Thursday 16 June 2016

Prehistoric Animated Robed Figurines

A selection of seven recent flint finds from my site collected from my last two visits.  All can be manipulated in the hand to show an animated cloaked figure likeness, as though walking both right and left. They all share some common characteristics, the four shown in the top row (pictures at end of the post) have a protrusion to one side, this can be used as a lever to rotate each piece in the hand to create the animations.  I've long theorized that many of these artefacts are held between thumb and forefinger and rotated with the middle finger in order to reveal the hidden animations, the side protrusions can be used in exactly this way to rotate the pieces clockwise and anticlockwise in order to create the walking figure effect. Other common features seen here are a double chevron in order to describe the hood of the robe and a downward slant from the top of the hood to the front, the point of the hood becoming an axle on which to rotate. This topology can most likely be found in hand axes and other flint tools.

Although these finds are not the the finest of modified flints from my site the visual impression they can produce is more than adequate to describe a cloaked figure walking both left and right. These are not my only finds that show walking animations. The stone featured in this recent post Standing Cloaked Figure  could also be manipulated in the hand to make the stone describe a figure walking both left and right.
Above a prehistoric robed figure likeness is shown walking rightwards.

The same flint artefact as shown in the previous animation, this time as though walking left.

These next two animations from the same flint find also show a similar cloaked figure likeness, again as though walking both left and right.


Above, this stone also seems to have a subtle walking hominid impression, as though walking right, as well as the cloaked figure animations. Its not as fine as an artwork as this gorilla animation from omniglyths, which I also suspect could be manipulated in order to produce a walking like effect. Another more skilfully animated gorilla impression can be seen in the old post Prehistoric Optical Illusions.

 Above and below, two more walking robed figure animations from the same worked flint find.

Above and below, stills of the seven recent finds, look for the double chevrons on the hood features, this is one of the keys in creating the impression.