The curiosities of the history of humanity simply do not stop surprising us. Knowing what happened to the missing link, how the dinosaurs really became extinct or how the amazing pyramids were built are topics that have aroused the curiosity of researchers and scientists throughout the centuries. At Top10World we declare ourselves fans of all those issues that challenge human understanding and that lead us to explore unconventional lines of thought. And just thinking about that, we wanted to investigate objects out of time. These curious elements have become true puzzles for archaeologists and paleontologists who,in the midst of their excavations, they have discovered artifacts that do not fit their time lines , artifacts that do not correspond at all to the time of the site because they are “strangely modern”. Next we will tell you what ooparts are. Can you come with us?
What are ooparts?
Imagine for a moment this scenario: a team of archaeologists and scientists investigate a piece of land that is believed to have been a very ancient human settlement. Suddenly , in Precambrian strata, a beautifully sculpted metallic sphere appears, which seems to come from the future. The same happens with metallic monuments found in prehistoric times, or with amazing Nordic runes from the 12th century in American territory. How can it be? Should we perhaps begin by correcting our temporal and historical thread in view of these objects out of time that attract so much attention?
When we talk about what ooparts are, we are literally referring to an artifact out of place. It is a term with which the scientific community defines certain objects that have been discovered in places where, as expected, they should not be. It is also associated with objects whose construction does not coincide with the tools and technologies available at the time, which defines the place where they were found. The term “oopart” is attributed to the American naturalist and cryptozoologist Ivan T. Sanderson.
Now, the curious thing about the concept of what ooparts are is that they can be both a source of surprise and scientific hallucination, as well as disappointment . Some of them have revolutionized the way of analyzing a historical period, but others have been nothing more than frauds very well staged for deception, pretending to justify the most outlandish theories with the presence of these objects out of time.
Objects out of time Historical challenges or montages?
About what ooparts are, much has been said and done. Even the subject has given rise to funny jokes. The popular anecdote tells that Arthur Conan Doyle made one of these little jokes to some paleontologists who were carrying out some excavations near his house. Tired of these disputes, he decided to play a small and ironic joke: he left the skeleton of a primate together with a very peculiar stick in the excavation. He wanted to prove that our hominid ancestors already played golf.
But, leaving aside the anecdotes, there are many scientists who do not accept the existence of these objects outside of time and it is that most of the time the Carbon 14 method does not work to date the Ooparts, since they lack of organic material on which said method works.
Some of the most popular ooparts
1. An ancient Chinese tomb clock
When we talk about what ooparts are, it is well worth taking a little trip through history, bringing to the present those that have been most revolutionary. The discovery of the Ming clock-ring is one of them, and it is one of the most puzzling mysteries for science. It was some Chinese archaeologists who found him while excavating in some tombs from the Ming dynasty. They were trying to remove the earth from a coffin when suddenly a piece of rock fell on them to hit the ground. The sound it made when it fell was very disconcerting… it was a metallic sound. What could it be?
When they removed the earth little by little they realized that it was a ring-watch, one of those that are used today, but made of gold metal. It couldn’t be. The chamber where they were working and where they were digging up coffins from the Ming Dynasty, was a closed and sealed space for four centuries. No one could have entered there… Excavations have been suspended since then in order to find an answer to such a disconcerting discovery. At the moment, there is no answer for one of the most challenging and interesting Ooparts they have found… on that small metallic clock it has been 10:06 for more than 400 years.
2. The Maine Penny
And we continue talking about what ooparts are and which are the most amazing in history. Next up is the Maine penny, one of the world’s rarest archaeological artifacts . It is a curious coin found in the state of the same name, in the territory of the United States. This Scandinavian penny dates from the period 1065 to 1080 AD . According to researchers specialized in the matter, the piece belongs to the reign of Olaf III of Norway. For many, this is one of the most interesting objects out of time, as it would demonstrate the fact that the Vikings arrived in America before Christopher Columbus , an absolutely disruptive idea.The State Museum of Maine and the Smithsonian Institution have accepted it as authentic, although there is no lack of scientists who defend that this is nothing more than proof planted in modernity.
3. Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca
And the next object out of time that we want to mention is the amazing head of Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca. This piece was found in 1933, by the archaeologist José García Payón. It was located inside a pre-Columbian or post-Columbian funerary trousseau in the Toluca Valley. The curious thing about it is that it is a terracotta piece that shares the characteristics and style of Roman figures. Linking the discovery to the concept of what ooparts are, if this object were true, it could imply evidence that there were pre-Columbian transoceanic contacts between Rome and the Americas, again before Columbus.There are no agreements in the scientific community regarding the authenticity or otherwise of the Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca head, and there is no shortage of those who say that it was a practical joke that got out of hand.
