You have seen numerous images of the ancient divine deities and other beings carrying peculiar ‘handbags’ also known as ‘purses’ in their hands and have wondered what they were. Why were there so many identical or very similar bags or purses in various historical epochs on different continents?
Unfortunately, neither legends nor myths contain specific information about them.
Other people’s theories of what they could have been; a basket for carrying water, fruit, gold, etc., but those ideas are impossible. It’s impossible because these so called bags are made of solid stone. They cannot carry anything.
CONSPIRACY theorists who focus on Ancient Mysteries have found new fodder for their fan boys and it centers on a set of enigmatic images and objects that look like modern-day designer handbags. They have found evidence that includes petroglyphs, incised carvings, and actual stone objects, and have been found in such diverse locales as Turkey, Iran, India, Egypt, Central America, and New Zealand, among cultures ranging from the Sumerians and Egyptians to the Olmecs and the Maori. They correctly point out that they appear in archaeological objects from a wide range of historical eras. What does it all mean? Well, CONSPIRACY theorists are claiming to have discovered proof of time travel! And they point to finding evidence of ancient statues holding what looks like modern-day designer handbags as long ago as in Mesopotamia, the cradle of modern civilization. They point out that the symbol of the mysterious handbag is shown in countless stone carvings and statues, dating back as far as 10,000 BC.
Conspiracy theory website UFO Today has released a YouTube video called “The Secret of the handbag in ancient stone carvings and statues – Ancient Aliens?”, making the astonishing allegations. The video claims the handbag is synonymous with modern woman, but has been seen in the hands of statues of ancient nobles from Mesopotamia to Mexico.
Another instance of ancient handbag imagery can be found in faraway New Zealand. A Maori myth tells of a hero who once ascended to the home of the gods and returned to earth carrying three baskets full of wisdom. Thus, much like the Göbekli Tepe handbags, the Maori handbags symbolize worship and gratitude for divinely inspired knowledge.
Finally, in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the handbag-like image can be seen. This time serving as a home for the gods and goddesses, with the purse straps being the domed poles of the portable tent and the square bottom being the cloth or animal skins laid across the poles. This structure is quite similar to the Native American teepee or the central Asian yurt.
Author and historian, Sviatoslav Sergeyev drew a parallel between the symbolism of such ‘handbags’ and the times when Primordial Knowledge was brought into the world. A graphic example is the Vulture Stone in Göbekli Tepe. In the world of archaeology there are such artifacts as ‘handbags’ not attached to any figure/being/deity or other item.
So, what did Gods carry in their ‘handbags’? They carried spiritual knowledge. I ‘think’ the handbags, aka purses are the individuals temple which they believed carried knowledge. Kind of like how some Christians wear a cross, believing it carries faith.
When French anthropologist Marcel Griaule met with a Dogon priest named Ogotemmeli to discuss attributes of a Dogon shrine (a counterpart to a Buddhist stupa) that serves as the defining symbol of their cosmology, the blind teacher reached around the inside of his hut, searching with his hands until he found a woven basket to use as a physical prop to illustrate the symbolic attributes of the shrine…
The Sumerians depicted the so called Annunaki carrying what seems to be a handbag. These Annunaki were called the Nephilim in the Bible. The object is linked to the archetype of "The Tree of life" which connects to heaven and the underworld. It was said it connected all forms of creation.
In ancient Egypt, we can see the Ankh symbol being carried in a very similar way. The Ankh was the symbol of life. Could it be that the Ankh symbol and the symbol of the handbag are one and the same?
In Mexico, the handbag symbol can be found on many historical sites and is depicted in their most sacred works of art.
In Indonesia, we find the same handbag featured in multiple stone carvings. How did this handbag symbol become a world wide phenomenon? And more importantly, what did it represent?
Experts believe that early religions worshiped the fundamental elements of life on earth. Therefore, “the three Göbekli Tepe handbags, taken as an early form of those icons, could be said to symbolically define the site as a temple”
What is the Mysterious Handbag Seen in Ancient Carvings Across Cultures and Countries?
One of the more mysterious symbols that has been found in ancient carvings is an image that looks uncannily like a handbag. The shape appears in depictions made by the Sumerians of Iraq, in the ruins of ancient Turkish temples, in decorations of the Maori of New Zealand, and in crafts made by the Olmecs of Central America. Handbags can be seen in the art of disparate cultures from around the world and throughout time, with the first known instance of a handbag appearing at the end of the Ice Age. What is this mysterious symbol that can be found throughout the ancient world?
A Representation of the Cosmos?
The handbag image is so called because it looks very similar to the modern-day purse. The objects “typically feature a rounded handle-like top and a rectangular bottom, and may include varying degrees of additional details of texture or pattern” (Scranton, 2016). The images sometimes appear as stand-alone objects; sometimes they are depicted in the hand of a person, god, or mythical being in a manner similar to how one would hold a basket.
One possible theory for the proliferation of this image is its simple and straightforward representation of the cosmos. The semi-circle of the image (what would appear to be the bag’s strap) represents the hemisphere of the sky. Meanwhile, the solid square base represents the earth. “In ancient cultures from Africa to India to China, the figure of a circle was associated symbolically with concepts of spirituality or non-materiality, while that of a square was often associated with concepts of the Earth and of materiality” (Scranton, 2016). Thus, the image is used to symbolize the (re)unification of the earth and sky, of the material and the non-material elements of existence.
Could the mysterious handbag really represent the cosmos? Assyrian relief carving from Nimrud, 883–859 B.C. ( Metropolitan Museum of Art )
Oldest Depictions of the ‘Handbag’
One of the earliest instances of the handbag motif can be seen in the ruins of Göbekli Tepe, located at the top of a mountain ridge in southeastern Turkey. Dating back to approximately 11,000 BC, Göbekli Tepe is one of the oldest temple complexes ever discovered (Tinfoil Hat, 2014). The exact purpose of the mountain sanctuary is unknown; however, it appears that temple may have served as a site for religious sacrifices (archaeologists unearthed many butchered animal bones). The walls and pillars of the temple are decorated with finely carved animals, gods, and mythical creatures, perhaps in an effort to portray the many different creations of the cosmos. Amidst these other carvings are three handbags.
Experts believe that early religions worshiped the fundamental elements of life on earth. Therefore, “the three Göbekli Tepe handbags, taken as an early form of those icons, could be said to symbolically define the site as a temple” (Scranton, 2016).
From the Middle East to South America, the Strange Carving Can Be Found
Elsewhere, the handbag image shows up with striking similarities in two stone reliefs, one made by the Assyrians of ancient Iraq sometime between 880-859 BC and the other made by the Olmecs of ancient Mesoamerica sometime between 1200 – 400 BC. In both of these images, a man-like figure carries the handbag in his hand, as if it were a basket or purse. “When used in Assyrian art it is said the purse holds magic dust. When depicted in Olmec art they postulate it contains herbs for getting high” (Freeborn, 2013). This suggests that the handbag may have been a standard of measurement uniquely discovered by both cultures.
Watch Video:
Watch video:
The Secret of the handbag in ancient stone carvings and statues – Ancient Aliens?”