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'A time traveler': Conspiracy fans spot man holding object resembling smartphone in 85-year-old painting

The 1937 painting by Umberto Romano, called Mr Pynchon And The Settling Of Springfield, shows the English colonist and fur trader William Pynchon

Some conspiracy fans have found something strange in a 1930s mural of a scene from 17th century colonial America, that they believe is proof of time travel. The 1937 painting by Umberto Romano, called Mr Pynchon And The Settling Of Springfield, shows the English colonist and fur trader William Pynchon. Known for founding the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1636, Pynchon is depicted trading with the native Americans who used to live in the area at the time.

If one looks at the painting carefully, one would notice one of the men looking at a rectangular object in his right hand. The object, surprisingly, resembles a smartphone. The man in the painting holds the object the way people in the 21st century hold a smartphone and scroll down with their thumbs. The mural is one of six at Springfield Main Post Office, and has not been altered since 1937, when it was originally painted. The artist, Romano, died in 1982. 

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Some believe this mural is proof that time travelers have taken modern technology back to the past. There are others, however, who say the object might as well be a mirror, which was very commonly traded in 17th century New England.

"A mirror. But a great example of how our minds project meaning that isn’t there," one user wrote on Twitter of the image. "he issue is the this painting is of the early 1800s and it was very rare to have a personal mirror and few native Americans would own one for many reasons. More over the shape is not oval or round the more common type and finally his thumb position," wrote another.

"Is that an iPhone?" one user questioned, while another said, "Obviously a time traveler." One user wrote, "Since he is sitting in grain, could it be an accounting tablet?"

Another painting from the 1860s that recently baffled viewers shows a woman holding what appears to be an iPhone. The painting shows the woman looking at the object, holding it in both hands as she walks on a country path The Expected One, by Ferdinand George Waldmüller.

Experts, however, believe there is a more credible explanation. "What strikes me most is how much a change in technology has changed the interpretation of the painting, and in a way has leveraged its entire context," Peter Russell, whose observation sparked the conspiracy, told VICE. "The big change is that in 1850 or 1860, every single viewer would have identified the item that the girl is absorbed in as a hymnal or prayer book. Today, no one could fail to see the resemblance to the scene of a teenage girl absorbed in social media on their smartphone."

There were other times when technology has supposedly been spotted in old paintings. Apple boss Tim Cook claimed he noticed an iPhone in a 350-year-old painting when he visited a museum in Amsterdam. The painting showed a man clutching a rectangular object resembling an iPhone while a woman, a child and a dog seem interested in the object. "I always thought I knew when the iPhone was invented, but now I'm not so sure anymore," Cook had said at the time. The first iPhone was launched only in 2007.