Canadian university puts ancient, mysterious sculpture on display

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A mysterious sculpture held by Montreal's Concordia University - an artifact possibly thousands of years old and thought by some experts to predate the pyramids of Egypt - is being displayed publicly for the first time in hopes of attracting international attention and fresh insights into its origins

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The large limestone object, described as a "haunting" representation of two entwined and perhaps emaciated figures, "could be one of the rarest finds of its kind," according to Clarence Epstein, the university's director of special projects and cultural affairs.

The hitch, he acknowledges, is that no expert among the many consulted over the past decade can identify the sculpture's age or artistic tradition, nor can they decipher the "ancient, yet unidentifiable language" etched into the artwork.

One archeologist "suggested the statue was either from a pre-dynastic tomb or was an outright fake," Epstein said.

The two nude subjects, one a male and the other possibly a female holding a child, are depicted in a sitting position with abnormally large heads and elongated limbs

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So, we don't know who made it or what the language is? Hmmm, sounds like a mystery to me.

I thought I would share this as it is an interesting story, and anything that involves ancients and mysteries has got me.

Looked around for it on here but I didn't find anything so I thought I would share.

Any thoughts?

Pred...

maybe their some of the 'gods' of ancient time like in Sumerian and Egyptian history.

ill be skeptical until they release an estimated date. thermoluminescence is quite accurate, i kind of think its a hoax personally. id like to see the site data.

reply to post by predator0187


Interesting.The article did mention a possibility of being a fake, but interesting nonetheless.
It would be nice to know exactly where this thing came from if it is genuinely ancient. The article only speculated Egypt, noting that "The Starving of Saqqara" statue came from a private collection of artifacts "from Egypt, Israel and other ancient sites." If this statue is real, I'd love to see how/if it ties in with cranial binding practices, the Moai heads of Eastern Island, and other such evidences of oversized crania.

Hiya!

Great thread and fascinating topic -

Well the proposed origins of the statue make sense to me...
it could very well depict a starving, conquered people, buried in an Egyptian tomb or surrounding areas.

Or, it could very well be part of that 'less than one percent' faked.

I suppose there's no way these people (curators or some such) would be able to track down the Greek family that originally owned the entire collection?

Is this a really one off piece though? I mean, let me think, are there similar styles floating around which could guide us a little?
And perhaps the mysterious writing/text is a makers mark... maybe an internal code for a sculpture guild or group of artisans from that time - that died with the last in line.

I'm not sure why someone would want to fake such a piece of art. There can't much to gain from doing so.

That being said, it's certainly an interesting piece of art. I'm wondering if that ancient language is one of extraterrestrial beings?

reply to post by predator0187


Hmmm-the shape of their heads reminds me of these skulls found in Peru (I think...):

reply to post by Skippy1138


The heads in the statue do look quite deformed, and almost "alien" like.

I agree there is a possibility that this is a hoax, but as a previous poster said what is there to gain?

It is a very interesting sculpture, and it makes it better that we have no idea how old it is or who made it.

Pred...

I noted the elongated skulls - much like the ones in some of the paintings in Egypt. The Anunnaki?

The "writing" on the bottom of the statue.

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Originally posted by predator0187
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Any thoughts?

Pred...

They remind me of the pre Mayan/Aztec Ancient Olmec of Central America if you asked me.

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Thanks! The faces appear to be somewhat similar but the shape and appendages of the body differ too much so maybe from before the mayans?

The faces are quite similar though, so good find.

Thanks buddy!

Pred...

reply to post by predator0187


Colorized object, the colors inherent within the object. The images of human faces that are revealed are also a part of the original object. I frequently find objects like this among objects d'art and museum fare. Techniques unknown.

See this article about elongated skulls. It is actually possible to mold the head into that shape. Just like foot binding. This is called head binding.
en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by Mercurio
See this article about elongated skulls. It is actually possible to mold the head into that shape. Just like foot binding. This is called head binding.
en.wikipedia.org...

Sure, but what made people initially elongate their heads? Did they see it somewhere? Or just playing around?

Pred...

Originally posted by predator0187

Originally posted by Mercurio
See this article about elongated skulls. It is actually possible to mold the head into that shape. Just like foot binding. This is called head binding.
en.wikipedia.org...

Sure, but what made people initially elongate their heads? Did they see it somewhere? Or just playing around?

Pred...

You beat me to the question, Pred. Yeah, why would they choose this unnatural effort if there was nothing they were trying to emulate?

physiology differences cannot be explained backwards from the point of darwin. there is an extensive project camelot interview with pictures and slides about art and crania from pre antiquity pre zep tepi.

I'm hoping to find out that this sculpture is not a fake/hoax.

I, too, wonder why the beings are depicted with elongated heads. Why did humans originally bind their heads, and for what purpose? Did they think it looked more attractive? Did they think this would allow for their brains to expand and make them smarter? Or is it emulation? If so, are they trying to emulate an animal, or are they trying to emulate a god? If it is a god, then was it a god that was actually seen be the people at one point in the past, or is this god only spoken of and made up in the mind of some other ancient person?

There are so many questions. The problem is that we cannot find the definite answers. Personally, I hope the answer is extraterrestrial in origin, but that is just a pipe-dream of mine. One thing is definitely for sure: People from all over the world, separated by time and oceans, were doing the same head-elongating. This is not something that people "just do"; otherwise, we would still be doing it today in modern civilizations.

It is the same concept as the pyramid-design to buildings. Why are they using the same relative design? Because it was the most efficient? No... building with huge stones, and forcing others to build these colossal buildings is not efficient. Building with wood is much more efficient for a group of people that is barely our of the stone-age.

reply to post by predator0187


This is typical of everything that is wrong in archaeology.

'It's either belonging to this period...or it's a fake'.

IOW, unless this find fit's with a certain paradigm, just like *ALL* other archaeological artifacts found down through the centuries, it's a fake.

That's *not* science. Not even close.

Originally posted by loagun
maybe their some of the 'gods' of ancient time like in Sumerian and Egyptian history.

except they sort of look like children, not "Gods". I think its an interesting piece.. Could you imagine being the first person knowing how to make a sculpture? and it lasting this long? insane.