[Music]
so picture this it's
1894 Siberia and some miners are
freezing their tails off digging through
swampy Frozen muck then bam they hit the
jackpot buried for thousands of years
they uncover a towering wooden idle
that's nearly 12T tall Q Jaws hitting
the floor its surface covered in weird
geometric symbols in abstract faces that
practically scream hey I've got Secrets
this thing now called the shagar idol
isn't just old it's ancient we're
talking over 12,000 years old from way
back during the younger dras period that
makes it older than the pyramids older
than Stonehenge older than most of your
great great grandpa's bad jokes oh and
it's the oldest wooden sculpture ever
found no big deal right but here's where
it gets spicy those symbols carved all
over it Scholars are scratching their
heads trying to figure out what they
mean a forgotten language a system of
Knowledge from a civilization we've
never even heard of or maybe just an
ancient version of killroy was here
let's pause for a second who actually
made this thing what were they trying to
say could the shagar idol be evidence of
an advanced society that disappeared
Without a Trace like one of those blink
and youed civilizations that leaves
behind cryptic Clues just to mess with
us and what if it's even weirder than
that Legends of Atlantis and Lura talk
about Advanced societies that vanished
into the other their knowledge scattered
or erased could the shagar idol be one
of those
relics or maybe it was carved by people
who I don't know met them like ancient
fan art of the Lost
Civilization but wait it gets creepier
there's another theory floating around
and it's the kind of thing that gives
you Goosebumps what if this knowledge
isn't from Earth at
all what if the shagar idol is and bear
with me here a gift from beings not of
this world yeah I said it aliens
Advanced knowledge left behind by
visitors from beyond the stars sure it's
out there but hey so is the idol itself
so what's the real story who made it why
and what in the world or Beyond it does
it mean the answer might change
everything you know let's find out
[Music]
all right let's hop into a time machine
and zip back to
1894 picture this the middle of Siberia
near the uro mountains a group of miners
is out there in the freezing cold
chipping away at Frozen Pete and Ice
hoping to strike gold spoiler alert they
didn't fight in Gold but history oh
history found them so there they are
shoveling dirt like their lives depend
on it when one of them hits something
weird the dull thud of Pete suddenly
turns into a sharp crack intrigued and
probably thinking it's some buried
treasure the guy brushes away the soil
what he uncovers isn't shiny or metal
it's wood but not just any wood this
thing has carvings what they pulled out
of the bog wasn't the jackpot they were
expecting but it turned out to be
priceless
buried in the swamp was a massive wooden
statue etched with strange patterns and
faces it was so well preserved it looked
like it had just been carved like the
ancient world had left us a little time
capsule here's where it gets wild the
artifact now called the shagar idol was
shipped off to a museum in y kenberg
because that's what you do when you find
weird old stuff their archaeologists
started putting the pieces together
literally once fully reconstructed the
idle stood nearly 12 ft tall carved from
large wood a tree basically designed by
nature to defy Decay 12 ft tall that's
an ex stacking two NBA players and
giving them a carved wooden
mask but it wasn't the size that floored
people it was the details the surface
was covered in zigzags Chevrons and
these trippy human like faces stacked on
top of each other the designs weren't
random either they were deliberate like
someone had a message to send except
they forgot to leave a dear future
humans note to explain it all naturally
the experts went full detective mode
what did these symbols mean were they
just decorative Doodles or was this some
kind of ancient memo like don't feed the
saber-tooth tigers or beware of bog
monsters over the years researchers have
had a field day trying to crack the Cod
some think the carvings Are Spiritual or
cosmological basically an ancient
people's attempt to map out the universe
others think they might be an early form
of writing predating any known script by
thousands of years imagine this thing
could be the prehistoric equivalent of
an emoji filed text message here's the
kicker whoever made the shagar idol
wasn't just fumbling through life these
were people who had the time and brain
power to think create and carve
something they clearly wanted us to find
why who knows maybe they were trying to
leave a legacy or maybe it's just
prehistoric graffiti saying kill Roy
wasir either way they succeeded in
grabbing our attention 12,000 years
[Music]
later all right let's talk about how the
shagar Idol went from old to holy cow
that's ancient when it was first
discovered experts thought it was around
9,000 years old that alone made it a
historical heavyweight but in 2018 some
updated radiocarbon dating came in with
a plot twist turns out this thing isn't
9,000 years old it's over 12,000
mindblowing right that means it was
carved back when mammoths were still
stomping around in humanity was just
figuring out how to adult it also means
it was carved right before the younger
dras period right before the great flood
that we hear over and over in almost all
ancient civilizations that wiped out all
of
humanity the shagar idol was created at
the tail end of the ice age during the
Mesolithic period back then most people
were still chasing dinner with sticks
and moving around with the seasons just
trying to keep from freezing or starving
yet Here Comes This 12T carved wooden
Masterpiece practically screaming yeah
we are more than just hunter gatherers
it's proof that even in an era of
survival mode some people had the time
tools and vision to make something
extraordinary in those carvings not
random at all researchers think they
could represent protor writing a sort of
prehistoric text before actual written
language came along the zigzag Chevrons
and Eerie abstract faces weren't just
for decoration they were deliberate
packed with beaning and likely encoded
some serious messages think of it as the
Mesolithic version of a cosmic posted
note but wait it gets deeper the shagar
idol wasn't just about practicality the
carvings probably reflected spiritual or
cosmological beliefs like some Grand
attempt to connect the physical and
metaphysical maybe it was a guide to the
divine or an offering to higher powers
in simpler terms this wasn't just Art
For Art's Sake it was art with a soul
here's the wild part this wasn't just a
fluk creation by one guy who had too
much free time the level of
craftsmanship and thought behind it
points to a society that wasn't just
surviving they were thriving these folks
were capable of abstract thought
imagination in preserving their ideas in
a way that's lased more more than 12
Millennia that's the ultimate look what
we made
Flex now the ideal stands alone today
but chances are it wasn't the only one
of its kind wouldn't artifacts rarely
survive because well W and time don't
get along unless you've got something
like a magical beep bog to keep things
intact so for all we know this could
have been part of a much larger
tradition of artistry and spirituality
that just didn't survive the
Millennium the shagar idol might be the
Lone Survivor of an entire Mesolithic
art gallery and here's where it gets
even cooler this Idol puts its creators
on the same intellectual level as the
folks who built Monumental sites like
goe in Turkey just like those intricate
Stone pillars the shagar idol shows that
human creativity and advanced thinking
were thriving way earlier than most
history books give credit for
these people weren't dragging Knuckles
they were thinking big the carvings
themselves might even hold practical
knowledge maybe they recorded
information about the Stars changing
seasons or their environment stuff that
was crucial for survival back then
imagine if the shagar idol is the
Mesolithic equivalent of a how to
survive on Earth Manning if nothing else
it's a pretty impressive reminder of how
capable humans work were even in an age
when Mammoth Stakes were still on the
menu the shagar idol blows up The
Stereotype of early humans as primitive
cave dwellers these people were thinkers
creators and spiritual explorers who
weren't just trying to survive they
wanted to leave a
legacy it's like they knew they were
carving their way into history one
zigzag at a time
[Music]
the shagar idol isn't just some ancient
wooden knickknack it's a deliberate
thoughtful attempt to communicate
whoever carved this wasn't whittling
away their free time they were leaving
something behind something that mattered
the real question is what were they
trying to say let's pause for a second
and think about what it took to make
this thing it's 12,000 years old which
means they didn't have fancy tools or
IKEA style instructions carving a nearly
12ft wooden statue back then required
serious effort skill time and resources
that weren't exactly lying around this
wasn't a quick let's doodle on wood
project it was intentional the size the
intricate patterns the choice of durable
large wood it all screams this needs to
last some Scholars think the idol was
more than just a piece of art the
carvings could be a kind of Time Capsule
holding knowledge these people thought
was too important to lose maybe it was
guidance for their descendants rituals
to honor their ancestors or even a giant
hey don't mess this up sign for future
civilizations whatever it was it shows
these folks were playing the long game
and that's the thing the shagar idol
forces us to rethink what ancient humans
were all about we tend to imagine them
as Scrappy hunter gatherers just trying
to survive the day finding food avoiding
predators and figuring out how to stay
warm but this Idol tells a different
story these people weren't just
surviving they were thinking big they
were asking questions like what's our
place in the world and how do we make
sure people remember us they were
planners storytellers and philosophers
wrapped up in Mesolithic clothing the
shagar idol also fits into a broader
pattern think about gole deppe in Turkey
a site where ancient people carved
elaborate Stone pillars over 11,000
years ago just like those Builders their
creators of the shagar idol were trying
to preserve something maybe it was their
world view their knowledge or their
mythology these weren't isolated moments
of inspiration it's part of a deeply
human desire to leave a mark to create
something that outlasts us and here's
the kicker the shagar idol wasn't just a
message to the people of it time it's
speaking to us too it's a reminder that
even back then humans weren't just about
survival they were about meaning they
wanted to be remembered they wanted to
matter so yeah this 12,000 year old
chunk of wood isn't Just A Relic it's a
conversation starter and whether we
fully understand what it's saying or not
it's clear that the people who made it
had something important on their minds
and honestly that's kind of humbling
[Music]
okay so not everyone's on the same page
about the shagar idol some
archaeologists look at its intricate
carvings and say eh maybe it's just
decorative maybe it's inspired by nature
or maybe it was some kind of ritual
doodling but come on look at the thing
those carvings are way too detailed to
be chocked up to a prehistoric Arch and
graph session
what makes a shagar idol stand out isn't
just its age or even the carvings
themselves it's the fact that it
survived at all seriously wood from
12,000 years ago shouldn't exist anymore
the only reason we're talking about it
is because it spent all that time
marinating in a Siberian Pete bog and
Pete bogs their Nature's version of a
climate controlled safe their acidic
water chil temps and lack of oxygen made
them perfect for slowing Decay to a
crawl bacteria fungi they don't stand a
chance in that environment so while most
wooden artifacts crumble into dust
within decades the shagar idol hung on
like it was waiting for us to find it
this isn't just a oneoff thing either
Pete bogs Arctic Ice Desert Sands
they're the MVPs of natural preservation
think about ulie the ican that guy who's
been chilling literally in the Alps for
over 5,000 years or those ancient
manuscripts tucked away in Egyptian
caves these environments are like
accidental time capsules saving bits of
History we never see
otherwise without them the shagar idol
would have been long gone and its story
would have disappeared before anyone
knew it existed and let's talk about
those carvings they aren't just random
scratches they show real skill the
patterns are so precise that practically
scream look what I can do whoever made
this wasn't just surviving they were
thriving this wasn't a quick hack job
with a pointing rock it took tools
Advanced ones and a steady hand it's a
level of craftsmanship that makes you
wonder did these people have a whole
woodworking scene going on were they
innovators in tool making if so they
were way ahead of their time showing a
technical sophistication most of us
don't associate with the Mesolithic
period and here's the kicker the shagar
idol isn't just about what we found it's
about what we haven't how many other
Treasures like this are still buried out
there waiting for us to stumble across
them with modern tech like ground
penetrating radar and satellite imaging
we have tools that could revolutionize
how we search for the past imagine
what's still hidden in Peete bogs under
ice sheets or buried in ancient
riverbeds the idol is basically a neon
sign saying keep
digging this artifact isn't just a
preserved Relic it's a mashup of History
Innovation and a wakeup call for
archaeology its survival isn't just a
nod to the Past it's a challenge for the
future what other stories are out there
waiting to be told it's up to us to find
them
[Music]
the idea of the Lost Advan civilization
controversial sure but the shagar idol
keeps that fire burning from Atlantis to
Mew these Legends have been whispered
across Generations cropping up in every
corner of the world myths maybe but
myths that stubbornly refuse to faade
let's not just focus on physical
evidence it's about the mindset of the
people behind these creations these
weren't just groups scraping by with
sticks and stones own tools they were
thinkers dreamers and dare I say artists
they weren't just surviving they were
thriving leaving behind messages for a
world they couldn't begin to imagine and
somehow one of those messages ended up
in a Siberian bog now picture this a
culture living on the brink of an
unforgiving Ice Age they're watching
glaciers melt Rivers flood and
coastlines vanish like bad CGI in a
disaster movie they know their world is
changing forever and what do they do
about it Panic nah they create not just
survival tools but art something that
carries their knowledge their Spirit
their story forward the Shir Idol isn't
just an artifact it's their voice a
12,000-year-old whisper that says hey we
were here we mattered and we've got
something to tell you and that's where
the sketch profound the idol stops being
a static hunk of wood and becomes a
bridge I get goosebumps just thinking
about it a link between the world which
we barely understand and our future
where we're still fumbling to piece
everything together it's not just a
relic folks it's a
[Music]
connection thanks for hanging out with
me on this wild ride today I'm Ralph
that's wend and you've just wrapped up
another fascinating Adventure on the
Divergent files
if you laughed learned or just didn't
hated do me a favor hit subscribe share
this video and tap all the buttons that
make the YouTube algorithm Gods happy
seriously the big channels get all the
attention in US small fry we're
basically running on your clicks and
Goodwill but here's the deal you're not
just a viewer you're the secret
ingredient that makes this channel what
it is your curiosity your off-the-wall
theories and your what if questions are
what keep this going so what's your take
on today's episode do you got a theory
that's so
wild or maybe an idea for our next Deep
dive drop it in the comments below I
actually read them all and yeah your
idea might just become the next video
also if you're feeling fancy and like to
go the extra mile consider joining the
Divergent files crew over on patreon
you'll get some cool exclusive perks and
let's be honest you'll also be keeping
the lights on around here think of it as
your good deed for the day and you get
some cool stuff out of it
too remember this we're not just making
videos here we're digging into the
stories they'd rather sweep under the
rug you are the heart of this journey
and I can't wait to explore the next
story with you so until next time stay
curious stay kind and know that you are
truly appreciated catch you next time
[Music]