Buddhist ‘Iron Man’ found by Nazis is from Space

[Ridge]

Well isn't that a bizarre headline?


A Buddhist statue brought to Germany from Tibet by a Nazi-backed expedition has been confirmed as having an extraterrestrial origin.

Known as the ‘iron man’, the 24-cm high sculpture may represent the god Vaiśravaṇa and was likely created from a piece of the Chinga meteorite that was strewn across the border region between Russia and Mongolia between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago, according to Elmar Buchner of the University of Stuttgart, and his colleagues.

In a paper published in Metoritics & Planetary Science, the team reports their analysis of the iron, nickel, cobalt and trace elements of a sample from the statue, as well as its structure. They found that the geochemistry of the artefact is a match for values known from fragments of the Chinga meteorite. The piece turned into the ‘iron man’ would be the third largest known from that fall.

Given the extreme hardness of the meteorite – “basically an inappropriate material for producing sculptures” the paper notes – the artist or artists who created it may have known their material was special, the researchers say. Buchner suggests it could have been produced by the 11th century Ben culture but the exact origin and age of the statue – as opposed to the meteorite it is made from – is still unknown. It is thought to have been brought to Germany by a Nazi-backed expedition to Tibet in 1938-39. The swastika symbol on the piece – a version of which was adopted by the Nazi party – may have encouraged the 1938 expedition to take it back with them.

“While the first debris was officially discovered in 1913 by gold prospectors, we believe that this individual meteorite fragment was collected many centuries before,” said Buchner in a statement. “The Iron Man statue is the only known illustration of a human figure to be carved into a meteorite.”

Although this item may be the only known human figure carved into a rock fallen to earth, other meteorites have also been used by many religions across the world. A 15-ton example in North America called the Willamette meteorite is sacred to some native Americans, while some have suggested that the Black Stone in the Kaaba in Mecca is a meteorite.

http://blogs.nature.com/news/2012/09/buddhist-iron-man-found-by-nazis-is-from-space.html

[ronaldrwl]

Interesting. The Nazi's really did get around.

[BUC303]

Is this the plot of the new Indiana Jones?

[dwalker460]

I think it was the plot of the original Indiana Jones. The Nazis really were obsessed with the occult and antiquity, and raided museums, universities, private collections etc. ona scale that has never been fully appreciated.

[Ronin13]

Interesting to note- the swastika and the buddhist symbol of power (shakti) are simply mirror images of one another...
http://blogs.nature.com/news/files/2012/09/space-sculpture-for-use.jpg
You can see the Shakti on the statute.
Shakti:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/HinduSwastika.svg/150px-HinduSwastika.svg.png
Evil:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Flag_of_the_NSDAP_%281920%E2%80%931945%29.svg/150px-Flag_of_the_NSDAP_%281920%E2%80%931945%29.svg.png

[tmleadr03]

Those symbols are the same except for the dots. The one on the statue is mirror though.

[Ridge]

The one on the statue is mirror though.

Left handed buddhists carved it.

[ChunkyMonkey]

if they care to look the bottom.. it says made in china.

[ANADRILL]

Hindu's in Bali use the swastika also, so it's not just buddhist....Saw quite a few while there last october

[Ronin13]

Those symbols are the same except for the dots. The one on the statue is mirror though.

Different cultures draw it one way or another... can't win them all...


if they care to look the bottom.. it says made in china.
[ROFL1] That's awesome!

[BPTactical]

The Swastika was also used by the American Indians as well.
I have seen examples of beadwork with it.

[Byte Stryke]

The Swastika and variations have been used by many cultures around the world

``The swastika motif was used by some Native American groups. It has been found in excavations of Mississippian-era sites in the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys. It is frequently used as a motif on objects associated with the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (S.E.C.C.). It was also widely used by many southwestern tribes, most notably the Navajo. Among various tribes, the swastika carried different meanings. To the Hopi it represented the wandering Hopi clan; to the Navajo it was one symbol for a whirling log (tsil no'oli), a sacred image representing a legend that was used in healing rituals.[28] A brightly colored First Nations saddle featuring swastika designs is on display at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Canada.[29]
A swastika shape is a symbol in the culture of the Kuna people of Kuna Yala, Panama. In Kuna tradition it symbolizes the octopus that created the world, its tentacles pointing to the four cardinal points.[30]
In February 1925 the Kuna revolted vigorously against Panamanian suppression of their culture, and in 1930 they assumed autonomy. The flag they adopted at that time is based on the swastika shape, and remains the official flag of Kuna Yala. A number of variations on the flag have been used over the years: red top and bottom bands instead of orange were previously used, and in 1942 a ring (representing the traditional Kuna nose-ring) was added to the center of the flag to distance it from the symbol of the Nazi party.[31]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

[ANADRILL]

The hindus in bali(or all hindus) have it the Nazi way, as the buddhist reverse it...

[wctriumph]

Here is an article from the LA Times from 1995 about the offensive symbol in Glendale, CA. I remember the stink about this and eventually the city caved and removed the historic lights and replaced them with new ones.

http://articles.latimes.com/1995-08-23/local/me-38017_1_street-light-poles


GLENDALE — The City Council on Tuesday rejected demands from the leader of a prominent Jewish-rights organization for removal of swastika-like designs from 930 street light poles installed in the 1920s, saying they were never meant to be Nazi symbols.

Irv Rubin, national chairman of the Jewish Defense League, criticized the city last month, saying the symbols around the base of the ornate green light standards were offensive to Jews and should have been removed long ago.


On Tuesday, he said he was "tremendously disappointed" by the council's decision but that the JDL would not pursue a lawsuit to force the city to comply, as he had earlier threatened.

The council members "forget that this particular emblem has been stolen and appropriated by forces of evil," Rubin said. "Glendale has had a bad reputation with respect to race relations in its history, and this does nothing to repair that."

The controversial symbols--a reverse image of the Nazi version of the swastika--are depicted in a chain about two inches high circling the base of the cast iron lampposts. City officials say that they were present on many lampposts bought by Southern California cities 70 years ago, when they were regarded as Asian emblems of good fortune. The swastika is a common ancient symbol that has appeared in Native American, European and Asian designs for centuries, and still decorates some Buddhist temples.

The light poles were installed between 1924 and 1926. Germany's National Socialist Party began using the symbol as early as 1919, but Americans did not associate it with anti-Semitism until Hitler came to power in the 1930s.

In the wake of Rubin's complaints, City Atty. Scott Howard researched and wrote a 14-page report on the history of the swastika symbol, suggesting several options to combat the contention that city property is decorated with Nazi symbols.

The options ranged from completely replacing the street lamps at a cost of $2.8 million, to grinding down or covering the symbols, to doing nothing. Although the lampposts are not protected by any historic preservation laws, the Glendale Historical Society has supported preserving them in the city's older neighborhoods, the report said.

City officials have conceded that they receive a handful of inquiries about the offending symbols each year, but council members cited a host of reasons for keeping them--including their centuries-old use by various cultures as a good-luck symbol.

"If this sign is so offensive, it wouldn't be Mr. Rubin standing here, it would be the Jewish community," said Councilman Larry Zarian, noting that the rabbi of Glendale's only synagogue declined to back Rubin and opposed removing the symbols.

"I think we're making something very major out of something that ought to be very small."

Seven residents also spoke against removing or altering the lampposts, with most objecting to spending tax dollars on the matter. Malcolm Hackett criticized the Jewish Defense League, which he said had generated much publicity over a "trivial matter."

"I just think it's a ridiculous effort by a few people who are trying to push around the majority of the people here," said Hackett.

[DD977GM2]

if they care to look the bottom.. it says made in china.

[ROFL1][ROFL2][ROFL3][LOL][ROFL1][ROFL2][ROFL3][LOL]

[rondog]

Guess what the 45th Infantry Division's shoulder patch was before 1939....... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)

Well, shit. I don't know why that link won't work, can't get the underline to go to the end. Must be a Wikipedia thing. Anyway, just Google "45th Infantry Swastika" and that'll get ya there.

[sniper7]

Very cool history info in here. Some stuff I didn't know! Hortatory I learned something today!