Just What Are OOPARTS? The mystery of out-of-place-artifacts…

[Gwendolyn]

Oopart is a very funny sounding word. It stands for “out-of-place artifact” and is the term archaeologists give to objects found at sites that do not belong to the timeline of its surroundings. For example, a watch being discovered in a 400-year-old sealed Chinese tomb or a modern day pot embedded in ancient bedrock. There are a myriad of objects around the world that can’t be explained as to how they got there and when. The mystery of ooparts seemed the perfect story world for a supernatural thriller revolving around two psychometrists—for who better to solve the mystery behind ooparts than a master psychometrist who can touch objects and see the memories stored within them? A psychometrist could possibly figure out how and why an oopart ended up where it did.

In The Time Collector Roan’s close friend, Stuart, is a psychometrist and archaeologist. He is working with a small network of international psychometrists who are actively researching ooparts. Stuart uses his psychometry ability in the field of archaeology. “Intuitive archaeology” was something I learned about while writing the novel. Intuitive archaeologists use their sixth sense to try and rediscover the past. They visit archaeological sites and hold relics, bones, etc, to see what was there before. An interesting research side note - there was one archaeologist in Canada, J. Norman Emerson, a university professor, who pioneered the field of Intuitive Archaeology by working with a remote viewer and psychometrist, George McMullen, for decades on his digs. It was fascinating to read about the pair.

In the story, Roan gets a call for help from Stuart and becomes embroiled in trying to figure out the bigger picture behind the oopart phenomenon. Specific ooparts became vital clues for Roan to crack the riddle. The cover for The Time Collector, the antique key, is an oopart within the book. I loved that it became the symbol for the cover.

Whoever wins the Giveaway tomorrow will get a key with the book too.

If you’d like to take a closer look at ooparts here are some of the research materials I found to be helpful.

Secret Vaults of Time: Psychic Archaeology and the Quest for Man's Beginnings
10 Out of Place Artifacts (OOPARTS): That Suggest A Higher Intelligence or Conspiracy
Fringe Archeology An Alternative View
Psychic Archaeology

For a list of internet articles about ooparts and to see all the other research material, you can click on the book’s bibliography page on my website:
https://www.gwendolynwomack.com/books/the-time-collector/bibliography/

Check back tomorrow to enter the Giveaway for a chance to win a signed copy of the book and a key.

[Jess]

This book sounds really fascinating! I'm looking forward to reading it.

[Rhonda]

Sounds intriguing!

[Gwendolyn]

Jess wrote: "This book sounds really fascinating! I'm looking forward to reading it."

Thank you! I hope you enjoy it.

[Gwendolyn]

Rhonda wrote: "Sounds intriguing!"

Thank you!

[Amanda]

How fun! I think I am going to use this term in my classroom this year. It will be a great way to start our discussion of artifacts! Thanks.

[Carol]

I have learned something very interesting everyday, thanks to
your discussions.
I have a lot of reading to do at all the sites you have recommended.
Thanks for an eventful week.
It has been great to meet you through these discussions regarding
your book.
Kudos 😊😊😊😊😊😊

[Dyana]

I need to ask my park ranger friend that works with artifacts to see if he has heard of the term Ooparts. Thanks for info.

[Gwendolyn]

Amanda wrote: "How fun! I think I am going to use this term in my classroom this year. It will be a great way to start our discussion of artifacts! Thanks."

That would be fun!

[Gwendolyn]

Carol wrote: "I have learned something very interesting everyday, thanks to
your discussions.
I have a lot of reading to do at all the sites you have recommended.
Thanks for an eventful week.
It has been great t..."

Thank you, Carol! So happy to hear you enjoyed the book talk. It's been a fun week.

[Gwendolyn]

Dyana wrote: "I need to ask my park ranger friend that works with artifacts to see if he has heard of the term Ooparts. Thanks for info."

Thanks Dyana, my pleasure!