Yonaguni Monument

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Rock formations of the Yonaguni monument

The rock formations known as the Yonaguni Monument, Japanese 与 那 国 島 海底 地形, (also underwater pyramids of Yonaguni ) are located in the extreme southwest of Japan, near the island of Yonaguni in the East China Sea , a little more than 100 km from Taiwan. Its origin is controversial among archaeologists and geologists .

The area covers around 5 km² and has been below the sea surface since the end of the last ice age around 8000 years ago. The rock formation, which is approx. 200 meters long and 150 meters wide, is located at a depth of 5 to 30 meters. Since the formations have relatively exact proportions and edges, it is a matter of dispute whether they were created geologically or whether they were man-made structures.

Discovery story

In 1985, the Japanese diver Kihachiro Aratake discovered strange rock formations while searching for new diving sites for tourists. On closer inspection, he believed that the stone structure had been worked on by human hands. The exact edges and angles, in his view, indicated this.

Theses on the creation

Formation known as "The Turtle"

According to popular belief, it is an erosion platform that was created when the formation was still within the surf zone. At the end of the Ice Age, when the sea level rose again, it was then flooded and got what it looks like today. The geologist and professional diver Wolf Wichmann examined the formation in several dives and came to the conclusion that it is a natural phenomenon, namely the remainder of a chute . According to Wichmann, all walls and terraces run along natural weak points in the rock, so they can be explained by erosion. Robert M. Schoch, a geologist at Boston University , also believes in a natural origin, but believes human processing is possible.

According to some archaeologists and geologists, these could be remnants of a culture that lived in southwestern Japan during the last Ice Age . They are based primarily on the straight lines and precise angles, which could not be of natural origin and which made it necessary to work specifically by humans as an explanation. In addition, there are holes in the formation that could be interpreted as column foundations.

The professor emeritus at Ryūkyū University , Masaaki Kimura , has been researching the Yonaguni monument for decades. According to him, it was a man-made rock formation that was just over 8,000 years ago above sea level. Since the accurate terrace design and the even arrangement of the Yonagumi formation had been under water since the end of the Ice Age, this would indicate an anthropogenic origin, so that the edifying culture must have existed around 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. For Kimura, the monument off the Japanese coast would be the oldest building in the world, and the stage-like plateau would be evidence of a submerged high culture. This contradicts the university's ideas about the history of civilization - at that time most people were hunters and gatherers - and about the prehistory of East Asia . Only simple ceramics of the Jōmon culture have been found on the Japanese islands from this period .

Web links

Commons : Yonaguni Monument  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Yonaguni, Japan. In: New Scientist . November 25, 2009, accessed on November 2, 2010 (beginning of article freely available).
  2. ↑ Interview: "Mixing wishful thinking, factual evaluation and spiritually underpinned views." Interview with Wolf Wichmann. In: Spiegel Online. 2003, accessed October 29, 2019.
  3. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung: Terraces in the sea. Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Deep Secrets. In: New Scientist. Vol. 204, Issue 2736. November 28, 2009, p. 41.

Coordinates: 24 ° 25 ′ 55.2 ″  N , 123 ° 0 ′ 39 ″  E