Hawk 'Sculpture' Found in Syria - Is it really 12,000 Years Old?

12,000 year old hawk sculpture from Syria?  A millennium is 1,000 years, and this sculpture is said to be 10 millennia old before present (add two millennia to bring current), but are they truly saying it is 12,000 years old?  If so, I want to see the proof.

Reported at thaindian.com and other sources

Oldest sculpture of hawk discovered in Syria
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 7:06:21 AM by ANI

Image from Archaeology Daily News, 15 September 2010.
Is this just a bad photo or does this "hawk" have no
head?  Looks like an eagle to me, not a hawk but, hey,
what do I know?

Damascus, Sept 15 (ANI): French archaeologists in Syria have discovered the world’s oldest sculpture of a hawk, which dates back to the 10th millennium B.C.

According to al-Baath Newspaper, the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums in the Ministry of Culture said the hawk sculpture was unearthed during the archaeological work in the area of Belaas, Hama, central Syria.

The Directorate affirmed the discovery proves that Syria is the first to use the hawk as the official symbol for the Syrian Arab Republic, the Global Arab Network reported. [Say what? There was no Syrian Arab Republic back then. This kind of blatant propaganda makes the entire article suspect.]

The discovery made during the Syrian-French joint expedition, proves that the Syrian Hawk is 5 millenniums older than all other sculptures. [On what evidence? Older than sculpture from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Iran, Catyl Hoyuk, Gobekli Tepe, Urfa?]

It in turn proves the historic role of the region where the sculpture was first created and then spread out to the whole world along with other aspects of the Syrian culture [ahem - even if this is so, it wasn't "Syrian Arab Republic" culture back then - the Arabs wouldn't be in the area for thousands of years] in contribution to human culture. (ANI)

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Show me the facts, please.  In the meantime, contemplate this incredible sculptured head of a "vulture" - from Gobekli Tepe.

According to a report at xinhuanet: 
The [hawk] sculpture, 5.4 cm long and 5.3 cm wide [that's 2.13 inches long and 2.09 inches wide], was unearthed during the excavation work in Belaas, Hama, 200 kilometers to the north of the Syrian capital Damascus.

Just curious - how far is Hama from the Gobekli Tepe/Urfa area in Turkey (traditional Armenian highlands)?  I couldn't find a direct answer on the internet and measuring by map scales - hmmm - well, according to this map, it is maybe 375 miles as the crow flies???


You can get a feel for the area of Urfa and Gobekli Tepe, etc. in this archaeological map:

Map source.  There is an overlap area between the oran "Urfa Region" and the green demarcated
"Neolithic in the Levante" which I think includes the Hama area in modern-day Syria.

Byzantine Mosaics of the Amazon Queens

From Today's Zaman: Amazonian queen excavations reveal ancient palace in Şanlıurfa Excavation work in southeastern Şanlıurfa province has led to the discovery of a Roman palace (A.D. fifth to sixth century) and floor mosaics. The Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday that the Haleplibahçe district, one of the oldest historical residential areas of the city, constitutes an important part of the ancient city of Edessa, famous for its wall pictures depicting the Amazonian queens Hippolyte, Antiope, Melanippe and Penthesileia hunting in the forest. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism began the excavation work two years ago after these wall pictures were found. Archeologists have analyzed the mosaic of goddess Kticic, the founder and guardian goddess, found during the course of this year's excavations, which lasted for four months. She stands in the foreground, holding the scales of justice in her hand. The background includes a black man and a zebra. The archeologists explained that the figure of the black man and the zebra in mosaics are characteristic of Palestine and that this was the first time they had been encountered in Turkey. The work also partly revealed a mosaic that depicts a scene in which Chiron, the trainer of Achilles -- the famous Greek mythological warrior -- is learning how to fight. Excavation work in the region still continues and, following its completion, the area will be turned into an archeology park. Mehmet Önal, one of the archeologists working on the Haleplibahçe excavations, said the mosaics they found were very similar to those found in Antakya and Byzantine mosaics in İstanbul. Önal noted that they have revealed western, northern and eastern walls of the ancient building this year, adding that there were also fountains and shallow pools around the walls of the palace. Önal stated that the palace had a 34-meter-long baronial hall with a floor covered with mosaics, adding that the palace was similar to villas that were found in the ancient city of Zeugma in Gaziantep province. However, none of the villas in Zeugma had a hall of this size. "The tesserae used for the mosaics of this palace are very small, which shows that the workmanship of the mosaics was very good. This shows that the palace belonged to an important administrator of the Eastern Roman Empire," Önal said, adding: "There is an unbelievable color harmony in the mosaics with their rich anatomical figures. No other mosaic has ever had the influential image of the horse that Amazonian Penthesilea rides." 14 October 2008, Tues Tuesday TODAY'S ZAMAN WITH WIRES İSTANBUL