'Oldest Star Chart' Found (32,500 Years Old)

BBC ^ | 1-21-2003 | Dr. David Whetstone

[JudyB1938]

Maybe it's an Aurignacian's "I come in peace" stance, commemorating a peace treaty.

Left leg doesn't look shorter to me. Looks like the right leg is in front of the body with a bended knee. Matter of perspective.

The "sword" looks more like a spear with a rock head at the bottom to me, due to its being so long. (Look where it extends up to the head). Or it's just a defect in the wood.

What's that thing on the left bicep?

You watch. UFO people will claim it as their own.

[LiteKeeper]

YEC read later

[colorado tanker]

Calling Lili Von Shtupp, sword investigator extraordinaire!

[SwinneySwitch]

Or it could be an early BC Neanderthal getting a BJ!

[RobRoy]

Hey, somebody finally found my rock! (I lost it at the beach)

[husky ed]

This is an obivious fake.
This was made by the same 85 year old fart that just died and his wife that did the Bigfoot tracks all over the states for the past 150 years. Their son said they started it all. Crop circles, Yeti, Helen Thomas

[blam]

""Whitehouse" is right, "Whetstone" wrong, for Dr. David's last name. "

Hmmm. You are correct. Wonder how I did that?

[aruanan]

Between his legs hangs what could be a sword and his waist is narrow.

32,000 years ago I'm betting it's a representation of something else.

[blam]

"Does anyone have a star chart program handy? Fire it up and tell us how the stars of Orion looked in 30,500 BC. What does 32,500 years of stellar movement do to Orion's shape? (In other words, did it look like the figurine back then?)"

Dadgumit, my son gave me a program Planetarium Gold for Christmas. We (he) had it look at something in 2,000BC when he was here for Christmas. Unfortunately I don't know how to use it or if it will go back that far. I've pinged him.

[steveo]

Didn't these idiots know that mammoth's were endangered? What loosers.

[AndrewC]

Computer enhanced image.

[Interesting Times]

I'm going to need a little more convincing about the correlation of the carving to the layout of Orion.

"See, the left leg is shorter" somehow lacks scientific rigor...

[Political Junkie Too]

I could have sworn it was a cross-walk sign. See? Some drunks shot up the back of it.

-PJ

[Political Junkie Too]

I could have sworn it was a cross-walk sign. See? Some drunks shot up the back of it.

-PJ

[Godebert]

" Not bad, considering that the sword wasn't invented for another 25,000 years. Some scholarship."

Good catch.

[blam]

""See, the left leg is shorter" somehow lacks scientific rigor..."

LOL. Not robust enough?

[Vinnie]

First, it is the number of days that must be subtracted from a year to equal the average number of days of a human gestation

LOL, Wonder how long it took to come to this idiotic conclusion.

My guess the figure is a self portrait ( with a little enhancement ) and the notches are a record of his 'conquests'.

[Eaker]

This is just as likely a TV guide as a star chart.

I guess it is just me. I don't see Orion in Orion and I only see shade or rain in clouds.

Stay safe; stay armed.
Eaker Freeper Status

[Charge Carrier]

Planetarium Gold does not do proper motion. Only recently has such data become available anyway - extrapolation by 30,000 years may be a bit pushing it. Nevertheless, given that any figure could be superimposed on the stars (e.g. see "A Beautiful Mind") it seems a bit weak if that was it.

However, I find it interesting that there are exactly 12 rows of holes. The only signifigance of that number in pre-history I can think of is the number of lunar cycles in a year. So that seems to lean to some sort of annual/lunar calender related bookkeeping. Keeping track of the seasons would seem a lot more useful to hunters then caring about the stars.