TPO 33: Carved stone balls

Generally speaking, the reading passage has proposed three possible hypotheses as the explanation of the use of carved stone balls found in Scotland. The lecturer, nevertheless, remains skeptical about the accuracies in each piece of the hypothesis, asserts that evidence given in the passage is not adequate and reliable at all.

Initially, the passage claims that the carved stone balls may be hunting or fighting weapons. The holes and grooves on the ball indicate that it is possible to be used with a cord and let people to swing or throw it. On the contrary, the lecturer refutes this point by saying that the balls are perfect without pieces broken from them. Given other stone weapons, if the balls were used as weapons, they cannot be that well-preserved.

Additionally, according to the reading, the carved balls are likely to be used as part of primitive weighing system due to their amazingly uniform in size. Nonetheless, the professor cast doubt on this idea by pointing out that the density of these balls varies from each other because they are made of different materials. Thus the weight of the balls varies, and consequently it is inconsistent that they are used as standard weighing units.

Ultimately, the reading accounts the use of stone balls to social purpose. Elaborate carved, they may marked the social status of their owners. The lecturer, yet, opposed to this by explaining that although some balls are intricate carved, the majority of them are too simple to mark status symbol. Plus, the professor mentions that according to ancient tradition, if the balls were of such a high value, people may bury them when a person died. However, no balls were found buried in the tombs. Hence, this hypothesis is not convincing.