Out-Of-Place Artifacts That Have Left Archaeologists Baffled

Kara Johnson (0:04)

Over the centuries, archaeologists have come across countless incredible relics that bring humanity's past to life. King Tut's sarcophagus, the bodies of Pompeii, intricate silver and gold llama figurines crafted by the Inca. But some of even the most famous artifacts to ever be unearthed simply don't seem to match the time, place, or context in which they were found. These out-of-place artifacts, or uparts, have thus sparked heated debates. Some conspiracy theorists point to them as proof of ancient extraterrestrial activity on planet Earth, while others say they're evidence of advanced civilizations that were lost to time, such as Atlantis. These uparts have even been used to discredit modern understandings of history, science, and technology altogether. One of the most incredible examples is the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient analog computer found in a shipwreck off the coast of Greece in 1901

The device was seemingly created in the 2nd century BCE, and it could calculate the future positions of celestial bodies and predict eclipses decades in advance. While the ancient Greeks were known for their knowledge of astronomy, the Antikythera mechanism was centuries ahead of its time. Then there's the Maine penny, an 11th century Norwegian coin found in a Native American shell mound on the coast of Maine. Some historians point to the artifact as proof that the Vikings may have landed in what's now the United States.

Others believe the coin made its way to Maine from Viking settlements in Labrador or Newfoundland through extensive Native American trading networks. But not all ooparts are quite as impressive, at least not upon closer examination. In many cases, the artifacts are simply interpreted incorrectly. For instance, experts once believed that a tiny figurine unearthed from Sumerian ruins in present-day Iraq depicted a civetheer, a prehistoric giraffe that went extinct more than 8,000 years ago. But the figurine was carved between 3500 BCE and 2800 BCE, thousands of years after the last civetheer walked the earth. This artifact ignited debate about whether the civetheer may have survived longer than previously thought. Then, several decades later, small antlers were found in a museum storeroom, and they fit perfectly onto the figurine. It likely wasn't a civetheer at all, but rather a common deer. Other ooparts have been revealed as hoaxes. The most famous example is the Cardiff Giant, the body of a 10-foot-tall petrified man that was purportedly found in New York in 1869

Creationists immediately latched onto the artifact as proof of the giants mentioned in the Bible. But the body was quickly exposed as a hoax carried out by a man named George Hull. While hundreds of these ooparts have been discovered over the years, very few are actually as out of place as they seem. But every so often, a relic comes to light that stumps even the most skeptical of experts.

You're listening to History Uncovered, brought to you by the digital publisher, All That's Interesting, where we explore the uncharted corners of the natural world and the world past. I'm All That's Interesting editor, Kara Johnson.

Colleen Afraga (2:52)

And I'm All That's Interesting staff writer, Colleen Afraga.

Kara Johnson (2:55)

And today we're uncovering the mystery of ooparts, the out of place artifacts that allegedly rewrite the conventional historical timeline.

So, ooparts, O-O-P-A-R-T-S, stands for out of place artifacts. And these are artifacts that people come across or archaeologists find during their excavations that seem either too advanced for the time they were created, don't belong in the location where they were found. They might suggest human activity before humans existed or show evidence of contact between cultures that weren't known to be in contact at the time, et cetera. So, basically what their name is, artifacts that seem out of place for the time, place or context of where they were discovered. Some are simply the result of mistaken interpretations. Some have been found later to be hoaxes. But there are a few that actually seem kind of unexplainable or have at least sparked debate among scientists and experts about whether or not they're legitimate. They're popular among fringe scientists and conspiracy theorists because some say they're evidence of alien contact with Earth, particularly in ancient or prehistoric times. Creationists point to them to support the Young Earth theory that Earth's 6,000 years old per the Bible by suggesting that mainstream science isn't always accurate and can't be trusted.

Because these items, these artifacts challenge the conventional historical timeline. And then other conspiracy theorists say they're simply proof that scientists are willfully overlooking certain areas of knowledge. So, wide variety of theories out there surrounding them. But some of them actually are pretty baffling. Even if they do kind of have explanations, it's still like, oh, that's kind of wild for that time period. One of these is the Antikythera mechanism, which is this analog computer created by the ancient Greeks between 200 BCE and 100 BCE, so 2,000 plus years ago. It was found among the wreckage of a ship off the coast of Greece in 1901, and it seems to have been used to predict the positions of celestial bodies and eclipses even decades in advance. It could calculate the moon phase. It could even track the four-year cycle of the Olympic Games and had a little dial that pointed to how long it was until the next event.