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Fascinating object. Got me thinking. While the wood is probably at least that old, the carving isn't necessarily quite that old. WP says Larch is 'waterproof'

Fascinating object. Got me thinking. While the wood is probably at least that old, the carving isn't necessarily quite that old. WP says Larch is 'waterproof' and 'resistant to rot when in contact with the ground'. And it's a conifer that loses its needles in the fall. Now consider that it can grow as far north as 'the tundra and polar ice' and is 'very long-lived'. Consider that the outside was dated at 9800ya in the 1990s, but in 2014 the core (the oldest part of any tree) dates to 11,600. Here in the US, the glaciers were done melting to about 45N by 9000 ya. (Yekaterinburg is at 56N, so maybe more like 7500ya?). Just for fun, suppose that the wood had been stuck in a glacier for a very long time, say 2000 years. When the carver found it. Are there any C14-dating/Russian glaciologist folk here to explain those two sample dates? Could it have been in a glacier longer than 2000 years?

ichchus 9y ago
i was thinking this too. carving or manipulation time frame methods would be good but out side of possible tools used i dont see it yet and even then it gives a time frame and posibility not neccissarily an actuality. this is an interesting piece though non the less.
codedokode 9y ago
> While the wood is probably at least that old, the carving isn't necessarily quite that old. The russian article on Wikipedia says that there was a research including examining the surface with a microscope and it shows that the statue is made from a freshly chopped tree with stone tools. The difference is dates is because the research in 2015 was done using another method [1] . The age of the tree is estimated to be around 160 years old. [1] https://phys.org/news/2018-04-wooden-shigir-idol-egyptian-pyramids.html https://phys.org/news/2018-04-wooden-shigir-idol-egyptian-py...
- 8bitsrule 9y ago
  Thanks for the ru.wiki check! Maybe it was carried to the peat bog by meltwater. (Peat bogs are great for preservation.) 11,600 ya is the world-wide beginning of Holocene glacial retreat. If the dates are right it's amazing that this marks that time -and- is a spectacular cultural marker. Can't help but think of totem poles. The science has to be done right. Groundwater can contain 'aged carbon', low in C-14, derived from rocks through which it has passed. Things soaked in it can look -much- older than they are.

ichchus 9y ago

i was thinking this too. carving or manipulation time frame methods would be good but out side of possible tools used i dont see it yet and even then it gives a time frame and posibility not neccissarily an actuality. this is an interesting piece though non the less.

codedokode 9y ago

> While the wood is probably at least that old, the carving isn't necessarily quite that old. The russian article on Wikipedia says that there was a research including examining the surface with a microscope and it shows that the statue is made from a freshly chopped tree with stone tools. The difference is dates is because the research in 2015 was done using another method [1] . The age of the tree is estimated to be around 160 years old. [1] https://phys.org/news/2018-04-wooden-shigir-idol-egyptian-pyramids.html https://phys.org/news/2018-04-wooden-shigir-idol-egyptian-py...

8bitsrule 9y ago
Thanks for the ru.wiki check! Maybe it was carried to the peat bog by meltwater. (Peat bogs are great for preservation.) 11,600 ya is the world-wide beginning of Holocene glacial retreat. If the dates are right it's amazing that this marks that time -and- is a spectacular cultural marker. Can't help but think of totem poles. The science has to be done right. Groundwater can contain 'aged carbon', low in C-14, derived from rocks through which it has passed. Things soaked in it can look -much- older than they are.