There's absolutely no evidence that the Sphinx was a "sphinx" in 10,000 BC. A sizable protrusion of limestone, yes, and maybe even a landmark of sorts
to ancient peoples that came and went through that region, but not a sphinx.
The inventory stele does imply that Khufu
restored the Sphinx (as opposed to the idea he created it) but what exactly was he restoring? The
sphinx as
we know it, or some earlier simpler and cruder carving?
Long live The King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khufu, given life
He found the house of Isis, Mistress of the Pyramid, by the side of the hollow of Hwran (The Sphinx) and he built his pyramid beside the temple of
this goddess and he built a pyramid for the King's daughter Henutsen beside this temple.
The place of Hwran Horemakhet is on the South side of the House of Isis, Mistress of the pyramid
He restored the statue, all covered in painting, of the guardian of the atmosphere, who guides the winds with his gaze.
He replaced the back part of the Nemes head-dress, which was missing with gilded stone
The figure of this god, cut in stone, is solid and will last to eternity, keeping its face looking always to the East.
A portion of the "neme" (the headdress) is indeed stylistically from Khufu's time. The rest of the headdress is a style from Khafre's time, who is
also credited with creating the Sphinx's body, and that has been scientifically proven by a match between the limestone used in the temple he built
using stone excavated from the U-shaped channel that surrounds the Sphinx.
Khafre also used blocks of tura limestone to extend the body past a natural fissure found when carving it, which some contribute to giving rise to
the notion the head is "too small" for the body, by having extended it too far. I suppose the alternative Khafre had to consider was to shorten the
body up (and eliminating the fissure all together), which would probably look even stranger.
You can debate all day long whether the Sphinx existed as a true sphinx prior to Khufu, the fact is, a large, natural limestone feature jutting above
the surrounding terrain is bound to attract native peoples who will carve something from it or into it. It may have started out as simple primitive
carvings and progressed to various representations of deities until finally it was turned into the Sphinx we all know today by
Khufu/Khafre.
edit on 11-7-2011 by Blackmarketeer because: (no reason given)
