世界上最古老的玩具

玩具是每個人一生中必不可少的，它伴隨我們度過無憂無慮的童年，又在我們成年以后給予我們心靈上的慰籍和美好的回憶。近年來隨著“收藏?zé)?rdquo;的興起，很多人也開始收集老玩具。那么世界上最古老的玩具在哪里呢?

A carved animal figurine found buried alongside a prehistoric(史前的) baby at Stonehenge(石器時代) may represent Britain's earliest known toy, researchers say.

The unique chalk relic of a hedgehog or pig, thought to be at least 2,000 years old, was unearthed in September near the stone monument on southern England's Salisbury Plain.

Evidence of toys during this period in British history is "extremely scant," researchers said.

"In fact, it's very rare to find any kind of representational art in British prehistory—almost to the extent where you get the impression there's a bit of a taboo on making images of animals or people."

The young child's grave, tentatively dated to between 800 B.C. to 20 B.C., included a pottery vessel, which may have contained food intended for the child's journey to the afterlife, the team said.

A pile of stones had been placed over the animal's head, indicating a sacrificial burial.

While it's possible the two infants were human sacrifices, more than likely they died naturally.

The newfound artifact "is, as far as we know, without parallel," according to Stonehenge expert Mike Pitts, editor of British Archaeology magazine(英國考古學(xué)雜志).

Pitts agrees that it appears to have been "made for a child as a personal toy."

However he strongly disagrees with those who say it depicts a hedgehog.

"I would say it's without doubt a pig," said Pitts, who noted that both domestic and wild pigs were widespread in the region at the time.

Later, from the start of the Iron Age in Britain, between 700 and 800 B.C., animal figurines become relatively commonplace, Pitts added.

"And once we get into historical times, we know the pig is quite important in Celtic mythology(凱爾特人神話), though not—to my knowledge—hedgehogs(刺猬類)," he said.