Ancient phallus unearthed in cave
#1
Ancient phallus unearthed in cave
By Jonathan Amos
BBC News science reporter
A sculpted and polished phallus found in a German cave is among the earliest representations of male sexuality ever uncovered, researchers say.
The 20cm-long, 3cm-wide stone object, which is dated to be about 28,000 years old, was buried in the famous Hohle Fels Cave near Ulm in the Swabian Jura. The prehistoric "tool" was reassembled from 14 fragments of siltstone. Its life size suggests it may well have been used as a sex aid by its Ice Age makers, scientists report.
"In addition to being a symbolic representation of male genitalia, it was also at times used for knapping flints," explained Professor Nicholas Conard, from the department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, at Tübingen University.
"There are some areas where it has some very typical scars from that," he told the BBC News website.
Researchers believe the object's distinctive form and etched rings around one end mean there can be little doubt as to its symbolic nature.
"It's highly polished; it's clearly recognisable," said Professor Conard.
The Tübingen team working Hohle Fels already had 13 fractured parts of the phallus in storage, but it was only with the discovery of a 14th fragment last year that the team was able finally to put the "jigsaw" together. The different stone sections were all recovered from a well-dated ash layer in the cave complex associated with the activities of modern humans (not their pre-historic "cousins", the Neanderthals). The dig site is one of the most remarkable in central Europe. Hohle Fels stands more than 500m above sea level in the Ach River Valley and has produced thousands of Upper Palaeolithic items.
More from BBC News, 25 July 2005
BBC News science reporter
A sculpted and polished phallus found in a German cave is among the earliest representations of male sexuality ever uncovered, researchers say.
The 20cm-long, 3cm-wide stone object, which is dated to be about 28,000 years old, was buried in the famous Hohle Fels Cave near Ulm in the Swabian Jura. The prehistoric "tool" was reassembled from 14 fragments of siltstone. Its life size suggests it may well have been used as a sex aid by its Ice Age makers, scientists report.
"In addition to being a symbolic representation of male genitalia, it was also at times used for knapping flints," explained Professor Nicholas Conard, from the department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, at Tübingen University.
"There are some areas where it has some very typical scars from that," he told the BBC News website.
Researchers believe the object's distinctive form and etched rings around one end mean there can be little doubt as to its symbolic nature.
"It's highly polished; it's clearly recognisable," said Professor Conard.
The Tübingen team working Hohle Fels already had 13 fractured parts of the phallus in storage, but it was only with the discovery of a 14th fragment last year that the team was able finally to put the "jigsaw" together. The different stone sections were all recovered from a well-dated ash layer in the cave complex associated with the activities of modern humans (not their pre-historic "cousins", the Neanderthals). The dig site is one of the most remarkable in central Europe. Hohle Fels stands more than 500m above sea level in the Ach River Valley and has produced thousands of Upper Palaeolithic items.
More from BBC News, 25 July 2005
#6
Originally Posted by fdl
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#8
Originally Posted by Caliadria
Did ya read the article? It said the shape and circular markings on one end make it clearly recognizable, and if you look at it, it clearly is...
hmm...not really.
#12
Originally Posted by Caliadria
Did ya read the article? It said the shape and circular markings on one end make it clearly recognizable, and if you look at it, it clearly is...
#14
Originally Posted by SDCGTSX
Did you take women's history? Well, I actually did and believe me, they can take ANYTHING and turn it into a phallic symbol. In fact anyone can turn anything into whatever they want if they try hard enough. Look at the Bible and the Koran. People blow things up and kill people in following the those books.
#15
Originally Posted by SDCGTSX
Did you take women's history? Well, I actually did and believe me, they can take ANYTHING and turn it into a phallic symbol. In fact anyone can turn anything into whatever they want if they try hard enough. Look at the Bible and the Koran. People blow things up and kill people in following the those books.
Sorry, but neither the Bible or the Koran look like schlongs to me.
#16
Originally Posted by wstevens
Sorry, but neither the Bible or the Koran look like schlongs to me.
#18
Originally Posted by wstevens
Sorry, but neither the Bible or the Koran look like schlongs to me.
#19
You know what, I have more to say on this... why are you spouting women's history knowledge to me when you don't even have the facts straight? Phallic SYMBOLS are things like the Washington Monument; symbols of power which also happen to be large and cylindrical. Objects actually shaped and designed like penises are, well, models of penises.
#20
"In addition to being a symbolic representation of male genitalia, it was also at times used for knapping flints,"
So it was a tool that just happens to look like that...Like "it was clearly a phallus, which was occassionaly used to hit baseballs"
So it was a tool that just happens to look like that...Like "it was clearly a phallus, which was occassionaly used to hit baseballs"
#24
Originally Posted by JimmyCarter
"In addition to being a symbolic representation of male genitalia, it was also at times used for knapping flints,"
So it was a tool that just happens to look like that...Like "it was clearly a phallus, which was occassionaly used to hit baseballs"
So it was a tool that just happens to look like that...Like "it was clearly a phallus, which was occassionaly used to hit baseballs"
Yeah... good point. It's possible that the ring around the top was created by the flint knapping (whatever that means), in which case it's just an unfortunate circumstance that it looks like a cack.
#29
Originally Posted by Caliadria
You know what, I have more to say on this... why are you spouting women's history knowledge to me when you don't even have the facts straight? Phallic SYMBOLS are things like the Washington Monument; symbols of power which also happen to be large and cylindrical. Objects actually shaped and designed like penises are, well, models of penises.
#31
Originally Posted by SDCGTSX
Phallus is as you say a symbol of a penis. Last time I checked, a oblong cylindical rock isn't a penis. In fact it was a tool. Just because you want to use it for one doesn't make it a penis. And for the record, neither are bananas, zuccinis, cucumbers, or pencils penises or phalluses. They are victims of the malicious intent of women.
Phallus = penis. It's latin, check it out sometime.
Phallic symbol = something vaguely resembling a penis that represents power, subconsciously indicating that only males can represent or hold power
Banana, zucchini, cucumber = Foods, aka things to use when masturbating (note that I did not include pencil in this description)
Dildo, rocks shaped and (possibly) carved to strongly resemble penis = things to use when masturbating
Masturbation = malicious intent of women?
Last edited by CLPowersWife; 07-27-2005 at 01:09 PM.