Ancient phallus unearthed in cave - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

StanT · 07-26-2005, 08:51 AM

A bit silly for Tilted Sexuality, but I'm not sure where else to put it.

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.

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.

Some have been truly exquisite in their sophistication and detail, such as a 30,000-year-old avian figurine crafted from mammoth ivory. It is believed to be one of the earliest representations of a bird in the archaeological record.

There are other stone objects known to science that are obviously phallic symbols and are slightly older - from France and Morocco, of particular note. But to have any representation of male genitalia from this time period is highly unusual.

"Female representations with highly accentuated sexual attributes are very well documented at many sites, but male representations are very, very rare," explained Professor Conard.

Current evidence indicates that the Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany was one of the central regions of cultural innovation after the arrival of modern humans in Europe some 40,000 years ago.

The Hohle Fels phallus will go on show at Blaubeuren prehistoric museum in an exhibition called Ice Art - Clearly Male.

I particularly like the comment "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. "

Combination art object, sexual aid, and used for flaking flints. Damn ingenious Ice Age folks, but wouldn't it be a bit cold as a sex aid?

Jinn · 07-26-2005, 08:54 AM

Brings new meaning to the phrase.. "The sparks were flying..."

Man, using a penis to start fires.. brilliant!

Astrocloud · 07-26-2005, 09:16 AM

No doubt that it would have lit some fires way-a-back when.

Charlatan · 07-26-2005, 10:03 AM

knapping flint... a new euphemism is born!!!

present_future · 07-26-2005, 04:27 PM

I bet that would have been rather painful for the women had it actually been used as a sex tool.

nefarious · 07-30-2005, 10:26 AM

i guess you were supposed to light a fire with it, to warm it up...
and THEN insert it wherever suitable. then it wouldnt be so cold

genuinegirly · 07-30-2005, 02:03 PM

Ummmmm... fun?
Such an odd piece to find in Germany. And here I thought the oldest would be found in India (Shiva = God of sexuality).

minyn · 08-02-2005, 04:59 PM

i love the disclaimer that it could have been used for other things, including a splint.

'cover your tail so you dont look too perverted!'

07-26-2005, 08:54 AM	#2 (permalink)
Jinn Lover - Protector - Teacher Location: Seattle, WA	Brings new meaning to the phrase.. "The sparks were flying..." Man, using a penis to start fires.. brilliant! __________________ "I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

07-26-2005, 10:03 AM	#4 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	knapping flint... a new euphemism is born!!! __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

07-26-2005, 04:27 PM	#5 (permalink)
present_future Take my hand Location: Everywhere, but nowhere	I bet that would have been rather painful for the women had it actually been used as a sex tool. __________________ The only thing I'll ever ask of you... you gotta promise not to stop when I say when.

07-30-2005, 10:26 AM	#6 (permalink)
nefarious Insane Location: Tucson, AZ	i guess you were supposed to light a fire with it, to warm it up... and THEN insert it wherever suitable. then it wouldnt be so cold __________________ Si vis pacem, para bellum. - Vegetius "Do Re Mil.3, Prol.

07-30-2005, 02:03 PM	#7 (permalink)
genuinegirly Eat your vegetables Super Moderator Location: Arabidopsis-ville	Ummmmm... fun? Such an odd piece to find in Germany. And here I thought the oldest would be found in India (Shiva = God of sexuality). __________________ "Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq "violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

07-26-2005, 09:16 AM	#3 (permalink)
Astrocloud Apocalypse Nerd	No doubt that it would have lit some fires way-a-back when.

08-02-2005, 04:59 PM	#8 (permalink)
minyn young and in bloom Location: under the bodhi tree.... bling	i love the disclaimer that it could have been used for other things, including a splint. 'cover your tail so you dont look too perverted!' __________________ "Woke up this morning with a blue moon in my eye" ~A3 "woke up this morning" "Don't compromise yourself, you're all you've got." -Janis Joplin