German scientists may be one step closer to understanding the message on a wooden statue from 9,500 years ago. The secret code on the seven-faced Shigir Idol may contain information about "the creation of the world," Svetlana Savchenko, the idol's "chief keeper" and senior researcher at the Yekaterinburg History Museum, where the idol is housed, told The Siberian Times.
The Shigir Idol, which was apparently preserved "as if in a time capsule," is twice as old as the Egyptian pyramids. It is 9.2 feet tall now, but the researchers estimate it was 17.4 feet tall when it was first built during the Stone Age's Mesolithic period. The statue was discovered in 1890 near Kirovgrad in western Russia.
After studying the wooden statue, the scientists have announced that they may have new information about the statue's message by February. The scientists are "close to a precise dating — within five decades" of the statue, the Times notes, adding that the work is "a stunning example of ancient man's creativity." The scientists are using "accelerated mass spectrometry" to compare the statue's samples with climate data from the last 10,000 years, the Times reports. The new technology will allow them to date the statue more precisely than ever before.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The curious history of hanging coffinsUnder The Radar Ancient societies in southern China pegged coffins into high cliffsides in burial ritual linked to good fortune
-
The Trump administration says it deports dangerous criminals. ICE data tells a different story.IN THE SPOTLIGHT Arrest data points to an inconvenient truth for the White House’s ongoing deportation agenda
-
Ex-FBI agents sue Patel over protest firingspeed read The former FBI agents were fired for kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest for ‘apolitical tactical reasons’
-
Blue Origin launches Mars probes in NASA debutSpeed Read The New Glenn rocket is carrying small twin spacecraft toward Mars as part of NASA’s Escapade mission
-
Dinosaurs were thriving before asteroid, study findsSpeed Read The dinosaurs would not have gone extinct if not for the asteroid
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th testspeed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Coloradospeed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's studySpeed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-offSpeed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
-
'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet underseaSpeed Read Researchers discovered communities of creatures living in frigid, pitch-black waters under high pressure
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 yearsSpeed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
