A ceramic vessel with a handle was found on a beach. It is rather small but it is convenient to hold. It can hold around 250 ml of liquid. It is white and well-crafted. The surface of the object is very smooth. Notably, a face of a human is carved. There are traits of an Asian person though it is difficult to identify the race. The mouth of the person is open and there is a hole with capacity of 50ml.
The object is well rafted and it is unlikely to be hand-made. Its production required specific machinery. Working with ceramics can be time and effort-consuming and such precision requires a technological approach. The paint is quite easy to produce and is of high quality. Thus, it is possible to infer that people at that time had quite developed industry and infrastructure as transportation of such object had to be carried out on special vehicles. This fact can prove that industries as well as the economy of that society were well-developed.
It is possible to think of a number of possible ways to use this object. First of all, the object looks like vessels we use for drinking. It is acknowledged that vessels for drinking have been the same for centuries and even millennia. However, there are no other holes in our vessels. There is theory that a candle (or a heater and so on) could be put into the hole to keep the liquid warm all the time.
This may mean that people preferred only hot drinking or there was a drink which had to be warm or hot all the time. It is also possible to infer that it was extremely cold at that period and people tried to warm themselves up. It is also necessary to note that people could value portability very much so they might have been nomads. It is possible to assume that heat could change the composition of the substance inside the vessel. Of course, it could be easier to study this issue if there were at least some particle of a substance but the object is absolutely clean.
There was a theory that it is a vessel for drinking and eating at the same time. Of course, it is unlikely to be true though it has the right to exist. Again, it reveals people’s attention to portability as they could hold a drink and food and bring it with them in a comfortable way. Though, food should be quite small. This could be a set of pills or nutritious substances. This suggests that people had quite developed food industry at that time.
Apart from a vessel, this object could have a sacred meaning. It could be an object of worship. It could contain some substance which could be constantly heated to enhance some effects (for example, evaporation of substances, emission of a gas and so on). This could also be a chandelier. It is likely that it was filled or covered with something.
It is possible to note that the face depicted on the object shows human-centric nature of people’s worship. Hence, the face can represent a god. The color can be a symbol of the white race or purity. Notably, this could be a god of fertility (as it can hold some objects like food) or a god of wisdom as there could be a light placed inside. Actually, this could be a divine force associated with many essential spheres. There is a theory that the object was a holder of a divine light (some sort of fire). Of course, it could also be an artwork or a decoration. It could be a penholder or even a hat or a part of something else.
The perfect condition of the vessel suggests that it was rather an object of worship as a household object is often ‘worn-out’. The vessel in question was polished without any cracks or flaws. It could be a vessel which had never been used as it was new. For example, it could be lost during transportation. It is a big question how it preserved in such a good way.
Clearly, there may be a number of theories and they can all turn out to be right. However, further research is necessary. It is important to look for mentioning of the object in documents, art or literature. Finding of one more similar object can shed light on the use of the object in question.