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Buddhist/Pre-Buddhist Statue Discovered to be Carved from Meteorite
Sile
Veteran
Note: The BBC link title is "Nazi Buddha from Space" and the lede begins, "An ancient Buddhist statue..." yet the article body refers to it as a "pre-Buddhist" statue, likely Bon. Curious that.
At any rate:
"The artifact is believed to be made from a meteorite that crashed into the Earth 15,000 years ago"
Absolutely fascinating:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19735959
At any rate:
"The artifact is believed to be made from a meteorite that crashed into the Earth 15,000 years ago"
Absolutely fascinating:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19735959
0
Comments
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1945-5100.2012.01409.x/full
"...we were not able to clarify the definite identity and age of the “iron man” meteorite sculpture. The statue fulfills some fundamental criteria that argue for the identity of Vaiśravana. However, we are aware of the fact that many figurative illustrations of Vaiśravana significantly differ from the “iron man.”
...From our preliminary ethnological-art historical findings, we assume that the “iron man” is an early portrait of Vaiśravana. However, the statue might as well represent a religious dignitary or another person of high standing that was portrayed with the regalia and in the posture of Vaiśravana. As a further possibility, the “iron man” could be a stylistic cross-over between Bon and the subsequent Buddhist art, exhibiting elements of both. According to this interpretation, the possible provenance of the “iron man” is western Tibet or anywhere in the area of Buddhist influence and the age can be tentatively dated at the eighth to tenth century (compare to Fisher 1997, pp. 12–13). The ancient tradition of meteoritic artwork in Tibet (Berzin, personal communication) and the entire Buddhist area is in good agreement with these age estimations. The provenance of the meteorite used for the statue strongly points to the Tanna-Tuva region in the border area of eastern Siberia and Mongolia. We must speculate whether the piece of art was produced either in Tibet or in Mongolia, and subsequently brought to Tibet. We hereby would like to encourage our colleagues (in particular archeologists and ethnologists) to communicate any cognitions or ideas to us with respect to the identity, age, provenance, and religious role of the “iron man” sculpture.
The provenance of the meteorite used for the statue strongly points to the Tanna-Tuva region in the border area of eastern Siberia and Mongolia. We must speculate whether the piece of art was produced either in Tibet or in Mongolia, and subsequently brought to Tibet. We hereby would like to encourage our colleagues (in particular archeologists and ethnologists) to communicate any cognitions or ideas to us with respect to the identity, age, provenance, and religious role of the “iron man” sculpture."
Imagine the discovery, for example, of a carving dated to the 1st Centry AD which shows [blasphemy alert!] Jesus getting married, or Jesus being helped away from the cross appearing to still be alive. There are bits of information in historical documents which suggest that such things are not completely impossible, but a carving or image would be a powerful, knock-you-in-the-gut kind of experience. In some ways it's harder to argue over imagery (in other ways, of course, it's probably easier!)
Another thing hinted at in this meteorite discovery is that it shows the technological/artistic advancement of the artisans was substantial--it shows (or seems to show) they had great familiarity in working with meteorite material. Aside from the fact that once again the "primitive heathen" is revealed once again to be approximately as intelligent and capable as modern man (my personal favorite), it may also tell us that meteorite material was far more commonly found and used than previously thought, which in turn tells us about the history of our earth, and maybe even changes our statistics on the likelihood of being struck by meteorites.
Okay I'm a history nut, but...[ouch!! Was that a meteorite?!]
The other point about ancient societies being able to perform more advanced techniques etc doesn't really shock me that much, or rather it doesn't interest me as it has no impact on my life whatsoever. Sorry if this all sounds rather brash, but it is just the way I feel about history :rolleyes:
From National Geographic:
"No doubt the figure was dear to the artist who sculpted it, but what is it worth today? Its status as the only known human figure carved from a meteorite may give it a value of $20,000, according to Buchner. But, he said in a statement, 'If our estimation of its age is correct and [the sculpting] is nearly a thousand years old, it could be invaluable.'"
"If we are right that it was made in the Bon culture in the 11th century, it is absolutely priceless and absolutely unique worldwide. It is extremely impressive, it was formerly almost completely gilded – there is a great mystery represented by it."
Does this mean there aren't many Bon statues from 11th C. AD?
I know there's vigorous argument over whether there's any evidence from the time period when Bon was a separate religion; some historians feel that Bon was already completely merged with Buddhism by the time evidence enters the historical record.
Wiki:
Christopher Beckwith calls Bon "one of the two types of Tibetan Buddhism" and writes that "despite continuing popular belief in the existence of a non-Buddhist religion known as Bon during the Tibetan Empire period, there is not a shred of evidence to support the idea... Although different in some respects from the other sects, it was already very definitely a form of Buddhism."
The original, completely pre-Buddhist Bon is said by some to center around the worship of a "divine king." Maybe Buchner's team feels this statue may that figure, meaning we finally have real evidence from pre-Buddhist Bon?
I'd say it's more Total Recall than Alien though.
Seriously, that statue is so weird. It's made out of meteorite and predicted two of the most shocking moments in famous movies that took place in outer space.
I'm not sure about life on other planets, even the bacterial kind of life, but I guess I'm open to it. I'd prefer a Stargate to bacteria, but I guess we can't have everything
@amandathetexan It's my all time favourite show
Besides, it has Richard Dean Anderson... how can it NOT be a top show??
I love Richard Dean Anderson. Even towards the end when he was starting to look really old he pulled it off