The Shigir Idol is among the most fascinating sculptures from the Stone Age. Apart from the fact that it is the oldest known wooden statue, its abstractions and symbols has forced us to re-calibrate our ideas about hunting-gathering societies of the era. Named after a peat bog in Russia from where it was found, Shigir Idol is considered to have been created around 12,500 years ago, by latest estimates.
Table of Contents
S1 – Discovery
Shigir is the name of a peat bog on the northeast shore of Lake Shigir in Russia. In 1890, the Shigir Idol was discovered there by a group of laborers searching for gold on instructions from the landowner Count Alexey Stenbok-Fermor. The wooden idol was found thirteen feet down and it was retrieved in 10 fragments. The pieces were carted 60 miles to the city of Yekaterinburg.
Dmitry Lobanov was the one who assembled the main fragments into a nine-foot-tall figure. In 1914, archaeologist Vladimir Tolmachev incorporated the remaining fragments into a complete reconstruction. The height of the statue thus increased to seventeen and a half feet. Shigir Idol is still at display at the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Tolmachev was the first to note five of the eight faces of the statue. In 2003, a sixth animal-like face was found; in 2014, a seventh face, which was concealed in the wood, was discovered; while in 2018 another face was found bringing the total to eight.
S2 – Description
Found in ten fragments, Shigir Idol is decorated with carvings. The patterns created are not all linear but also geometric motifs: zigzags, rhombuses and chevrons. Among these patterns are eight human faces which have slashes for eyes. The topmost figure is shaped like an inverted eye-drop and its mouth is wide open. Apart from being the only wooden artifact to survive from the Stone Age, the Shigir Idol stands out for its abstract symbols and complex iconography. This is in stark contrast to the usual depictions of animals and hunting scenes to survive from the period.
S3 – Age
The Shigir Idol is the oldest known wooden sculpture in the world. The tree from which is was created was at least 159 years old. The age of the idol was a matter of conjecture till 1997, when Russian scientists announced it to be 9,500 years old using radiocarbon dating. However, recent more detailed studies have estimated that the wooden statue was created around 12,500 years ago, at the end of the Last Ice Age.
S4 – Mesolithic Art Overview
Main Sources
S1:-
Lidz, Franz. (Mar 22, 2021). “How the World’s Oldest Wooden Sculpture Is Reshaping Prehistory”. The New York Times Company.
Geggel, Laura. (Apr 25, 2018). “This Eerie, Human-Like Figure Is Twice As Old As Egypt’s Pyramids”. Live Science. Future US, Inc.
S2, S3:-
Koksharov, S.F. (Jan 30, 2021). “A new subject in the study of the Great Shigir Idol”. ScienceDirect. Elsevier Ltd.
Lidz, Franz. (Mar 22, 2021). “How the World’s Oldest Wooden Sculpture Is Reshaping Prehistory”. The New York Times Company.