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Author Topic: 28,000 year-old phallus found in Germany
Albireo
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Babbler # 3052

posted 25 July 2005 01:50 PM      Profile for Albireo     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Ancient phallus unearthed in cave.
quote:
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.


Is this "knapping flints" a euphemism for something?


From: --> . <-- | Registered: Sep 2002  |  IP: Logged
Iggy
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posted 25 July 2005 01:55 PM      Profile for Iggy   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I don't know man... looks like a butter knife to me.


From: Toronto | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
Mr. Magoo
guilty-pleasure
Babbler # 3469

posted 25 July 2005 02:03 PM      Profile for Mr. Magoo   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I think just about anything longer than it is wide gets mistaken for a phallus at some point.

Looks like a tubular rock to me. Can't even tell which end is which.


From: ø¤°`°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°°¤ø, | Registered: Dec 2002  |  IP: Logged
praenomen3
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posted 25 July 2005 02:07 PM      Profile for praenomen3        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The flintknapping theory seems about right. Ancient folks used tools like that - long, hard billets made of antler, bone or stone with a rounded tip that one hammered onto the edge of another stone to knock off tiny flakes, thus leaving a jagged edge. Some folks still do:

http://nativeway.safewebshop.com/flintknapping_supplies.html

I'll speculate that it was a flinknapping billet first - it looks like too much work for a non-utilitarian object - then decorated afterward. Maybe the oldtimer thought it would impart some virility into his arrow points. Or maybe he thought it was a good larf.

[ 25 July 2005: Message edited by: praenomen3 ]


From: x | Registered: Dec 2003  |  IP: Logged
Reality. Bites.
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 6718

posted 25 July 2005 02:08 PM      Profile for Reality. Bites.        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Mr. Magoo:
I think just about anything longer than it is wide gets mistaken for a phallus at some point.

Yup.


From: Gone for good | Registered: Aug 2004  |  IP: Logged
Iggy
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posted 25 July 2005 02:18 PM      Profile for Iggy   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
hahahaha... that's priceless RB...

a leather-clad phallus... even topped off by the cowboy hat it still ain't nowhere near as hot what the toronto pride parade offers


From: Toronto | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
Contrarian
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 6477

posted 02 August 2005 03:33 PM      Profile for Contrarian     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Speculation about possible uses of the thing (the ancient phallus, not Harper.)

Picture of an impressive work of art. [Not work safe]

[ 02 August 2005: Message edited by: Contrarian ]


From: pretty far west | Registered: Jul 2004  |  IP: Logged
aRoused
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Babbler # 1962

posted 02 August 2005 03:47 PM      Profile for aRoused     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
But why has their been a reluctance for archaeologists to engage in sexuality before?
I submit to you that this is not a problem (randy beggars). Ooohhh, you meant 'engage *with* sexuality'!

The rest of the article was OK, to be honest most recreationist-types are more into recreating the economic context of things, with the social context as a distant afterthought, so sex is in good company (figuratively speaking).

I'm sceptical about its potential as a knapping tool. Antler and bone get used because they can take a beating and not shatter, whereas the 'phallus' looks to be made of pretty hard stone that might not last too long (and the nice polish wouldn't last past the first hit).

It's a sad thing to say, but despite all the new ways we've tried to come up with to interpret our findings, archaeologists still have an amazingly hard time dealing with anything beyond the economic, at least without degenerating into narratives which, while entertaining, tell us more about the writer than the writee.


From: The King's Royal Burgh of Eoforwich | Registered: Dec 2001  |  IP: Logged
skdadl
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Babbler # 478

posted 02 August 2005 03:53 PM      Profile for skdadl     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Oh, please, aRoused: degenerate into a narrative for us.
From: gone | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Contrarian
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 6477

posted 02 August 2005 04:03 PM      Profile for Contrarian     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Or is that Jean Auel's job?
From: pretty far west | Registered: Jul 2004  |  IP: Logged
Gir Draxon
leftist-rightie and rightist-leftie
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posted 02 August 2005 04:59 PM      Profile for Gir Draxon     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I wonder if there is a man frozen in the northern ice who will want his mojo back once he gets thawed out?
From: Arkham Asylum | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
Willowdale Wizard
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posted 02 August 2005 05:30 PM      Profile for Willowdale Wizard   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
if he demands financial compensation, we can offer ... one ... million ... dollars.
From: england (hometown of toronto) | Registered: Jan 2003  |  IP: Logged
Papal Bull
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posted 02 August 2005 06:32 PM      Profile for Papal Bull   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Perhaps it isn't a phallus.

Perhaps it is something used to hit people...Like a phallus.


From: Vatican's best darned ranch | Registered: Oct 2004  |  IP: Logged
skdadl
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 478

posted 02 August 2005 06:33 PM      Profile for skdadl     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
This thread gives aRoused's handle a whole new ... dimension ... doesn't it?
From: gone | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged

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