Showing posts with label Fringe Theories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fringe Theories. Show all posts

Friday, 13 June 2014

Egyptian Boomerangs

" There must be a connection the Australia - they found boomerangs in King Tut's tomb "
Not a boomerang  , This is an Egyptian ceremonial wand
Another common statement made by Kariong fringe theorists about so called reports of boomerangs being found in ancient tombs in Egypt.
Boomerang is the term used by Australians for the weapon used by Australian Aborigines, it is derived from the Aboriginal word wo-mur-ang which dates from 1798.

Australian Boomerangs
The lightweight weapon was used by many cultures and is described as a "throwing stick" outside of Australia, throwing sticks of similar shapes were used by the American Indians, Egyptians, Africans and even in Poland.

American Indian throwing or " rabbit " stick

The throwing sticks found in Egyptian royal tombs are Egyptian objects, the Egyptians used throwing sticks as melee weapons in battle and for hunting birds and water fowl.

Tomb art depicting hunters using throwing sticks
Egyptian throwing stick

There are numerous depictions of Egyptians using throwing sticks for hunting in Egyptian art and there have been many ornamental throwing sticks found in royal tombs including the tomb of  Tutankhamen.

Conclusion
The existence of similar weapons in Egypt and Australia prove no connection, the Australian Aborigine is one of the few cultures that did not develop the bow and arrow which was a primary weapon of the Egyptians and they certainly did not use any metal weapons, throwing sticks evolved into similar shapes in different cultures just like the spear and shields for example.
The statement made by fringe theorists is another throw away theory that when examined has no factual basis.

Myth * Busted *

Sources
http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-indian-weapons-tools/native-american-weapons.htm
http://www.ancientmilitary.com/egyptian-weapons.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throwing_stick
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boomerang

Thursday, 29 May 2014

Egyptian Kangaroos



One of the common statements made by the fringe theorists about the Kariong Glyphs is the story of Australian kangaroo fossils or bones being dug up in Egypt in 1982 - 84 near Fayum.
This story is told to help bolster the Australia - Egypt connection theories but falls short on being documented anywhere checkable.
It is true that archaeologists found marsupial fossils at Fayum in 1981 and 82 but these were from the Oligocene period which dates them at 20 to 33 million years old , the creature found was related to the possum family and no mention of kangaroos was made in the report that came out in 1984
You can read the announcement of Africa's first marsupial fossil find here
The only mention of kangaroo fossils being found are on the usual Rex Gilroy and other fringe theory websites , they all mention Fayum and the period of 1982 - 84, so it seems that someone has got over excited with the word " marsupial " being mentioned and has embelished the story somewhat.
It is possible that when the find was reported in the Cairo Times the author may have mentioned kangaroos as an example of a marsupial but there are no records available to check.

There are records of Australian kangaroos in Egypt, these and other Australian animals were mascots held by Australian troops in 1914 while camped near the pyramids at Mena camp.
I have posted this famous photo from the Australian War Memorial that shows a kangaroo mascot kept by the 10th Division above.
All mascot animals were reportedly given to the Cairo Zoo before troops left for the Gallipoli campaign.

Conclusion
Marsupial fossils were found at Fayum in 1981 and 1982 , these were the first African marsupial fossils ever discovered.
No reliable record of Australian kangaroo fossils or bones being unearthed in Egypt exists , reports of such on fringe theory websites are unsubstantiated.

Myth * Busted *

Sources
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1380836?uid=3737536&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104239955093
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v308/n5958/abs/308447a0.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1458784/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Battalion_(Australia)