| ▲ | YeGoblynQueenne 5 days ago |
| >> Less than 12 miles away from Karahan Tepe, a high relief of a man gripping his phallus flanked by two roaring/biting leopards carved into the stone is the earliest narrative scene ever discovered. So, er, what is the um narrative conveyed by this scene? |
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| ▲ | samudrijan 5 days ago | parent | next [-] |
| It’s a cautionary tale: man who jerks his meat in the woods risks getting eaten by leopards. |
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| ▲ | bena 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Depends on the nature of the grip. He could be trying to protect his junk from the leopards, or taunting the leopards by jerking at them. So many options. The past was just as juvenile and perverse as modernity. |
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| ▲ | anentropic 5 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Given that they went to considerable effort to carve it in stone as part of a temple complex, it was likely neither juvenile nor perverse | | |
| ▲ | Contortion 5 days ago | parent | next [-] | | I think you underestimate the amount of effort people are willing to put in to being juvenile or perverse. | | |
| ▲ | anentropic 4 days ago | parent [-] | | I guess my point was that "juvenile" and "perverse" are modern judgements |
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| ▲ | westmeal 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | Some people like making others laugh, maybe they thought we'd appreciate it | | | |
| ▲ | tclancy 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | Have I got some ancient Greek theatre to show you? | |
| ▲ | Exoristos 5 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | Wait until you see some of the carvings in Gothic cathedrals. |
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| ▲ | webdoodle 5 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | This is most likely the explanation. Apex predators will often try to kill the seed of an enemy by tearing off their junk. It's much less dangerous than trying to kill the enemy, and it serves the same purpose of ending their genetic line. | | |
| ▲ | doodlebugging 5 days ago | parent | next [-] | | If you find yourself weak and near death out in the wilderness but in a situation where you know there is hope for rescue and you must try to avoid being eaten by the wild animals there is one thing to remember about how wild animals exploit vulnerabilities. The first scavengers or predators on the scene will evaluate your condition and attack the softer parts of your body. That includes your anus and genital area, your stomach/gut area, your eyes and neck. It is in your best interest to cover those areas as best as possible. Those animals will try to create injuries that are serious enough that you will not survive so they go for the soft parts. Buzzards are known to start at the anus/genital area and move into the gut area. when they are cleaning a carcass. Same with larger prey animals. Use your resources and energy to protect the soft parts and you will improve your chances of survival. Duck and cover by assuming a fetal position can work if you can maneuver your backside into a sheltered position where it is less accessible. Cover your ass in other words. When fighting back you should remain facing the threat with your rear covered. | |
| ▲ | emiliobumachar 5 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | What?? The predator is after a meal, not up for doing harm for harm's sake. |
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| ▲ | hluska 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| There are pictures available. I’m certainly not an expert but he’s holding his stomach in one hand, giving himself a good tug with the other and looks somewhere between scared and confused. The leopard on the left is all smiles. There’s another dude standing a few figures away with his back turned to old tug-a-lug. He’s holding something and looks kind of ashamed though I could be reading that into the image since it’s not really well carved… Tug-a-lug is the best carved of all and must be the centrepiece of the story. If this is another great flood narrative, I sure prefer the Hebrew great flood story. |
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| ▲ | doodlebugging 5 days ago | parent [-] | | After looking at the 3D relief of the guy with his pecker in his hand I feel like this was carved in the period immediately preceding the abandonment of the site in pre-history. I base that on the definition of the outlines of the leopards. It appears that initial work had started on giving each of them a 3D view as they are cut in along the margins of the belly and back. Maybe the entire panel would've been a 3D relief had the people been around to complete it. Something came along and compelled these people to abandon the site or they were killed off by a different group. Very interesting anyway why a group would put so much effort into constructing these sites without the sites being places where they lived. I think I read somewhere that there is no evidence to suggest that anyone ever lived there. They were places where people gathered. I could be wrong though. | | |
| ▲ | avadodin 5 days ago | parent [-] | | I don't think it is necessarily a sign of any tragic upheaval but to me that decline in carving quality indicates that the man wasn't meant to be part of a scene initially. Perhaps an image of a God or a King. The leopard-obsessed bunch showed up later and started drawing leopard graffiti around putting in far less effort. That in itself could represent an invasion but it could also represent young people these days or even aligned additions to the King’s biography for reference. | | |
| ▲ | doodlebugging 5 days ago | parent [-] | | I have thought about this and I have to disagree since the figure of the man is centered between the two leopards and is scaled similarly to them. I feel like the work here was incomplete. Perhaps all the wives followed them to the site, were appalled when they stormed inside, and drug their husbands home by the ears while banishing them from the site forever. Or, maybe a stronger rival group they were looking to join in order to strengthen their community sent members to a gathering of their clans. During the rival group's visit, there was a big show-and-tell session where stories were told and libations passed around for all to enjoy before the closing presentation unveiled all the cat and weenie stuff. Upon being optically blessed with the wondrousness of the new group, those new guys returned to their villages and described what they had seen. After reporting back to other members of their group it was unanimously agreed that those guys were perverts and no one wanted to associate with them. A few years later, before the cat/pecker group could complete their service yourself station, the stronger group herded them out of the area forcing them on the road to new lands, new experiences and opportunities for personal growth - of the whole body instead of just parts. And now you know why I am not much of an archaeologist. I get a little tired of every polished rock being something someone worshiped though it looks like for these people that probably fits. |
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| ▲ | ozgung 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Man gripping his phallus was a popular character in Karahan Tepe in the old times. See his 2.6 meter statue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karahan_Tepe#/media/File:Karah... |
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| ▲ | dyauspitr 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| The simple joys of being a man. |
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| ▲ | indianwashlets 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| No cougars were hurt during filming that scene. |
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| ▲ | krapp 5 days ago | parent | prev [-] |
| [dead] |
