeleteI did my blog post on the same artwork. I think they are very interesting, but also very weird at the same time. I also struggled to find a lot of information on them. I enjoyed reading yours because it was different as well as had a little bit of different information in it. Great job.
ReplyDelete