OOPArt, acronym for out-of-place artifact, is a term coined by American zoologist Ivan T. Sanderson for a historical, archaeological or paleontological object found in a very unusual, or even impossible, location.

The term covers a wide variety of objects, ranging from material studied by mainstream science, such as the Iron pillar in Delhi, to so-called "forbidden archaeology" that is far outside the mainstream.

While occasional discoveries have forced scientists to reasses the technology of ancient civilization (the Antikythera mechanism being a good example), critics regard many cases of OOPArt as the result of mistaken interpretation or wishful thinking. Supporters regard them as an evidence that mainstream science is overlooking huge areas of knowledge, either willfully or through ignorance.

Many OOParts are of interest to creationists and others who are seeking evidence to refute the theory of evolution, or to support religious descriptions of pre-history, or to support ancient astronaut theories, or to support the notion that a now-lost civilization existed with knowledge far beyond our own - in fact, almost any theory that challenges the accepted view of human history has used OOParts in an attempt to bolster its arguments.

Famous cases of alleged OOPArt

• The Acambaro figures, near Guanajuato, Mexico which allegedly contain depictions of dinosaurs.
• The foundation stones of the temple complex at Baalbek in Lebanon, some of which weigh as much as 1,050 metric tons.
• The Baghdad Battery, dating from between 250 BC and 250 AD.
• The Baigong Pipes, unexplained pipes found in a cave in China.
• The Black Pagoda of Konarak in India.
• The Coso artifact, containing a spark plug from the 1920s.
• The ground Crystal Lens of Helwan.
• The Crystal skulls at Lubaantun, in Yucatan and in Belize.
• A cubical block of metal in coal, also known as the Wolfsegg Iron, found in Austria.
• The Dorchester Pot, Massachusetts, United States.
• The Dendera Lamps, engraved into a relief in a temple dedicated to Hathor, Egyptian Goddess of the Milky Way.
• The Bayan Kara Ula Disks, better known as the dropa stones; found near Nimu in the Chinese region of Sichuan, and dated to be 12,000 years old.
• The Chinese Galena Radio dating back about 2,500 years ago.
• The Kensington Runestone purported to be a 14th century Viking artifact found in North America.
• The Kingoodie hammer, Scotland, dated from 460 to 360 millions years ago.
• The Klerksdorp Spheres, South Africa, dated 2.8 billion years ago.
• The Ica stones, Peru, allegedly depicting anachronistic images such as dinosaurs and modern medical procedures.
• A mortar and pestle discovered in Table Mountain (California), allegedly dated to about 50 million years ago.
• Microscopic objects near Narada river in Russia on the ridge of Ural, dating as far back as 300,000 years ago.
• The Piri Reis map made by the Turkish admiral Piri Reis from a diverse range of sources; it supposedly contains an accurate map of Antarctica.
• The Iron pillar in India, dating at least to 423 AD.
• The Iron Man (Eiserne Mann), dating to the 13th century.
• The Saqqara Bird, in Egypt, discovered in a tomb.
• The unfinished obelisk of Assuan in Egypt, weighing 1,150 metric tons.
• The Gympie Pyramid in Queensland, Australia.
• The Fuente Magna, discovered in Bolivia. Ceramic bowl with writing in Sumerian cuneiform.

OOPArt in Fiction

• A round alien artifact, called an OOPA by the character Fi Phillips, was the central mystery of the "OOPA" episode of the Disney Channel television series So Weird.
• One of the main themes of Spriggan is the existence of OOPAs.

See also

• Charles Fort
• Ancient astronaut theory
• Ancient mysteries

References

External links

• Salon article: "Archaeology from the dark side"
• Free Ebook by Tedd St. Rain on OOPArts "Mystery of America: Enigmatic Mysteries and Anomalous Artifacts of North America - A Connection to the Ancient Past

Pseudoarchaeology | Forteana

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