Dinosaur Art From Ancient Tombs In Peru
Amazing evidence that dinosaurs and humans coexisted.

 

 

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Click to ViewEssay by Dr. Don Patton
Click to ViewDiscovery of dermal spines by Stephen A. Czerkas
Click to ViewWhat evolutionists have said if man and dinosaurs co-existing.

 

 

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Dr. Javier Cabrera, with Geologist, Dr. Don Patton (right) was professor of medicine and head of his department at the University of Lima. He has retired from that position and is presently the Cultural Anthropologist for Ica, Peru.

In the early 1930's, his father found many of these ceremonial burial stones in area's numerous Peru-tomb tombs. Dr. Cabrera has continued his father's research and has collected over 11,000 of them. Approximately one third depict the pornographic culture of the Peru-tombs, graphically portrayed in the artifacts of that period (c.a. 500-1500 AD). Some picture their idolatry,

The Indian chronicler, Juan de Santa Cruz Pachachuti Llamgui wrote that at the time of the Peru-tomb Pachachuti many carved stones were found in the Kingdom of Chperu-tomb, in Chinchayunga, which were called "Manco." (Juan de Santa Cruz Pachacuti Llamqui: "Relacion de antique dades d'este reyno del Peru.") The reference to "Chinchayunga" was the low country of the central coast of Peru, where Ica is located today. "Manco" is believed to be a corruption of the Aymara word "malku" which means "Chieftain" or "Lord of vassals." It is noted that some of these stones were taken back to Spain. The chronicler of the Peru-tombs wrote in about 1570.

The OJO, Lima Domingo, a major newspaper in Lima, Peru on October 3, 1993 described a Spanish Priest traveling in the area of Ica in 1525 inquiring about the unusual engraved stones with strange animals on them.

All of this is very interesting since "modern" man's conception of dinosaurs did not begin until the 1800's when the word dinosaur was coined (1841). These stones do not depict skeletons but live, active dinosaurs, most of whom are seen interacting with man. The obvious implication is that ancient Peruvians saw and lived with dinosaurs.

 

 

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Nasca Tomb

Tombs in the deserts of Peru often preserve amazing artifacts which are very old, including the beautiful, intricate textiles of the Nasca culture (ca. 700 A.D.).
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Large dinosaur tapestry
These textiles depict living dinosaurs as do their ceremonial burial stones and pottery, indicating that these awesome creatures were still alive at the time and ancient Peruvians saw them.
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2 Close ups of dinosaur tapestry

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Dinosaur Pottery
This pottery is on display at the Rafael Laredo Herrera Museum in Lima, Peru.
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Sun worship
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Brain surgery
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Some stones depict amazing accomplishments, such as successful brain surgery confirmed by scarred skulls which demonstrate healed recovery.
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Triceratops
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Allosaurus
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Almost one third of the stones depict specific types of dinosaurs, like those seen here, as well as Triceratops, Stegosaurus and Pterosaurs. Some appear to have been domesticated, others definitely were do not.
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Man and Diplodocus
Saurpod frills were discovered in 1992, yet they were being drawing correctly 2000 years ago.

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Click to View"Recent discovery of fossilized sauropod (diplodocid) skin impressions reveals a significantly different appearance for these dinosaurs. The fossilized skin demonstrates that a median row of [dermal] spines was present... Some are quite narrow, and others are broader and more conical." (Geology, "New Look For Sauropod Dinosaurs", Paleontologist Stephen Czerkas, 12/1992, v.20, p. 1068)
Click to View"The boneless spines still were attached to the tail and got progressively larger toward the head. The biggest spines found were about 9 inches long, shaped a little like a shark's dorsal fin. The smallest, at tail-tip, were about 3 inches high." (THE OREGONIAN, reporter Ellen Morris Bishop, 1/14/1993)
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Art From Ancient Tombs In Peru
(Probably Nasca culture)
by Don R. Patton

I have made two trips to Peru investigating these carved Ica stones. The first trip was made in the spring 1997 with Dr. Dennis Swift of Portland, Oregon and geologist, David McQueen, formerly at ICR. As a result of the trip, McQueen and I were able to present a paper on the rapid formation of the stratigraphy of coastal Peru at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Salt Lake in the fall of '97. I returned from the latest trip with Dr. Dennis Swift, two weeks ago.

On both trips we spent a considerable amount of time with Dr. Javier Cabrera whose imposing 300 year old Spanish home on the town square of Ica provides museum space for thousands of these stones, which I have personally examined and photographed.

Dr. Cabrera told us that in the early 1930's, his father found many of these ceremonial burial stones in area's numerous tombs. He has continued his father's research and has collected over 11,000 of them. Approximately one third depict the pornographic culture of the Nasca Culture, so graphically portrayed in the artifacts of that period and proudly displayed in the Peruvian museums. Some picture their idolatry, others represent amazing accomplishments, such as successful skull surgery (trepan) confirmed by scarring which demonstrates healed recovery.

Almost one third of the stones depict specific types of dinosaurs, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Pterosaurs, etc. Several diplodocus-like dinosaurs have dermal frills. Confirmation of these features on fossil dinosaurs has been reported only recently (Geology, 12/1992, v.20, No.12, p.1068-1070).

All of this is very interesting since modern man's conception of dinosaurs did not begin until the 1800's when the word dinosaur was coined (1841). These stones do not depict skeletons but live, active dinosaurs, many of which are seen interacting with man. The obvious implication is that ancient Peruvians saw and lived with dinosaurs.

Dr. Cabrera was professor of medicine and head of his department at the University of Lima. He founded Peru's largest medical university in Ica. He founded the Museum of Ica. He was Cultural Anthropologist for Ica for many years and is now retired. In spite of all this, if the evidence for the authenticity of these stones hinged entirely on his credibility, I would remain skeptical.

He is a strange man. He seems almost tormented by the fact that the scientific community refuses to acknowledge the authenticity of the stones. He doesn't help his case with his bizarre interpretations. One rather tame example is his conviction that man and dinosaur were contemporary but both lived millions of years ago. He has strange ideas but is he a bald-faced liar and is his representation of the stones a complete fraud? I believe these are different questions.

Perhaps Bill Codey, the producer of the video, Jurassic Art, was simply attempting to present the evidence, but in my opinion it misleads by leaving out important facts. For example, it is illegal to sell Peruvian antiquities and grave robbers are often prosecuted.

Swift, McQueen and I went to the village of Ocucaje, met and talked with Bacilleo Achua, the grave robber mentioned in the video, who admitted manufacturing some of the stones with a hack saw blade. He says police were present when he was asked, "Did you manufacture the stones you sold to Dr. Cabrera?" If he said no and admitted that they came from the tombs, he had no doubt that he would go to prison. The average life expectancy in a Peruvian prison is two years. He has a wife, six children and a flock of kin folk depending on him for a living.

Even so, I suspect that he did manufacture some of the stones to sell to Dr. Cabrera and tourists shops. I made a purchased from such a shop a stone depicting a dinosaur, which some one carved. Dr. Cabrera acknowledged on the video that some carvings were recently produced but were easy to distinguish from the originals. Even Mr. Achua, after admitting he carved some, said on the video that Dr. Cabrera had authentic stones from the tombs. He told us he had personally found many of the stones in the tombs. One skeptic on the video says the Cabrera stones have crude, brusk carvings and some do. However, many are absolutely exquisite. The idea of producing them with a hack saw is ludicrous.

The video skeptic claimed there was no patina. Dr. Cabrera has obtained test results from the University of Bonn in Germany, the University of Lima, and an engineering laboratory in Lima all of which confirmed a patina which they say is "indicative of great age." Dr. Swift has copies of the reports.

The skeptic said Dr. Cabrera's stones were darker than actual similar burial stones which he acknowledged to be from the tombs. Some are darker because Dr. Cabrera put shoe polish on them to make the carvings show up. The stones are feldspar. The material in the groves has weathered to clay which is much lighter in color. When the background is darkened, the carving stands out dramatically.

Several miles outside the city of Nasca there is a group of looted tombs which tourists can visit for a small fee. Human bones and broken artifacts were strewn everywhere, though anything considered to be of value has been removed.. Mummified remains can be seen in their tombs. Dr. Swift and I observed and photographed similar rounded stones in these tombs which appeared to be carved. We were not allowed to get close enough to see detail.

We were able to determine that Carlos Solte`, Rector of the University of Engineers in Lima excavated similar burial stones near village of Ocucaje back in the 50's. Upon his death in 1968, his brother, Pablo Solte`, donated the collection of stones to the Museum of Peru-tomb where they are presently housed or more accurately hidden. Dr. Swift and I were told by the Assistant Director that these stones did not exist. When it became obvious that we knew better and had seen pictures of them, it was acknowledged that they were in the museum, but were in storage. We were told that a letter of request and a day's notice were required to see them. We complied. When we returned were very sheepishly told we simply would not be allowed to see the stones. We were stonewalled.

The Indian chronicler, Juan de Santa Cruz Pachachuti Llamgui wrote that at the time of the Peru-tomb Pachachuti many carved stones were found in the Kingdom of Chperu-tomb, in Chinchayunga, which were called "Manco." (Juan de Santa Cruz Pachacuti Llamqui: "Relacion de antique dades d'este reyno del Peru.") The reference to "Chinchayunga" was the low country of the central coast of Peru, where Ica is located today. "Manco" is believed to be a corruption of the Aymara word "malku" which means "Chieftain" or "Lord of vassals." It is noted that some of these stones were taken back to Spain. The chronicler of the Peru-tombs wrote in about 1570.

The OJO, Lima Domingo, a major newspaper in Lima, Peru on October 3, 1993 described a Spanish Priest traveling in the area of Ica in 1525 inquiring about the unusual engraved stones with strange animals on them.

We also saw and photographed pieces of pottery displayed in the dark corners of a museum in Lima which depicted what looked like dinosaurs. The museum dated them at well over a thousand years old. We anticipate being able to acquire similar examples soon. It is accomplished by a museum to museum exchange which I am told is legal.

We were able to acquire a beautiful piece of tapestry from the Nasca tombs (ca 700 AD) with a repeating pattern that looks like dinosaurs.

So, it should be obvious that, contrary to the skeptic's representation on the video, the evidence does not hinge solely on Dr. Cabrera's word. There is a great deal of evidence which was left out. The video's alternative explanation does not adequately explain the facts it did address. The issue is not simple. The Devil will always make sure of that. Nevertheless, I am convinced that there is strong evidence for the coexistence of man in dinosaur in Peru.

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Saurpod Frills discovered in 1992, yet Nasca peoples were correctly drawing 2000 years ago.
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Scientific paper and newspaper report.)

 

Geology

December, 1992, v. 20, no. 12, p. 1068-1070.

 Discovery of dermal spines reveals a new look for sauropod dinosaurs

by Stephen A. Czerkas

P.O. Box 277, Monticello, Utah 84535

 ABSTRACT

The smooth, quasi-elephantine form of the huge, long-necked sauropods is a familiar image widely repeated in both scientific and general literature. Recent discovery of fossilized sauropod (diplodocid) skin impressions reveals a significantly different appearance for these dinosaurs. The fossilized skin demonstrates that a median row of spines was present over the tail and may have continued anteriorly along the body and neck.

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 Significantly, many conical, or spinelike elements were found throughout the quarry (Figs. 2-5). Some were isolated, and others were connected together, indicating that their natural positions in life formed a continuous line (Fig. 6). Some were found loosely associated with semiarticulated tail vertebrae. Several pieces of skin have been preserved in place around the vertebrae of the distal, whiplash part of the tail. These skin impressions clearly indicate the original dimensions of the tail both in profile and in cross section. They further confirm that the spines were located along the dorsal midline structure, at least along the whiplash part of the tail. Exactly how far the spines continued up the tail is not known. And the precise pattern and full extent of the ornamentation also remain unknown. But, as with the hadrosaurs, it is likely that the spines continued beyond the tail and along the sauropod's body and neck as well.

The spines are smallest over the distal part of the tail and increase in size anteriorly. The apex of the largest preserved spine is missing, but a comparison of the size of its base with more complete specimens suggests a total height of ~18 cm. No fewer than 14 spines of various sizes are preserved, and considering the randomness of the sampling, it is quite possible that even larger spines existed.

Some of the dermal spines are preserved in profile, whereas others were prepared in the round. There appears to be a variable range in the shape of the dermal spines. Some are quite narrow, and others are broader and more conical. Also, although some spines are sharply pointed and straight, others are recurved and may have blunter tips. The surface of the spines is covered with hypertrophied tubercles, about 2-3 mm in diameter, that reach to the apex of the spines and together form a fluted or combed texture of parallel lines. One peculiar characteristic of the preservation is that, while the bottom third to half of the spine is usually rounded and dimensional, the upper half or more is strongly compressed into a flat profile. Also significant is that despite the large size of some of the spines, there is no respective bony core or scute within the spine, more commonly found as an obvious sign of dermal ornamentation-for example, on armored dinosaurs such as the stegosaurs or ankylosaurs.

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 This presents a quandary as to how the various types of sauropods should be portrayed. Depictions of sauropods without dermal spines would automatically imply that the interpretations are based upon verifiable evidence while still only being conjectural speculation. Therefore, until additional physical evidence demonstrates otherwise, the traditional imagery of sauropods without dermal spines is contrary to the evidence at hand and the current understanding of what these dinosaurs actually looked like. Future restorations of sauropods will require the addition of a medially placed row of dermal spines at least along the tail so as to maintain accuracy as reflected by the fossil record. Precisely what any sauropods must have looked like, including those from the Howe Quarry, is still a mystery. It is, however, certain that the integument of the Howe Quarry dip- lodocid was far more complex than was previously suspected. This also strongly suggests that other sauropod taxa may well have differed significantly in appearance from previous interpretations.

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank Kirby Siber, Benjamin Pabst, and their associates for making the specimens they collected available to me for study, and Phil Curie, Martin Lockley, Dale Russell, and Paul Sereno for helpful reviews of the manuscript.

THE OREGONIAN

Thursday, January 14, 1993.

 Utah paleontologist develops new look for sauropod dinosaurs

By Ellen Morris Bishop

I always felt sorry for plant-eating sauropods. In illustrations and museum dioramas, brontosaurus, diplodocus and related long-necked leviathans waded glumly through swamps, fishly unadorned and ponderously sleek. They had no spikes, no horns, no fangs. No fun.

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 But however we imagine dinosaurs, our portraits are incomplete. We have created their images from bones and beliefs. Skeletons frame their bulk. Teeth and gizzard stones suggest their diet. Footprints hint how they moved. And a few impressions of skin provide clues to their reptilian appearance.

Artist and paleontologist Stephen Czerkas of Monticello, Utah, became an expert on dinosaur skins so he could draw and model the animals more realistically. He found that the texture, construction and patterns of dinosaurs' scaly, reptilian skin are as unique as fingerprints. Given a small impression of dinosaur skin, Czerkas can tell the species of dinosaur it belonged to.

As a connoisseur of dinosaurs and dinosaur skin, Czerkas has been troubled by the reputation of the long-necked, vegetarian dinosaurs - the sauropods. Brontosaurus, diplodocus and their relatives have been depicted as smooth-profiled, elephantine beasts with long, whiplike tails.

But, says Czerkas, the usual picture of the big sauropods just doesn't fit with the fanciful appearance of other dinosaurs. And it doesn't fit with dinosaur skin.

"Dinosaurs were surprisingly ornamental," he said. "They had crests and ornamental spines. Their skin, was scaly. They looked reptilian. And reptiles, almost all reptiles bear some kind of designs and ornamentation."

Dinosaur skin is built of circular patterns, of scales in scroll-like rosettes, of rounded bumps and overlapping circles. Sauropod skin closely resembles the skin of today's Komodo dragons, chameleons and gila monsters. Like the skin of other dinosaurs, sauropod skin is constructed of subtle decorative design.

If other dinosaurs had both designer skin and ornamental horns, spines and fringes, why were sauropods so plain-looking? Czerkas wondered if sauropods lacked ornamental spines and frills only because no one had discovered them. And so, last year when Swiss museum collector Kirby Siber reopened the Howe dinosaur quarry in Wyoming-an excellent place to find big sauropod dinosaurs-Czerkas asked him to be on the lookout "for things you might not normally expect. Ornamental things."

A week into his second field season, Kirby found odd, elongated impressions of skin along the backbone of a sauropod skeleton. He called Czerkas.

"Kirby and his assistant took me on a tour of the excavation," Czerkas noted. "They kept the best for last, an impression of a skin-supported spine about 7 inches tall. I looked down at it and said "Oh my God! ... This will change everything."

The sauropods had frills at last.

Boneless, pointed, conical, skinlike spines ran up the tail of the young diplodocus. Up the back, and probably all the way to the head. Diplodocus had a fringe on the top.

The spines that Czerkas described in the journal Geology were associated with a young adult diplodocus that measured only 45 feet from nose to tail-tip, half the maximum length of the species. The boneless spines still were attached to the tail and got progressively larger toward the head. The biggest spines found were about 9 inches long, shaped a little like a shark's dorsal fin. The smallest, at tail-tip, were about 3 inches high.

If diplodocus wore spines, Czerka reasons, then logically, the other sauropods had spines as well. Just as all the stegosaurs (14 species including stegosaurus) had plates all the ankylosaurs were armored, and all ceratopsids, including triceratops, bore horns, probably all sauropods, including brontosaurus (apatosaurus, and brachiosaurus, had soft spines along their backs.

What function might these soft spines have served? Cooling, ornamentation, or maybe getting the attention of the opposite sex? Were they the precursor to the iguana's spiked fringe or the crocodile's tail? Did they provide rudderlike stability when swimming or wading? Were they just for fun?

Whatever the spines' function, our image of the sauropods has changed. We still don't know exactly what they looked like. But with the discovery of their fringes and frills, they are plain bumpkins no longer.

Ellen Morris Bishop is a geologist and free-lance writer who lives in northeast Oregon. Letters may be addressed to her at P.O. Box 2945 , La Grande Ore. 97850.

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