The Sayburc relief (Photo: B. Köşker)
Posted on 12/09/2022 8:06:06 AM PST by SunkenCiv
The 11,000-year-old carving was found among the remains of a Neolithic structure in southeastern Turkey.
Archaeologists in Turkey have discovered one of the world’s oldest known works of narrative art—and at the center of it is a man clutching his penis.
The 12-foot-long carved panel, which forms a bench, was found last year during the excavation of the remains of a Neolithic communal structure at the archaeological site of Sayburç in southeastern Turkey. Details of the discovery were shared this week in a paper published in the latest edition of the peer-reviewed journal Antiquity.
The piece, which is believed to be 11,000 years old, may reveal unprecedented insights into the ancient communities who once called the region home, according to the paper’s author, archaeologist Eylem Özdoğan.
Etched in deep relief on the panel’s right register is an upright man holding his member. He’s surrounded on either side by a pair of leopards, while on the left side of the carving is another human figure (also featuring an exaggerated phallus) with a bull.
Whereas narrative is implied in older pieces of art—such as the 45,000-year-old painting of pigs found in an Indonesian cave in 2020—the newly-unearthed Sayburç panel seems to tell a progressive story; its scenes relate to each other, like cells on a film strip...
What’s more, it’s possible that the three-foot-tall relief served an educational, rather than purely aesthetic, purpose...
“In oral traditions, stories, rituals, and strong symbolic elements form the foundation of the ideologies that shape society beyond spirituality,” Özdoğan explained in the study.
“The Sayburç reliefs, then, can be seen in a similar light: the reflection of a collective memory that kept the values of its community alive.”
(Excerpt) Read more at news.artnet.com ...
Danke, I used a different source.
“Neolithic communal structure”
Is that what they are calling it now?
“at the center of it is a man clutching his penis.”
No comment from here.
I will leave that to others.
A “man”? How do they know this?
Neanderthal PR0N...................
Groomer?
It may have been a performance area, and they enjoyed ribald comedy performances.
I think it means, “Don’t yank your crank when dangerous animals are around.”
Let’s be fair about this. If I had a couple of leopards on either side of me I might well feel an urge to pee too.
“surrounded on either side by a pair of leopards”
It seems like if two leopards were after someone playing with one’s unit would not be exactly the first thing that comes to mind.
Isn’t NSFW a railroad?
So an accurate assessment of mankind.
I’ll bet his name was Jeffrey toobin.
That’s no man, that’s an alien. 🙂
Not everything has to be interpreted through a hedonistic lens.
He seems to have a smile on his face.
Old Richard Pryor joke.
” an upright man holding his member. He’s surrounded on either side by a pair of leopards, while on the left side of the carving is another human figure (also featuring an exaggerated phallus) with a bull.”
Been there. Done that.
it’s possible that the three-foot-tall relief served an educational, rather than purely aesthetic, purpose...
********
Well, it is kind of obvious. The thing is saying, “kid! careful! get caught touching your peepee in public and you get fed to the animals!”
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