Golden Idol
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Golden Idol | |
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Aztec cultureIndiana Jones |
The Chachapoyan Fertility Idol, more commonly referred to as the Golden Idol, is a fictitious artifact that appears in the opening sequence of the 1981 film
In the film
In the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, the idol is portrayed as resting in an ancient, abandoned temple in South America. The specific location is not given in the film, other than a subtitle that reads "South America, 1936".
Fictional history
Based on the film and Indiana Jones comic books, the idol was erroneously attributed to the
The golden idol was placed upon an ancient Chachapoyan altar. It was the exact weight to hold an ancient self-destruct mechanism in place.[1] Jones knows of the booby trap and attempts to replace the idol with a bag of sand. His attempt fails when he incorrectly estimates the weight of the idol. After escaping the many traps set by the Chachapoyans including a giant boulder, he finds rival archaeologist Rene Belloq waiting outside with a group of Hovitos, the local natives. Surrounded and outnumbered, Jones is forced to give up the artifact to Belloq. Jones escapes from Belloq and the Hovitos after a jungle pursuit, flying away on a waiting seaplane.
As related in the Indiana Jones comics, years later, Indy regains the idol from a black market antiquities dealer located in Marrakesh, Morocco (where Jones, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, deduces that Belloq sold it). However, also on the trail for the idol is Xomec, a descendant of the Chachapoyans, and Ilsa Toht, sister of Gestapo agent Arnold Toht. The two want to use the idol to unite Amazonian tribes and disrupt wartime rubber production in South America, as well as lure Jones to his death.[1]
Historical basis
The film prop idol was based on the actual
The Chachapoya culture was a genuine subject of interest for scientists under the Nazi government, particularly Jacques de Mahieu, who like the fictional Belloq was a French collaborator. Based on quotations from Spanish colonists (many of them fabricated), and on his interpretations of since-refuted archaeological digs, he argued that descendants of Vikings had once ruled Peru.[6][7]
In reality the Chachapoya did not build the elaborate trap systems portrayed in the film. However, they were accomplished builders of fortified cities, as sites like the
Inspiration
The prologue of Raiders is an homage to
In popular culture
- The idol appears in the fictional in-film movie Sand Pirates of the Sahara from the feature film The Majestic (2001).
- The idol was shown briefly in the 1993 first season Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Dax" in Jadzia Dax's quarters.
- The idol is an inspiration of the Cursed Idol in Happy Tree Friends.
- The idol appears briefly in the treasure room in the 2002 film Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams.
- The idol is in Dryden Vos's collection in the 2018 movie Solo: A Star Wars Story.
- The idol is on display in a museum in the third level of the 1998 video game Blood II: The Chosen.
- The idol makes an appearance in the 2012 video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
- The idol frozen in carbonite makes an appearance in the first season Andor episode "Aldhani" in the back room of Luthen Rael's shop.[12]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7566-3500-8.
- ^ "Tlazolteotl (photo of Dumbarton Oaks idol)". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
- ^ Walsh, Jane MacLaren (May–June 2008). "Legend of the Crystal Skulls". Archaeology. 61 (3). Retrieved 2009-07-20.
the Tlazolteotl idol, like the crystal skulls, is a 19th century fake.
- doi:10.4000/jsa.8623. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ Kubler, George. "Ancient American Gods and Their Living Impersonators" (PDF). Dumbarton Oaks. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ Ibarra Grasso, Dick Edgar (1997) Los Hombres Barbados en la América Precolombina p. 66
- ^ Llanos, Oscar Olmedo (2006) Paranoia Aimara p. 182
- ^ "Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times" Celestial Arts Press, Millbrae, California, 1981.
- ^ Cronin, Brian (14 December 2007). "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #133". CBR. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ Stefano Priarone in Walt Disney's Uncle $crooge: The Seven Cities of Gold, Fantagraphics Books, 2014. ″Uncle Scrooge takes Donald and the nephews on a perilous trek in search of the fabled seven cities of gold! This is the Scrooge story famous for providing Steven Spielberg and George Lucas with inspiration for parts of Raiders of the Lost Ark.″
- ^ "Comparison". www.dialbforblog.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ "Andor: Luthen Trolled Indiana Jones - and No One Noticed". 29 November 2022.