Shigir Idol
Encyclopedia
The Shigir Idol is the most ancient wooden sculpture in the world, made during the Mesolithic
period, around 7,500 BCE.
It is displayed in the "Historic Exhibition" Museum in Yekaterinburg
, Russia
.
. Investigations in this area had begun 40 years earlier after the discovery of a variety of prehistoric objects in an open-air gold mine.
It was extracted in several parts; professor D.I.Lobanov combined the main fragments to reconstitute a sculpture 2.80m high.
In 1914 the archaeologist Vladimir Tolmachev proposed a variant of this reconstruction by integrating the unused fragments.
Some of these fragments were later lost so only Tolmachev's drawings remain.
carried out by G.I.Zajtsevoj of the Institute of the History for the Material Culture in Saint-Petersburg, confirmed by the Institute of Geology of the Academy of Science of Russia in Moscow
,, gives an age of 9,500 years. It is the most ancient known wooden sculpture to the world.
The head reproduces rather faithfully a face with eyes, nose, and mouth.
The body is flat and rectangular; geometrical motifs decorate its surface: horizontal lines at the level of the thorax seem to represent ribs; lines broken in chevrons cover the rest of the body.
No consensus exists about the meaning of these motifs, or even the type of divinity represented.
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
period, around 7,500 BCE.
It is displayed in the "Historic Exhibition" Museum in Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Discovery
The idol was discovered on January 24th, 1894 at a depth of 4m in the peat bog of Shigir, on the eastern slope of the Middle Urals, approximately 100 km from YekaterinburgYekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
. Investigations in this area had begun 40 years earlier after the discovery of a variety of prehistoric objects in an open-air gold mine.
It was extracted in several parts; professor D.I.Lobanov combined the main fragments to reconstitute a sculpture 2.80m high.
In 1914 the archaeologist Vladimir Tolmachev proposed a variant of this reconstruction by integrating the unused fragments.
Some of these fragments were later lost so only Tolmachev's drawings remain.
Dating
The radiocarbon datingRadiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
carried out by G.I.Zajtsevoj of the Institute of the History for the Material Culture in Saint-Petersburg, confirmed by the Institute of Geology of the Academy of Science of Russia in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
,, gives an age of 9,500 years. It is the most ancient known wooden sculpture to the world.
Description
Since 2003 the sculpture has been displayed in a glass box filled with inert gas.The head reproduces rather faithfully a face with eyes, nose, and mouth.
The body is flat and rectangular; geometrical motifs decorate its surface: horizontal lines at the level of the thorax seem to represent ribs; lines broken in chevrons cover the rest of the body.
No consensus exists about the meaning of these motifs, or even the type of divinity represented.