5.6.3 Special Treatment of Objects

No obvious example of a hoard of Neolithic artefacts springs to mind for the Highland Region, although the deliberate deposition of axeheads of Alpine jadeitite in or close to water (Section 5.4.3.2.2) could be described as the special treatment of objects. In this case it may have been for the purpose of removing them from the world of the living and return them to the world of the gods, from where they may have been believed to originate.

Likewise, the deposition of some carved stone balls in high places or next to a stream, discussed in Section 5.4.3.2.4, may also constitute the special treatment of these special artefacts. Also as noted in Section 5.6.2, it is not known whether the high-status Late Neolithic artefacts found in Ormiegill and Camster Round passage tombs had been deposited there as grave goods, or as an offering to the ancestors.

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