The Inside Out of Childhood Archaeology: Petrographic and X-ray Analysis of early Islamic Ceramic rattles from Mishmar David (Israel) and Their Cultural Implications

Two identical ceramic rattles dated to the Early Islamic period (ninth-eleventh centuries CE), retrieved from excavations at Mishmar David (Israel), were studied using petrographic analysis and x-ray radiography. The petrography shows that the rattles were made of a typical Egyptian Nile Valley clay, while the x-ray radiography provides important data regarding their interior, including the sounding elements they contain. Given the rarity of contemporaneous ceramic rattles and the foreign origin of the specimens, the present study contributes to the broader discipline of childhood archaeology in the Early Islamic Near East, providing additional evidence of the Egyptian presence in Early Islamic Palestine, and contributes to a better understanding of the technology used in the manufacture of these mundane objects.