Stegosaurus on Cambodian Temple
I’ve always been a big fan of anomalies because they provide a little glimpse into a Universe that we know so little about. And yet delude ourselves into thinking we know a lot about. I mean, why is an image of a stegosaurus carved into a Cambodian temple? Did a stone carver see a diorama in a museum somewhere? 2000 years ago? Or did he see one in the jungle, talk about it with his friends, and they decided “Yes, let’s carve images of animals that are part of our lives. We occasionally see the creature with the armored plates on its back, so include that in your carving project.”
Here's the full story: http://www.bible.ca/tracks/tracks-cambodia.htm
posted by tintinsnowy @ 4:00 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Possibly so. Probably not.
Consider the following:
Mayan temples have carvings that bear uncanny resemblance to astronauts, Egyptian hieroglyphs with helicopters and submarines, and Nazca lines with helmeted figures.
Should we unearth the remains of a feathered serpent, would that demonstrate the scientific basis for the Aztec explanation of creation?
I have seen photos of Hindu temples with stone carvings of figures that seem human - but the humanoid figures have four arms! Could there have been a human-like species with four arms coexisting with people?
I'm glad that in our school, we teach the creation stories as the great literature that they are. Myth is a search for understanding. If something is a myth, it does not mean it isn't true, but just because something is sacred does not mean it is a fact. "Truth" and "fact" are relatively modern constructs.
I'm also very glad I found your blog again. I have used the page at bible.ca to demonstrate to my class of children that the act of observation is not always objective. Simply observing a phenomenon can create different result. An eight-year old pointed out:
"Maybe the partial skeleton of a stegosaurus was unearthed when the foundation was being excavated for this Cambodian temple. Do they think that the ancient people of the Mekong delta could not have had knowledge of comparative anatomy? or do they just think of them as poor pagan savages?"
I appreciate your thoughtful comment, Ms. YH. I have to ask since it's sitting there on the table...did an 8 year old boy/girl really say:
"...Do they think that the ancient people of the Mekong delta could not have had knowledge of comparative anatomy? or do they just think of them as poor pagan savages?"
That's an incredibly precocious thing to say...the kind of thing I would have said at that age. That must be an amazing little bible class you teach. And of course you're right about observation, objectivity, alternate explanations. Here’s how I might answer your 8 year old...
“IN THE ABSENCE of any evidence that the ancient people of the Mekong delta did have knowledge of comparative anatomy and could infer the exterior appearance from the bones of a strange creature (have we, modern folks, found any Stegosaurus bones in the Mekong Delta?), we might want to consider as ONE explanation, a simpler explanation (Ocham’s razor – look for the simplest explanation), the possibility that lurking in the jungle was a real, live dinosaur that enough people had seen to be able to document its appearance in a carving. Perhaps it’s hard to believe, because we don’t see many dinosaurs walking around now, but that doesn’t mean we should reject out of hand difficult to believe explanations. “
This is a great subject for further discussion with kids. You should tell each of the kids in your bible study class to bring in an example of phenomenon with hard to believe explanations, POSSIBLY EVEN ONES FROM THE BIBLE, and discuss alternate explanations. Helps build critical thinking skills and discernment. Thanks again, YH!
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