
The stone mask found during archaeological excavations in Jerusalem may indicate ancestor worship.
In 2018, an extremely interesting and historically valuable stone mask was found during excavations initiated by the Israel Museum. The mask, made of limestone, was determined to date back approximately 9,000 years ago, to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) phase of the Neolithic period.
Shortly after its discovery, the mask in question was transferred to the Archeology Department of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria for detailed examination. In the studies they carried out there, archaeologists made some inferences about the religious and cultural practices in the region during the Neolithic period, based on the mask’s construction technique and the materials used in its making.
Considering other similar stone masks and archaeological findings unearthed in the region, researchers think that beliefs related to the ancestor worship may have been widespread in Jerusalem and its surroundings during the Neolithic period.
The excavation site where the mask was found is located in Jerusalem, a city that has hosted many important discoveries from prehistoric times. The stone mask found has the potential to contain important clues about the cultural and ritualistic practices of the region in the prehistoric period.
However, the stone mask is not the first Neolithic mask recovered in the region. Archaeologists noted that it is one of 16 stone masks discovered from the same period, located south of the Judean Desert. These masks are seen as part of a religious or cultural practice that was widespread in the region during the Neolithic period.

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B phase in the Fertile Crescent occurred approximately between 7600 and 6000 BC. During this period, people adopted a more settled order, combining agricultural and hunter-gatherer lifestyles. This change allowed communities to develop larger and more complex social structures, which also paved the way for cultural and technological advances.
Other archaeological excavations in the region have revealed that during this period, human skulls were plastered or buried beneath the floors of ancient houses for preservation. It is thought that such ritualistic practices aim to respect ancestors and keep their memory alive.
During this period, people likely believed that by burying their dead with special rituals and commemorating them in specific ceremonies, the spirits of their ancestors would protect them and guide their communities. In line with this belief, archaeologists speculate that stone masks could be associated with ancestor worship or similar commemorative rituals in the region.