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| Gods, Graves, Glyphs Weekly Digest #330 Saturday, November 13, 2010 |
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| PreColumbian, Clovis, & PreClovis | |
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| Stone age etchings found in Amazon basin as river levels fall |
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· 11/11/2010 4:47:55 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 43 replies · · Guardian (UK) · · Wednesday, November 10, 2010 · · Tom Phillips · |
A series of ancient underwater etchings has been uncovered near the jungle city of Manaus, following a drought in the Brazilian Amazon. The previously submerged images -- engraved on rocks and possibly up to 7,000 years old -- were reportedly discovered by a fisherman after the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon river, fell to its lowest level in more than 100 years last month... Though water levels are now rising again, partly covering the apparently stone age etchings, local researchers photographed them before they began to disappear under the river's dark waters. Archaeologists who have studied the photographs... |
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| Catastrophism & Astronomy | |
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| Darwin's theory of gradual evolution not supported by geological history, scientist concludes |
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· 11/12/2010 8:17:58 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 17 replies · · PhysOrg · · November 9, 2010 · · New York University · |
Charles Darwin's theory of gradual evolution is not supported by geological history, New York University Geologist Michael Rampino concludes in an essay in the journal Historical Biology. In fact, Rampino notes that a more accurate theory of gradual evolution, positing that long periods of evolutionary stability are disrupted by catastrophic mass extinctions of life, was put forth by Scottish horticulturalist Patrick Matthew prior to Darwin's published work on the topic... When Darwin published his Origin of Species nearly three decades later, he explicitly rejected the role of catastrophic change in natural selection: "The old notion of all the inhabitants of... |
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| Epidemics, Pandemics, Plagues, the Sniffles | |
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| Early Cities Spurred Evolution of Immune System? [ "Amazing" DNA results show benefits ] |
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· 11/12/2010 9:03:42 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 27 replies · · National Geographic News · · November 8, 2010 · · Matt Kaplan · |
As in cities today, the earliest towns helped expose their inhabitants to inordinate opportunities for infection -- and today their descendants are stronger for it, a new study says. "If cities increase the amount of disease people are exposed to, shouldn't they also, over time, make them natural places for disease resistance to evolve?" asked study co-author Mark Thomas, a biologist at University College London... study co-author Ian Barnes, a molecular paleobiologist at University College London, screened DNA samples from 17 groups long associated with particular regions of Europe, Asia, and Africa -- for example Anatolian Turks and the southern... |
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| Prehistory & Origins | |
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| Archeological Findings back to 10th Millennium B.C. [ Syria ] |
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· 11/12/2010 8:08:52 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 18 replies · · DayPress · · 11/11/2010 · · SANA · |
According to the head of the national archeological mission working at the site Thayer Yerta, carved panels and archeological findings dating back to the beginning of the agricultural revolution in the 10th Millennium B.C. were unearthed at Tel al-Abar 3 site, left bank of the Euphrates River, the panels are made from chlorites (green precious stone) with different engravings and figures. He added that "one of these panels portrayed an eagle with wings spread wide and snake-form sculptures on the two sides. Another panel has an abstract sculpture of three eagle sculptures spreading their wings behind which the sun appears."... |
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| Agriculture & Animal Husbandry | |
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| Beer Lubricated the Rise of Civilization, Study Suggests |
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· 11/08/2010 7:53:56 AM PST · · Posted by Hotlanta Mike · · 48 replies · · LiveScience · · November 08, 2010 · · Charles Q. Choi · |
Could beer have helped lead to the rise of civilization? It's a possibility, some archaeologists say. Their argument is that Stone Age farmers were domesticating cereals not so much to fill their stomachs but to lighten their heads, by turning the grains into beer. That has been their take for more than 50 years, and now one archaeologist says the evidence is getting stronger. |
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| Diet & Cuisine | |
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| 3,800-year-old Babylonian tablets contain recipe! |
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· 11/16/2001 1:21:02 PM PST · · Posted by Libloather · · 38 replies · 910+ views · · Yahoo News · · 11/12/01 · |
Monday November 12 10:18 AM ET Ancient Tablets Offer Beer Primer DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - A Syrian-Belgian-British archaeological mission unearthed 3,800-year-old Babylonian beer-making instructions on cuneiform tablets at a dig in northern Syria. Abdel-Massih Baghdo, director of the Hassakeh Archaeological Department, told The Associated Press in a telephone call that the 92 tablets were found in the 14th layer of Tell Shagher, a site just north of Hassakeh. He said the tablets showed beer-making methods and tallied quantities of beer produced and distributed in the region.'' Hassakeh, 400 miles northeast of Damascus, is known these days for its wheat production. ... |
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| Epigraphy & Language | |
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| Pharaonic inscription found in Saudi Arabia |
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· 11/13/2010 6:10:38 AM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 3 replies · · Arab News · · Sunday, November 7, 2010 · · Rodolfo C. Estimo Jr. · |
Saudi archaeologists have discovered an ancient hieroglyphic inscription mentioning an Egyptian pharaoh on a rock near the ancient oasis of Tayma, Tabuk province. The discovery, about 400 km north of Madinah and northeast of the ancient Nabatean site Madain Saleh, marks the first confirmed hieroglyphic inscription discovered in the Kingdom. "The rock was bearing an inscription of King Ramses III, one of the kings who ruled ancient Egypt from 1192 B.C.to 1160 B.C.," said SCTA Vice President for Antiquities and Museums Ali Ibrahim Al-Ghabban at a news conference on Sunday at the Commission on National Museum. Al-Ghabban said the discovery... |
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| Mummy Told Me There'd Be Days Like This | |
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| Archaeologists Uncover Three Coffins, With a Bead-Covered Mummy, Behind a Secret Door |
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· 03/02/2005 8:34:22 AM PST · · Posted by aculeus · · 51 replies · 2,182+ views · · Tampa Bay On Line (AP) · · March 2, 2005 · · Jamie Tarabay, AP · |
SAQQARA, Egypt (AP) - Archaeologists uncovered three coffins and a remarkably well-preserved mummy in a 2,500-year old tomb discovered by accident - after opening a secret door hidden behind a statue in a separate burial chamber, Egypt's chief archaeologist said Wednesday. The Australian team was exploring a much older tomb - dating back 4,200 years - belonging to a man believed to have been a tutor to the 6th Dynasty King Pepi II, when they moved a pair of statues and discovered the door, said Zahi Hawass, Egypt's top antiquities official. Inside, they found a tomb from the 26th Dynasty... |
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| Ancient Autopsies | |
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| King Tut suffered 'massive' chest injury, new research reveals |
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· 11/12/2010 8:50:37 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 30 replies · · Heritage Key · · Friday, November 5, 2010 · · Owen Jarus · |
One possibility that Dr. Harer ruled out is that of a chariot accident. "If he fell from a speeding chariot going at top speed you would have what we call a tumbling injury -- he'd go head over heels. He would break his neck. His back. His arms, legs. It wouldn't gouge a chunk out of his chest." Instead, at his Toronto lecture, Harer brought up another, more exotic possibility -- that Tut was killed by a hippo. It's not as far out an idea as it sounds, hippos are aggressive, quick and territorial animals, and there is an artefact... |
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| Egypt | |
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| King Tut's Chariots Marvels of Engineering |
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· 11/09/2010 7:10:27 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 32 replies · · Discovery News · · Tuesday, August 3, 2010 · · Rossella Lorenzi · |
King Tutankhamun, the pharaoh who ruled Egypt more than 3,300 years ago, rode full speed over the desert dunes on a Formula One-like chariot, according to new investigations into the technical features of the boy king's vehicle collection. Discovered in pieces by British archaeologist Howard Carter when he entered King Tut's treasure-packed tomb in 1922, the collection consisted of two large ceremonial chariots, a smaller highly decorated one, and three others that were lighter and made for daily use. "They were the Ferrari of antiquity. They boasted an elegant design and an extremely sophisticated and astonishingly modern technology," Alberto Rovetta,... |
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| Roman Empire | |
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| Pompeii's House of Gladiators collapses |
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· 11/07/2010 4:00:26 PM PST · · Posted by Islander7 · · 24 replies · · BBC · · Nov 7, 2010 · · BBC · |
A house in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii has collapsed, raising concerns about Italy's state support for its archaeological heritage. |
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| Pompeii ruin collapses amid claims site mismanaged (House of the Gladiators) |
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· 11/11/2010 10:43:45 AM PST · · Posted by NYer · · 9 replies · · Telegraph · · November 7, 2010 · · Nick Pisa · |
The stone house, known as Schola Armaturarum Juventus Pompeiani, crumbled into a pile of rubble and dust in the early hours of Saturday morning before visitors were allowed in. Although the house is closed to the public, it was a popular site in the city ‚Ä" buried by an eruption from nearby Mt Vesuvius in AD79 ‚Ä" because of its beautiful gladiator frescoes painted on the outside walls. Pompeii, south of Naples is a unique historical site and is on the UNESCO World Heritage list but for decades it has been allowed to fall into ruin and disrepair. Today more... |
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| Religion of Pieces | |
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| Rachel's Tomb, a Jewish Holy Place, Was Never a Mosque |
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· 11/09/2010 3:58:33 AM PST · · Posted by JCPA-JerusalemCenter · · 13 replies · · The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs · · Nov. 2010 · · Nadav Shragai · |
* UNESCO has declared that Rachel's Tomb near Jerusalem is the Bilal ibn Rabah mosque - endorsing a Palestinian claim that first surfaced only in 1996 and which ignores centuries of Muslim tradition. * As opposed to the Temple Mount and the Cave of the Patriarchs which also serve as the location of mosques, Rachel's Tomb never served as a mosque for the Muslims. The Muslim connection to the site derives from its relation to Rachel and has no connection to Bilal ibn Rabah, Mohammed's first muezzin. * Rachel's Tomb, located some 460 meters south of Jerusalem's municipal boundary, has... |
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| Let's Have Jerusalem | |
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| Iraq: "Give us back the Torah' Iraq demand Israel return antique Torah scroll. |
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· 08/30/2010 2:34:36 PM PDT · · Posted by TaraP · · 18 replies · · Jewish Journal · · August 30th, 2010 · · David Miller · |
Iraq is demanding Israeli authorities return an antique Torah scroll smuggled into Israel in the early 1950s. Israel's Arutz Sheva reported that the ancient scroll, written in the early twentieth century, was extracted from Iraq after the Gabbai family in the Iraqi city of Al-Hila bribed a local official. The family patriarch, Moshe Gabbai, worked in the town's synagogue. The scroll was then donated by the family to the Center for the Heritage of Babylon Jewry in the Israeli city of Or-Yehuda. "This scroll is part of Iraq's cultural heritage, just like the heritage of other countries in the world,"... |
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| Age of Sail | |
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| 1572 Parish Church Found [St. Augustine, FL] |
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· 11/09/2010 6:31:11 AM PST · · Posted by marshmallow · · 19 replies · · St. Augustine Record · · 11/8/10 · · Marcia Lane · |
When St Augustine officials decided to remove parking on what is probably one of the nation's oldest streets, it opened up an opportunity for the city's archaeology department to find out more about the history of the Oldest City. What they found was solid evidence of a church dating from 1572 -- evidence of the location of the first parish church of St. Augustine. It's the first physical evidence of Nuestra Senora de Los Remedios (Our Lady of the Remedies), according to City Archaeologist Carl Halbirt. His voice still carries a bit of the excitement and wonder when talking about... |
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| Middle Ages & Renaissance | |
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| Painting of Henry VIII's 'Lost' Palace For Sale |
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· 11/09/2010 6:45:40 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 9 replies · · Discovery News · · Thursday, November 4, 2010 · · unattributed · |
It was among Henry VIII's grandest undertakings: a castle to outshine the castle of his rival, King Francois I of France. And so it was named "Nonsuch," as in no other palace could ever equal its magnificence. But, after taking eight years to construct, the Nonsuch Palace would end up standing for less than 150 years. In the 1680s, the grand estate fell into disrepair and was lost to history. This is why this 1572 watercolor by the Flemish painter Joris Hoefnagel, the earliest known image of the palace, is estimated to fetch around $1.9 million. According to Christie's auction... |
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| Neandertal / Neanderthal | |
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| Differences in human and Neanderthal brains set in just after birth |
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· 11/09/2010 6:06:56 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 47 replies · · Eurekalert · · Monday, November 8, 2010 · · Elisabeth N. Lyons · |
The findings are based on comparisons of virtual imprints of the developing brain and surrounding structures (known as endocasts) derived from the skulls of modern and fossilized humans, including that of a newborn Neanderthal... "In modern humans, the connections between diverse brain regions that are established in the first years of life are important for higher-order social, emotional, and communication functions," Gunz said. "It is therefore unlikely that Neanderthals saw the world as we do." ...In fact, the elongated overall shape of the braincase hasn't changed much in the course of more than two million years of human evolution, despite... |
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| Scotland Yet | |
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| Skeletons halt work on clinic |
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· 11/09/2010 6:57:31 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 47 replies · · Edinburgh Evening News · · October 28, 2010 · · Adam Morris · |
It is a major public sector building project which has been delayed, causing headaches for bosses and the public. But it is decapitated skeletons and 2000-year-old forts rather than red tape and swelling costs that have caused the hold-up for the new health centre in Musselburgh... significant Roman remains were discovered... human remains, the bones of horses and weapons and culinary tools. Archeologists there said the "unique" finds, among the most impressive ever discovered in Scotland from that period, will help build a picture not only of Roman activity in Musselburgh from 140AD, but improve the wider understanding of life... |
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| Paleontology | |
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| Triceratops 'Never Existed' -- Three-horned fossils are actually juvenile torosauruses |
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· 11/09/2010 7:32:29 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 66 replies · · Newser · · August 3, 2010 · · Rob Quinn · |
One of the best-known dinosaur species may not have really been a dinosaur species at all, according to new research. Scientists compared triceratops skulls to those of a lesser-known species, the torosaurus, and concluded that the triceratops were actually young torosauruses, New Scientist reports. They believe the three-horned dinosaur's skull changed shape as it aged. Researchers say the bones of the horns and neck frill in the young dinosaurs remained spongy until they became full adults. "Even in the most mature specimens that we've examined, there is evidence that the skull was still undergoing dramatic changes at the time of... |
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| The Revolution | |
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| Tory tales: America's first civil war revealed |
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· 11/10/2010 9:54:47 AM PST · · Posted by Pharmboy · · 20 replies · · Local Monty Co. MD Gazette · · Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010 · · Brooke Kenny · |
Photo from Edie Allen Tom Allen has written dozens of books and contributes frequently to both National Geographic and Smithsonian Magazine. If the title of Bethesda author Tom Allen's new book requires a double-take, you're probably not alone. After all, it mentions America's "First Civil War," which might leave you wondering when we suffered through a civil war other than the one that ended in 1865. As Allen thoroughly addresses in "Tories: Fighting for the King in America's First Civil War," the Revolutionary War was about more than the battle to win freedom from Great Britain. Although many colonists wanted... |
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| Early America | |
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| Happy Birthday, Devildogs (11/10/1775)! |
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· 11/10/2010 7:48:24 AM PST · · Posted by greatdefender · · 11 replies · · YouTube · |
On this date... 11/10/1775 On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress passed a resolution stating that "two battalions of Marines be raised" for service as landing forces with the fleet. This established the Continental Marines and marked the birth of the United States Marine Corps. A special birthday to those Few & Proud. My father was in the Corp in the early 70's (went to Saigon afterwards). I salute to those serve proudly. The following video is a tribute to all those WHO ARE MARINES(remeber: once a Marine, always a Marine)OOH-RAH! |
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| Happy Birthday Marines! |
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· 11/10/2010 2:05:23 PM PST · · Posted by Michael Barnes · · 22 replies · · 235 Years ago. · · Today · · Me · |
Neat Story; definitely esprit de corps. (NEWSER) -- Two former Marines will demonstrate their solidarity in this weekend's Marine Corps Marathon, where Bryan Purcell will act as the "legs" of Eddie Ryan, an Iraq veteran who was paralyzed in combat, AOL News reports. Ryan, 26 was shot twice in the head in 2005, and while he's recovered far more than doctors expected, he can't yet walk on his own. HBO featured him in a show about vets, and the segment touched Purcell, who was inspired by Ryan's goal to run a marathon. "As soon as I saw that... |
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| The Civil War | |
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| Old West Point applicant letters being put online |
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· 11/10/2010 9:10:48 AM PST · · Posted by DFG · · 12 replies · · Yahoo ia AP · · 11/10/10 · · Chris Carola · |
Years before leading his vastly outnumbered troops to their doom at Little Bighorn, a young George Armstrong Custer was described as accurate in math. Nearly 30 years before his March to the Sea laid waste to a large swath of Georgia, William Tecumseh Sherman was deemed a "fine energetic boy." And two decades before he would earn the nickname "Stonewall," Thomas J. Jackson's dreams of a military career got a boost from a man who would help start the Civil War. |
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| The Great War | |
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| Vanity: The History of the American Expedition Fighting the Bolsheviki (Book - Project Gutenberg) |
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· 11/11/2010 10:45:49 AM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 9 replies · · Project Gutenberg · · November 11, 2010 · · Me · |
Public domain so free download: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22523 Interesting narrative by a captain and two lieutenants who were there. Gives insight to a murky and little known campaign. And there are pictures. |
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| World War Eleven | |
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| Mississippi aviator to be honored with life-size bust |
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· 11/09/2010 9:48:48 PM PST · · Posted by Islander7 · · 9 replies · · Sun Herald · · Nov 10, 2010 · · Pam Firmin · |
GULFPORT -- A life-size bronze bust of Mississippi aviator John C. Robinson, aka the Brown Condor, will be unveiled and dedicated at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport. The bust is by sculptor Edward Shumper and was commissioned by the John C. Robinson Brown Condor Association in honor of the Gulfport aviation pioneer. It is the first of several planned busts of Mississippi Aviators and "is dedicated to the inspiration of our youth," said James Smith, president of the Brown Condor group. [snip] Robinson was an African-American aviator who grew up in Gulfport during the 1920s... |
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| Thoroughly Modern Miscellany | |
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| A "Secret" Subway Stop |
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· 11/10/2010 7:52:00 AM PST · · Posted by iowamark · · 18 replies · · Yahoo News · · Tue Nov. 9, 2010 · · Mike Krumboltz · |
Hidden deep under New York City, a "secret" subway stop is drawing visitors. The Big Apple's City Hall station, a beautiful structure that opened in 1904, but has been out of use for decades, can be seen by riders ... if they know how to make the journey. Check out these photos below, courtesy of John-Paul Palescandolo.... So why was the station closed so many years ago? Motobullet explains that the station's curved tracks played a part in its closure. When subway cars moved their doors to the center, it "created an dangerous gap between the exit point on the... |
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| end of digest #330 20101113 | |
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· Saturday, November 13, 2010 · 26 topics · 2626593 to 2623246 · 756 members · |
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Saturday |
Welcome to the 330th issue, an anemic week in terms of quantity, and a good bit is modern or nearly so -- but the quality is outstanding. And if I get off my duff, next week will see the impressive backlog of stuff so far unused. Decimon and others have been spoiling me by posting so much great stuff. |
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| Gods, Graves, Glyphs Weekly Digest #331 Saturday, November 20, 2010 |
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| Catastrophism & Astronomy | |
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| Life is found in deepest layer of Earth's crust |
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· 11/19/2010 1:25:40 PM PST · · Posted by Fractal Trader · · 102 replies · · The New Scientist · · 18 November 2010 · · Michael Marshall · |
IT'S crawling with life down there. A remote expedition to the deepest layer of the Earth's oceanic crust has revealed a new ecosystem living over a kilometre beneath our feet. It is the first time that life has been found in the crust's deepest layer, and an analysis of the new biosphere suggests life could exist lower still. On a hypothetical journey to the centre of the Earth starting at the sea floor, you would travel through sediment, a layer of basalt, and then hit the gabbroic layer, which lies directly above the mantle. Drilling expeditions have reached this layer... |
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| Africa | |
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| Oldest tool-use claim challenged |
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· 11/16/2010 1:51:09 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 14 replies · · BBC · · November 16, 2010 · · Jonathan Amos · |
The idea that human ancestors were using stone tools about 3.4 million years ago has been challenged by a Spanish-led team of researchers.The original claim was based on what were purported to be butchery marks on animal bones found in Ethiopia. It pushed back the earliest known tool-use and meat-eating in our ancestors by some 800,000 years. But Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo and his team tell PNAS journal that the marks are more likely to be animal scratches. "A mark made with a stone tool could be morphologically similar to a mark that is accidentally made by an animal trampling on a... |
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| Rock Around the Atomic Clock | |
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| Archaeologists Date Tool Discarded 4,500 Years Ago |
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· 11/27/2001 8:30:21 PM PST · · Posted by blam · · 45 replies · 933+ views · · The Guardian (UK) · · 11-22-2001 · · Maev Kennedy · |
A scrap of antler has proved that Silbury Hill, the largest man-made mound in Europe, was completed around 4,500 years ago. The first scientific evidence for the date of one of the most puzzling of our ancient monuments is one of two antlers found at the summit of the 128ft hill. It was discovered as archaeologists agonised over how to fill a gaping hole which had threatened the collapse of the Wiltshire monument. The fragments are the broken tips of the ... |
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| Prehistory & Origins | |
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| New Archeological Device to Determine Origin of Ancient Samples |
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· 11/20/2010 6:52:25 AM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 3 replies · · AZoM · · November 2010 · · Duke University PR · |
The ability to tell the difference between crystals that formed naturally and those formed by human activity can be important to archaeologists in the field. This can be a crucial bit of information in determining the ancient activities that took place at a site, yet archaeologists often wait for months for the results of laboratory tests. Now, however, an international team of physicists, archaeologists and materials scientists has developed a process that can tell in a matter of minutes the origin of samples thousands of years old. The new device is easily portable and works by "lifting off" the spectral... |
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| Agriculture & Animal Husbandry | |
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| Migrants from the Near East 'brought farming to Europe' |
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· 11/14/2010 1:55:35 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 72 replies · · BBC · · November 10, 2010 · · Katia Moskvitch · |
Farming in Europe did not just spread by word-of-mouth, but was introduced by migrants from the ancient Near East, a study suggests.Scientists analysed DNA from the 8,000 year-old remains of early farmers found at an ancient graveyard in Germany. They compared the genetic signatures to those of modern populations and found similarities with the DNA of people living in today's Turkey and Iraq. The study appears in the journal PLoS Biology. Wolfgang Haak of the University of Adelaide in Australia led the team of international researchers from Germany, Russia and Australia. Up until now, many scientists believed that the concept... |
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| Overlapping Genetic And Archaeological Evidence Suggests Neolithic Migration |
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· 09/13/2002 3:18:34 PM PDT · · Posted by scouse · · 11 replies · 214+ views · · Science Daily · · 9-11-02 · · Someone at Stanford U. · |
For the first time, Stanford researchers have compared genetic patterns with archeological findings to discover that genetics can help predict with a high degree of accuracy the presence of certain artifacts. And they say the strength of this link adds credence to theories that prehistoric people migrated from the Middle East to Europe, taking both their ideas and their way of life with them. "The recovery of history is really a jigsaw puzzle," said Peter Underhill, PhD, senior research scientist... |
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| Let's Have Jerusalem | |
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| David and Solomon |
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· 11/15/2010 8:25:23 AM PST · · Posted by Palter · · 8 replies · · National Geographic Magazine · · December 2010 · · Robert Draper · |
Kings of Controversy Was the Kingdom of David and Solomon a glorious empire -- or just a little cow town? It depends on which archaeologist you ask. The woman sitting on a bench in the Old City of Jerusalem, round-faced and bundled up against the autumn chill, chews on an apple while studying the building that has brought her both fame and aggravation. It doesn't really look like a building -- just some low stone walls abutting an ancient terraced retaining wall 60 feet high. But because the woman is an archaeologist, and because this is her discovery, her eyes see what others might... |
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| Egypt | |
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| Ancient Egyptians Were Jokesters |
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· 06/03/2004 2:48:31 PM PDT · · Posted by blam · · 71 replies · 1,755+ views · · Discovery News · · 6-2-2004 · · Jennifer Viegas · |
Ancient Egyptians Were Jokesters By Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News Humor Alleviates the Hum-Drum June 2, 2004 -- A recent series of lectures on ancient Egyptian humor given by a leading historian reveals that people thousands of years ago enjoyed bawdy jokes, political satire, parodies and cartoon-like art. Related evidence found in texts, sketches, paintings, and even in temples and tombs, suggests that humor provided a social outlet and comic relief for the ancient Egyptians, particularly commoners who labored in the working classes. The evidence was presented by Carol Andrews, a lecturer in Egyptology at Birbeck College, University of London, and former... |
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| Ancient Autopsies | |
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| Amenhotep I -- the undiscovered tomb [ 18th Dynasty Egypt ] |
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· 11/14/2010 1:32:46 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 31 replies · · News from the Valley of the Kings 'blog · · Thursday, June 26, 2008 · · Kate Phizackerley · |
The first announcement of a new tomb in the Valley of the Kings came in August 2005 when the Egyptian State Information Service announced that an Egyptian Polish team had been given to excavate the tomb of the New Kingdom Pharaoh Amenhotep I in the Valley of the Kings. As I describe below, unfortunately this was mis-reported by the press how announced the stunning find of an intact tomb. Amenhotep I was the second pharaoh (1526-1506 BC) of the 18th Dynasty. His tomb was mentioned in the Abbott Papyrus, one of the highlights of the British Museum. The papyrus dates... |
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| Epidemics, Pandemics, Plagues, the Sniffles | |
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| Cancer was rare but...DID occur in ancient Egypt, Manchester Uni Egyptologist refutes Nature article |
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· 11/19/2010 7:13:14 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 14 replies · · Archnews · · November 17, 2010 · · Jane · |
In direct contradiction to the recent Manchester University article in Nature stating cancer is 'man made' Paula Veiga strongly argues the case for the existence of cancer in Ancient Egyptians. Citing both her own research during her time at Manchester and Professor Zimmerman she questions Prof Davids conclusions. "It seems Dr. Zimmerman's work from 1995, my own research in 2007-08 and reputed scientists' work (Strouhal, Zink, Nerlich, Capasso and others) were not enough to convince Prof. Rosalie David. " |
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| Megaliths & Archaeoastronomy | |
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| 'Unique' astronomical object reveals Ancient Egyptians kept close tabs on the Big Dipper |
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· 11/14/2010 8:31:22 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 63 replies · · Heritage Key · · Tuesday, November 9, 2010 · · Owen Jarus · |
New research on a 2,400 year old star table shows that the Ancient Egyptians kept close tabs on the Big Dipper, monitoring changes in the constellation's orientation throughout the course of an entire year... Ancient Egyptians represented it as an ox's foreleg... Professor Sarah Symons, of McMaster University in Hamilton Canada, carried out the new research. She presented her results on Sunday at an Egyptology symposium in Toronto. The star table she analyzed is located inside the lid of a 2,400 year old granite sarcophagus, constructed in the shape of a bull, which is now in the Egyptian Museum. The... |
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| Epigraphy & Language | |
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| Ancient Tablets Reveal Mathematical Achievements of Ancient Babylonian Culture |
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· 11/20/2010 6:43:57 AM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 5 replies · · ArtDaily · · Friday, November 19, 2010 · · unattributed · |
An illuminating exhibition of thirteen ancient Babylonian tablets, along with supplemental documentary material, opens at New York University's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) on November 12, 2010. Before Pythagoras: The Culture of Old Babylonian Mathematics reveals the highly sophisticated mathematical practice and education that flourished in Babylonia -- present-day Iraq -- more than 1,000 years before the time of the Greek sages Thales and Pythagoras, with whom mathematics is traditionally said to have begun. The tablets in the exhibition, at once beautiful and enlightening, date from the Old Babylonian Period (ca. 1900-1700 BCE). They have been... |
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| Central Asia | |
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| Copper load of this! Company digging mine in Afghanistan unearths 2,600-year-old Buddhist monastery |
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· 11/17/2010 7:57:14 PM PST · · Posted by Islander7 · · 33 replies · · Daily Mail · · Nov 18, 2010 · · By Daily Mail Reporter · |
A Chinese company digging an unexploited copper mine in Afghanistan has unearthed ancient statues of Buddha in a sprawling 2,600-year-old Buddhist monastery. Archaeologists are rushing to salvage what they can from a major 7th century B.C. religious site along the famed Silk Road connecting Asia and the Middle East. |
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| Diet & Cuisine | |
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| Chinese Noodle Dinner Buried for 2,500 Years |
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· 11/19/2010 7:03:54 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 28 replies · · Discovery News · · November 19, 2010 · · Jennifer Viegas · |
Noodles, moon cakes and other foods dating to 2,500 years ago were recently unearthed in a Chinese cemetery. Noodles, cakes, porridge, and meat bones dating to around 2,500 years ago were recently unearthed at a Chinese cemetery, according to a paper that will appear in the Journal of Archaeological Science. Since the cakes were cooked in an oven-like hearth, the findings suggest that the Chinese may have been among the world's first bakers. Prior research determined the ancient Egyptians were also baking bread at around the same time, but this latest discovery indicates that individuals in northern China were skillful... |
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| Roman Empire | |
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| Roman settlement unearthed in Syon Park, west London |
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· 11/17/2010 12:51:02 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 16 replies · · BBC · · November 17, 2010 · · Unknown · |
A Roman settlement filled with ancient artefacts and human remains has been found on a west London building site. Archaeologists excavating the listed Syon Park site made the discovery of more than 11,000 Roman items just half a metre below the ground. They were digging on the land ahead of the construction of a new hotel on the outskirts of the historical Syon Park Estate, near Brentford. Part of one of Roman Britain's most important roads was also found. |
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| British Isles | |
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| 16th Century gold treasure found (pendant - Essex, UK) |
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· 11/18/2010 5:12:28 AM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 21 replies · · BBC · · November 17, 2010 · · Unknown · |
A four-year-old boy from Essex has unearthed a gold pendant believed to date from the 16th Century, using a metal detector. |
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| The Vikings | |
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| First American in Europe 'was native woman kidnapped by Vikings and hauled back to Iceland...' |
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· 11/17/2010 8:33:00 AM PST · · Posted by Albion Wilde · · 84 replies · · Daily Mail Online (UK) · · November 17, 2010 · · Niall Firth · |
A native woman kidnapped by the Vikings may have been the first American to arrive in Europe around 1,000 years ago, according to a startling new study. The discovery of a gene found in just 80 Icelanders links them with early Americans who may have been brought back to Iceland by Viking raiders. The discovery means that the female slave was in Europe five centuries before Christopher Columbus first paraded American Indians through the streets in Spain after his epic voyage of discovery in 1492... |
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| PreColumbian, Clovis, & PreClovis | |
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| Prehispanic Decapitated Ballgame Player Sculpture Discovered by Archaeologists in Mexico |
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· 11/19/2010 3:43:54 AM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 42 replies · · ArtDaily · · Friday, November 19, 2010 · · unattributed · |
A Prehispanic sculpture that represents a beheaded ballgame player was discovered by archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) at El Teul Archaeological Zone, in Zacatecas, one of the few Mesoamerican sites continuously occupied for 18 centuries... The quarry dates from 900-1100 of the Common Era and evidence determines that the sculpture was created beheaded, maybe to serve as a pedestal for the heads of sacrificed players of the ritual ballgame. The cylindrical sculpture with a 52 centimeter diameter is 1.97 meters high and weighs nearly a ton, and was located in the southeast area of the... |
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| Misunderstanding The Prehistoric Southwest: What Happened At Chaco? |
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· 02/18/2003 12:51:48 PM PST · · Posted by blam · · 57 replies · 510+ views · · AScribe · · 2-17-2003 · |
Two University of Colorado at Boulder researchers have developed intriguing theories on the mysterious demise of the Chaco Canyon Pueblo people and the larger Chaco region that governed an area in the Southwest about the size of Ohio before it collapsed about 1125. Steve Lekson, curator of anthropology at the CU Museum, believes a powerful political system centered at Chaco Canyon in northern New Mexico may have kept other Pueblo peoples under its thumb from about 1000 to 1125.... |
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| Paleontology | |
| Eggs with the oldest known embryos of a dinosaur found |
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· 11/13/2010 8:11:07 AM PST · · Posted by Hotlanta Mike · · 16 replies · · BBC News · · 12 November 2010 · · Katia Moskvitch · |
Palaeontologists have identified the oldest known dinosaur embryos, belonging to a species that lived some 190 million years ago. The eggs of Massospondylus, containing well-perserved embryos, were unearthed in South Africa back in 1976. The creature appears to be an ancestor of the family that includes the long-necked dino once known as Brontosaurus. The study in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology also sheds light on the dinosaurs' early development. |
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| T. rex's big tail was its key to speed and hunting prowess |
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· 11/15/2010 2:37:19 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 26 replies · · University of Alberta · · November 15, 2010 · · Unknown · |
Tyrannosaurus rex was far from a plodding Cretaceous era scavenger whose long tail only served to counterbalance the up-front weight of its freakishly big headTyrannosaurus rex was far from a plodding Cretaceous era scavenger whose long tail only served to counterbalance the up-front weight of its freakishly big head. T. rex's athleticism (and its rear end) has been given a makeover by University of Alberta graduate student Scott Persons. His extensive research shows that powerful tail muscles made the giant carnivore one of the fastest moving hunters of its time. As Persons says, "contrary to earlier theories, T. rex had... |
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| Pterosaur reptile used "pole vault" trick for take-off |
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· 11/15/2010 4:05:35 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 13 replies · · BBC · · November 15, 2010 · · Unknown · |
A new study claims that the ancient winged reptiles known as pterosaurs used a "pole-vaulting" action to take to the air.They say the creatures took off using all four of their limbs. The reptiles vaulted over their wings, pushing off first with their hind limbs and then thrusting themselves upwards with their powerful arm muscles - not dissimilar to some modern bats. The research is published in the open-access journal Plos One. Pterosaurs lived at the same time as the dinosaurs, but belonged to a different group of reptiles. They existed from the Triassic Period until the end of the... |
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| Naturally Selective | |
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| Story of evolution can be seen as comedy of errors (The Ancient Hiccup, Male Hernias, and more) |
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· 04/27/2008 2:42:03 AM PDT · · Posted by canuck_conservative · · 240 replies · 257+ views · · Philadephia Enquirer via Houston Chronicle · · Saturday, April 26, 2008 · · Faye Flam · |
"Oh what a piece of work is man," wrote Shakespeare, long before Darwin suggested just how little work went into us. Somehow, that same process that gave us reason, language and art also left us with hernias, flatulence and hiccups. One argument scientists often make against so-called intelligent design -- the idea that evolution cannot by itself explain life -- is that on closer inspection, we look like we've been put together by someone who didn't read the manual, or at least did a somewhat sloppy job of things. Viewed as products of evolution, however, our anatomical quirks start to... |
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| The Revolution | |
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| Rare 'Declaration of Independence' Copy Sold In Boston For $380K |
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· 11/16/2010 6:38:22 AM PST · · Posted by Libloather · · 6 replies · · The Boston Channel · · 11/14/10 · |
Broadside Copies Were Printed To Spread Word -- A rare copy of the Declaration of Independence sold at auction in Boston Sunday for $380,000. The rare historical document, a broadside, had originally belonged to the family prominent New Hampshire man who was a judge at the time the Declaration was signed in 1776. Broadsides were large sheets of paper on which notices and proclamations were printed in the 18th century. They were intended to alert townspeople of important events and were posted in various meeting... |
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| Kathleen Parker Falsely Claims Alexander Hamilton was an Illegal Immigrant |
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· 11/19/2010 1:12:45 PM PST · · Posted by Pyro7480 · · 160 replies · · NewsBusters.org · · 11/19/2010 · · Matthew Balan · |
On Thursday's Parker-Spitzer, CNN's Kathleen Parker bizarrely and inaccurately claimed that Alexander Hamilton came to the United States illegally and drafted the Constitution: "Let's remember...a lot of Americans did come through the back door such as Alexander Hamilton. He got off the boat from the West Indies, and all he did was write the Constitution and become the first Secretary of the Treasury." Parker raised this false history during a discussion of Pedro Ramirez, Fresno State University's student body president, who was outed as an illegal immigrant by a student newspaper. After playing clips from Ramirez and his opponent during... |
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| The General | |
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| George Washington and His Maps |
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· 11/18/2010 12:03:25 PM PST · · Posted by Palter · · 26 replies · · Smithsonian Magazine · · 16 Nov 2010 · · John Hanc · |
In his journey from surveyor to soldier to leader, our first president used cartography to get a feel for the young nation (The Granger Collection, New York) First in war. First in peace.First to look at a map whenever he had a question about waging the former and sustaining the latter.It's not how we typically picture George Washington: bent over a map by candlelight, scrutinizing, measuring and in some cases actually drawing the topographical details that would help conquer a wilderness, win a war, create a republic. But as historian Barnet Schecter shows us in his illustrated new history, George... |
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| The Civil War | |
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| Study Begins on Confederate Warship |
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· 11/01/2002 6:42:37 AM PST · · Posted by stainlessbanner · · 153 replies · 520+ views · · Herald Tribune · · November 01. 2002 · · The Associated Press · |
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun an investigation of how to save the remains of the sunken confederate warship CSS Georgia.What is left of the boat now lies in the path of a planned $200 million expansion of Savannah Harbor. The cost of excavating its remains, salvage artifacts and stabilize whatever archaeologists leave on the bottom of the Savannah River could run as high as $13.4 million.The wreck lies in 35 feet of water downstream from Savannah. Sonar readings have shown the ironclad is collapsing and might be slowly sliding into the ship channel."Basically,... |
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| Divers Uncover Secrets of a Confederate Vessel |
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· 07/27/2003 7:55:35 PM PDT · · Posted by stainlessbanner · · 19 replies · 295+ views · · WTVM · · 27 July 2003 · |
Scuba divers may soon uncover the secrets of the CSS Georgia, a mysterious ship buried off the coast of Georgia since the Civil War. The divers are exploring the CSS Georgia as the US. Army Corps of Engineers studies for a proposed river-deepening project.The project could result in discoveries about the CSS Georgia, one of the Confederacy's earliest ironclad naval vessels.Divers will continue their work over the next five or six weeks. The ship is largely unknown even to experts.No one can say for sure exactly how long it was. No formal building plans have survived. Extensive searches of historical... |
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| Longer Perspectives | |
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| Ethnomasochism - The Musical! |
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· 11/12/2010 5:22:36 PM PST · · Posted by Billy the Mountain · · 23 replies · · Taki's Magazine · · November 10, 2010 · · John Derbyshire · |
Well, not really a musical, nor even the lyrics to a musical. The piece under discussion is, though, definitely not plain prose; so musical-wise, we have the beginnings of a start here. I am referring to Tim Wise's furious rant on Daily Kos the other day under the title "An Open Letter to the White Right, On the Occasion of Your Recent, Successful Temper Tantrum." Mr. Wise -- "Uncle Tim" to us race-realists -- let loose on the old white reactionaries who, according to him, were responsible for so many Republican victories in the elections. You can read the whole thing here. Uncle Tim's... |
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| World War Eleven | |
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| The secrets of Britain's abandoned villages |
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· 11/18/2010 4:40:57 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 60 replies · · BBC · · November 18, 2010 · · Tom Geoghegan · |
The ghosts of thousands of long-forgotten villages haunt Britain, inhabitations suddenly deserted and left to ruin. As a new campaign begins to shed further light on these forgotten histories, the Magazine asks - what happened and why? Albert Nash, blacksmith for 44 years in the village of Imber, Wiltshire, was found by his wife Martha slumped over the anvil in his forge. He was, in her words, crying like a baby. It was the beginning of November 1943, a day or two after Mr Nash and the rest of the villagers had been told by the War Office they had 47... |
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| Thoroughly Modern Miscellany | |
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| King Kong in Kerala? (29 inch humanoid footprint found) |
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· 01/09/2006 7:05:00 PM PST · · Posted by voletti · · 18 replies · 1,272+ views · · Times of India · · 1/9/06 · · TS Raghavan · |
KARALMANNA (Palakkad): Peter Jackson's King Kong is set on a mysterious, uncharted island. He might as well have shot it in Kerala. Or so it would seem, if -- and that's literally a big if -- claims by a team of amateur anthropologists are proved true. The team claims to have discovered footprints of a "giant-man" who had a shoe size of 29 inches, lived in a shelter 50 metres high and weighed well over 400 kg. Going by the footprint size, the creature may have been as tall as 17 feet, which would make it easily the "largest human... |
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| end of digest #331 20101120 | |
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