Since they quarried rock to build their temples the only sensible answer is that they did indeed unearth a good stegosaurus skeleton.
Perhaps it was carved on the temple for "interest", just like things are placed in museums for us to wonder about.
Steve Vai is da man btw

Originally posted by Kandinsky
Despite this, it's a poor rendition of a chameleon when many more of the other carvings are accurate...and superbly executed. This leaves room for debate amongst some people...

Good point , that's what makes the least sense.

How can one accept the other recognizable figures yet discount this one?

The portrayed animal in the carving is not of a small body type.
His legs are chubby and elongated -- unlike a chamaleon`s skinny and short ones.
I think it could be an extinct animal, but one of a species gone rather a few hundred years ago; not millions.

The symbol that encircles the smaller graving, what`s it? (maybe it could shed some light on the subject. What does it mean?). I was thinking of what you said about it being an adorned mundane animal or a misrepresented one. But I remember watching a documentary on Angkor Wat and that thing is amazing, impressive. I don`t believe its builders would allow a gross mistake to go unnoticed or unrepaired.


[edit on 19/3/2010 by maoklein]

of course its a frigging stegosaurus. use your eyes. what else is it, seriously?

so logicially the answer is that they saw a live one and carved it.

hence, logically, the answer is that isolated pockets of stegosaurus must have survived the general extinction until recently.

this is not at all impossible.

there continue to be rumours and sightings by locals and others of dinos in the swamps in the congo; also in papua new guinea in the heavy rainforest. many other sightings abound, including many of pterasaurus in texas and the usa. the ancient babylonians are believed to have worshipped a dino which they carved on the walls o their gates. the dino is mentioned in ancient texts and is a bit of a tourist attraction.

anyone saying an x million year old animal cant exist today just doesnt know their biology. there is a xxx million year old lizard in new zealand that hasnt changed since the age of the dinos. there is an xxx million year old fish in australia (lungfish) which hasnt changed either.

there is nothing odd about pockets of animals surviving an otherwise general extinction.

the dinos carved on the ica stones are another interesting example. but the romans have a mosaic of group of soldiers trying to kill what looks like a dipoloducus or type of dinosaur. There are many such depictions in history via art and written sources. not surprising then, are the many modern day sightings as well.

answer: clearly some survived. stop being so skeptical. if darwin was as skeptical as you guys he would never have discovered anything.

this is what amuses me about this site. you guys cry out for evidence, and when someone kindly carves you a stegasaurus, you won't believe what you're seeing.

which is why if a ufo landed on your heads you probably wouldnt believe it either.

sometimes you can take skepticisim too far, and it just becomes stupid.

Since when, are we, the humans of the last century, the one humans who have been able to find dinosaur bones?

It's not plausible to consider that people back in the 1100's hadn't stumbled across bones before from a skeleton of a dead dinosaur.

If someone who lived in the time of jesus had stubbled across bones and kept digging to uncover the whole skeleton, they would have been able to put them together to see what it would look like as an entire.

There would have been an artist there to draw what it could have looked like as well, as it compares to other species alive at the time like certain reptiles.

Conclusion, WE SHOULD NOT BE HERE

Yes. That is a dinosaur.
And while it could be that these ancients found some fossils, called in some artists and did some ancient CSI type artist-like reconfig, Sig, I would say that it's more likely that man once walked with dinosaurs.

I think it is a dog that somebody put one of those stupid halloween costumes on. That seems to be the logical explanation.

You don't think ancient peoples ever dug up fossilized remains?

Huh.

Originally posted by rapunzel222
many other sightings abound, including many of pterasaurus in texas and the usa.

I take it you mean one of these little critters.



And yes, it is exactly that. This is a Stegosaurus in the relief. You would be FN nuts to think otherwise.

Just my two cents

Ciao

Shane