Mystic “handbags” from an Ancient Civilization: What was Their Purpose? 

I'm Iranian, and there still are "bag-like" weighing stones and irons used in Iran today, just like the ones from the Jiroft civ. I remember seeing them at every market and grocery store when I was a kid; nowadays they're an extremely rare sight, having been almost entirely replaced by digital scales.

Great video Tina, Like the hypothesis, so many professionals in there fields always try to put it as if everything in ancient cultures was so "Symbolic" or "Ritualistic" but never stop to think of the most obvious everday mundane actions. It reminds me of the egyptian story how a soul has its heart "Weighed" against a feather. Love your work keep em coming.

Thank you very much for making this interesting video, Tina. I have a good friend whose family members have served in a Hindu temple for generations. He told me even the Hindu architect god, Vishwakarma, carried a similar bag but also depicted as a small, rounded brass pot. In this bag or pot was an unknown chemical compound which softened stone & which was used in the building of the oldest temples in India. Vishwakarms is usually depicted as a white-haired, bearded, fair-skinned old man, a wandering civilizing god & which in my opinion resembles Viracocha or perhaps Quetzalcoatl. Vishwakarma is usually depicted with 4 arms & in each hand he usually holds a plumb line, a measuring rule, an architectural compass & the small brass pot in that order. Sometimes the plumb line is substituted by a small written manual.

This was so well thought out, researched, and explained that I found myself FINALLY able to put this piece of the puzzle BACK onto the table....NICELY DONE! (Even though this now makes greater sense, I would never have thought "Weights" for exchange)

Your research on these mysterious handbags has gone deeper than anything i have reviewed on RU-vid to date. Well researched.

Another excellent video, Tina! Thanks for following up on your last video about the handbags. The evolution of their design across cultures and over the centuries is fascinating! I have seen proposals that the Gobekle Tepe 'bags' aren't really bags at all but represent key periods of the year when considering their 'sunrise/sunset' against the backdrop of astronomical signs. I look forward to more of your research!

Tina, well done! You have the most logical theory so far for the prehistoric handbags. Weights make alot more sense to show how the advanced beings worshipped as gods, brought the science of measurement to our primitive ancestors.

I think you present an excellent interpretation of what all these "handbag" images actually depict! I never thought of them this way but the weights, or your other idea of the pollination bags, make so much sense of these images!!

Hey my beautiful friend! I love when your videos pop up! You always keep it open minded and intersting- great minds unite here- much love! ❤🙏🏼👻🙇🏻‍♂️

Excellent observation. Over the course of thousands of years the bags could have become symbolic representing truth. Weights were used to establish truth in exchange.

I think it was some kind of power. Today we have iPhone and tablet, but I think the handbag was much much more. Thanks so much for the video and info.

Brilliant researcher and analysis, Curious Being. I so like your argument here. In particular, your points about the vital importance of weights during a period of growth in trade, and the fact that we need to try to see ancient objects as practical tools in real world contexts. One intriguing issue that came to mind for me when watching this video was whether the weights weigh the same, and how were weights made to measure exact amounts - I mean, surely you woul need some industrial weighing machine to weigh and make these weights, presumably to exacting measurements, and all those weights that were intended to weigh a particular amount would have to weigh the same, as well as some smaller weights of precise fractions needing to be available to measure smaller objects, and probably also larger weights for larger objects, or very many weights. The fact that so many of these weights have beautiful designs inscribed and/or built in confirms your very important point that we must also understand that previous civilisations were usually very culturally developed and socially sophisticated, and that we need to try to build a picture of the contexts in which artefacts and sites came to be as they were if we are to understand both the peoples of the past and their connections to the present. The video also reminded me of the C15/C16 Europe, when mercantile trade boomed and individual traders, trading companies and ruling elites sent out boats, or sailed boats out, to parts of Africa and Asia, and vice versa, to exchange goods. This, too, was a world in which many different cultures and civilisations were interacting, and also one where it was vital that merchants could accurately weigh, measure, assess and be able to precisely identify the relative value of an object in relation to others with similar uses. We need to understand the sense of jeopardy and precarity, urgency and chaos, as well as planning and preparation that must have surrounded many of the activities and actions we view in ancient artefacts, and resist assuming that these periods were as static and repetitive as the images themselves, instead recognising the actuality of real life objects and phenomena, including the process of production and reproduction of whatever the valued material might have been at particular moments in time and places on earth, in what specific ways, for what particular purpose, as you have done in relation to the much touted 'handbags' of antiquity.

Do we have any graven images showing the "handbag" objects being used in conjunction with a scale or balance? I like the ornamental weight hypothesis, but it seems we should see depictions of them being used in this manner, in ancient imagery.

Today we use the symbol of three weights for Pawn shops. The origin of them was not just for getting money and buying back your own items, it was a way of exchanging. The three bags as pictured ( and what is left of the wall they were on ) could be either for an exchange, Pawn shop or some other meaning that would make more sense with the rest of the wall showing context, if the rest of the wall still exists.

You nailed it! Another brilliant video! I am captivated by the in-depth research you and your team display, you do magnificent work! I am already subscribed and have enjoyed watching all your other videos. Your hypothesis I think is the definitive answer and I accept that your answers are as close to the truth as anyone can get at this present time. I look forward to the next video with great expectations.

the decorations could make changing the weight more difficult also, like ridges on a coin.

The Gobekli Tepe "handbags" are surrounded by what could be sheaths of grain. I wonder if the weights symbolize how much grain is due as an offering to either a temple or the head of the society.

Another great video. Being on a pillar at Gobekli Tepe makes the “handbag” that much more special. Thanks ❤

Always glad to see your videos; it's a bunch of great little mini-docos on historic curios.

Tina you continue to fascinate. Thank you for your amazing analyses. Your compare and contrast approach to your subject matter illuminates potential solutions in the best way.

Thank you for expanding the scope to include more examples! Seeing many more of these 'handbags' does suggest a practical explanation; especially the Jiroft culture examples. I was thinking that they could also be loom weights or some type of counter balance weights for an armature that performed repetitive lifting and moving of objects. For instance, lifting a heavy pot away from a cooking fire. Certainly, measure weights for commerce would be very important objects. Have the museums measured the Jiroft objects to see if they group into standardized weight ranges? If yes, that would support this hypothesis. I enjoyed seeing these examples with your notes on the extended historical timelines.

Thank you for the great video on a fascinating subject.

Have to admit that the amount of research made for this video really enhanced the quality of the video. Also, the theories presented appear to be solid evidence for the use of these "handbags" and not just speculations. I hope your channel will grow Tina.

IVE BEEN WATCHING FOR A WHILE OFF AND ON AND YOUR VIDEOS ARE ALWAYS COMPELLING WELL THOUGHT AND VERY POSSIBLE I CANT BELIEVE YOU DONT HAVE MORE SUBS SEEING OTHER CHANNELS IN THIS FIELD ARE NOT AS GOOD AS YOU AT PROVIDING INFORMATION OR CONVEYING THOUGHTS OR IDEAS

Very thorough reasoning! Thanks for being curious.

Nice video! Thank you for the discussion.

FINALLY! A reasonable explanation for these items. Representations of weights and measures makes a whole more sense than odd and awkward handbags. Subscribed!

I store your ideas in my head .Thank you Tina. I 've long been interested in this matter . Taane had to ascend to gain the three kete / bags.

The eagle headed being is holding an item that looks like a Pine Cone or pineal gland. That conical shape pointed outwards reminds me of what Michael Tellinger said about how some children witnessed the man who built Coral Castle in Florida was able to levitate objects with "ice cream cones". The man also used a black box that was an elevated height balanced on a tripod, which would represent a conical pyramid shape. The stone bag shaped object may have some sort of magnetic resonant frequency which would allow the purveyor holding such an item to resonate a particular frequency and to use the cone shaped item much like a pyramid that can harness energy and shoot it outwardly out of the tip. Those conical shapes harness energy and expel it outwardly much like a wand does. This is what scalar energy is all about. Satellite dishes also utilize the same principle.

It makes sense that they were used as weights for weighing something.

A very refreshing practical look at a subject that is often present as something mystical. I subscribed and am looking at your other videos. I like the way you think.

I agree with the narrator that the "bags" could easily be meant as weights and measures. The decorative carving could be used to fine-tune the weight to a precise value and being decorative makes them more value as a product.

Excellent explanation of what the "handbags" might really be. And here I was hoping they would be bags filled with some magical pixie dust that imparted the gift of lost knowledge on the ancients from an advanced lost civilization. The next step would be to weigh them to see if they conform to any known weight system of the ancient cultures associated with them.

Very interesting as always. In a merchant contexts the symbolism behind the carvings of the hand weights could simply be a symbol of a trading culture or a culture that the inscribers traded with vs an enemy. Going back to the date palm bags sharing the knowledge and practice of pollenization could also indicate trade or a transference of knowledge if shared with a people's who did not posses that knowledge.

Very convincing, the best explanation I have seen yet regarding these mysterious items.

Great job reading your script Tina, whoever produces the content of these videos must be quite pleased by your excellent narration.

This seems to have been specially designed for me... a few weeks ago I was looking into this subject: the "handbags"; and also the "pine cones" and oddly, a pine cone appeared near me on a busy street the day I had been studying that... as if I was being "given a clue" by some "magical force or entity" but not only that... a copy of a Hotspur cover too! Curious Being indeed! Thanks. I will go watch the actual video now.

The grey clouds parted, and a curious being video appeared. It’s a good day! Sayyyy….. that’s good thinking! Weights. And as you say scales were every where. Now Greek Justice was a blind lady with a scale. Could all these rulers with a “bag” actually symbolize their role in justice? Scales today have certificate stamps. Could all the decoration on those weights be a form of official certification? So. Knock-off GUCCI bags or stone weights, even pollen bags. What else does Tina have up her sleeve? Standing bye to be impressed….. Fox out

This was a very rational analysis of one of our great archeological mysteries. I liked the many practical uses suggested for something shaped like the 'handbags'.

So good to be exposed to something new. I had no idea these were portrayed so many, many years ago and across different cultures. Thanks for the hard work in putting this video together.

Hi Tina, I think you're spot on with the idea of these being weights. But that doesn't necessarily remove all mystery from the situation. Are you familiar with a book called 'Civilization One'? It postulates an original advanced civilization before any of the ones we know about, and one of the main arguments that it uses is the uncanny uniformity of weights and other forms of measurement employed all over the world since earliest history. This includes both the Imperial and the metric system, as well as the cubits mentioned in the Bible, and many other forms of measurement. The basic units are different, and yet they are all multiples of each other. The book also addresses such questions as WHEN the circumference of the globe was first known, as it seems to be the basis for many of these measurements, just as it is the basis of the meter we use today (which was set after the French Revolution, and there seems to be a certain amount of mystery surrounding that as well, since the man who set the new measurements was a freemason who sort of came out of nowhere). I found the book's thesis to be very convincing, but unfortunately my mathematical knowledge isn't deep enough for me to say whether the authors have conclusively proved their hypothesis, when they delve into the odds of all of this being coincidental. I would really value your insight on the matter, Tina, if you should ever feel moved to read that book, because I know how rational and cautious you always are. Anyway, thanks for another wonderful video!

Excellent analysis, and it would make sense why everyone in the ancient world would have been familiar with weight-reference stones.

Thanks, Tina, that was very convincing. It makes so much more sense than handbags

A very good explanation of the handbags which seems reasonable to me. The bags at Embeki Tepi are most curious however. You have a beautiful mind. Keep up the good work.

I've never seen the stone carvings of "hand bags" before now. The idea that they were weights is interesting, but I wonder if there was a standard weight? If each custom carved weight was different from merchant to merchant, then a shopper would have a hard time judging the value of their money from merchant to merchant. That is, unless they were the same weight despite their different designs...

“These handbag depictions made by different cultures who are separated by thousands of years” 🤔 Are they really though??? We only have mainstream academia’s version of events on these sites. Their ideas on how to date things and indeed their entire process of collecting data to determine such things is highly flawed!! For instance; they come across an object which can be carbon dated and use it to date an entire site without ever taking into account the possibility of re-inhabitation of a site by a far lesser society after abandonment by its original advanced builders. They simply never consider such things and throw out or flat out refuse to look at any evidence which contradicts their THEORY of events! Considering books such as Michael Cremo’s 900 some odd page text with hundreds of examples of evidence contradicting mainstream academia’s version of his-story, how can we ever put much stock in academia’s claims that these cultures were separated by thousands of years???? Indeed if the idea of Occam’s Razor holds any merit at all, isn’t more likely that these cultures actually existed around the same time period together?? Occam’s Razor: all things considered the simplest answer with the least amount of assumptions teds to be the correct one. So ask yourself what is more likely: 1. Cultures separated by thousands of miles and years who had no contact with each other, designed and utilized the same exact object in the same exact way and then depicted it exactly the same in all their art and massive stone structures. 2. The reason these objects are exactly the same, utilized exactly the same way and depicted exactly the same across all of these different societies is because these societies did have contact with one another and existed together around the same time period. It is more than possible that these societies had contact with each other and existed along side one another around the same time period and were all wiped out by some catastrophe. Then our less advanced ancestors came across these abandoned amazing structures and claimed them as their own. Then there is the inherently unreliable method of carbon dating itself! Most people are oblivious to the fact that this so called “dating system” is very unreliable and can give vastly different ages for materials known to be contemporary with one another!! In fact many scientists have become dubious of using its results at all! In summary, I believe it would be very misguided of us to rely on such data as “fact” and we should reexamine the evidence we have thus far collected on these amazing places to determine if it is possible they were in contact with each other and existed around the same time period together. 🤔🤷🏼‍♀️ Cheers

Wow😳, this channel is refreshing and the commenters actually have working brains. New sub, thankyou👍😊

That was amazing! Thank you ! That is the best theory, explanation Ive heard and Ive wondered about these for a long time. That is perfectly feasible and makes so much sense! Very inspiring and thought provoking ! Thank you again!

Interesting theory, nicely presented. Nice to see an alternative suggestion for the purpose or these mysterious items. However, I still wonder why the visual depictions, and indeed solid stone artefacts, are all about the same size. We never see any notable variation in size and no side-by-side examples of the same item represented in different dimensions. Perhaps they are a symbol of authority, as the standardisation of weights is made by those in authority. There is more to explore here, but thanks for the fresh line of thinking.

I wonder if the symbology with the forms had to do with more than just status, but skill and "time in grade" or something. They were a lot more physical world in the past, where many "commoners' were involved in skilled crafts. I think I'm going to start trying to keep an eye out martial arts related ones.

Awesome work Tina, I think you are spot on as to the mystery of the so called hand bags!

I came to the same conclusions about weights as you a few years ago. Also that the other 'bags' are related to carrying water and seed. Really enjoy that you have well-researched your videos and show some connected thinking!

Thoughts: If larger weights required a handle, then the depiction of a weight with a handle may show that this person had large dealings in "trade". Gobekli Tepe has 3 weights with different carved items in close proximity. This may depict multiple trades may be done on that premises. And may also depict that a large amount may be traded here. I saw a video of depictions on different buildings, showing in which area different market places are located (ie grain, fish, animals, etc). These may be trader headstones or business signboards showing in which location different tradeable goods may be bought and sold. And in what quantities (the larger the weights and measures). A picture is a thousand words. Without a written language, a picture can be understood by multiple cultures who speak different languages.

I've always wondered about these and this is the first theory that makes sense, especially the part concluding that the ancient stone masons would have depicted a more realistic handbag if it were in fact one.

An outstanding video Tina. Great work.

I've seen a lot of speculation on the "hand-bag's" and I think yours is the best most accurate and probably the truth of it video of all. Thank you, you've given me much insight.

I believe the bags may have contained some life-support items for "the gods". An alien that survived the Roswell crash was carrying a black box which he would not put down, so they bashed him with a rifle butt. An alien woman who came in from the sea near Japan (way back in time) was said to be carrying a black box. I believe it may have been a life-support item of some kind.

What a great interpretation of the facts available. I agree that these items and carvings now look like weights. The fact that they've got handles, and that those handles have obvious signs of wear, show that they're actually used regularly, and not symbolic or ritualistic. I always nowadays come down on the side of practical, everyday use rather than fanciful notions of symbolism or ritual use for unknown objects - the ancients had to live their daily lives after all, and were not always worshipping the gods or erecting temples - and while it might be nice to imagine the ways they serviced their gods, it's the items they actually used regularly that hold a greater fascination for me. And your suggestion that the bags and pine cones in the ancient Sumerian reliefs could have been for the pollinating of plants, or more specifically the Tree of Life, is equally fascinating. The pine cone would make a perfectly shaped applicator for certain flowers. As for Gobekli Tepe, I have stared long and hard at Pillar 43 and those three handbags with their associated animals could have something to do with the hunting season for these particular creatures. Maybe the shapes are parts of a stone circle with open armatures at the top to look through, that would be the handles, in order to track sunrises to provide a rudimentary calendar, and each of the seasons would be associated with the hunting of each of the animals. This arrangement would be similar to the stone-circle type of device mentioned in the book Uriel's Machine by Knight and Lomas. It has an ancient pedigree as it is derived from a description in the Book of Enoch where portals are created to look through in order to measure the sunrises and sunsets in order to map out the calendar year. This is purely conjecture obviously, as the "handbags" are not depicted in a circle, and no sun or horizon is depicted also. But I agree with what you said about there not being enough data to reach a plausible hypothesis, so I suppose conjecture is all we have at the moment. Keep up the good work.🤓👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Impressed. The details are everything. Thanks for your descriptions.

In the famous Mesopotamian stone carving, we see two people facing each other with eagle heads, thought to represent Gods or kings or god-kings who brought "civilization' to humans. One is holding the pine cone thought to represent knowledge, the pineal gland, itself a metaphor for controlling people through controlling the narrative via religion. That symbol is all up in the Vatican, by the way. The other is holding the subject you are discussing in your most excellent video. The interpretation of others' discussions of these symbols ranges from that they are the ruler's tool kit for establishing the infrastructure and security/defense needs necessary for a civilization to function to that it represents a money bag, which is really the same thing. The concepts of regulating and taxing trade with measurement standardization, of course, lead directly to the concept of a trade medium of standard value, which of course is money. That was the first magic spark. A physical substance that could theoretically be transformed into anything one desire. The limitations of one's power were the limitations of one's treasury. The next magic spark was symbology, which evolved into writing systems that became necessary to keep track of all this economic activity and is now information technology. So all these interpretations seem different, they lead to the same conclusion.

I watched a few videos on these hand bags, yours has the best believable explanation

Thank you, Tina, for telling us about this.

We oft' wish for mystical, magical or ancient technological explanations for the ancient artifacts of unknown purpose and we oft' get a mystical, magical or ancient technological ideas or summations as possible explanations. It's so refreshing to have your understanding and researched knowledge shared. This is the best explanation of purpose that I have seen regarding the "Hand bags" of the ancients! Bravo!

Great presentation Tina!😊, I've been saying the same theory as this for decades since I first saw these things in in school but for some reason no-one took me seriously!😔, there was also a time when I thought they may have been used for pressing stuff too?🤔, they probably had multiple uses however the weighing hypothesis has always seemed the most plausible to me!😁, have a lovely evening!😊💜✌️

Finally a reasonable and well researched interpretation. One observation though, the pillars in gobekli tepe are meant to represent bodies as they have hands carved on the side. When used in art these weights could symbolise trade and trade existed since prehistory

Awesome video, historical representation!! 😘💕👍👍

Love curious being. Only a matter of time until the algorithm hits for her. So glad I found her. Look forward to her videos.

Wonderful Tina, good insight.

This is the most reliable explanation about the so-called handbag.

good thinking.practical visualization that makes a strong case,thanks.

I was so happy to subscribe to your channel and was quite impressed with your dissertation and your knowledge about the subject. You also have a wonderful command of The English Language and you are quite attractive to boot. I have been very interested in these ancient artifacts and have wondered about these "Hand Bags" for many years and it is so nice to hear your theories about them. I look forward to seeing all your other videos on these subjects. Thanks for all your work on this subject.

Thank you for another interesting video.

That's a great content - may I add, the "handbag" design is very universal, it can be a bag, filled with anything you like, with weights too which I did not think / read about yet, thank you for sharing :)

I love your thinking, and your videos, thank you!

Fascinating and very plausible. Subscribed. Thanks from sunny Vienna, Scott

Excellent hypothesis, well researched. Thank you

Fascinating take on the "handbags". Weights? Maybe! What strikes me is that all depictions are similar to each other. Same scale, design, way of holding them. No idea what it means, but certainly "curious" to questioning "being" (like you and your subscribers!) Thank you for sharing your hypothesis, Tina. Food for thought, as usual.

Very fascinating & informative. Wonderful content…

A very credible effort. Thanks. Subscribed.

I really enjoyed this video. Insightful and thorough. Would be wonderful if you ended video with book suggestions for those who want learn more about the various cultures you discussed.

Again and again, besting ancient mysteries. A giant of modern archeology.

It is so refreshing to see examined facts, logic and reasoning used to build a hypothesis!

I love this. Really good job.

A perfect example of occam's razor. I never thought they were weights but it makes perfect sense. I have subscribed.

Wow! I loved your hypothesis!... Simple, elegant, like a nice handbag. But, seriously, the concept of "balance", "fairness", and "equality" are embedded in that simple image. So much so, that the idea is also illustrated in another ancient symbol of Libra. The more ancient examples, like at Gobekli Tepe, may have originally been bags holding a standard amount or weight, but evolved into stones with handles. Great video, thank you!

Wish you did longer segments!! Always end too soon! Great topic. I feel that weights are very probable, however the bags being widely depicted, carved , in various places around the world, that if they were practical useful items for trade, commerce , they possibly represent wealth or having the means to execute purchase, trade, upper economic status symbols perhaps... I kinda thought of them as representing "some kind of bearer of....??? Maybe agriculture, medicine, something along those lines Thanks again Tina You're Awesome 🙂🏖️

I like this theory. Tina it has a lot of merit. The “hand bags” being weight for measuring would be a strong symbol of the civilized culture. And the idea that the teacher gods were teachers of how to live makes good sense. Trade is a cornerstone of advancement.

Fabulous! Makes perfect sense. Thanks so much for this!🙂

Thank you always enjoy your informative videos. Have a nice day. 🍃🌺🍃

DAMN ! You are good ! I've seen them for 20+ years and never "saw" what you just showed us. Proof, we see what others tell us that we are seeing.....

Remarkable insights !!

I think that you're onto something here. A very interesting video. 🙂

Thank you very much for making this interesting video

Excellent!! I really enjoyed your study & research. I believe you have figured out the mystery ;) Thank you.

Okay....at first I was SO resistant to that hypothesis.. But halfway through I was all "Oh Wow ! Tina's right again !!!" 😆 🤣 😂 You make me humble M'am ✨️ 😌 You are the complete package 📦 🫠 Thank you for yet another paradigm shift all the while gently guided by such beauty and poise...🙏🤯🙏

simple, yet satisfying

I've always thought that these mysterious stone "bags" would someday turn out to be something mundane that we just haven't thought about. As far as I know, pockets hadn't been invented yet. Maybe it's just how they transported items they needed or valued. But, right now your explanation is as good as any.

Intriguing ... excellent theory!

Very well developed and plausible explanation

Excellent presentation . This theory is fascinating and logical. Thank you very much.