Sparrow Rose Jones ([info]sparrowrose) wrote in [info]dinosaurs,
@ 2007-06-19 09:10:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Dinosaur carvings on the Temple at Angkor Wat
At least they *look* like dinosaurs . . .



(Post a new comment)


[info]dacuteturtle
2007-06-19 04:09 pm UTC (link)
That looks like repair work.

Yes, those old temples need repair.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]sparrowrose
2007-06-19 04:37 pm UTC (link)
Why would they repair it in the shape of a stegosaurus?

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]dinogrrl
2007-06-19 06:12 pm UTC (link)
To fuel the 'dinosaurs walked with humans' story. Or maybe they just thought it looked cool.

I agree, it looks like a repair/vandalism job, or possibly someone doodling around in photoshop.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(Deleted post)
Re: And....
[info]dinogrrl
2007-06-20 06:04 pm UTC (link)
I suppose that'd work too. :}

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Another theory (deleted and reposted with a correction)
[info]dissembly
2007-06-20 05:04 am UTC (link)
It looks diferent from the rest of the stone, so i agree its probably repaired, but i think the resemblance may be a mistake;

Notice that the other animals depicted have something going on in the 'background' as well (though i should mention im not familiar with wether the creators had a background-foreground concept in their art), but if you take it as a stegosaurus, then that panel has nothing in the background/surrounding - unless the plates are actually background elements, like leaves.

Also, the stegosaurus looks like it has horns... or long bunny-ears.

My theory is that, if its not photoshopped, it's an armadillo; it has a thickened tail and those pointy ears, with a high smooth curving back. Although i admit the back legs are longer than the front, it could probably be explained by it being a fairly unspecific stylised image - and possibly a slightly warped reconstruction (on the other hand, if an ancient Incan actually did see a stegosaurus, i doubt their tendency to stylise would extend to adding horns... thats a post-Flintstones Western stylisation).

-------------------
Edited to say... oops... i missed the "Angkor Wat" part and just looked at the picture... it isn't Incan, it's South-East Asian, isnt it?

Which means, no armadillos.

So... South-East Asian mammals with long ears and thick tails? Any thoughts?

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Another theory (deleted and reposted with a correction)
[info]sparrowrose
2007-06-20 05:39 am UTC (link)
hmm... Cambodian mammals with long ears and thick tails . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhole

I'm drawing a blank on anything else. Tapirs are a fair match but don't have tails.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: Another theory (deleted and reposted with a correction)
[info]sparrowrose
2007-06-20 05:55 am UTC (link)
This carving looks to me like an Borneo Rhinoceros against a big-leafed backdrop. The rhino was on the mainland in historic times.

Firstly, the head is big and heavy, and shows the same kind of horn that they have.

Secondly, the tail is short and stubby. The stegosaur had large spikes on it - one would well imagine that being especially important to a stone carver.

Both characteristics make the Stegosaurus identification spurious at best. The only thing speaking for the ID as a stegosaur is that it does look a bit like the claymation stegosaur in the first King Kong film of 1933.

From:
http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/dino-cambodia/

(Reply to this) (Parent)
And...
[info]dissembly
2007-06-20 05:08 am UTC (link)
I'm being mammal-chauvinist.

Chameleons have horns, commonly arch their backs like the carving, and have thickened tails.

It could be a chameleon.

In fact, the more i look at it, the more i think that. It also has bulbous eyes, which are another chameleon feature.

So there you go. Chameleon posing as a dinosaur.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: And...
[info]sparrowrose
2007-06-20 05:41 am UTC (link)
Well, it's got a mammally hindquarters, not really a lizardy hindquarters so you're not being *that* mammal-centric.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]dacuteturtle
2007-06-21 07:51 pm UTC (link)
Did you know that the stonemasons snuck in a gargoyle that looks like Darth Vader in the National Cathedral in DC? As they carved, they included many things from popular culture. Why should the stonemasons who maintain that temple do any different?

To us, monuments are things that should be maintained and preserved as they are. To other cultures, they are working buildings that keep up with the times.

The only real reason to include these things is because that's what the stonemason wanted.

If I had to guess, I'd say that they were put in during the earlier rounds of dino-mania, around 1910-1930.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]sparrowrose
2007-06-21 08:13 pm UTC (link)
Thanks! Best explanation yet.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
pictures
(Anonymous)
2008-08-22 03:26 am UTC (link)
Hi,
I search pictures of this dinosaurs in hight definition for the picture bank Melon Rouge.
If somebody can send me it.
It's professional, you would have a contract, of course.

Thank You et vivo il sogno !

Alexandre

melonrouge@melonrouge.fr

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…