A new study argues that ancient rattles unearthed in Syria aren’t musical instruments, but toys used to entertain infants.

One of the oldest known baby rattles was found in an infant burial in northern Mesopotamia, dating to the Ubaid period ...

Getty Images/iStock Photo In an ancient city in western Syria, the remains of an “ordinary” neighborhood were excavated in the early 1930s. It was small but held a pottery production center ...