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| Gods, Graves, Glyphs Weekly Digest #387 · v 8 · n 23 Saturday, December 17, 2011 |
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14 topics |
Welcome to the 38-topic issue #387 of the GGG Digest. · view this issue · |
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| Gods, Graves, Glyphs Weekly Digest #387 Saturday, December 10, 2011 |
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| You Say It's His Birthday | |
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| How December 25 Became Christmas |
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· 12/10/2011 11:59:31 AM PST · · Posted by SeekAndFind · · 25 replies · · Biblical Archeology Review · · Andrew McGowan · |
On December 25, Christians around the world will gather to celebrate Jesus' birth. Joyful carols, special liturgies, brightly wrapped gifts, festive foods --- these all characterize the feast today, at least in the northern hemisphere. But just how did the Christmas festival originate? How did December 25 come to be associated with Jesus' birthday? The Bible offers few clues: Celebrations of Jesus' Nativity are not mentioned in the Gospels or Acts; the date is not given, not even the time of year. The biblical reference to shepherds tending their flocks at night when they hear the news of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:8)... |
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| Is December 25th Special? |
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· 12/20/2001 2:53:57 PM PST · · Posted by marbren · · 74 replies · · 1,546+ views · |
December 25th has traditionally been celebrated as Jesus' birthday. When you start to examine this closer you find that a September date makes more sense for the actual birthday. December 25th may be special however. I am looking for answers to a few questions. Is December 25th related to Kislev 25 ( the first day of Hanukkah in the Jewish Calendar)?. There might be some neat analogies to the candle lighting and Jesus being the light of the world. Was Hanukkah celebrated around 10 BC ? If we project back our current calendar to the time of Christ's birth do ... |
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| Star of the East | |
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| Have Astronomers Found the Star of Bethlehem? |
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· 12/07/2011 1:31:10 PM PST · · Posted by SeekAndFind · · 17 replies · · The Epistle · · Bruce Gerig · |
The modern search for the Star of Bethlehem began with Johannes Kepler (imperial astronomer for Rudolph II of Germany), who shortly before Christmas in 1603 observed a conjunction (pairing) of Jupiter with Saturn from his observatory in Prague. That this occurred in the constellation of Pisces he thought was important as well -- perhaps recalling Rabbi Isaac Abarvanel's belief, noted in his 15th-century commentary on Daniel, that not only does a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn foretell important events, but in Pisces this holds a special significance for Israel; and such an event might even foretell the coming of the... |
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| THE CHRISTMAS STAR |
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· 12/21/2004 10:26:51 PM PST · · Posted by P-Marlowe · · 14 replies · · 271+ views · · Lambert's Library · · Barry Setterfield · |
The Christmas story with the angels, shepherds, wise men and star has gripped the imagination of many over the last 20 centuries. We are indebted to two Biblical accounts, one in Matthew, and one in Luke. They provide the basic information needed to reconstruct Mid-Eastern history and astronomical events in order to discover exactly what occurred in the night sky on that first Christmas when Messiah was born in the cave at Bethlehem amongst the cattle and horses. Luke records that it was the whim of the Roman Emperor Augustus which sent Joseph... |
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| The Magi and the Star --- Epiphany Explored |
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· 01/06/2010 9:47:58 AM PST · · Posted by Salvation · · 22 replies · · 752+ views · · CatholicExchange.com · · January 4, 2010 · · Michael J. Miller · |
During a 2007 BBC radio interview, the archbishop of Canterbury deconstructed elements of the Nativity story. "Stars simply don't behave like that," Rowan Williams said. Asked about the existence of three wise men, he replied, "It works quite well as legend."But years ago Father Walter Brandm¸ller, president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, published an essay applying the historical-critical method to the question of the Nativity story. (The essay is reprinted without cumbersome footnotes in Light and Shadows: Church History Amid Faith, Fact, and Legend [Ignatius].) He found... |
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| Wise Guys | |
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| Wise Men from the East --- Epiphany |
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· 01/03/2010 1:59:59 PM PST · · Posted by Salvation · · 8 replies · · 463+ views · · IgnatiusInsight.com, · · 01-03-09 · · Sandra Miesel · |
The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord We Three Kings of Orient are,Bearing gifts we traverse afar. . . . Who were these gift-bearing kings, these Wise Men of the East? What has their mission meant to Christians across the ages? The Wise Men --- not yet called kings --- make only a single appearance in Holy Scripture. St. Matthew's Gospel (Mt 2:1-12) tells of their arrival in Jerusalem shortly after the birth of Jesus. They have come seeking the newborn King of the Jews because they had seen his star rise in... |
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| Straight Answers: Who Were the Magi? |
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· 01/02/2011 1:56:17 PM PST · · Posted by Salvation · · 31 replies · · CatholicHerald.com · · 11/97 · · Fr. William Saunders · |
Who were the Magi? --- A reader in Springfield -- The Gospel of Matthew mentions the Magi who came from the East to worship the newborn Christ child (cf. Matthew 2:1-12). Exactly who the magi were though remains somewhat of a mystery.Oftentimes, the English translations of the Bible use the word astrologers for magi. In Greek, the original language of the Gospel' the word magos (magoi, plural) has four meanings: (1) a member of the priestly class of ancient Persia, where astrology and astronomy were prominent in... |
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| Catastrophism & Astronomy | |
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| Exciting New Archaeological Evidence Uncovered Could be the Site of Biblical Sodom |
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· 12/14/2011 4:03:27 PM PST · · Posted by GiovannaNicoletta · · 50 replies · · Breaking Christian News · · December 12, 2011 · · Brian Nixon · |
"It may be too early to say, but initial evidence points towards a large-scale destruction from a catastrophic event. I say this because, in that area, the skeletal remains were traumatized by an east-to-west directional event, demonstrating that the catastrophe came from a particular compass point." -- Dr. Collins snip Dr. Collins and his team began digging at a new site [last year], Tall el-Hammam, which corresponded to several factors. Dr. Collins summarized the end result: "To start with, the Tall el-Hammam site has twenty-five geographical indicators that align with the description in Genesis. Compare this with something well known --- like Jerusalem --- that... |
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| Russia Decides to Search for Sodom and Gomorrah-in Jordan |
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· 12/16/2010 7:09:39 AM PST · · Posted by marshmallow · · 27 replies · · Israel National News · · 12/14/10 · · David Lev · |
Russia and Jordan have signed an agreement to search the bottom of the Dead Sea for the remains of the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Arabic news media reported over the weekend. According to the report, a Russian company has agreed to conduct the search in cooperation with Jordanian authorities, picking up all costs -- in exchange for exclusive rights to film a documentary of the search. The report quoted one of the Jordanian heads of the project, Zia Madani, as saying that the search would begin in late December. The Russian company that was chosen as a partner... |
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| Climate | |
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| A Dry Dead Sea Before Biblical Times |
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· 12/16/2011 3:38:24 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 17 replies · · Discovery News 'blogs · · Thursday, December 8, 2011 · · Emily Sohn · |
The Dead Sea nearly disappeared about 120,000 years ago, say researchers who drilled more than 1,500 feet below one of the deepest parts of the politically contentious body of water. The discovery looms large at a time when the Dead Sea is shrinking rapidly, Middle Eastern nations are battling over water rights, and experts hotly debate whether the salt lake could ever dry up completely in the years to come. New data from drilled deposits are also helping piece together geological history that slices through Biblical times. Further research may offer opportunities to verify whether earthquakes destroyed the cities of... |
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| The Jesus Tomb | |
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| Jesus' tomb story denies the Resurrection |
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· 05/03/2007 8:21:02 AM PDT · · Posted by Clive · · 32 replies · · 1,180+ views · · Toronto Sun · · 2007-05-03 · · Father Thomas Rosica · |
During the initial weeks of Lent 2007 in early March I avoided commenting on the sensational story of the alleged discovery of the tomb of Jesus in a Jerusalem neighbourhood. While it is true that tombs were found in Jerusalem's Talpiot section and the names of Jesus, Mary, Joseph and Matthew seem to have been engraved on the tombs, few people spoke of how common such names were during the first century. The media hype, though short lived, certainly put the theme of the resurrection front and centre of our Lenten and Easter journeys this year. James Cameron's documentary The... |
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| Exegesis | |
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| New PBS Nova Series Exposes Old Testament Fairy Tales |
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· 11/17/2008 4:59:05 AM PST · · Posted by Dr. Scarpetta · · 122 replies · · 3,414+ views · · Yahoo & Reuters/Hollywood Reporter · · 11/16/2008 · · Barry Garron · |
Bill Maher, on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher," frequently refers to the Old Testament of the Bible as the Book of Jewish Fairy Tales. The description might anger the pious and the fundamentalists, but guess what? Maher's close to the truth. A visually stunning two-hour special edition of "Nova" examines decades of archaeological studies that contradict much of what is in the Bible. |
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| Let's Have Jerusalem | |
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| Jerusalem stone carvings baffle archaeologists: The carvings in the The City of David |
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· 12/12/2011 4:33:44 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 29 replies · · 3 News / APTN · · Wednesday, December 7, 2011 · · unattributed · |
Archaeologists have discovered mysterious stone carvings at an excavation site in Jerusalem. The carvings - which were engraved thousands of years ago - have baffled experts. Israeli archaeologists excavating in the oldest part of the city discovered a complex of rooms with three "V" shapes carved into the floor. Yet there were no other clues as to their purpose and nothing to identity the people who made them. Some experts believe the markings were made at least 2,800 years ago and may have helped hold up some kind of wooden structure. Others say an ancient people may have held ritual... |
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| Anatolia | |
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| Preliminary work to unearth ancient city of Isos begins |
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· 12/16/2011 6:24:29 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 13 replies · · Today's Zaman · · December 14, 2011 · · unattributed · |
A team of archeologists has begun working on examining the site of the ancient city of Isos in southern Turkey by making use of ground-based sensors to visualize the underground features of the city's structures, the district governor has said... a team of four archeologists got to work at the reported site of the ancient city of Isos, which has been underground for some 500 years in the southern province of Hatay, as part of the work of unearthing the ancient city... Approximately five months ago, excavations at the site where Isos is believed to be revealed ruins of baths... |
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| Roman Empire | |
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| Team discovers Roman forum |
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· 12/12/2011 4:21:21 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 10 replies · · NDSMC Observer · · Wednesday, December 7, 2011 · · Suzanna Pratt · |
After six grave sites, 133 coins and over 10,000 fragments of animal bone, archaeologists with assistant professor of classics David Hernandez's excavation team hit pay dirt, or rather, pay pavement, in the form of an ancient Roman forum. This summer, Hernandez and a team of Notre Dame undergraduates embarked on a six-week excavation trip to Butrint, Albania, where they made the discovery... Since the 1920s archaeologists have probed the site, producing evidence of a Greek sanctuary of Asclepius, a medieval house, a Venetian castle and now, a Roman forum, he said. The forum was a rectangular plaza surrounded by government... |
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| British Isles | |
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| Bronze coins found in Somerset reveal Roman age of austerity |
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· 12/16/2011 8:30:46 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 22 replies · · This Is Somerset · · Wednesday, December 7, 2011 · · Western Daily Press · |
Archaeologists are celebrating the donation of a hoard of Roman coins --- described as " a hugely significant find" --- to the new Museum of Somerset. The 2,118 bronze coins, found by archaeologists excavating a site at Maundown, near Wiveliscombe, before Wessex Water built a new water treatment plant, may be evidence of financial crisis in Romano-British Somerset. They were found in 2006 and have been donated to Somerset County Council by Wessex Water after a Treasure Inquest at Taunton last week heard that the British Museum disclaimed interest on behalf of the Crown. Stephen Minnitt, Head of Museums, said:... |
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| Middle Ages & Renaissance | |
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| Evidence for unknown Viking king Airdeconut found in Lancashire |
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· 12/14/2011 10:05:20 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 16 replies · · Guardian UK · · Wednesday, December 14 , 2011 · · Maev Kennedy · |
Evidence of a previously unknown Viking king has been discovered in a hoard of silver found by a metal detectorist, stashed in a lead box in a field in Lancashire. The 201 pieces of silver including beautiful arm rings, worn by Viking warriors, were found on the outskirts of Silverdale, a village near the coast in north Lancashire, by Darren Webster, using the metal detector his wife gave him as a Christmas present. It adds up to more than 1kg of silver, probably stashed for safe keeping around AD900 at a time of wars and power struggles among the Vikings... |
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| Epigraphy & Language | |
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| Forgotten Treasure: Library Janitor Discovers Silver Coin Cache |
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· 12/12/2011 8:13:56 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 6 replies · · ABC News · · December 7, 2011 · |
A curious library caretaker in the Bavarian city of Passau has discovered a treasure trove of ancient silver coins and medals that went overlooked for more than two centuries. The surprise find is reportedly worth as much as six figures. Janitor Tanja Höls had often passed by an unassuming wooden box stowed away in an archive in Passau's historic state library, but it wasn't until about two weeks ago that curiosity got the best of her and she was decided take a look inside. What she found were dozens of coins, most of them made of silver. "I had no... |
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| Faith & Philosophy | |
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| Pope to Canonize and Name Hildegard of Bingen as Doctor of the Church |
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· 12/16/2011 9:49:00 AM PST · · Posted by marshmallow · · 15 replies · · Rome Reports · · 12/16/11 · |
December 16, 2011. (Romereports.com) Benedict XVI is set to appoint Hildegard of Bingen as a Doctor of the Church in October of 2012. She was a German Benedictine nun and was known for her visions and prophecies. Hildegard of Bingen lived in the twelfth century. In addition to being a nun, she was a composer, philosopher, physicist and ecologist. A multi-talented woman, and a pioneer for many of these fields during the Middle Ages. She came from a wealthy family and when she was only eight years old was sent to study in a monastery. She eventually decided to become... |
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| Oh So Mysteriouso | |
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| 'Witch's cottage' unearthed near Pendle Hill, Lancashire |
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· 12/12/2011 3:54:14 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 22 replies · · BBC · · Thursday, December 8, 2011 · · Nick Ravenscroft · |
Engineers have said they were "stunned" to unearth a 17th Century cottage, complete with a cat skeleton, during a construction project in Lancashire. The cottage was discovered near Lower Black Moss reservoir in the village of Barley, in the shadow of Pendle Hill. Archaeologists brought in by United Utilities to survey the area found the building under a grass mound. Historians are now speculating that the well-preserved cottage could have belonged to one of the Pendle witches. The building contained a sealed room, with the bones of a cat bricked into the wall. It is believed the cat was buried... |
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| China | |
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| China finds 3,600-year-old palace |
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· 12/15/2011 9:41:50 AM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 14 replies · · Beijing Daily · · December 13, 2011 · · tr & ed by People's Daily Online · |
Chinese archaeologists recently found a palace dating back to about 3,600 years ago at the Erlitou Bronze Age site in Henan province. It is the best-preserved palace ever found at the site and may be the prototype for places of worship during the Shang dynasty. In the Erlitou site's palace area, archaeologists found the rammed-earth foundation of the palace, which has at least three courtyards and covers a total area of more than 2,100 square meters. The Erlitou site contains cultural relics ranging from the Yangshao and Longshan cultures about 5,000 years ago to the Eastern Zhou and Eastern Han... |
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| Prehistory & Origins | |
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| Six-thousand-year-old earth mother statuette found on banks of the Somme... |
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· 12/12/2011 3:41:49 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 30 replies · · Daily Mail (UK) · · Monday, December 12th, 2011 · · Lucy Buckland · |
The unearthing of the extremely rare statue in Northern France has been given the rather grand title of 'Lady of Villers-Carbonnel' and is thought to be connected to a cult who worshipped a specific fertility goddess. Immaculately preserved the 8 inch statue was made from local earth or clay and closely resembles figurines found across the Mediterranean. Earth mother: With a curvacious figure the discovery of the statue found in the ruins of a kiln in Northern France shows how far the essence of beauty has come in the last 6,000 years It is unusual for a find to found... |
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| Japan | |
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| Ancient human bone found in Ishigaki cave [ 24,000 years old ] |
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· 12/13/2011 2:59:32 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 22 replies · · Japan Update · · Friday, December 2, 2011 · · unattributed · |
Archaeologists are ecstatic as they study a 24,000-year-old human bone fragment that's been discovered on Ishigaki Island in southern Okinawa Prefecture. The Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum is among those poring over the bone piece found in the Shirahosaonetabaru cave. Officials believe the bone fragment is part of a rib. The bone's already been tested using direct dating, and scientists now say the latest bone discovery is 4,000 years older than any other bone found in Japan. The testing, using radiocarbon dating, is being supervised by archaeologists at the University of Tokyo to determine the age of the... |
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| Cave Art | |
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| Solving the Mystery of a 35,000-Year-Old Statue |
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· 12/12/2011 4:22:24 AM PST · · Posted by Renfield · · 22 replies · · Spiegel (Germany) · · 12/09/2011 · · Matthias Schulz · |
Using a hand hoe and working in dim light, geologist Otto Vˆlzing burrowed into the earth deep inside the Stadel cave in the Schwäbische Alb mountains of southwestern Germany. His finds were interesting to be sure, but nothing world-shaking: flints and the remnants of food eaten by prehistoric human beings. Suddenly he struck a hard object --- and splintered a small statuette. It was 1939 and Vˆlzing didn't have much time. He had just been called up to serve in the military and World War II was about to begin. He quickly packed the pieces into a box and the... |
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| Is the Lion Man a Woman? Solving the Mystery of a 35,000-Year-Old Statue |
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· 12/12/2011 4:11:46 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 18 replies · · Speigel · · Friday, December 9, 2011 · · Matthias Schulz · · tr by Christopher Sultan · |
Archeologists have discovered previously unknown fragments of a figurine known as the "Lion Man," and are piecing it back together. Could the 35,000-year-old statue actually represent a female shaman? ...Using a hand hoe and working in dim light, geologist Otto Vˆlzing burrowed into the earth deep inside the Stadel cave in the Schwäbische Alb mountains of southwestern Germany. His finds were interesting to be sure, but nothing world-shaking: flints and the remnants of food eaten by prehistoric human beings. Suddenly he struck a hard object --- and splintered a small statuette. It was 1939 and Vˆlzing didn't have much time.... |
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| Cogito Ergo Sum | |
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| Was Darwin wrong about emotions? |
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· 12/13/2011 1:35:17 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 24 replies · · Association for Psychological Science · · December 13, 2011 · |
Contrary to what many psychological scientists think, people do not all have the same set of biologically "basic" emotions, and those emotions are not automatically expressed on the faces of those around us, according to the author of a new article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science. This means a recent move to train security workers to recognize "basic" emotions from expressions might be misguided. This debate isn't purely academic. It has consequences for how clinicians are trained and also for the security industry. In recent years there's been... |
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| Helix, Make Mine a Double | |
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| Modern Humans Interbred with Archaic Humans in East Asia, Study Says |
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· 11/08/2011 7:16:55 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 27 replies · · Popular Archaeology · · October 31, 2011 · |
It is well-known today, based on various genetic studies, that some of the ancestors of modern humans interbred with Neanderthals, a closely-related human species or sub-species that lived 130,000 - 30,000 years ago in Eurasia. Less known is information that has recently emerged about the possibility that modern human ancestors were also busy with at least one other archaic human species. Additional information comes from a new study by researchers at Uppsala University. The study yielded findings that indicated people in East Asia share genetic material with archaic humans known as Denisovans, suggesting that the modern human ancestors of East... |
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| Epidemics, Pandemics, Plagues, the Sniffles | |
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| Scientists Discover Second-Oldest Gene Mutation |
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· 12/15/2011 10:00:15 AM PST · · Posted by Pharmboy · · 27 replies · · Ohio State U · · 12/14/2011 · · Stephan M. Tanner · |
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A new study has identified a gene mutation that researchers estimate dates back to 11,600 B.C., making it the second oldest human disease mutation yet discovered. Researchers with the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center -- Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute led the study and estimate that the mutation arose in the Middle East some 13,600 years ago. Only a mutation seen in cystic fibrosis that arose between 11,000 and 52,000 years ago is believed to be older. The investigators described the mutation in people of Arabic, Turkish and Jewish ancestry.... |
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| Neandertal / Neanderthal | |
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| We do have bigger brains than Neanderthals did |
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· 12/14/2011 9:58:08 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 12 replies · · MSNBC · · Tuesday, December 13, 2011 · · Livescience · |
Modern humans possess brain structures larger than their Neanderthal counterparts, suggesting we are distinguished from them by different mental capacities, scientists find. We are currently the only extant human lineage, but Neanderthals, our closest-known evolutionary relatives, still walked the Earth as recently as maybe 24,000 years ago. Neanderthals were close enough to the modern human lineage to interbreed, calling into question how different they really were from us and whether they comprise a different species. To find out more, researchers used CT scanners to map the interiors of five Neanderthal skulls as well as four fossil and 75 contemporary human... |
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| Diet & Cuisine | |
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| The Disappearance of the Elephant Caused the Rise of Modern Man |
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· 12/12/2011 12:40:57 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 26 replies · · American Friends Tel Aviv U · · December 12, 2011 · |
Dietary change led to the appearance of modern humans in the Middle East 400,000 years ago, say TAU researchersElephants have long been known to be part of the Homo erectus diet. But the significance of this specific food source, in relation to both the survival of Homo erectus and the evolution of modern humans, has never been understood --- until now. When Tel Aviv University researchers Dr. Ran Barkai, Miki Ben-Dor, and Prof. Avi Gopher of TAU's Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies examined the published data describing animal bones associated with Homo erectus at the Acheulian site... |
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| Ain't No Rhyme for Orangutan | |
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| Study of Orangutans Yields New Ideas about Human Evolution |
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· 12/16/2011 6:41:15 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 22 replies · · Popular Archaeology · · Tuesday, December 13, 2011 · · unattributed · |
Results from research conducted by a team of scholars and scientists on the dietary lives of orangutans in tropical Borneo have given possible clues to how very early human ancestors may have adapted, survived and changed millions of years ago. In addition, the results may help scientists better understand eating disorders and obesity in human populations today. Led by evolutionary anthropologist Erin Vogel of Rutgers University (pictured below, right), the research team analyzed samples of compounds and byproducts in Orangutan urine over a 5-year period to determine the effects of protein recycling in their dietary, or eating behavior. What they... |
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| Paleontology | |
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| Saber-tooth squirrel fossil found in Argentina |
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· 11/03/2011 5:35:53 PM PDT · · Posted by Free ThinkerNY · · 14 replies · · Associated Press · · Nov. 3, 2011 · |
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) --- Scientists have found a rare fossil of a previously unknown saber-toothed, squirrel-like creature in Argentina, providing new clues to how small mammals lived among dinosaurs more than 93 million years ago. The fossil evidence shows Cronopio dentiacutus had extremely long teeth, a narrow snout and large eye sockets, meaning it probably moved around at night to be able to survive among huge carnivorous beasts in the late Cretaceous period. |
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| Dinosaurs | |
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| Paleontologists unveil bones of 'biggest' dinosaur in U.S. |
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· 12/10/2011 6:55:40 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 10 replies · · Daily Mail · · Sunday, December 11, 2011 · · Nadia Gilani · |
The enormous bones of what is believed to be the biggest dinosaur in the U.S... belong to the sauropod dinosaur Alamosaurus sanjuanensis: a long-necked plant eater related to Diplodocus... Dr Fowler said: 'Alamosaurus has been known for some time, its remains were first described in 1922 from the Naashoibito beds of New Mexico. 'Since then, more bones have been discovered in New Mexico, Utah, some really nice material from Texas, and Mexico, including a few partial skeletons.' He said the sheer size of the new bones had caught the researchers by surprise. He said researchers had believed that a fully... |
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| Dinosaurs with killer claws yield new theory about flight |
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· 12/14/2011 3:48:16 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 9 replies · · Montana State U · · December 14, 2011 · |
BOZEMAN, Mont. --- New research from Montana State University's Museum of the Rockies has revealed how dinosaurs like Velociraptor and Deinonychus used their famous killer claws, leading to a new hypothesis on the evolution of flight in birds. In a paper published Dec. 14 in PLoS ONE, MSU researchers Denver W. Fowler, Elizabeth A. Freedman, John B. Scannella and Robert E. Kambic (now at Brown University in Rhode Island), describe how comparing modern birds of prey helped develop a new behavior model for sickle-clawed carnivorous dinosaurs like Velociraptor. "This study is a real game-changer," said lead author Fowler. "It completely... |
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| PreColumbian, Clovis & PreClovis | |
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| Divers Retrieve Prehistoric Wood from Lake Huron |
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· 12/15/2011 9:38:43 AM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 23 replies · · Science News · · December 12, 2011 · · adapted from Diane Swanbrow, U of M · |
Under the cold clear waters of Lake Huron, University of Michigan researchers have found a five-and-a-half foot-long, pole-shaped piece of wood that is 8,900 years old. The wood, which is tapered and beveled on one side in a way that looks deliberate, may provide important clues to a mysterious period in North American prehistory. "This was the stage when humans gradually shifted from hunting large mammals like mastodon and caribou to fishing, gathering and agriculture," said anthropologist John O'Shea. "But because most of the places in this area that prehistoric people lived are now under water, we don't have good... |
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| Toltecs | |
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| Offerings Discovered at Base of Teotihuacan's Pyramid of the Sun |
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· 12/14/2011 4:54:02 PM PST · · Posted by Winstons Julia · · 13 replies · · History · · 12/14/11 · · staff · |
On Tuesday they revealed the discovery of a collection of treasures on a pile of rubble at the pyramid's center. Thought to have been given as offerings to the gods, the items include pieces of obsidian, pottery, animal bones and three human figures; one of these, a delicately carved serpentine mask, is so lifelike that archaeologists believe it may have been a portrait. The trove's position within the structure suggests it was placed there before construction began, INAH archaeologist Enrique Perez Cortes said in a statement. |
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| Thoroughly Modern Miscellany | |
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| Flood waters unearth 18th century fort in Montgomery Co. (NY) |
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· 12/13/2011 2:30:15 PM PST · · Posted by NYer · · 28 replies · · Fox 23 · · December 13, 2011 · · Katherine Underwood · |
Irene's flood waters tore up the parking lot at the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, uncovering remnants of an 18th century fort.‚ "For the first time we now know where one block house of Fort Hunter was," said Archeologist Michael Roets with the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.Roets talked to reporters Tuesday while standing in middle of a block house, built by the British to accommodate about 20 soldiers.‚ "We never would have had this exposed without the flood," Roets said.During Irene, raging flood waters ripped up the parking lot and unearthed the foundation of a 24-by-24 foot block... |
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| Longer Perspectives | |
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| Top 10 Discoveries of 2011 [ Archaeology Magazine ] |
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· 12/17/2011 10:16:26 AM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 3 replies · · Archaeology · · January/February 2012 · · Volume 65 Number 1 · |
Years from now, when we look back on 2011, the year will almost certainly be defined by political and economic upheaval. At the same time that Western nations were shaken by a global economic slump, people in the Middle East and North Africa forcefully removed heads of state who had been in power for decades. "Arab Spring," as the various revolutions have collectively been named, will have far-reaching implications, not just for the societies in which it took place, but also for archaeology. No year-end review would be complete without polling archaeological communities in the affected areas to determine whether... |
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| end of digest #387 20111217 | |
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| Gods, Graves, Glyphs Weekly Digest #387 · v 8 · n 23 Saturday, December 17, 2011 |
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14 topics |
Welcome to the 38-topic issue #387 of the GGG Digest. · view this issue · |
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| Gods, Graves, Glyphs Weekly Digest #388 Saturday, December 24, 2011 |
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| Faith & Philosophy | |
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| The man who saved The Resurrection (painting) |
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· 12/23/2011 7:30:20 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 14 replies · · BBC · · December 23, 2011 · · Tim Butcher · |
A chance discovery has brought to light the little-known story of how a British Army officer risked a court martial in wartime Italy to save a painting the author Aldous Huxley once described as "the greatest picture in the world". I opened a dead man's suitcase in Cape Town and was transported from today's Africa, via World War II Italy, to Renaissance Tuscany. Inside I found a story of high art, bravery and love, all the more powerful because it is a story not widely known. I was on Long Street, a boisterous city-centre shopping artery, exploring the upper floors... |
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| Agriculture & Animal Husbandry | |
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| Frankincense Supply Under Threat Of Drying Up |
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· 12/22/2011 3:27:55 PM PST · · Posted by NYer · · 33 replies · · Red Orbit · · December 21, 2011 · |
Frankincense, a festive fragrance that has been harvested in the wild in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa since ancient times, is declining so dramatically that production of the resin could be halved over the next fifteen years, according to a new study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. Frankincense is produced by tapping the gum of trees in the Boswellia genus. It is traditionally used in incense and perfumes around the world and is a key part of the Christmas story ‚Ä" one of the three gifts to baby Jesus by the three wise men;... |
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| Let's Have Jerusalem | |
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| Hevron Police Chief: Cave of Patriarchs is Israel's Foundation |
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· 12/22/2011 11:29:35 AM PST · · Posted by Eleutheria5 · · 2 replies · · Arutz Sheva · · 22/12/11 · · Gil Ronen · |
The commander of the Hevron Region of the Israel Police, Col. Yitzchak Rachamim, partook in the candle lighting ceremony at the Cave of Patriarchs Wednesday. "Our primary goal is that not only Jews from Diaspora will visit the Cave of Patriarchs, but also the residents of Israel will all flock in multitudes to this holy site," he said. "We identify fully with the importance of the place -- this is the foundation of the state of Israel," he added. "The policemen and officers of the Hevron Region serve in this dear and holy place out of a sense of mission,... |
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| This Hannukah, Take a Tour to the Real Graves of the Maccabees |
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· 12/21/2011 3:11:50 PM PST · · Posted by nickcarraway · · 3 replies · · Haaretz · · 12/20/11 · · Moshe Gilad · |
There is no dispute today that the 'official' location of the Maccabean graves, near Modi'in, is not the real site; come and see for yourself where these heroes were actually buried. The Hasmoneans, who ruled a Jewish dynasty in Israel, have been buried in the ground for more than 2,100 years. It's hard to believe it when listening to Zohar Bar'am, who speaks with great excitement of the mystery of their burial and the search for the exact location of their graves. Bar'am has been managing the "Hasmoneans Village" open museum by Modiin for 34 years. The museum, which offers activities... |
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| Religion of Pieces | |
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| Tunisia's President Calls on Jews to Return |
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· 12/20/2011 1:01:18 PM PST · · Posted by Eleutheria5 · · 22 replies · · Arutz Sheva · · 20/12/11 · · Elad Benari · |
Tunisia's newly elected president on Monday called the country's Jewish population to return to his country, The Associated Press reported. During a meeting with the country's Grand Rabbi Haim Bittan, President Moncef Marzouki said that Tunisia's Jews are full-fledged citizens and those who had left the country were welcome to return. Today, Tunisia has a Jewish population of only 1,500, but in the 1960s there were 100,000 Jews in the country. Most left following the 1967 Six Day War, but the emigration to Israel started in the 1050's. Most Tunisian Jews now live on the resort island of Djerba, near... |
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| Egypt | |
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| Failure to protect Egyptian historic sites could trigger foreign intervention, warn experts |
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· 12/19/2011 7:37:30 AM PST · · Posted by MontaniSemperLiberi · · 22 replies · · al arabiya via drudge · · Mustafa Suleima · |
The fire that broke out in a Cairo library that houses thousands of rare documents raised concerns over the government's and the army's ability to protect historic sites at times of upheaval and drove several experts to warn of a possible intervention by foreign entities to preserve the heritage at risk. Legal and archeological experts described failure to contain the fire that devoured large parts of the Scientific Complex in downtown Cairo and to rescue the priceless maps, manuscripts, and books kept inside as a disaster and warned that the possibility of similar acts of sabotage would make foreign intervention... |
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| Egypt riots threaten cultural sites as Cairo library goes up in flame[s] |
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· 12/20/2011 3:43:27 AM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 52 replies · · Ha'aretz · · Monday, December 19, 2011 · · Haaretz, AP · |
Experts say among the manuscripts lost are maps of Napoleon's conquest of Egypt in 1798, as well as a map used in the 1989 Israeli withdrawal from Taba. Hundreds of rare manuscripts and maps, including the maps used in 1989 Israeli withdrawal from Taba, were destroyed this week, as rioters set fire to a library in the Cairo's Scientific Complex in the fourth day of renewed clashes between protesters and security forces... Mamdouh al-Masry, an Egyptian archaeology professor also speaking with Al-Arabiya said the country's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces was responsible for the destruction, criticizing for failing to... |
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| Megaliths & Archaeoastronomy | |
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| Enigmatic standing stele of Al-Rajajil |
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· 12/20/2011 6:42:41 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 19 replies · · Arab News · · Tuesday, December 13, 2011 · · Roger Harrison · |
JEDDAH: On a lonely exposed hillside a few kilometers outside the capital of Al-Jouf province, Sakkaka, stand clusters of three-meter high fingers of stone. Etched with ancient Thamudic graffiti, these monuments to a long extinct culture have maintained their lonely vigil for six millennia. Many have fallen over and others lean at bizarre random angles. Al-Rajajil ("the men"), the sandstone stele weighing up to five tons each, is popularly called Saudi Arabia's Stonehenge. They are possibly the oldest human monuments on the peninsula. Some time in the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, people living in the area where Al-Jouf is today... |
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| Stonehenge rocks Pembrokeshire link confirmed |
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· 12/19/2011 3:50:17 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 8 replies · · BBC · · December 19, 2011 · |
Experts say they have confirmed for the first time the precise origin of some of the rocks at Stonehenge.It has long been suspected that rhyolites from the northern Preseli Hills helped build the monument. But research by National Museum Wales and Leicester University has identified their source to within 70m (230ft) of Craig Rhos-y-felin, near Pont Saeson. The museum's Dr Richard Bevins said the find would help experts work out how the stones were moved to Wiltshire. For nine months Dr Bevins, keeper of geology at National Museum Wales, and Dr Rob Ixer of Leicester University collected and identified samples... |
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| Stonehenge rocks Pembrokeshire link confirmed |
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· 12/20/2011 6:33:10 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 10 replies · · BBC · · Monday, December 19, 2011 · · unattributed · |
Experts say they have confirmed for the first time the precise origin of some of the rocks at Stonehenge. It has long been suspected that rhyolites from the northern Preseli Hills helped build the monument. But research by National Museum Wales and Leicester University has identified their source to within 70m (230ft) of Craig Rhos-y-felin, near Pont Saeson. The museum's Dr Richard Bevins said the find would help experts work out how the stones were moved to Wiltshire. For nine months Dr Bevins, keeper of geology at National Museum Wales, and Dr Rob Ixer of Leicester University collected and identified... |
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| Roman Empire | |
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| Income inequality in the Roman Empire |
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· 12/22/2011 5:46:00 AM PST · · Posted by 1010RD · · 22 replies · · December 16, 2011 · · Tim De Chant · |
Over the last 30 years, wealth in the United States has been steadily concentrating in the upper economic echelons. Whereas the top 1 percent used to control a little over 30 percent of the wealth, they now control 40 percent. It's a trend that was for decades brushed under the rug but is now on the tops of minds and at the tips of tongues. Since too much inequality can foment revolt and instability, the CIA regularly updates statistics on income distribution for countries around the world, including the U.S. Between 1997 and 2007, inequality in the U.S. grew by... |
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| Epidemics, Pandemics, Plagues, the Sniffles | |
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| Skeletons point to Columbus voyage for syphilis origins |
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· 12/20/2011 1:17:42 PM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 67 replies · · Emory University · · December 20, 2011 · |
More evidence emerges to support that the progenitor of syphilis came from the New WorldSkeletons don't lie. But sometimes they may mislead, as in the case of bones that reputedly showed evidence of syphilis in Europe and other parts of the Old World before Christopher Columbus made his historic voyage in 1492. None of this skeletal evidence, including 54 published reports, holds up when subjected to standardized analyses for both diagnosis and dating, according to an appraisal in the current Yearbook of Physical Anthropology. In fact, the skeletal data bolsters the case that syphilis did not exist in Europe before... |
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| PreColumbian, Clovis & PreClovis | |
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| Massive 1,100+ year old Maya site discovered in Georgia's mountains |
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· 12/22/2011 7:57:09 PM PST · · Posted by LucyT · · 89 replies · · December 21, 2011 · · Richard Thornton · |
Archaeological zone 9UN367 at Track Rock Gap, near Georgia's highest mountain, Brasstown Bald, is a half mile (800 m) square and rises 700 feet (213 m) in elevation up a steep mountainside. Visible are at least 154 stone masonry walls for agricultural terraces, plus evidence of a sophisticated irrigation system and ruins of several other stone structures. Much more may be hidden underground. It is possibly the site of the fabled city of Yupaha, which Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto failed to find in 1540, and certainly one of the most important archaeological discoveries in recent times. |
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| Ancient Autopsies | |
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| Pictures: Mysterious Viking-era Graves Found With Treasure -- Who Was the Young Warrior? |
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· 12/17/2011 5:27:43 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 32 replies · · National Geographic News · · Friday, December 16, 2011 · · Traci Watson · |
The burial ground holds not only a hoard of precious objects but also hints of human sacrifice -- and several dozen graves of a mysterious people with links to both the Vikings and the rulers of the founding states of eastern Europe. Researchers are especially intrigued by the Young Warrior, who died a violent death in his 20s. The man's jaw is fractured, his skull laced with cut marks. The sword provides further evidence of a martial life. Objects in the warrior's grave suggest he had ties to one of the region's earliest Slavic monarchs, said the project leader Andrzej... |
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| Middle Ages & Renaissance | |
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| Was St Edmund killed by the Vikings in Essex? |
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· 12/20/2011 6:28:36 PM PST · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 10 replies · · Past Horizons · · Monday, December 19, 2011 · · unattributed · |
The story of Edmund, king and martyr, has become a kind of foundation myth for the county of Suffolk, but contains at least one element of truth -- in 869 there was a battle between the East Anglians and the Vikings; Edmund was captured and later killed. About 100 years later the story was written down -- soon after, Edmund came to be considered a Christian martyr and the new abbey (founded about 1020) at Bury St Edmunds was dedicated to him. Edmund's remains were believed to be housed in the abbey, miracles were attributed to him, and Bury thus... |
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| Catastrophism & Astronomy | |
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| New Suspect in 'Great Dying': Massive Prehistoric Coal Explosion |
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· 12/22/2011 11:59:36 AM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 43 replies · · Live Science · · December 22, 2011 · · Jennifer Welsh · |
A great explosive burning of coal set fire and made molten by lava bubbling from the Earth's mantle , looking akin to Kuwait's giant oil fires but lasting anywhere from centuries to millennia, could have been the cause of the world's most-devastating mass extinction, new research suggests. The event, called the Great Dying, occurred 250 million years ago, at the end of the Permian period. "The Great Dying was the biggest of all the mass extinctions," said study researcher Darcy Ogden of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. "Estimates suggest up to 96 percent of all marine species... |
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| Paleontology | |
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| African Lungfish Has Scientists Rethinking 100's Of Millions Of Years Of Evolutionary History |
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· 12/14/2011 10:13:23 AM PST · · Posted by SeekAndFind · · 18 replies · · Business Insider · · 12/14/2011 · · Dina Spector · |
A fish that uses its fins to walk across the floor is causing scientists to rethink the evolution of walking on land, according to a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers at the University of Chicago observed an African lungfish using its pelvic fins "as hind legs to propel itself along the bottom of the tank," reports Victoria Gill and Jason Palmer at BBC News. This could mean that our ability to walk developed underwater -- before creatures grew toes or limbs necessary to move on land -- essentially rewriting hundreds of millions of years of... |
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| Prehistory & Origins | |
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| Human skull study causes evolutionary headache |
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· 12/20/2011 8:48:05 AM PST · · Posted by decimon · · 16 replies · · University of Manchester · · December 20, 2011 · |
Scientists studying a unique collection of human skulls have shown that changes to the skull shape thought to have occurred independently through separate evolutionary events may have actually precipitated each other. Researchers at the Universities of Manchester and Barcelona examined 390 skulls from the Austrian town of Hallstatt and found evidence that the human skull is highly integrated, meaning variation in one part of the skull is linked to changes throughout the skull. The Austrian skulls are part of a famous collection kept in the Hallstatt Catholic Church ossuary; local tradition dictates that the remains of the town's dead are... |
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| World War Eleven | |
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| Christmas 1944, when we said NUTS to the enemy |
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· 12/18/2011 5:50:58 PM PST · · Posted by NEWwoman · · 43 replies · · smithsk.blogspot.com · · December 17, 2011 · · smithsk · |
December 1944 World War Two was in overdrive. The major powers were slugging it out about the world -- in Europe, Africa, and in the Pacific for 5 long years already- since 1939. The United States had entered the fray when the US Congress had declared war on Japan (December 8, 1941) for attacking Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941). Then on December 11, 1941, Germany and Italy had declared war on the United States. We were in the war for the long haul. Early December 1944, we had thought the war, at least in Europe, would be over in a... |
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| Longer Perspectives | |
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| One-off Democracy: When the First Election is the Last |
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· 12/19/2011 8:57:36 AM PST · · Posted by varialectio · · 5 replies · · American Thinker · · December 10 · · Jeff Lipkes · |
Today is the anniversary of the first election in history in which a nation's leader was selected by universal male suffrage. On December 10, 1848, Frenchmen went to the polls for the first time in fifty-six years. For a third time, a revolution had overthrown the king, and for the second time, a republic was proclaimed. But the French voters blew it. The surprise winner was a seedy forty-year-old adventurer who had lived in exile in Switzerland and England, except for two ignominious coup attempts. He ran on a vaguely socialistic platform of hope and change -- his first book... |
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| end of digest #388 20111224 | |
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