Mantis/Man therianthrope petroglyph, Iran. Photograph M. Naserifard.
Drawing of the petroglyph, after M. Kolnegari.
An interesting petroglyph found in Iran was recently published in the Journal of Orthoptera Research by a team of Iranian researchers. They named this therianthropic image the Mantis Man because of a definite resemblance to a praying mantis. The petroglyph has three main features that resemble the insect; six legs, a triangular head, and the fore limbs are poised or cocked to strike like a praying mantis.
The only real deviation from the resemblance to a praying mantis is that instead of two antennae on the head this petroglyph only has one line projecting outward, but that is a small error compared to the points of resemblance. So, was this image intended to be a reference to a mantis? I can go along with that.
Then, however, the whole thing went sideways fast. Not just content with making what seems to be an accurate interpretation of the petroglyph, the authors go on to involve the whole “Plasma Universe” fallacy.
“The specific shape of the mid-legs and hind legs are the deceptive parts of the motif that could mislead the identification process. In fact, the entire appearance of the motif is comparable with particular anthropomorphs that show a man-like figure having two dots on either side of the midsection. - The symbol named ‘squatter man’ (‘squatting man”) and some archaeologists believe that the motif is associated with aurora phenomenon due to plasma discharge, specifically a ‘Z-pinch instability’. This anthropomorph has been discovered in several regions including northern Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, New Mexico, Armenia, Spain, Tyrolian Alps, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Guyana, and Venezuala.” (Kolnegari et al. 2020)
Now I have known archaeologists and rock art researchers who carry a little intellectual baggage with them in the form of beliefs. From ‘shamanism’, to La Van Martineau’s reading of rock art panels, many of us have mental foibles mixed in with knowledge. I even know a rock art researcher who believes in (and has seen) flying saucers.
But this Z-pinch plasma inspired bent-legged man theme is pretty much the silliest proposal I have ever seen. It is based upon the proposition that anthropomorphic figures with bent arms and legs were inspired by a phenomenon from plasma physics caused by a massive solar coronal mass ejection striking the earth, resulting in a “z-pinch” of the aurora.
“What would the sky look like if the solar wind was further increased by one or two orders of magnitude? Although we have no scientific proof that this has ever happened, the American astronomer, Thomas Hold (1920-2004), proposed that such an event did happen within the past 12,000 years. Unfortunately, we have no visual depictions of what such an event would have looked like, but thanks to the affiliation of one of the authors with the Los Alamos National Laboratory, it was possible to use the world’s fastest computer, Roadrunner, to simulate the evolution of an aurora under the influence of such a massive solar wind. Apparently the aurora would assume different shapes than the familiar frivolous waves, rays, and ripples and take on a less scattered, more concentrated form. As its height profile is altered, a column forms that joins the magnetosphere of the earth to the solar wind. Expected structures include pinched ropes of a ‘sausage’ type, helices, concentric circles, filamentary ‘rays’ that intertwine and merge, and the emergence of ‘plasmoids’ shaped like orbs or eggs. As such a configuration achieves a degree of semi-stability, moreover, the event would last considerably longer than ordinary auroral outbursts, allowing petroglyph carvers to depict aspects, depending on their own point of view on earth. The snapshot results of the different stages of the simulated aurora appear to match closely many of the so-called abstract petroglyphs seen around the world. - - - So, could these enigmatic petroglyphs be evidence that humans witnessed intense auroral storms in the past? We believe this is the case and have reason to postulate three episodes of auroral activity of this type, accompanied by rock art carving, which occurred between roughly 10,000 and 3,000 BCE. Although it is wise to keep one’s feet on the ground at all times, it is clear that archaeologists could benefit much from lifting their gaze up to the heavens. The sky was as much a part of the ancient’s environment as the earth.” (Van der Sluijs and Peratt 2010:38-40)
This is based in a theory of Plasma Cosmology which had been put forward in the late 1930s and 1940s as an alternative to Einstein’s gravity dominated cosmology. So, in summation, what had been a thoroughly interesting discovery of a petroglyph in Iran, has now sullied by an interpretation even more ridiculous than UFOs, crop circles, and animal mutilations. Too bad.
NOTE: I am somewhat dismayed, not only as a rock art researcher but as a taxpayer, that Anthony L. Peratt was allowed to use the super computer at Los Alamos National Laboratory at taxpayer expense to pursue his silly theory that petroglyphs were inspired by super plasma phenomena. This may be science, but it is not good science.
Also - Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Kolnegari, Mahmood, Mohammed Naserifard, Mandana Hazrati, Matan Shelomi, 2020, Squatting (squatter) mantis man: A prehistoric praying mantis petroglyph in Iran, Journal of Orthoptera Research 29(1): 42-44, https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.29.39400 (13 March 2020)
Van der Sluijs, Marinus Anthony, and Anthony L. Peratt, 2010, Searching for Rock Art Evidence for an Ancient Super Aurora, Expedition Magazine, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 33-42, Penn Museum, Philadelphia, PA, https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/p=12874
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