An Accidental Discovery
In 1974, construction crews building a highway between Amman and Zarqa discovered the Neolithic settlement of 'Ain Ghazal ("Spring of the Gazelle"). Excavations began in 1982, revealing a village that was inhabited from about 7250 to 5000 BCE. At its peak around 7000 BCE, this was a large community, spreading over 10 to 15 hectares and housing up to 3,000 people. Then, in 1983, archaeologists examining a path cut by a bulldozer found the edge of a pit 2.5 meters below the surface. Inside were dozens of human-like statues made of plaster. A second, smaller cache was uncovered in 1985.
In total, two caches yielded 15 full statues and 15 busts. Some of the busts are strangely two-headed. The first cache dates to about 6750 BCE, with the second being created roughly 200 years later. The figures were found carefully deposited in pits dug into the floors of abandoned houses, which contributed to their remarkable preservation. Careful, deliberate burial suggests the statues were retired after their ceremonial life was over.
The Anatomy of a Plaster Ancestor
The 'Ain Ghazal statues are achievements for their time. The makers created them by molding moist lime plaster over an internal armature. This core was made of bundles of reeds and grasses, harvested from the nearby Zarqa River and bound with twine. Over millennia, the organic cores decayed, leaving hollow plaster shells.
The plaster itself was a sophisticated material. It was produced by heating limestone to temperatures between 600 and 900 degrees Celsius. The resulting lime was mixed with water to form a workable dough. The figures are of two main types: full-body statues up to a meter tall and smaller busts. The bodies are flattened and abstract, with minimal detail given to limbs or sexual characteristics. The makers emphasized the heads, which have wide-open eyes outlined with bitumen. This bitumen was sourced from the Dead Sea, indicating resource travel or trade. The pupils were also made of bitumen, giving the faces a direct gaze.
The purpose of the statues is debated. Theories suggest they could be representations of ancestors, revered community members, or even deities. They were not portraits but stylized human forms. Their burial in caches suggests they were part of important community rituals that we do not yet fully understand. After their discovery, the fragile statues underwent years of painstaking conservation at the Smithsonian Institution and in Great Britain before being returned to Jordan.