Archaeologists have found a unique about 6,000-year-old statuette of a human head from the Neolithic period near Postrelmov (Czech Republic), archaelogists' team head Vladimir Gos said. The statuette, which probably served ritual purposes, was discovered during the archaeological exploration before a planned construction of a highway in the area, Gos added.
     "We have uncovered a number of valuable findings, but the statuette is definitely the most important one. It proves that people from the local Neolithic settlement devoted their time to spiritual life," Gos explained. He said that he expected the statuette to be a part of a vessel, used for cult practices, which had probably belonged to the village shaman.
  Apart from the statuette, archaeologists have also discovered some pottery, stone and flint tools and parts of furnaces. Gos noted that the findings would be displayed to the public in the Sumperk Museum in about a year.
  The team of archaeologists has been working in Postrelmov since May and they will complete their exploration in mid-August.  The Neolithic, or "New Stone Age," in Central Europe dates from 6,000 to 3,500 BCE It is associated with a change from hunting and gathering to farming and settling down in the first villages.

Source: Czech Happenings (1 August 2003)