26 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
26 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Babylonokia"
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chunk: 1/1
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source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonokia"
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category: "reference"
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tags: "science, encyclopedia"
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date_saved: "2026-05-05T09:29:37.153317+00:00"
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instance: "kb-cron"
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---
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Babylonokia (also Babylon-Nokia, Alien-Mobile, and Cuneiform Mobile Phone) is a 2012 artwork by Karl Weingärtner in the form of a clay tablet shaped like a mobile phone, its keys and screen showing cuneiform script.
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Weingärtner created the work to represent the evolution of information transfer from the ancient world to the present. Fringe scientists and pseudoarchaeology proponents subsequently misrepresented a photograph of the artwork as showing an 800-year-old archaeological find; that story was popularised in a video on the YouTube channel Paranormal Crucible and led to the object being reported by some press sources as a mystery.
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== Artwork ==
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Weingärtner created the phone-styled clay tablet with cuneiform signs as a reaction to an exhibition at the Museum for Communication in Berlin titled From the Cuneiform to the SMS: Communication Once and Today, as well as the negative, global effects of information technology. Cuneiform signals the beginning of written records of information.
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The fact that it is a clay copy of what appears to be an Ericsson S868 mobile phone, a model from the 1990s, had no meaning for the artist, who was using it as a metaphor for mobile devices in general.
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The work of art is unique and is kept by the artist. It is available on request as a loan for museums and exhibitions. It is made from clay, weighs 91 grams (3¼ oz), and measures approximately 13.5 by 6.5 by 0.8 centimetres (5.31 by 2.56 by 0.31 in).
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== Misrepresentation ==
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Weingärtner posted a photo of the image on Facebook as part of a sale of his work, and a Facebook commenter coined the name "BabyloNokia". Three years later, the image was posted to the Conspiracy Club website with the headline "800-Year-Old Mobile Phone Found In Austria? Check This Out." The Express reposted Weingärtner's photo without attribution and claimed that the artifact had been dated to the 13th century BCE.
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Speaking about the image's use by fringe websites and the press, Weingärtner said "The photo was used without my knowledge and without my consent. [...] It’s not what I wanted. I do not believe in UFOs and I do not believe in aliens."
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== References == |