What in the World; 15

I'm going to have to go back to my room. WCAU television invites you to join our panel of outstanding scientists in identifying strange and mysterious objects that have been gathered from all parts of the world. Your moderator is the distinguished anthropologist and director of the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Frolick Ring. We are all pleased to welcome you to another unrehearse session of what in the world. We've selected some very strange objects from various museums, storerooms around the country, and we expect some of them will confound our panel of experts. The panel, of course, will be seeing them for the first time as they appear on the screen.

And now let me introduce to you the panel for this program. In the first chair is the anthropologist and authority on the Near East, Carlton Coon. Our guest today is the manager of exhibitions at the University Museum, David Crownover. Hello. And we're very happy to have with us an expert on the Americas from the American Museum in New York, Gordon Eckholm. Greetings. In just a moment you will hear an off -stage voice telling you what the first object is. The panel, of course, cannot hear that voice and you will then see them trying to make their identification in very few minutes. We're ready with the first object. This is Gene Crane, your off -stage voice. The Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh provided us with our first object. Its surface, smoothed by the sand, its color and pattern derived from the sun. This very large, clint tool is typical of early Africa. The

three -sided working edges are also indicative of its early origin. One of the very earliest paleolithic tools from Egypt, it comes from the vicinity of thieves and dates from the Abavillion or Chellian period, perhaps 500 ,000 BC. This one is really a challenge to the experts, Carl. Suppose you start out. Well, I'm looking at it very carefully and I'm beginning to think of the petrified curcumb. What do you say? That's a good beginning, David. It's not the real color of it, you know. This is a piece of flint. It's a concretion of flint the kind used for making it implements the ancient times, paleolithic

times, and so on. It's had some scooped out. It's had pieces broken off of it and then it's received a very of fairly intense patination, a changing color. Yes, really frank. The original is almost looks like a quartzite. It's slightly granular. I think it's a quartzite. I think it's a quartzite. I think. It's got flint. It's a quartzite. It looks like flint. I should call it a, well, you know, quartzite can look like it. If the sun's been working on it long enough, the garden is looking at the broken piece. It got you all right. It is quartzite. He's right. That should help. Yes, it helps a lot. David, what do you think? It looks like the kind of patination that flintstones get in places like Nubian and Somali land. That's right. And that's what I'd say and sometimes certainly pre -dynastic. It certainly comes from Africa because the only other place you could get that kind of a treatment would be in Saudi Arabia. And I think I've seen every flint that's come out

of that sulfur. Do you mean in Saudi Arabia and in Egypt you've got a different kind of patination? No, that's the same, I say, but I think I've seen every flint from Saudi Arabia. Well, but I mean in that area, Carl, that patination is different from, let's say, in Europe. Yes, because the sun is so hot. That's what I meant. That it gives it that, that bakes it that color, you see. Well, don't do it. It's not the sun that does that. Isn't this an iron? It's always on the surface. See, here is another one that breaks. This stuff's been lying on the surface, Gordon. Well, I don't think this has been lying on the surface. Oh, yes, it has. It's been lying on the surface for thousands of years. You see, there's a lot of erosion there, and these things were deposited, but all the soil gets washed away from under them in torrential rains. But it looked like they were breaking out big, hatchet hammer pieces from here. Taking off big flakes. Big flakes. Gordon, do you think it's a tool? No, I think it's, I think it's a core from which flakes have been taken off for the making of tools. I don't think it's a tool. That's certainly not a hand axe. Certainly not a hand axe, and I don't know of any tool of that shape of that size.

There's a, you could be used as a scraper along here, but I don't think it was. I don't think so. I think it was a core that they chopped off a number of pieces for now. Exactly. Exactly. What would you call it? Artifact? No. Do you call a core an artifact? Yes, I said, it's a discarded remnant of, it's a discarded, mother, no dual form, which artifacts were made. Mother of tools. That's right. Mother of tools. Well, that's what it is. Now, where, when, and how old? It's from the desert in Egypt on the high terraces. Somali land, maybe. Oh, I don't think it's from Somali land. It could be, but it looks more like the stuff along the desert on the sides, banks of the Nile up on the top. Yeah. The overtorcee were wasted in that way, and it could be any places you say down in Nubia. Yes. And it's very old. It has no desert polish, which you'd expect from things on the surface. Well, there's a lot of stuff, looks like that, Gordon.

Let's pin it down precisely. You've got the location, I mean, you've given us a location. What about the age? Very old, you said, Carl. Well, the patent agent, yes. I should say it's a law of places, law of Paleolithic. And in years? I should say around 500 ,000 to 200 ,000. Gordon? I think that law of Paleolithic. Yeah. And where would you say, Carl, I said Egypt, which is quite right. Could you look at it any more than that? No, not specifically. No, no, no. Gordon? I mean, if you did, you'd be doing a little early. It's Egypt, all right, David. Well, this is very good. I think it's possible to come to this thing. It is actually from Thebes in Egypt, of the vicinity of Thebes anyway, and it dates from the Abavillion or Chellian period of Egypt. Let's show you on the map where this is now. Thebes in Egypt. Here it is located for you. Let's see, way up the middle of upper Nile, really. Below Nubia, and what's called the upper Nile region. This stone tool brings up a really interesting question, I think,

because recently we've had a lot of discussion in East Africa about the age of the lower Paleolithic, which Carl was speaking of, is 500 to 200 ,000 BC. Carl, in recent times, haven't we got some potassium argon dates in East Africa, which might change this dating? Yes, and then we got some more, which unchange it. We're back further, and then reduced it. Well, it's back where we came from, because you see, Leakey had the age of the Zinjathrabah stuff, 700, no, one. 600 something. 1400 ,000, 1 ,400 ,000, you see. And now they found that the basalt went underneath, there's only 1 ,300. And so the 1 ,300 ,000. 1 ,300 ,000. So the basalt underlying it is all of the stuff above it. So you see, which doesn't make any sense. But von Königswald took a piece of, took a piece of, of implement that they

found. And then they came from the underlying basalt, and Kenneth Orkley chipped a piece off with his hammer, and they turned him into the Heidelberg thing, and got this 1 ,300 ,000 date. And then Strauss and Hunter just written a thing in science showing the different kinds of felt by the throwoff are going to different rates. I see. So really, we're back at the earliest recognizable tools, about 500, 600 ,000 years ago. We're just back where we started, right? Thanks a lot. Let's move along to our next one. This is a branding iron for cattle. It was bought in France, and is of either French or Spanish origin. From the private collection of sculpture Jacques Lipschitz, the iron probably dates to the 18th century. Will the panel recognize it as a branding iron? Or will they perhaps mistake it for a piece of modern sculpture? Let's find out. David, it's sort of mean and delight. I haven't given you this thing.

You think I'm an abstract expressionist? Well, I don't want to express myself on that remark. You can set that down to some behind there. Well, it's certainly made out of iron. Well, that thing based gold, that's not just a studio piece. No, it doesn't go with it. No, I mean it's not. It's just a piece made to hold it up. That's right. Done by Jacques Lipschitz. No, I don't think so. I don't think so. I'll tell you about a certain forged iron. It looks like something made by Lipschitz. It's very expressionist thing. A bunch of flowers. But it was certainly meant to be put on the end of a staff. And some sort of a staff head. Look at the sample. That's very sample. What does it say? The brand, isn't it? It's an Arabic. Yeah. Is it? Yeah. Is it Arabic? Yes. Come on. What does it say? Well, there's one lot of asses in Arabic, you see. And this is the five and a seven. Yeah. And then these are just assembles. I think it's

a brand. It's a stand -cover brand. A cow brand. Cow brand. The cow brand. Really. I think this is a genius, Carly. I thought this would really fit you fairly. I was thinking it probably was a pounder of some kind when I first thought and didn't see any pattern there in the cow. As the advantage over you there, you're peeking over your shoulder and looking at the end of the page. That's smart. If it's made out of one piece or our very pieces well together, I think it's made out of one piece. Isn't it cut? No, no. Well, it's forged here. It's forged together. These things are made by a group of Negro blacksmiths, very clever people, and they go all over the place and then nobody ever touches them. You can have a tribal war, and then they'll be banging away on their iron, and then everybody leaves them alone. Because if they ever touched these fellows, they wouldn't get any war iron, you see. Yeah. So they've got it. Well, it's the kind of iron fortune you get in Nigeria, so. It's all done by Negroes. Yeah. Well, now, wait. You're dead right. It's a branding iron for a cattle. But

where from and how old? Gosh. This is tougher. 19th century. I have no guess. I should say it's a post -Islamic. That's certainly post -Islamic. That's right. Yeah. Probably 19th century, and it could come from anywhere North Africa. No, it comes. I've never seen that North Africa. It comes from the Sudan or Arabia. Is cattle branding an old custom? Yes, sure. I mean, burning... I think it could come from the Tabesti, or the NAD, or even from down in Somali land. It's somewhere in that area. It could come even from Nigeria. They do this kind of bronze. I mean, this iron work there. I didn't know that. You did so beautifully on the first part, but the location. You could come from Arabia. Your way off, Carl, it's going to surprise you where this comes from. Wait a minute. Let's turn it down. Look at that Arabic. That's what it is. Well, I'm not sure it is. I mean, a brand. Well, that's a number...

That's a number seven. Yeah. And there's a five. There's two ones. I don't know what this is. Well, that's the sort of an N something. If it had a daughter, it would be an N. And a daughter would be a B. But as it is, I don't know what it is. What's this over here? That's just a brand. Well, one last guess is to where it comes from. David is not so far off on the date. How about South Africa? Couldn't be. The whole world. Spain is very good. Very good. Very good. Really? Carl, you beat me on this one, I must say. I thought this one. I thought you would be off in the realms of modern art and modern sculpture and so on. I thought you were surprised. Well, it is a cattle brand which disappoints me. Because I thought we really had the panel over in a barrel this time. It comes from France or Spain and the 18th century, David. But certainly, I must say, as a man who was brought up in Montana and who was brought up using brands

on cattle in Montana, I would never recognize this as a branding iron. Of course, ours in the west are much simpler and usually things like our bees and lazy a's and whatnot. Quite a different kind of instrument. And now for the next one. This animal figure is made of reddish tufa or a markedly light stone. Both the stone itself and the design on the figure's forehead may help the panel to identify the object as belonging to Easter Island and the 19th, probably the late 19th century. Really, this is something, Gordon. I can see you scouring already. It's a pig. It's a pig.

But a funny looking one. Not much bacon on it. Plenty of teeth. Made of a sort of a very light volcanic scoria of some kind or light, light volcanic toothbrush. A lot of headsheets. We've got nice little ears here. A design on the face. What do you think, Carl? Well, let's see. I think it belongs right back where you belong. Here's a peckery. The design is going to be the only thing that's going to help us though. You think it's American, huh? I do. You probably think it's Southeast Asia now. I just honed it. I thought he'd probably identify it as South Arabian. You don't have pigs in the Arabian. It certainly don't eat him anyway. Those designs are strange. They don't look very American, do they? I think they're strange. Yes, I agree with you on that. You're going to reject this one a few years for your garden? No, I'm not going to reject it. I think I know where it's from. I think

it comes from Mexico. Do they have peckery there? Yes. They also have pigs. No, are they have pigs in the dead when this was made? Yes, I think so. Ah, you think this is a phony, do you? I think this is a phony from Mexico. I've probably made out of, oh, out near the so -called pyramids, out Tentivocan, Mexico, and probably sold to some tourists who brought it into the museum. And they probably had a really important piece of sculpture, you know? That often happens. I think it's a fake. I think it's modern. You do. Modern fake, yeah. And from Mexico. The owner isn't going to like that. The owner's never do. Covey at Lorna. Would you agree with that? Do you want to support the gardener, the owner? Listen, the gardener is more about that than I get every owner

million years. I've never seen one like it. Quite like it. But all this styllessness of the carving here looks like the kind of things that they do when they didn't quite understand. It's got the Barbarossa kind of touch. Yeah. They had a kind of a pig. And of course, they just didn't know quite what to do with the body. But the body and the stone wasn't big enough. I must say, Gordon, you sort of shake me because of all the fake stone fakes made in Mexico and the number of you seen your observations shake my confidence, but it certainly doesn't agree with my notes. Well, it could be a fake from some other region of the world. I don't know if they make anything like this in Ecuador or Colombia, but it looks to me the stone and the method of cutting and the whole nature of the thing looks like Mexican fakes, I've seen them. Well, now this is a curve of the tusks. It makes me think of somebody who saw these Asian fakes and you get volcanic stone like that in Java. Well, Carl, just suppose from the moment that Gordon is wrong and it's not a fake. Well, then it comes from Southeast Asia because obviously it is not

a fake, it isn't a world. Do you know? In that case it comes from Southeast Asia. Well, that doesn't conform with my notes either. It's not Southeast Asia by our records. Well, and I am confounded. That's what we try to do to you. I think it looks as if it's been cut with metal tools. It almost looks like a serrated chisel used here. And then they did something to achieve this patination down here. Oh, there's a kind of a earth adhering to it. Two, a kind of a purplish brown colored earth. And it's very soft stone. David, where do you think it might come from? I'm trying to give the owner a break here. Well, it certainly looks like it came from somewhere in Mexico or you could tan or someplace like that. That kind of stone doesn't occur in you could tan, of course. All right. Let's pin it down. You're all going to go along with Norton

Garden's identification as a fake. That's right. The Mexican fake. Right. Certainly a lot of them brought in. I must admit. Well, now hold your hats. This is supposed to come. It says to come from Easter Island. 19th century Easter Island. What do you think now? Don't believe it. It could. Well, this funny little figure up here does look kind of oceanic. But that's the only part of it that does. It's this little figure in the head here, the little face here. Yes, yes. When I first saw it, I thought it was kind of like the Easter Island figures that are sometimes carved on stone. But that was the only part of it that was like that. Stone's all right. I don't know whose piece it is. I have no notes on who owns it. I'll go along with that. You think it might be? It could be. It could be. The 19th century they had the iron tools. Yeah. I forgot about Easter Island. I'll show you some other things from Easter Island. Just to give

the audience an idea what the things look like from Easter Island. The legitimate things. This is not. Yeah, there's some big stone, aquaku things. I must admit this looks nothing like that. You're right there. Well, the only thing that looks so oceanic about it is this little face on the foreign. Don't forget that there have been a lot of chelians and whalers and everything else in there. Yes. Well, actually, if this is from Easter Island, it can be considered a fake in a sense too, in that it's made for sale to tourists. It's not the kind of a thing that is ancient in here. I see what you mean. Yes, that's right. Because they do make that all the time, don't they, on the Easter Island? Yeah, the cell. Yeah, totally. Now, this thing, Gordon, do you recognize this figure of a lizard? Yes. I think that's in our museum, isn't it? I wouldn't be surprised. That was an exhibition in the Museum of Modern Art, as I remember. It represents an Easter Island carving. Yes, yes. It's a rather strange one for Easter Island, but that's what it is. You still look kind. But that's legitimate, native Easter Island, isn't it? Yes, probably. That's a wood, I believe. Yes. Yeah, those would close. This is the Bird Man,

representing the God Machi Machi. I think this is very nice. He's the person, the person who finds the first turn egg each year becomes this creature, and he's fed and taken care of because he finds the first turn egg of the season. He's wood, too. That's what this little turn man is. It's a good turn. Now, on the map, we locate Easter Island where our panel concedes it might come from, but if it does, it's still a fake. Isn't that right? Right. Here is Easter Island, far out in the Eastern Pacific. The nearest island to South America. An area which cordon echelon knowns very well because it's been tracing contacts across the Pacific cultural contacts. The mystery of Easter Island, of course, still goes on. Although we know an awful lot more about the Stone Carvings of Easter Island than we did a few years ago, the archaeological work in the Pacific Islands makes it clear now that there are other stone carvings like this and stone structures right across the Pacific on the various

islands. So the Easter Island is not quite the mystery it was. Although there's still some questions to how these great stone figures were made there in Hawaii. And now the next one. Now, an imitation. An imitation sword, unloan from the Peabody Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. The carved wooden object is Japanese and dates to the late 18th or early 19th century. I might as well admit, Carl, this is another real stinker. Well, I just think of how many calories. In that fish? In that particular fish, dying fuel. All the bony foroches looking fresh. And it's got an awful big mold and a lot of chopper. It's an eel, isn't it? It's an

eel, isn't it? I think it's an eel. Is an eel have these pectoral fins? No, look at that. I don't think so. Yeah, they muddle. Well, the eel can go right through the grass and all over the place. But I think they do it by squirming like a snake. It looks more like a piker picker or something. Yeah, it does look like a pike or a picker. And I think that's just what it is. It certainly got a fine patentation on it, doesn't it? I think it's pretty heavy wood. I see, you know, I think. Well, it shows the scales. Yeah, the scales have been engraved in them. Well, the scales have been engraved in it. It has to be Japanese or Chinese, that's all. Yes, and the whole feel of the thing is kind of Japanese. Well, I won't hold out of you because it's Japanese. It's a very good feeling, a good sense of what it is, Carl. But the real $64 question here is, what is it? It's a wooden image of a fish. You're right. It's Japanese. That's not the real catch in this one. What did they do with it? What is it for? What is it? The handle for something? There's

another hole here. There's a hole right there. Yeah, that's asymmetrical. You see? Yeah. There's only one flipper. Yeah. The hole in the hole there will obviously it's suspended on something. Yeah. Which way? I didn't see like this. The strap can go through there. You see? You wear it on your belt and the uniform belly cloth. Isn't there another hole around the lower part? No. There's just the eye, and this one... Well, maybe it's a... Netsuki. Yeah, it's an overgrown Netsuki. Netsuki. Netsuki. Netsuki. Something to fiddle with. They should walk along. Well, they've been fiddle with all, right? Look at the pattern. Yeah, very high polish. But it could be hunger easily on a belt with a string either through the eye or through both places. A toggle. A toggle. That's it. A toggle. Yeah, all right. A toggle for what? It's a hole that don't hang it on your belt. You need to hold it real tight? No, no. You're just fiddle with it. It's just a play with it. Keep your own trouble.

Or like prayer beads or something like that. Netsuki. Well, I'm sorry. It's a nice explanation, but isn't right. I was thinking it might not be. It was a lot of fun though, when it last. Well, now this thing, the thing is that this hole was right. Straight through it. As if it were a rod went through there. Oh, something. You know, piece of metal. It's not worn on the edges of the hole. What's it a steering handle on above? I'm afraid I'm going to have to pin you down on this one. You're quite right. Japanese, what period? 19th century. Very good. 19th or 19th century. What is it? One final guess on this business. Before I surprise you. I'm surprised. You all give it up? I give up. My just as well. You won't believe this, perhaps. But it's an imitation sword. A wooden imitation sword. In Japan, late 18th or 19th century. Now we'll show you something about this sort of thing with our slides. I hope.

I can't see any connection here, frankly. Or these swords. You see, this is sword and scabbard. This is beyond the call of duty, dreading all that. There's a hairdressing tool with this sword. That little thing along the sheath. I really don't see what this has got to do with this wooden sword. But there it is. And what they do with a hairdressing tool, I can't quite say. Well, these are good semi -ribe swords. Edo period, 1800. In any case, the same period is this thing. And that's one thing. And these you will recognize as the guards. Sword guards. Sword guards. But the interesting thing of these are all stippled. And that there are some 2000 to 6000 stipples per square inch on some of these, all put in by hand. Which means an awful lot of work. And here is one of the sword makers. And a shinto, a sort of a priestly function of ceremonial function. Working on a sword. And sometimes take some two years to make one of those semi -ribe swords. You must

have taken four to do this one since you can't use it. Well, actually, it's used by servants to imitate a sword. They say, let's show you on a map where this comes from. I just asked a map from Japan. But I wanted to show you this to say that there are 71 different provinces in Japan. And a good expert on semi -ribe swords can tell you exactly which of the 71 provinces one of them comes from. Or so they say. Mr. E .S. Morris and David, who collected this in Japan in 1900, says it really is a wooden imitation sword worn by servants. We're not allowed to carry swords. Well, I'm afraid our time is running out. I'd like to thank the panel. The first chair, our authority in the Near East, Carlton Coon. Our guest today, the exhibition manager from the University of Museum, David Crownover. And our guest from the American Museum in New York, Gordon Econ. We hope you like this game of archaeological detection and that you've had

fun watching the experts struggle over some impossible identifications. We also hope you're looking again next week. It's time for what in the world? Thank you and good luck. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.