Talk:Out-of-place artifact

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Betz sphere

There are various references (as well as the 'multiply copied and mutating meme entries') such as [1] and [2]. Should there be a mention here? 82.44.143.26 (talk) 15:32, 20 November 2015 (UTC)

Brocken phone home

Will mention [3] - obvious 'pseudo-news wallpaper' (especially as the dates don't match).

Who owns 'the copyright of the concept'? 82.44.143.26 (talk) 16:40, 30 December 2015 (UTC)

A Hoax as typical of teh internets. Leuders (talk) 20:22, 10 August 2016 (UTC)

But given the number of mobile/cell phone personalisations (and online MahJong ditto) 'someone' might want to market it. 82.44.143.26 (talk) 17:43, 11 August 2016 (UTC)

More misplacements

Will mention h[4]. #This# rewritten history is bunk. 82.44.143.26 (talk) 15:35, 10 August 2016 (UTC)

I got an idea

Take a piece of metal and make random symbols into them that mean zilch, bury it deep in the ground and 4000 years later make those people wonder if it was aliens.--Rationalzombie94 (talk) 22:38, 14 March 2017 (UTC)

A variant on the ancient 'annoy the descendants' suggestion above. 86.146.100.87 (talk) 22:56, 14 March 2017 (UTC)

The reality of OOPs

Stuff as the Antikythera mechanism and very likely others mentioned in the article just prove ancient people were far more capable than more people think and capable to design (emphasis on that) complicated machinery. Just that, as designing those mechanisms is one thing and manufacturing them with the techniques existing in those epochs was a far more different one, in terms of both costs and results.

Just like all those manuscripts and books lost at Alexandria's library I'm quite sure there were more artifacts as that, but that have basically been lost forever because they were one (or, at best, a few) of a kind. --Panzerfaust (talk) 14:02, 7 July 2017 (UTC)

The things which are of 'high status interest' (expensive jewellery, works by celebrity artists etc) are kept and/or written and/or discussed - the ordinary objects are not - have RW users made any note anywhere about 'portable computer memory' (floppy discs, memory sticks etc) and how it changed over time? That they used to eat (x variety of apple) which disappeared and they now eat (y variety). And then there will be the 'trade secrets' eg Coade stone.

Only a fraction of what is produced at any time survives #and# is written about - and some OOPs will be deliberately so - the 'common item acquired' becomes 'a strange item' (or gets accidentally lost) elsewhere. 82.44.143.26 (talk) 15:40, 7 July 2017 (UTC)

The records that store said information could have been lost too. Things were quite different in the past, when (very) few people could write and paper or equivalent was expensive, and there were no archeological desires. --Panzerfaust (talk) 20:38, 7 July 2017 (UTC)

There were craft traditions of not revealing information/skills to outsiders.

There are various types of OOPs - 'things misplaced, acquired, displayed and traded long distance' (there was some conscious intent in their being not in the expected place) and things for which the technology and context has been forgotten/lost/was not persisted in (the ancient world steam engine not used because it would make the slaves lazy); the Antikythera device being the equivalent of Faberge eggs and the 'showcase books and jewels' perhaps). 86.145.120.222 (talk) 21:20, 7 July 2017 (UTC)

I think I've seen elsewhere a steam engine that is not a toy needs materials resistant enough and what Greeks had were not for the task. Not to mention they knew little about thermodynamics even if they could have developed the principles had they built them.--Panzerfaust (talk) 00:06, 8 July 2017 (UTC)

I think this is what is being referred to. There probably always were 'executive toys, demonstration models showing what could be done and presentation pieces' etc (and sometimes 'technology for which there is no/limited present use for a number of/many years' - eg the early fax machines. 31.49.115.131 (talk) 10:09, 8 July 2017 (UTC)

Antikythera mechanism not a real "out-of-place artifact"

The Antikythera mechanism is most certainly not an "out-of-place artifact" in any way. As I discuss in this article I wrote in December 2019, we actually have multiple ancient historical sources that reference devices like it as having existed during Hellenistic and Roman times. The Roman orator Cicero gives a detailed description of a similar device in his treatise De Re Publica. If anyone seriously thought that the Antikythera mechanism was "too advanced" to have existed in the Hellenistic Period, it was only because they were sorely ignorant of the ancient historical sources. —Spencer the Skeptikos (talk) 17:26, 8 March 2020 (UTC)

True, that's why it's referred to thusly: "In reality, devices like the Antikythera mechanism are mentioned in multiple ancient Greek and Roman historical sources written by authors such as the Roman orator Cicero, the Greek mathematician Pappos of Alexandria, the Christian apologist Lactantius, the Roman poet Claudian, and the Greek Neoplatonic philosopher Proklos the Successor. Cicero in particular gives a detailed description of such a device in his De Re Publica 1.14" Scream!! (talk) 17:44, 8 March 2020 (UTC)

OOPS! Didn't see that YOU had added the above quoted section. Mea Culpa! Scream!! (talk) 17:47, 8 March 2020 (UTC)

@Scream!! I left my comment above before I went and edited the text of the article myself. The fact that similar devices are attested in the historical record was not previously mentioned at all. —Spencer the Skeptikos (talk) 18:54, 8 March 2020 (UTC)

A genuine OOPA

This. Anna Livia (talk) 19:21, 23 July 2020 (UTC)

Utah Monolith

Have mentioned this a couple of times at the Saloon Bar, where it will disappear into the archives - copying with some reworking here until it justifies its own RW page.

The Utah Monolith was 'discovered late 2020 and has a page at the other place - which lists various other examples. It has attracted the interest of the 'alien-botherers and Area 51-ists' and others this.

This is sensible. Anna Livia (talk) 19:45, 7 December 2020 (UTC)

The Quimbaya artifacts deserve a mention

http://www.fakearchaeology.wiki/index.php/Quimbaya_artifacts

They're really confusing an I've never been able to find a scientific explanation for them. 07:03, 4 January 2022‎ Skadooshbag

The points listed on the Russian WP page (and several of the other language equivalent pages - I used a translation program) would be relevant.

A superficial first impression is - some at least resemble 'weird fancy butterflies.' Anna Livia (talk) 12:36, 4 January 2022 (UTC)