The Shigir Idol is covered in carvings, including what looks like code. It stands 9.2ft (2.8 metres) in height (shown left and right) but originally was 17.4ft (5.3 metres) tall - as high as a two storey houseDaily Mail
Posted on 08/29/2015 7:40:54 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A stunning wooden statue pulled from a Russian peat bog 125 years ago has been dated as being 11,000 years old after 'sensational' new analysis.
This means the remarkable Shigir Idol, which is covered in ‘encrypted code’ and may be a message from ancient man, is by far the oldest wooden sculpture in the world.
Previous dating attempts claimed it was made 9,500 years ago.
...
The idol was originally dug out of a peat bog in the Ural Mountains in 1890.
'The first attempt to date the idol was made 107 years after its discovery, in 1997.
The first radiocarbon analyses showed the idol was 9,500 calendar years old, which led to disputes in the scientific community.
'To exclude doubts, and to make the results known and accepted, a decision was made to use the most modern technologies to date the idol again,’ the source said.
'Research was conducted in Mannheim, Germany, at one of the world's most advanced laboratories using Accelerated Mass Spectrometry, on seven minuscule wooden samples.
'The results were astonishing, as samples from inside parts of the idol showed its age as 11,000 calendar years, to the very beginning of the Holocene epoch.
'We also learned that the sculpture was made from a larch which was at least 157 years old.
‘Clear cuts on the tree trunk leave no doubts that the idol was made from a freshly cut tree, by stone tools.'
The source concluded: 'The research proves that the Big Shigir Idol is the world's oldest wooden sculpture, and an outstanding discovery, a key to understanding Eurasian art.'
...
The ancient monument stands 9ft (2.8 metres) in height but originally was 17ft (5.3 metres) tall - as high as a two storey house.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Ping
IBTRTDYO post
...first message : "Ugg step in fire./...him invent dancing ...
Wouldn't it be a hoot if they were deciphered and it turns out they were a lot smarter than we are ?
Translation: "They were primitive and superstitious."
The code has been translated:
“When the day was cold,
and snowy , too
our oxen cart
still got us through”
“burma shave”
cC
Burma Shave
LOL! Great thread
It would be nice if the carvings contained humor, wit or sarcasm to show that ancient man was the ancestor of Free Republic
LOL!
“The remarkable Shigir Idol (pictured) which is covered in ‘encrypted code’ and may be a message from ancient man...”
From the looks of it, the message appears to be that someone has some spare times on their hands.
Or just wanted to make it decorative.
The whole “encrypted code” nonsense is probably just nonsense.
My guess: these delightful savages tattooed themselves from stem to stern with these very same geometric designs — because they were incapable of any other kind of décor.
I must publically apologize to everyone still trying to decoded my IBTRTDYO post.
I goofed I was shooting for:
IBTBSTDYO
BESURETODRINKYOUROVALTINE
Beat me to it. Probably tattooing.
Best guess these would have been ancestors of the Finno-Ugric speakers.
Amazed that the thing is 9 feet tall.
As ancient astronaut theorists believe.
I was actually running around the web trying to figure it out...
I like the statue. Hard to know what it really looked like originally, but it has a nice style which has aged well.
-JT
The head could’ve come out of a Picasso painting.
I doubt it is encrypted.
after a cold day,
in the muck and mire
here’s to the man
who invented fire.
Burma shave
CC
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