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Wouldn't it be possible that the material deteriorated over time and so today it's harder to view the details than back when it was created?
by Joe-Z 9y ago
Wouldn't it be possible that the material deteriorated over time and so today it's harder to view the details than back when it was created?
- ubernostrum 9y agoOr they had techniques to miniaturize things. Which is not out of the question; scaling a drawing up or down can be done with pretty simple tools (this is how a couple guys in Kentucky reproduced a Nazca-style giant figure back in the 1980s, with no access to flying saucers or mystically-levitating priests).
- michrassena 9y agoA pantograph is a simple machine that came along quite late. I can imagine a similar machine for carving, but I think it's quite easy to view the past with our own perspectives. The pantograph, and this speculative carving machine, are labor saving devices. I assume the Minoan sealstones were custom-made, one-of-a-kind items for those important enough to use them. While labor was cheap in most cases, those in need of this specialized skill were able to pay the cost.
- coldtea 9y agoNo, the details were originally that small.
- sophacles 9y agoI think the question is less about size than about deterioration. By analogy - old documents are hard to read sometimes because ink has faded. So the question is more like: is the size the problem or is it the fidelity?