Body: | Dinosaurs in ancient Cambodian temple
Amazing evidence that dinosaurs and humans coexisted.
Click to View
The magnificent jungle temples of Cambodia were produced by the Khmer
civilization, beginning as early as the eighth and extending through the
fourteenth century A.D. One of, if not the greatest monarchs and monument
builders of this empire was Jayavarman VII, crowned supreme king in 1181.
Portrait statues, depicting him meditating in the fashion of Buddha, have
been found throughout the region.
Click to View
An excellent example can be seen in the National Museum Of Cambodia in
Phnom Pehn. He built the beautiful temple monastery Ta Prohm in honor of
his mother, dedicating it in 1186.
Click to View
Click to View
These awesome temples were rediscovered by Portuguese adventurers and
Catholic missionaries in the 16th century and many were restored in 19th
and 20th centuries. Ta Prohm, one of the most picturesque, was left in it's
natural state. It recently gained international attention as the setting
for the first Laura Croft movie.
At the corner formed by the elaborate front entrance and the front wall is
a ten-foot column covered with these decorative circles.
Click to View
Click to View Click to View
One of the animals enclosed in these circles is a stegosaurus.
(Click on photo below for high resolution)
Click to View
Ta Prohm abounds with stone statues and reliefs. Almost every square inch
of the gray sandstone is covered with ornate carvings. Hundreds of
decorative stone circles surround familiar animals, such as monkeys, deer,
water buffalo, parrots.
Click to View Click to View
(monkey upper left, deer upper right)
Click to View Click to View
(water buffalo upper left, two parrots upper right)
Click to View
Click to View
Here are two examples of swans left and above.
When they intended to portray lizards, they did so beautifully.
Click to View
The obvious indication is that the stone carvers of the tenth century saw a
stegosaurus as they saw monkeys, buffalo and deer.
Click to View
Below: The area of the stegosaur appears lighter (especially the raised
portions) because it was cleaned by the famous photographer described
below. Nevertheless, the "patina" is still obvious in the recesses (Note
under the tail, under the chin, in front of both legs, on top of the
"ground" between the legs, above and between the plates on the back).
(Click on photo below for high resolution)
Click to View
The area around the Hindu god Indra (below) seems to have been cleaned in a
similar manner.
Click to View
Click to View
The idea that the carving may have been added recently is simply not
possible for at least a half-dozen reasons.
Patina is still obvious in the recesses.
The depth of relief on the carvings that cover every square inch of
this column, is more than half an inch. Removing the imagined "original"
carving would have left a recessed surface. Then, carving the stegosaur on
the recessed surface would require still deeper recesses. The above
photograph clearly demonstrates that the carving is not recessed. It is
flush with the other carvings. Since the plates on the back of the
stegosaur protrude from the recessed background at least half an inch, it
would not be possible to add them to the background by subsequent carving.
The plates are an integral part of the rock surrounded by a recessed,
patina covered background.
There is approximately 40 feet of overburden that would have been
displaced in order to replace the entire block.
The blocks are held together, not with mortar, but with iron
"staples" in the shape of a capital "I" typically about 8 inches long, 1.5
inches wide and 3/8 of an inch thick. An inset in the shape of the staple
was carved into the surface of two adjoining blocks, across the abutment,
one end in one block and the other end in the other. With the staple in the
shaped recess, the next tier of blocks holds the staple in place. They are
used horizontally and vertically.
Click to View Click to View
An interesting sidelight is that I observed and photographed this method of
construction in Tiahuanaco, near Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. (see below)
Bolivia is around the world from Cambodia, yet the staples appear to be
identical.
Click to View Click to View
However, the point that we are making here is that the blocks are
interlocked in such a way that removing and replacing a block with 40 feet
of overburden without detection, is an imaginary idea that will not work.
5. It may sound presumptuous, but I am trained in petrology. I know rocks.
If someone had altered this rock, years after the original carvings, I
would see it immediately. It would also be obvious to other experts who
have carefully examined this carving (documented below). I can tell you
without the slightest doubt, this carving is not modern, it is contemporary
with the other carvings of Ta Prohm.
6. It should also be mentioned that the mind-set in Cambodia is very
different form ours. The people are still greatly intimidated by
governmental authorities. The brutal execution millions for almost any
excuse, is vivid in the memory of virtually all adults in this country.
Some of the same government officials responsible for the slaughter of
perhaps 1/4 of the population are still in power today in this communist
dictatorship. Consider this in connection of the fact that dozens of
federal police with AK 47's patrol the ruins day and night, daring anyone
to deface or take "souvenirs." It is simply not credible to imagine
pranksters, defacing and re-carving these "sacred" temples, which are still
actively used today for Hindu and Buddhist idol worship.
Click to View Click to View
(Click on photo below for high resolution)
Click to View
At least two very significant books testify to the authenticity of the stegosaurs carving. Ancient Angkor was first published in Thailand in 1999 by River Books Ltd., Bangkok. A small picture of the carving is seen at the bottom of page 143. On page 144 we read, "Along the vertical strip of roundels in the angle between the south wall of the porch and the east wall of the main body of the gopura there is even a very convincing representation of a stegosaur."
Click to View
Click to View
The large, beautiful 320 page book, Angkor, Cities And Temples, by the same author and photographer, includes a half page picture of the stegosaur sculpture. On page 213 the author describes it as "an animal which bears a striking resemblance to a stegosaurus".
The book cover describes the qualifications of the author and photographer.
"Author: Claude Jacques, a long standing member of the Ecole Francaise
d'Extreme Orient, lived in Cambodia for nine years where he taught Khmer
history at the Archeology Department of Phnom Penh. Throughout this period
he also pursued his research which frequently took him to Angkor and its
surrounding cities. He has been the director of studies at Ecole Pratiques
des Hautes Etudes for the last twenty years, teaching the history of
Southeast Asia. He is an expert in Sanskrit, Khmer and Cham scripts and is
closely involved in the various restoration projects being undertaken at
Angkor." (Angkor, Cities And Temples, Book cover)
Click to View
This book has a Forward written by the director of UNESCO who says:
"There are excellent reasons for Claude Jacques to have written this new
book on Angkor. Following the 'solemn appeal' which I made in November
1991, and the 'Tokyo Declaration' of October 1993, a co-ordinated
internation effort has been set up to safeguard and develop Angkor. Despite
the huge challenge, the formidable obstacles and the many perils, all
concerned have regained their confidence and hope. Four years of determined
effort have been rewarded with remarkable success ..." (Federico Mayor
Director General, UNESCO Paris, 1997)
The book cover also describes the photographer:
Click to View
"Michael Freeman's photographs have been published in leading magazines such as GEO, The Sunday Times Magazine, the Smithsonian, and Life. He has also worked on numerous books including Ancient Capitals of Thailand and Palaces of the Gods: Khmer Art and Architecture in Thailand. He has specialized in photographing Southeast Asia for more than a decade."
The book cover of, Ancient Angkor, adds, "He was the first photographer to have prolonged access to Angkor after the country's two decades of war, genocide and civil war."
Let's Do Some Science
A few skeptics have based their objections on anatomical differences
between popular Stegosaurus restorations and the Cambodian sculpture. The
fact that the average Jr. High student immediately identifies the sculpture
as a Stegosaurus is considered of no consequence. "The head is too large
Stegosaurs had no horns or frills on the head" The sculpture has no spikes
on the tail... Therefore, they conclude that the sculptor never saw a
Stegosaurus.
One is tempted to respond to these claims by pointing out that our modern
restorations involve some guess work, that Stegosaurs may have exhibited a
significant amount of anatomical variety (like dogs), that a view of tail
spikes may well be blocked by the surrounding stone circle, etc., etc.
However, this line of reasoning focuses the discussion on the wrong issue.
The relevant question is not, Can you find anatomical differences with
today's popular restorations? Rather, the real question is, What kind of
sculpture would be produced by an artist who remembered seeing a
Stegosaurus?
Consider the following brave observation regarding this sculpture by an
author unknown to me, posted to a web site dominated by skeptics.
"As an artist myself, I find it amusing that skeptics are picking at the
anatomical incorrectness of this rendering. If I were going to draw a
stegosaurus from memory, that's what it would look like, by gum. And of
COURSE it was done with a chisel. Just like the rest of the wall. Sheesh.
Most artists have handwriting,' and this artistic style matches the rest of
the pictures, as well. Isn't the triceratops head frill a neat addition?
It's actually more convincing to me than if it HAD been a perfect replica.
Says that there was some confusion there. Combined legends? Conflicting
sightings? Cool."
Assuming the sculptor did not have a Stegosaurus trained to pose as a
model, and there was no access to the internet, the rendering would most
likely be from memory. Would the results of this process necessarily be
anatomically correct compared to today's restorations? What would it look
like?
Instead of relying on wide ranging, presumption serving speculation, I
determined to answer the question by means of an experiment. I persuaded an
art instructor at the University of Texas at Arlington to assign an art
class (Communication Graphics) the task of drawing a Stegosaurus, from
memory. These college students were not paleontologist nor were they
professional artists. They were students studying art. The analogy is not
perfect but the experiment should provide insight into our question, "What
would an artist produce from memory?"
There were 36 students in the class. The following 12 drawing are the best
of the lot. I think you will agree with the instructor's assessment that
none of the students' efforts looked as good as the sculpture on the temple
wall in Cambodia.
Click to View Click to View
Click to View Click to View
Click to View Click to View
Click to View Click to View
Click to View Click to View
Click to View Click to View
I was struck by the similarity between the Cambodian Stegosaurus and a
picture frame I have used for years to display a picture of my niece.
Click to View
It's not a perfect representation but then it is not intended to be. Tail
spikes would not fit the style. Terms like stylized and artistic license
are familiar because we all know that artists do that. Some of the animals
at Ta Prohm are very realistic but some are not. The swan is readily
recognizable from Hindu tradition but is somewhat stylized and certainly
not anatomically correct.
Click to View
Click to View
Here are four examples of swans left, above and the two below.
Click to View
Click to View
Let's think about the implications of these observations. Does anything
other than an anatomically correct portrayal, prove that the artist never
saw a good representation of what was being portrayed? Had the artist who
produced the swan sculptures never seen a swan? Really now, would that
follow? The Stegosaurus drawings of the art students are at least
recognizable. Isn't it obvious that they must have seen a picture? How else
could one account for the drawings' relative similarity to published
restorations as well as to each other? The conclusion that the art students
had not seen a Stegosaurus because their pictures are anatomically
incorrect, is an obvious non-sequitur. It simply does not follow.
How, then, should we assess the assertion that the Cambodian sculptor never
saw a Stegosaurs because his depiction is imperfect (though better than the
art students)? The students must have seen a Stegosaurs but the Cambodian
sculptor did not??? You think? Prejudice has the power to makes us look
awfully ridiculous.
Click to View
Click to View
Click to View
Go To Start: WWW.BIBLE.CA
|