Alternative theory: Prehistoric men had divorce courts.
Posted on 11/27/2011 2:55:38 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Men in prehistoric Europe scarred, pierced and tattooed their penises, likely for ritualistic and social group reasons, according to a new study.
Analysis of phallic decorations in Paleolithic art, described in the December issue of The Journal of Urology, may also show evidence of the world's first known surgery performed on a male genital organ. The alteration, or surgery, might have just been for ornamental purposes, or a piercing, the researchers suggest...
Angulo and colleagues Marcos Garcia-Diez and Marc Martinez studied male genital representations in portable, mostly handheld sizes of art made in Europe approximately 38,000 to 11,000 years ago.
The pieces, researchers say, frequently mirrored what actually appeared on the male penis. Paleolithic art is known to be very naturalistic, so the artists were recreating what they saw...
What is clear is that phallic decoration became more prevalent among men of the Magdalenian Culture in France and Spain about 12,000 years ago...
Another finding of the study is that prehistoric men seemed to favor preputial retraction, or drawing back of the foreskin. As a result, the scientists think it's likely that early males practiced circumcision as both a way to prevent disease and for affiliation purposes. To this day, ritual or religious circumcisions occur within several cultures.
For the prehistoric cultures, Angulo believes that their "canon of beauty" changed over time. Earlier humans of the Gravettian culture, known for characteristic tools such as carving blades, appear to have favored more exaggerated depictions of sexuality, as is evident in many of their "Venus" figurines of naked women. The Magdalenians, on the other hand, had a more naturalistic concept of beauty, according to the authors.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.discovery.com ...
Heh heh... these “tattoos” may have been in the form of body paint, another practice that has survived to the present day.
I don’t know why they waste money on research like this. Neolithic culture and lifestyles were well documented on TV in the 1960’s on the Flinstones Show. Fred Flintstone never mentions member tattooing or piercing. Although Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes had some peculiar practices.
Alternative theory: Prehistoric men had divorce courts.
So glad you appreciate my Neanderthal attempts at courting the Poetic Muse. (Erato?) LOL
If memory serves me...it was just some symbols. Like a star and a diamond..a sun, maybe a crescent moon.
Weird...
You think he would have been more creative than THAT! Not sure what but way more creative than some space symbols. LOL!
It was a tattoo if his peter... but larger.
“I love Mom” with an anchor.
The ugly nurse read it as "swan".
The cute nurse read it as "Saskatchewan."
A professional athlete of some note once told me he had “NBA” tattooed on his... equipment. I said: “Well, that’s not very impressive”. He said: “Yeah, but when I need to use it, it says “National Basketball Association”.
Reminds me of a joke.............
Well... that’s okay then. If it says a good thing about Moms... I’m all for it. LOL!
You’re a hoot, going hot! Thanks for making me laugh.
Thus proving the myth is true?! LOL!
No you can't look. Did Geico put you up to this???
I hate that tattoo!
LOL!!
You got a little peek at his "Lucky Charms."
I know the jingle.....but I ain’t repeating it!! HA!!!
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