ANCIENT DINOSAUR DEPICTIONS http://www.genesispark.com/genpa http://www.gene sispark.com/genpark/ancient/anc rk/ancient/ancient.htm ient.htm To the right is a picture of a dinosaur fighting a mammoth from the book Buried Alive by Dr. Jack Cuozzo (click to enlarge). It was taken by the author in the Bernifal Cave, one of the caverns in France that is renowned for Neanderthal artifacts. The cave has been closed to the public. Science News was given the opportunity to publish the remarkabl remarkable e photo, but declined. declined. It seems that evidence against the prevailing paradigm of naturalistic origin was selected against. It is buried alive by the scientific establishment. As Cuozzo says, this is natural selection in the most literal sense! "Fran Barnes, a recognized authority on rock art of the American South-West, writes, 'In the San Rafael Swell, there is i s a pictograph [picture symbol] that looks very much like a pterosaur, a Cretaceous flying reptile'..." (Swift, Dennis, "Messages on Stone," Creation Ex Nihilo , vol. 19, p. 20). This figure, about 7 feet long from wing-tip to wing-tip, is actually painted with a dark-red pigment. Indians of the Fremont culture are thought to have inhabited the "Swell" between 700 and 1250 A.D. Black Dragon Canyon is named for the pictograph which resembles a large winged reptile with a headcrest. On the left is shown a photo of one of the curious "dinosaur" petroglyphs near Middle Mesa at the Wupatki National Park. P ark. This particular petroglyph is called "Puff the Magic Dragon," and appears to be a depiction of a fire-breathing dinosaur. Though there is no certain way to date such petroglyphs, it is believed to be at least several hundred years old. In 600 BC, under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar, a Babylonian artist was commissioned to shape reliefs of animals on the structures associated associated with the Ishtar Gate. Centuries later, in 1887 AD, when German archaeologist Robert Koldeway stumbled upon the blue-glazed brick, that gate was rediscovered. The animals appear in alternating rows with lions, fierce bulls (rimi or reems in Chaldean), and curious long-necked dragons (sirrush). The lions and bulls would have been present at that time in the Middle East. But, on what creature did the ancient Babylonians model the dragon? The same word, sirrush, is mentioned in the book of Bel and the Dragon, from the Apocrypha. Both the description there and the image on
these unearthed walls (see right), which are now displayed in the Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum, Museum, appear appear to fit a sauropod dinosaur. (Shuker, Karl Karl P.N., "The Sirrush of Babylon," Dragons: A Natural History , 1995, pp. 70-73.) The ancient Sumatrans produced multiple pieces of art depicting long-tailed, long-necked creatures with a headcrest. Some of these animals resemble hadrosaurs. This particular work (Ethnographical Museum, Budapest) depicts a creature that bears a striking resemblance to a Corythosaurus which is being hunted by these ancient Indonesian peoples. (Bodrogi, Tibor, Art of Indonesia , plate #10, 1973.) Asian stories and stylized dragon depictions are fairly common. But an unusual beaked dragon statue came up on the antiquities market and is now in the Genesis Park collection. The bronze styling on this artifact suggests it is from the Zhou Dynasty (1122 B.C. - 220 B.C.) B.C.) or possibly possibly from from the the Han Han Dynasty Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.). It display displayss numerous characteristics characteristics of the beaked dinosaurs (like the oviraptor depicted alongside for comparison): tridactyl feet configuration, metatarsal stance, scale-like representation all over the body (except for the horn which has a striated pattern), long (albeit slender) tail, elaborate head crest and a long neck. Another fascinating Chinese artifact is the Late Eastern Zhou Sauropod (Fang Jian) Ornamental box. Displaying a tridactyl foot, a long neck and a head that resembles a brachiosaur, this depiction is compelling. (Fong, Wen ed., The Great Bronze Age of China , Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980, p. 285.)
Next we consider a Shang dynasty (B.C. 1766-1122) 1766-1122) dragon artifact that was advertised on the Chinese antiquities market as a dinosaur depiction. It displays relief lines in a scale-like pattern, a broad beak, a dermal frill, and a headcrest that is strikingly like the dinosaur Saurolophus (shown on the right). This jade statute, now in the Genesis Park collection, is made of white colored nephrite with differential weathering, cleaving veins and earth penetration, demonstrating authenticity. (Click to enlarge.) The February 26, 2000 issue of Science News contained an article that commenting on an artifact housed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts that has come to be known as the Hesione vase (Hesman, 2000). 2000). Pictured on this this ancient Greek Greek vase is a series of somewhat unusual paintings, including one that portrays a monster that possesses the head of a dinosaur. This pottery was created around 550 B.C., and depicts the Greek hero Heracles rescuing Hesione from this "monster of Troy." Forced to concede the amazingly realistic dinosaurian depiction, Science News concluded that the paintings on this unusual vase simply prove that ancient people dug fossils, too. To the left is an urn from Caria, which was located in Asia Minor (Turkey). This artifact Art and Myth in Ancient Greece: A (described in Thomas H. Carpenter's 1991 book Art Handbook ) is estimated to be from 530 BC. It depicts what appears to be a mosasaurus with several known sea creatures. The animal behind the sea serpent is a seal, while an octopus is below the sea serpent along with what seems to be a dolphin. The thick jaws, big teeth, large eyes, and positioning of the flippers on this creature match a mosasaurus skeleton very well. Some mosasaurus species also had a narrow cranial crest behind the eye that may have had a fin attached the way it is depicted on the Carian urn. Other artifacts of interest from this region came to light after the deluge and landslide of 1971 in the small village of Girifalco. A lawyer named Mario Tolone began investigating. Tolone asserts to have found dinosaurian representations in this area of Caria with hundreds of other ancient artifacts, of a pre-Greek civilization civi lization of Calabria, that is at least 3000 years old.
Shown to the left is a terracotta statue measuring about 18 cm long, shaped remarkably like a dinosaur with plates on its back. The plates are triangular, and continue along the back until reaching the tail. In the view from above (right) the object reveals a strange curving of the plates, as if the animal had been represented in motion on the land. The legs are large and awkward, as if carrying great weight, not at all like those of a lizard. There is also a clear representation of a stegosaurus on a piece piece of broken broken pottery pottery.. The art below is from a Mesopotamian cylinder seal dated at 3300 BC. (Moortgart, Anton, The Art of Ancient Mesopotamia, 1969, plate 292.) The animal on the right is an artists conception from a skeleton of an Apatosaurus. There are many striking similarities between these two depictions. The legs and feet on the Egyptian art clearly fit the sauropods better than any other type of animal. The biggest difference is at the head. Cartilage forming the shape of a frill or ears may be stylized or accurate (since there is no way to know from the skeletons we have today). As for the musculature, the the Egyptian artist draws with stunning realism. One has to ask where the artist got the model to draw so convincingly the trunk of a sauropod?
An Egyptian Egyptian seal with with the cartouche cartouche (official name inscribed within an oval) of Tutmosis III (appx. 1400 B.C.) depicts a Sauropterygia-like animal (type of plesiosaur). The anterior and posterior posterior flippers flippers are distinctively distinctively represented with the narrow connection the creature. The collection and is of authenticity. The known for their keen accurate zoological
to the rotund body of seal is from the Mitry unquestioned ancient Egyptians are observation and representations, particularly with regard to sea creatures. Other such seals in the Mitry collection appear to have dinosaurian representations as well. The world famous gold throne of King Tut (right) has winged serpents forming the arm rests. Known as Wadjet, the winged serpent of Egypt, protected the Pharaohs and controlled the waters of the Nile.
In fact, winged snakes are depicted on many of the coffins from ancient Egypt. To the lower right is a picture of a winged serpent like a "covering saraph" protecting the god Osiris. There is even a hieroglyphic symbol symbol for the winged serpent that appears in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. (Note the hieroglyphic in the picture on this limestone pendant to the lower left.) The January 2003 issue of National Geographic magazine presents an artifact described as a "cosmetic "cosmetic palette . . . from f rom a cemetery of the first dynasties in Manshaat Ezzat." Ezzat." These longnecked creatures displayed on page 78 fit the pattern of other ancient dinosaur-like depictions, including arching, muscular necks and stout bodies. Known as the "Two Dog Palette," this artifact depicts many lifelike animals (including a giraffe on the reverse). To the right are displayed slate palettes from Hierakonpolis showing the triumph of King Nar-mer with long necked dragons and an ancient palette depicting a pair of "dinosaur-like" creatures along with numerous clear representations of living animals (taken from p. 93 of Pritchard's book The Ancient Near East in Pictures ). The preponderance preponderance of these long-necked long-necked depictions in ancient art (note (note also the Egyptian wand depiction) motivated archaeologists who do not believe men and dinosaurs coexisted to invent a name for this particular creature. It is called a "serpopard," supposedly supposedly a mosaic of a serpent and a leopard. leopard. But for those who believe that man was created in the beginning alongside the great reptiles, these palettes seem to be an attempt to depict a sauropod dinosaur. Note the "Four Dogs Palette" with the "serpopard" cut out for clarity.
To the right is a Roman mosaic from about 200 AD that depicts two long-necked sea dragons. Paul Taylor, author of The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible,
likens them to the web-footed Tanystropheus shown beside. To the left is another beautiful mosaic mosaic that was one one of the wonders of the second century world. Called the Nile Mosaic of Palestrina, it depicts Nile scenes from Egypt all the way to Ethiopia. Scholars now believe this is the work of Demetrius the Topographer, an artist from Alexandria who came to work in Rome. The top portion of this remarkable piece of art is generally believed to depict African animals being hunted by black-skinned warriors. These Ethiopians are pursuing what appears to be some type of dinosaur. The Greek Letters above the reptilian animal in question are: KROKODILOPARDALIS which is literally translated Crocodile-Leopard. The picture shown here is only a small portion of the massive mosaic. It also contains clear depictions of known animals, including Egyptian Egyptian crocodiles crocodiles and hippos. hippos. (Finley, The Light of the Past , 1965, p. 93.) "An ancient Mayan relief sculpture of a peculiar bird with reptilian characteristics has been discovered in Totonacapan, in northeastern section of Veracruz, Mexico. José Diaz-Bolio, a Mexican archaeologist-journalist responsible for the discovery, says there is evidence that the serpent-bird sculpture, located in the ruins of Tajín, is not merely the product of Mayan flights fli ghts of fancy, but a realistic representation of an animal that lived during the period of the the ancient Mayans - 1,000 to 5,000 years years ago. If If indeed such serpent-birds were contemporary with the ancient Mayan culture, the relief sculpture represents a startling evolutionary oddity. Animals with such characteristics are believed to have disappeared 130 million years ago." (Anonymous, "Serpent-Bird "Serpent-Bird of the Mayans," Science Digest , vol. 64 November 1968, p. 1)
The picture to the right (click to enlarge) was drawn by North American Anasazi Indians that lived in the area that has now become Utah approximately approximately 150 B.C. - 1200 A.D. Even noted anti-creationists agree that it resembles a dinosaur and that the brownish
film which has hardened over the picture, along with the pitting and weathering, weathering, attests attests to its age. One evolutionist writes, "There is a petroglyph in Natural Bridges National Monument that bears a startling resemblance to a dinosaur, specifically a Brontosaurus, with a long tail and neck, small head and all." (Barnes and Pendleton, Canyon Country Country Prehistori Prehistoricc Indians Indians - Their Culture Culture,, Ruins, Artifact Artifactss and Rock Art, 1995.) Clearly a native warrior and an
apatosaur-like creature creature are depicted. Horned and flying serpent figures are prominent in the mythology of most Native American peoples, often associated with rain and thunder. An example is the Algonquin pictograph of a flying serpent known as Mishipizheu. Yet another Native American rock pictograph found in Utah (see left) seems to depict a sauropod dinosaur.
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was a geologist and Indian agent and wrote extensively about the Sioux Indians. He heard stories about a monstrous creature called Unktehi, something like an ox but much larger; with great horns. Schoolcraft reproduced drawings of several types of Unktehi monsters on birchbark around 1850. These were based upon rock art describing a war party of five canoes crossing Lake Superior that encountered animals resembling giant turtles, snakes, and moose. But some (upper right) clearly look dinosaurian. Sioux Indians further west, when interviewed by ethnologists, described Unktehi as an immense reptile or serpent with legs. He was shaped like a giant scaly snake with feet and a notched backbone or crest like a giant saw and had a heavy spiked tail. Still other Indian reports describe Unktehi as a swamp-dwelling creature. Adrienne Mayor, an evolutionist, believes that the Sioux were weaving stories about fossils they encountered. But the pictures and description bring to mind the dinosaur ankylosaurus (lower right) with a low slung body, long tail, heavy armor, and prominent double horns. (Mayor, Fossil Legends of the First Americans , 2005, pp. 235-237.)
The native American Coclé culture of Panama was discovered by A. Hyatt Verrill. Verrill . He noticed the oddly pterosaur-like representations representations on Coclé pottery and suggested it was so realistic that these native Americans must have been influenced by fossil discoveries. discoveries. He describes the depiction (see left) as having having "beaklike jaws armed with sharp teeth, wings with two curved claws, short, pointed p ointed tail, reptilian head crest or appendages, and strong hind feet f eet with five-clawed toes on each." The Coclé civilization dates from AD 1330-1520. 1330-1520. But Verrill theorizes that such drawings were based on "accurate descriptions, or even drawings or carvings, of fossilized pterodactyls." (Verrill, A. Hyatt, Strange Prehistoric Animals and their Stories , 1948, pp. 132-133.)
Another petroglyph (carved rock drawing) has been found in Arizona's Havasupai Canyon (photo taken by Dr. DeLancy). In the far right picture, Paul Taylor compares this ancient drawing to the Edmontosaurus. There are stories of a plesiosaurlike creature seen in Queensland, Australia. Both aboriginal peoples around Lake Galilee and tribes farther up to the north tell of a long-necked animal with a large body and flippers. "Elders of the Kuku Yalanji aboriginal tribe of Far North Queensland, Australia, relate stories of Yarru (or Yarrba), a creature which used to inhabit rain forest water holes. The painting [left] depicts a creature with wi th features remarkably similar to a plesiosaur. It even shows an outline of the gastro-intestinal tract, indicating that these animals had been hunted and butchered." (CEN Technical Journal, Vol.12, No. 3, 1998, p. 345.)
There are some clearly ancient engravings in dolerite and gneiss that have been found in Bushmanland, Bushmanland, South Africa. Amongst the many depictions, dinosaur footprints, and other artifacts in this region; two are of special interest. One resembles a sauropod dinosaur and the other looks like an attempt to depict a pterosaur. An Egyptian seal (right) depicts a large pterosaur hunting a gazelle (Giveon, R., "Scarabs From Recent Excavatio Excavations ns in Israel, Israel,"" Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 83, 1988, p. 70.) The leaf shaped tail vane of the pterosaur is unmistakable. The long reptilian head has the double crest of a Scaphognathus above it. The two wings even exhibit the unique corrugated features features seen in the Solnhofen Rhamphorhynchus Rhamphorhynchus fossil and the the claws of a pterosaur. The level of detail is similar to that for the gazelle. The seal dates from 13001150 B.C. and is now in the Tel Aviv University's Institute of Archaeology. Similarly, an Egyptian statue residing in a Berlin museum depicts depicts legs with toes and claws, three three
wing claws; a prototagium (a portion of the wing above the arm known from pterosaur fossil impressions); and a tail vane. That pterosaur is shown hunting a falcon and also appeared to have the dental structure of a Scaphognathus. (Goertzen, John, "The Rhamphorhynchoid Pterosaur Scaphognathus Scaphognathus crassirostris: A 'Living Fossil' Until the 17th Century," 1998 ICC Paper.) Deep in the jungles of Cambodia are ornate temples and palaces from the Khmer civilization. One such temple, Ta Prohm abounds with stone statues statues and reliefs. Almost every square inch of the gray sandstone is covered with ornate, detailed carvings. These depict familiar animals like monkeys, deer, water buffalo, parrots, and lizards. However, one column contains an intricate carving of a stegosaur-like creature.
But how could artisans decorating an 800 year old Buddhist temple know what a dinosaur looked like? Western science only began assembling dinosaurs skeletons in the past two centuries. (Pictures are courtesy of Don Patton.) European reports of flying serpent living in Egypt persist through the 1600's. The Italian naturalist Prosper Alpin wrote a fascinating natural history of Egypt in the 1580's. 1580's. He describes describes their crest, a small piece of skin on the head, their tail being "thick as a finger," their length being "as long as a palm branch," and their leaf-shaped tail. (Alpin, P., Histoire Naturelle de l'Egypte , tr. by R. de Fenoyl, 1979, pp. 407-409.) All is precisely like l ike modern fossil reconstructions. A French wooden image, dating from the 16th century, also displays remarkable features of a pterosaur. There are two wings that clearly appear to have ribbed membranes rather than feathers. There appears appears to be a small head crest above and slightly slightly in front of the eyes, the distinctive tail vane, and a hint of the twin skin flap above and behind the bony crest that is quite like the Egyptian seal. The next drawing is from a 17th century German tract about the dangers of witches and witchcraft. Witches are accused of causing houses to spontaneously combust. The pterosaurs depicted flying in the background, with characteristic headcrests headcrests and tails, were apparently associated with witches. (Guazzo, Francesco Maria, Compendium Maleficarum, 1628, p. 23.) Many accounts from that time period describe creatures that sound suspiciously like pterodactyls. An official government report from 1793 states: "In the end of November and beginning of December last, many of the country people observed dragons appearing in the north and flying flyi ng rapidly towards the east; from which they concluded, and their conjectures were right, that...boisterous weather weather would follow." ("Flying ("Flyi ng Dragons at Aberdeen," A Statistical Account of Scotland , 1793, p. 467.) A dragon was said to live in the wetlands near Rome in December of 1691. This creature lived in a cave and supposedly terrorized the local population. A sketch of the skeleton has survived in the possession of Ingegniero Cornelio Meyer (right). The most remarkable thing about the animal is the clear head crest and the dual piece of skin from the crest. Five digits were clearly visible for each foot, of the proper length and with the first shorter and offset from the rest as is proper for the Scaphognathus. Scaphognathus. There is a hint of a wing claw cl aw on the far wing where it curves forward. The membraned wings are in front of the legs, on the vertebrae, matching the fossils. The femur is properly shown as a single bone. The tibia and fibula, the twin lower leg bones, are visible too. Although some have suggested that that it could be a fossil or a faked composite, it is much too accurate to be a fabrication. The survival of the skin suggests that it is not a fossil since it includes accurate wing features, a head crest, and the ears. (Goertzen, John, Scaphognathus crassirostris: A 'Living Fossil' Until "The Rhamphorhynchoid Pterosaur Scaphognathus
the 17th Century," 1998 ICC Paper.) In 1704, Hœllischer Morpheus:Saducismus Triumphatus was published, the theme of this work was the grotesque (including subjects like the occult and black arts). No doubt because the Bible referred to Satan as "that old dragon," dragons are among the creatures often encountered in such works. Within this volume are drawings which depict flying dragons containing actual actual morphological morphological features features of certain species of pterosaurs. On the frontispiece of the work is a clear depiction of a long tailed pterosaur represented with two feet, wings, and a snake-like tail ending in a tail vane. Choir stall railings and misericords (shelf-like seats for reclining while standing) in medieval European churches are often adorned with ornate carvings. A common theme is the depictions of a dragon (symbolizing Satan) fighting a lion (symbolizing Christ). To the right is one such depiction, showing a dragon that looks very much like a sauropod dinosaur. "A fantastic mystery has developed over a set of cave paintings found in the Gorozomzi Hills, 25 miles from Salisbury. For the paintings include include a brontosaurus - the 67-foot, 67-foot, 30-ton-like creature scientists believed became extinct millions of years before man appeared on earth. Yet the bushmen who did the paintings ruled Rhodesia from only 1500 b.c. until a couple of hundred years ago. And the experts agree that the bushmen always painted from life. This belief is borne out by other Gorozomzi Gorozomzi Hills cave paintings paintings - accurate representations representations of the the elephant, hippo, hippo, buck and giraffe. giraffe. The mysterious pictures were found by Bevan Parkes, Parkes, who owns the land the the caves are on. Adding to the puzzle of the rock paintings found by Parkes is a drawing of a dancing bear. (Anonymous, "Bushmen's Paintings Baffling to Scientists," Evening News, January 1, 1970, London Express Service printed in Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, January 7, 1970.) To the left is just such a rock painting from a cave at Nachikufu near Mpika in northern Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia). It shows three long-necked, long-tailed creatures sketched in white. (Clark, Desmond J., The Rock Paintings of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, in Summers, Rogers, Rock Art of Central Africa, 1959, pp. 28-29, 194.) Iron sculptures made by the Bambara peoples of Mali Africa
in the 1800's display a three-horned creature creature with what appears to be b e a neck frill. fril l. The specimens shown shown here, part of Genesis Park's collection, collection, exhibit dinosaurian dinosaurian characteristics. One shows top horns pointed forward and the neck frill extending halfway down the animal's back, much like the ceratopsian dinosaur Chasmosaurus. Chasmosaurus. The long tail, squat arched body, and sprawled legs also give it the appearance of a ceratopsian dinosaur. The second, entitled "dinosaurian sculpture," by the exhibiting gallery shows a four-legged creature with a long neck and tail like a sauropod dinosaur. The neck has a slight widening and a ridged frill that makes it a fascinating depiction. Another African tribe from the Mali region is known for producing dinosaurian objects in the mid-1800's . This is the same timeframe when Sir Richard Owen coined the term dinosaur in England. The bronze bro nze artifact to the left shows a Dogon tribesman riding a long-necked, long-tailed reptilian creature. The oddly bird-like head with strong jawline is reminiscent of the "duck bill" on certain Ornithopod dinosaurs. The diamond-shaped diamond-shaped pattern on the skin matches fossilized skin impressions discovered on a hadrosaur in southern Utah. In 1924 some lead artifacts were near Tucson, AZ Described on p. Hatcher's book The
Roman style excavated (see right). 331 of David Lost Cities
of North & Central America is the unique carvings on these
implements, particularly a clear dinosaur depiction on a sword. The Arizona Historical Society still has the sword. A plated and horned creature has also been discovered in Cree Indian art (far left) on the Agawa Rock at Misshepezhieu, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Also to the left is pictured an Inca Ceremonial Burial Stones that is likely from the Nazca culture. In 1571 the Spanish conquistadors brought back stories that there were stones with strange creatures carved on them found in this region of Peru. Today, over 1100 such stones were found by Dr. Javier Cabrera. In the early 1930's, his father found many of these ceremonial burial stones in Ica's numerous Peruvian tombs and noted that dinosaur-like
creatures were represented on some of them. Retired from the University of Lima, Dr. Cabrera had focused upon validating these finds within the scientific community. His credibility was strengthened by long-necked creatures displayed on pottery in the museum of Lima and beautiful tapestries from the Nazca tombs (ca 700 AD) with a repeating pattern that looks like dinosaurs. Indeed, the depictions on some of the Ica Stones show the sauropod dinosaurs with a crest of spines much like that discovered by Paleontologist Stephen Czerkas.
"Recent discovery of fossilized sauropod (diplodocid) skin impressions reveals a significantly different appearance for these dinosaurs. dinosaurs. The fossilized skin demonstrates that a median row of spines was present... present... Some are quite narrow, narrow, and others others are broader and more conical." ( Geology, "New Look for Sauropod Dinosaurs," December, 1992, p. 1,068.)" Also, of interest is the fact that the skin of many of the carved dinosaurs has rounded bump-like depictions. Some scientists had pointed to this as evidence that these stones were not scientifically accurate. However, more recent discoveries of fossilized f ossilized dinosaur skin and embryos have silenced these same critics. For example, Luis Chiappe and colleagues discussed certain sauropod dinosaur embryos found in South America: "The general skin ski n pattern consists of round, non-overlapping, tubercle-like scales...A rosette pattern of scales is present in PVPH-130" (Chiappe, et al., 1998, p. 259). Note the skin depiction above to the left.
Not far from Nazca sites are archaeological tribes inhabited 100-800AD. currently in the Mocha stirrupTheir main artistic medium was the red & which depict with singular realism medical acts, acts, combative combative events, events, musical instruments, plants and animals. In the Larco Herrera Museum in Peru there are are vases that that clearly depict dinosaurs. Some of these same types of dinosaurs are shown on the Ica stones, including i ncluding the dermal frills. The pictures here were taken by Dr. Dennis Swift.
the South American the Moche Indian locations. These Moche northern Peru about Among the artifacts Lima museum are the spout pots and vases. white ceramic pots,
In 1945 archeologist Waldemar Julsrud discovered clay figurines buried at the foot of El Toro Mountain on the outskirts of Acambaro, Mexico. Eventually over 33,000 ceramic figurines were found in the area and identified with the Pre-classical Chupicuaro Culture (800 BC to 200 AD). The authenticity of Julsrud's find has been challenged because the huge collection included dinosaurs. In 1954 the Mexican government sent a team of archeologists to i nvestigate. In 1955 Charles Hapgood, professor of Anthropology at UNH, conducted an elaborate investigation including extensive radiometric dating and thermoluminescent thermoluminescent testing by the University of Pennsylvania. In 1990 an investigation was conducted by Neal Steedy, an archeologist who works with the Mexican government. Thus Julsrud's work has survived numerous tests and the Mexican government has even imprisoned two men for selling these artifacts on the black market. Moreover, the dinosaurs are modeled in very agile, active poses, fitting f itting well with the latest scientific evidence evi dence and lending credence to the artists having actually observed these creatures. Like the Ica Stones, some sauropod's are depicted with a distinctive spinal frill. There was extinct ice-age horse remains, the skeleton of a woolly mammoth, and a number of ancient human skulls found at the same same location as the ceramic artifacts, artifacts, validating the antiquity antiquity of the site (Hapgood, Charles, 2000, p.82). Dr. Ivan T. Sanderson was amazed in 1955 to find that there was an accurate representation of a Brachiosaurus, almost totally unknown to the general public at that time. Sanderson wrote, "This figurine is a very fine, jetblack, polished-looking ware. It is about a foot tall. The point is it is an absolutely perfect representation of Brachiosaurus, known only from East Africa and North America. There are a number of outlines of the skeletons in the standard literature but only one fleshed out reconstruction that I have ever seen. This is exactly like it." Further evidence of the authenticity of Julsrud’s finds is the near-perfect Iguanodon dinosaur figurine. This was one of the first dinosaur skeletons discovered. The early concept of its appearance was almost comical in the mid 1800's. By the turn of the century it had improved considerably but fell far short of what we now know. The Acambaro figurine exhibits knowledge we have gained only in the last few years. No hoaxer could have made this model in the 1940's. To the right is an artifact from Tiwanaku, an important Pre-Columbian archaeological archaeological site in Bolivia. Tiwanaku is recognized recognized by Andean scholars scholars as one of the the most important precursors to the Inca Empire. The sculptor depicted a dinosaur-like creature at least 800 years before European scientists discovered dinosaurs. "In the 1960's, a leading jewel designer called Emanuel Staub was commissioned by the University of Pennsylvania...to produce replicas of a series of small gold weights obtained in Ghana. ...So well crafted were they that the animals that they depicted
could be instantly instantly identified by zoologists--all zoologists--all but one, that is, which could not be be satisfactorily reconciled with any known animal, until Staub saw it." i t." (Shuker, Dr. Karl P.N., In Search of Prehistoric Survivors , 1995, p. 20.) Originally photographed resting on its hind legs (as (as if bipedal), this enigmatic enigmatic Ashanti gold figurine was difficult to identify. Once properly positioned, Staub noted that the mysterious artifact bears a striking resemblance to a dinosaur. Perhaps this figurine was an attempt to model the sauropod Mokele-mbembe creature that is said to inhabit remote regions of equatorial Africa still today. At a museum in Manitou Springs, Colorado, there is an unusual carved artifact. It is an Indian prayer stick (see below left), roughly a foot long, with a crested head, eyes on both sides, and beaked mouth. The beautiful artistic work stands out o ut as strikingly like a pterodactyl! This portrayal from a Saxon shield mount reveals a pterosaur-like creature at rest. The wings are folded back along its scale-like sides, a long beak full of teeth, crest, and an unmistakable tail vane all all make the depiction compelling. The wings wings are folded back along its scale-like sides, a long beak full of teeth, crest, and an unmistakable tail vane all make the depiction compelling.The flying reptile widfloga (or far-ranging flyer) was known to the Saxons and this shield-boss came from the Sutton Hoo burial site. It is displayed at the British Museum (click to enlarge).
Some of the beautiful French chateaus built at the close of the Middle Ages and early 1500's have dramatic dramatic dragon illustrations carved carved into their walls, ceilings, and furniture. furniture. These include Château de Chambord, Château de Blois, and Château Azay-le-Rideau. Note the similarities in the dinosaurian-like dragons and their resemblance to dinosaurs like Plateosaurus and Thecodontosaurus. The Château Azay-le-Rideau also displays a fascinating tapestry depicting what looks like a pterosaur fighting a (click to enlarge). A tapestry at Château de Blois portrays a dragon (and its baby) with gnarly horns on its head that are reminiscent of the dinosaur Dracorex hogwartsia (click to enlarge).
Another pterosaur-like depiction from the Middle Ages is shown Subterraneus . This in Athanasius Kircher's 1678 book Mundus Subterraneus drawing is so compelling that Peter Wellnhofer (The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs , 1991, p. 20.) suggests it might have been based on fossil finds. But it is more likely based on even more ancient ancient reports. reports. In Kircher's Kircher's book, the character Winkelried was supposed to have have killed the dragon in Switzerland Switzerland during the earliest days of his particular settlement. The most obvious anatomical discrepancy with wi th pterosaurs (the front feet) was a more recent addition to dragon depictions. G. E. Smith's 1919 book The Evolution of the Dragon explains that ancient notions only included a snake-like body, leathery wings like a bat, and two legs. The front legs were not added till the 16th century. Kircher also includes a picture of a dragon (on left) that resembles the rhamphorynchoid rhamphorynchoid pterosaurs. According to the Greek mythology a heroic figure named Jason, son of Aeson, captured a golden fleece that was guarded by a hissing dragon. This legend of Jason charming the Dragon is memorialized in a beautiful painting (see left) by the multi-talented European artist Salvator Rosa (16151673). It is remarka ble in its likeness to a pterosaurian. From where did Rosa get this inspiration? In 1496 the Bishop of Carlisle, Richard Bell, was buried in Carlisle Cathedral in the U.K. The tomb is inlaid with brass, with various animals engraved upon it (see right). Although worn by the countless feet that walked over it since the Middle Ages, a particular depiction is unmistakable in its similarity to a dinosaur. Amongst the birds, dog, eel, etc. this clear representation of two long-necked creatures should be considered evidence that man and dinosaurs co-existed. One would think that such hard evidence evi dence would be highly problematic for evolutionary Abusing Science , claims theory. Indeed Dr. Philip Kitcher, in his anti-creationist book Abusing
that solid evidence that dinosaurs and man co-existed would "shake the foundations of evolutionary theory." (1998, p. 121) Likewise, Strahler insists that "it is conceivable that a scientist will some day discover human human bones among dinosaur bones in such a relationship that it is judged highly likely that humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time. Such a finding would deal a crushing blow to the widely favored hypothesis of a unique evolutionary sequence. In Popper language, the hypothesis of evolution would be falsified." (Strahler, Arthur N., Science and Earth History: The Evolution /Creation Controversy, 1999, p. 17.) Unfortunately the history of Darwinian theories suggests that all such evidence would would quickly be assimilated assimilated into evolution theory. But But one can at least hope that as more evidence comes to light, the credibility of the evolutionary story-tellers will at last wear thin!
DINOSAURS IN THE BIBLE
There are a number of places where it appears that dinosaurs or other similar creatures are mentioned in the scriptures. Remember that the Bible was translated into English long before the word "dinosaur" was coined. However, the word "dragon" appears 21 times in the Old Testament alone. "You shall tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shall you trample under feet" (Psalm 91:13). From the context it is clearly speaking about a real creature that it would be impressive and intimidating to step on! Jeremiah 51:34 tells, "he has swallowed me up like a dragon..." which brings to mind the way many carnivorous reptiles swallow their prey whole. Both dragons of the sea (Psalm 74:13) and field (Isaiah 43:20) are mentioned. Indeed, Genesis 1:21 can best be translated: "And God created great sea monsters..." One such sea monster became sufficiently well-known to the ancients to be given the special name "Rahab" (Isaiah 51:9). The prophet Ezekiel likens Pharaoh to a sea monster that invaded the Nile river and stirred up the mud (32:2). The Hebrew word, word, "Tannin," is from the root meaning meaning "to extend." The language language conjures up an image of a long-necked plesiosaur-like creature paddling up the river and stirring up mud from the Nile delta with its flippers. Just such a creature is depicted by the ancient Egyptians who may have netted one just as Ezekiel describes in verse 3. Job is the oldest book in the Bible. This book is very interesting from a scientific perspective because of the many natural phenomena that are addressed by God, Job, and his friends. Along the way, God points Job to two special special creatures. The first, first, mentioned in Job 40:15, 40:15, is usually translated "behemoth" in the English Bible. Some commentators have suggested that behemoth was a hippo or elephant. But the passage makes clear that this herbivorous animal was "chief of the ways of God." Certainly the hippo and elephant (which had other Hebrew names) don't qualify as the biggest land animal, nor does their anatomy fit the clear language of verse 17. A cedar tree brings to mind a dinosaur's dinosaur's huge tail! In fact, pygmy peoples in equatorial equatorial Africa tell stories of a ferocious dinosaurian creature that occupies their swamps and rivers and lashes its opponents with its tail. It becomes fascinating, as one considers the tail as an offensive
weapon, to review the description of Satan as a dragon: dragon: "And there appeared appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon ...And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth:" (Revelation 12:3-4). Job 41 portrays yet another awe-inspiring creature: Leviathan. While clearly one of the fiercest creatures that God made, it is difficult to establish exactly what Leviathan was. The Bible describes a sharptoothed, scaled creature whose habitat is the mire and deep waters. Ken Ham suggests the ferocious kronosaur as a candidate. Others have suggested that this fire-breathing monster monster was a land-dweller that merely spent much of its time in the water. Perhaps leviathan was a dinosaur with with armor or claws whose whose "sharp stones" stones" were employed to destroy ancient weapons. Maybe we have yet to discover the remains of a leviathan! The "unicorn," mentioned nine times in the KJV Bible, is the Hebrew word "Re-em." The Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) Testament) translated it "Monokeros" (one-horn) (one-horn) which was used in Bibles until the 19th century when Akkadian and Ugaritic records were found that mentioned the "Re-em" "Re-em" being hunted like a wild ox. However, However, their early pictograph pictograph for the "Re-em" shows an animal head with three horns, like a Triceratops. In Psalm 92:10 the "Reem" has but one horn, while the language or Deuteronomy 33:17 implies two horns. Although most commentators commentators and modern versions translate translate it as a bull or rhino, some have theorized theorized that "Re-em" might be a Monoclonius (single horned dinosaur like Triceratops). In Job 39:9-12 God asks, "Will the unicorn be willing to serve you, or abide by your crib? Can you bind the unicorn with with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys valleys after you? Wilt you trust him, because his strength is great?" This passage shows that the unicorn, whatever it was, could not be tamed to be used in farming, as could an ox. In his classic work Naturalis Historia the first century author Pliny the Elder described "an exceedingly wild beast called the Monoceros [one-horned]. ...It makes a deep lowing noise, and one black horn two cubits long projects from the middle of its forehead." He describes it as like an elephant in length, but with much shorter legs. Other classical authors like Aelian, Oppian, and Martial also mention a "nosehorn" creature (a "Rinokeros"). Some claim that the "Rinokeros" sharpens his horn on a rock and utilizes it in fighting elephants. elephants. This is the root word from from which we get the modern name name rhinoceros, but the ancient descriptions do not fit the rhino. The correlation between the classical authors and some modern cryptozoological reports is striking. Dr. Roy Mackal's explorations in the Congo brought brought back reports of a rare, single-horned single-horned animal called "Emelantouka" or "killer of elephants." In a recent expedition, pygmies in Cameroon identified the horned creature (there called "Ngoubou") with a Ceratopsian dinosaur and claimed it could sport from one to four horns. Indeed, modern researchers believe that the ceratopsian dinosaurs likely did use their great horn for combat (Dodson, Peter, The Horned Dinosaurs:A Natural History, 1996, p.123.) In the Authorized version of scripture we find Isaiah twice mentioning the "fiery flying serpent." Egypt is called the place of the "lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent," (30:6). This fits with classical authors describing pterosaur populations in Egypt and Arabia. Goertzen notes: "The Hebrew word, m'opheph Jpvfm, is a polal participle; a form used only by Isaiah when describing
the reptilian saraph. The polal indicates an intensive of the root pvf ooph that means to fly or flutter. The imperfect form of the polal is found in Genesis 1:20, 'flying creatures that flutter to and fro' and Isaiah 6:2 'seraphim' (the same word as the reptiles here used for angelic creatures) that fly to and fro.'" (Goertzen, John, "The Bible and Pterosaurs," 1998.) This same word word is employed in Numbers Numbers 21:6 21:6 to describe the poisonous reptiles that bit the murmuring Israelites. Indeed it is easier to envision an attack of nimble flying snakes (pterosaurs) killing many of the children of Israel rather than them being surprised and killed by snakes on the ground. The pterosaur becoming a type of Christ (John 3:14) seems more appropriate than the snake, which from Genesis to Revelation is a symbol of Satan. In addition, the spread wings on the top of the pole would form a cross. In fact, a plate found with Sennacherib's booty at Calah (from the conquest of Palestine) depicts such a winged serpent on a pole that would seems to match the Nehushtan or brazen saraph of Moses that had become a symbol of worship by Hezekiah's reign (II Kings 18:4). The "fiery" flying snake even matches some cryptozoological cryptozoological reports from New Guinea, which attribute to alleged living pterosaurs a bioluminescent capability like a firefly. While some of this remains merely speculation, it becomes clear that some very fascinating animals have become become extinct since Biblical Biblical times. But some might object to using arguments arguments from the Bible, claiming that it is not a reliable resource. There are several lines of evidence that the Bible is God's Word. Word. Skeptics respond that there are supposed to be a great many contradictionss in the Bible. contradiction Bible. Again the facts come down on the side of God's Word being consistent, entirely entirely without error in the original, and remarkably remarkably preserved.
