Gods, Graves, Glyphs
Weekly Digest #121
Saturday, November 11, 2006
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Biology and Cryptobiology
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| BONES TELL STORY OF THAI ORIGIN |
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Posted by JimSEA
On General/Chat 11/04/2006 10:22:03 PM EST · 20 replies · 344+ views
Bangkok Post | Sunday November 05, 2006 | ANCHALEE KONGRUTDNA tests on ancient skeletons in the Northeast suggest our ancestors may have migrated to this part of the region long before we first thought. The tests were conducted by scholars and archaeologists at the Fine Arts Department in a bid to find the origins of Thai people. The team started its work in 2003, using the testing of mitochondrial DNA on skeletons in selected graveyards in Nakhon Ratchasima and groups of living people in China, and some countries in Southeast Asia. Mitochondria are small energy-producing organelles found in egg cells which, unlike nuclear DNA that is equally inherited from... |
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Prehistory and Origins
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| Early human relative ate prehistoric smorgasbord |
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Posted by Pharmboy
On General/Chat 11/09/2006 7:22:34 PM EST · 12 replies · 156+ views
Reuters | Thu Nov 9, 2006 | Will DunhamThe skull of a bipedal hominid Paranthropus robustus is pictured in this undated photograph. The early human relative from 1.8 million years ago dined on the prehistoric equivalent of a smorgasbord -- fruit, nuts, roots, leaves and perhaps meat, according to a study that casts doubt on a key theory about its demise. (Journal Science/Handout/Reuters) An early human relative from 1.8 million years ago dined on the prehistoric equivalent of a smorgasbord -- fruit, nuts, roots, leaves and perhaps meat, according to a study that casts doubt on a key theory about its demise. The four-foot-tall, 100-pound (45-kg) bipedal... |
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| Dental Detectives Reveal Diet If Ancient Human Ancestors |
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/09/2006 7:59:40 PM EST · 14 replies · 382+ views
National Geographic | 11-9-2006 | Sean MarkeyDental Detectives Reveal Diet of Ancient Human Ancestors Sean Markey for National Geographic News November 9, 2006 Paranthropus robustus, a dead-end branch of the early human family tree, has been described as a "chewing machine" that was mostly jaws and not much brains. While the label may still apply, pioneering dental detective work has revealed unexpected news about the species' dietary variety. Using lasers to vaporize tiny particles of tooth enamel, researchers in the United States and Great Britain analyzed the chemical makeup of 1.8-million-year-old fossil teeth from four individuals unearthed in the Swartkrans cave site in South Africa. Different... |
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| Ancient creature wasn't picky eater, research shows |
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Posted by Graybeard58
On General/Chat 11/09/2006 8:26:21 PM EST · 11 replies · 124+ views
Denver Rocky Mountain News | November 9, 2006 | Jim EricksonAn upright, ape-like creature that lived alongside ancestral humans in Africa more than a million years ago had a far more diverse diet than once believed. The finding casts doubt on the long held belief that the creature was driven to extinction by its picky eating habits, University of Colorado researchers conclude. The new study shows that Paranthropus robustus, once thought to be a "chewing machine" specializing in tough, low-quality plant foods, instead had a diverse diet ranging from fruits and nuts to sedges, grasses, seeds and perhaps even animals, according to CU anthropologist Matt Sponheimer. That conclusion is based... |
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Neandertal / Neanderthal
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| Could our big brains come from Neanderthals? |
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Posted by Pharmboy
On News/Activism 11/07/2006 10:27:55 PM EST · 53 replies · 815+ views
Reuters via Yahoo | Tue Nov 7, 2006 | AnonNeanderthals may have given the modern humans who replaced them a priceless gift -- a gene that helped them develop superior brains, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. And the only way they could have provided that gift would have been by interbreeding, the team at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of Chicago said. Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides indirect evidence that modern Homo sapiens and so-called Neanderthals interbred at some point when they lived side by side in Europe. "Finding evidence of mixing is not all that surprising. But... |
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| Did Modern Humans Get a Brain Gene from Neandertals? |
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Posted by DaveLoneRanger
On General/Chat 11/08/2006 10:57:13 PM EST · 7 replies · 127+ views
Science Now | November 6, 2006 | Michael BalterFor decades, human evolution researchers have debated whether Neandertals and modern humans interbred. Most scientists have come down on the side that any romances between these hominid cousins must have been fleeting at best. But a new study suggests that a few of these passing dalliances might have had a major impact on the evolution of the Homo sapiens brain. If so, Neandertals, although long extinct, may have left humanity a lasting genetic gift. Some anthropologists have argued that a handful of hominid skeletons show features of both Neandertals and modern humans (Science, 11 February 2005, p. 841). But so... |
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| Neanderthals in Gene Pool, Study Suggests |
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Posted by indcons
On News/Activism 11/09/2006 10:13:31 AM EST · 57 replies · 1,266+ views
NYTimes.com | November 9, 2006 | JOHN NOBLE WILFORDScientists have found new genetic evidence that they say may answer the longstanding question of whether modern humans and Neanderthals interbred when they co-existed thousands of years ago. The answer is: probably yes, though not often. In research being published online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists reported that matings between Neanderthals and modern humans presumably accounted for the presence of a variant of the gene that regulates brain size. Bruce T. Lahn of the University of Chicago, the report's senior author, said the findings demonstrated that such interbreeding with relative species, those... |
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Asia
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| Peinan Archaeological Site Gives Prehistoric Insight (Taiwan) |
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/10/2006 6:14:03 PM EST · 6 replies · 121+ views
Taiwan Journal | 11-10-2006 | Alexander ChouPeinan archeological site gives prehistoric insight By Alexander Chou, Taiwan Journal staff writer Until recently, little was known about the histories and cultures of Chinese Taipei's Austronesian aborigines and, in particular, about their relationships with the island's ancient inhabitants. Discovery of the Peinan site in southeastern Taiwan, and the associated artifacts unearthed and interpreted by archaeologists, have proved invaluable in making up some of this deficiency. To help educate visitors about the island's prehistoric past, many of the key finds are now exhibited in the National Museum of Prehistory. Located in Taitung City, a major aboriginal conurbation, the NMP also... |
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Let's Have Jerusalem
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| 4,000-year-old cemetery uncovered in Jerusalem |
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Posted by Alouette
On News/Activism 11/09/2006 9:33:16 AM EST · 44 replies · 849+ views
Jerusalem Post | Nov. 9, 2006 | Jason TaitzContainers for ritual offerings, weapons and jewelry are among the finds uncovered this week after builders in Jerusalem's Bayit Vagan neighborhood stumbled upon a 4,000-year-old Canaanite cemetery. The Israel Antiquities Authority was alerted back in July when builders working on apartment buildings in the Holyland Park Project found evidence of ancient tombs. The remarkable finds were only discovered this week. The dig's director, Yanir Milevsky, said that "the quantity of items and their particularly good state of conservation will allow us to enlarge our knowledge of farming villages during the Canaanite era." The authority said the site covered more than... |
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| [Journey to the Copper Age] City to replace roofs at museums, Old Globe Theatre |
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/05/2006 10:04:07 PM EST · 3 replies · 15+ views
San Diego Union-Tribune | November 5, 2006 | Jeanette SteeleWhile the San Diego Natural History Museum will host the much-touted Dead Sea Scrolls next summer, just down the Prado will be a companion exhibit at the Museum of Man. The Museum of Man is partnering with the National Geographic Society to present a display of pre-biblical archaeology from Israel. Called "Journey to the Copper Age," it will consist of artifacts never before seen outside of Israel, the museum says. The exhibit is based on a National Geographic expedition led by San Diego archeologist Thomas Levy, a professor at the University of California San Diego. Levy assembled a group of... |
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Navigation
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| Ancient anchorage found at Netanya |
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/08/2006 2:28:13 AM EST · 7 replies · 91+ views
Jerusalem Post | Wednesday, November 8, 2006 | Etgar LefkovitsThe lifeguard, Ofer Harmoni, 37, summoned the archeologists to the scene after noticing the iron anchor near the Netanya shore during a swimming workout two weeks ago. The authority's marine unit subsequently uncovered five large stone anchors dating back 4,000 years during an underwater survey at the site. The anchors, which archeologists date to the late Middle Bronze Age, have a single perforation, are 0.9m high and 0.6m wide and weigh 150 kilograms each. Two smaller stone anchors for small boats and two iron anchors which date to the Byzantine period (5th-7th centuries CE), were also removed from the seabed.... |
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Rome and Italy
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| Graves Hint At Contact With Romans (Sweden) |
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/09/2006 6:36:23 PM EST · 15 replies · 254+ views
The Local | 11-8-2006Graves hint at contact with Romans Published: 8th November 2006 19:18 CET Archaeologists excavating ancient graves in western Sweden have found shards from ceramic vessels made in the Roman Empire, in a find that could challenge assumptions about contacts between people in Sweden and the Romans. The graves in Stenungsund, around 45 kilometres north of Gothenburg, have been dated to between the years 1 and 300 AD. The remains of burned bones from two people were found, along with the pieces of ceramic. "There are pieces from four or five vessels in each grave, and we have never previously found... |
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Elam, Persian, Parthia, Iran
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| Persian Gulf Shipwreck Continues To Remain Mystery |
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/10/2006 5:49:18 PM EST · 5 replies · 453+ views
Payvard | 11-9-2006 | Maryam TabeshianPersian Gulf Shipwreck Continues to Remain a Mystery By Maryam Tabeshian (Credits to Hasan Zohouri, CHN Persian service) Persian (Iranian) archeologists are determined to take the remains of the recently discovered Partho-Sassanid shipwreck and its cargo out of the waters of the Persian Gulf; however, there are many challenges and obstacles along the way. View Movie Tehran, 9 November 2006 (CHN) -- ?Death Trap!? This is what archeologists call the area 70 meters below the waters of the Persian Gulf where nearly two months ago the remains of a merchant ship belonging to either of the two superpowers of Ancient... |
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| Skulls Of Various Races Discovered At Ancient Cemetery Near Semnan (Iran) |
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/07/2006 6:17:43 PM EST · 28 replies · 730+ views
Mehr News | 11-7-2006Skulls of various races discovered at ancient cemetery near Semnan TEHRAN, Nov. 7 (MNA) -- A team of Iranian archaeologists working at the Gandab ancient cemetery near the city of Semnan have unearthed skulls of various shapes during the third phase of excavations, which is currently underway at the site. The team discovered dolichocephalic (long skulls), mesocephalic (medium skulls), and brachycephalic (short-headed or broad skulls). "Humans are classified based on the shapes of their skulls, which determine the race of the ethnic groups living in a certain region. We discovered humans with long skulls, medium skulls, and short-headed (skulls), which... |
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Underwater Archaeology
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| Scientists Seek Indian History Underwater[North America] |
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Posted by FLOutdoorsman
On News/Activism 11/07/2006 4:28:01 PM EST · 51 replies · 719+ views
The Day | Joe WojtasMashantuckets, Ballard To Explore Ancient Coastline They are questions that have intrigued scientists, archaeologists and historians for centuries: When did Native Americans first arrive on the North American continent, and where did they settle? Now, Robert Ballard, president of the Institute for Exploration at Mystic Aquarium, and Kevin McBride, research director of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, and other researchers hope to answer that question. On Wednesday, Ballard, McBride and Dwight Coleman, the IFE's research director, outlined plans for a multiyear expedition to chart the location of ancient coastlines now underwater, identify sites of Native American settlements and find artifacts to... |
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PreColumbian, Clovis, and PreClovis
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| Raiding For Women In The Pre-Hispanic Southwest? |
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/10/2006 6:04:51 PM EST · 16 replies · 425+ views
Eureka Alert - UChicago | 11-10-2006 | Suzanne WuContact: Suzanne Wu swu@press.uchicago.edu 773-834-0386 University of Chicago Press Journals Raiding for women in the pre-Hispanic Southwest? Study finds more female remains in graveyards during times of political influence A portion of the large 12th and 13th-century A.D. site of Aztec, near the contemporary town of Aztec, New Mexico. An important new archaeological study from the December issue of Current Anthropology is the first to document interregional movement of women in the pre-Hispanic Southwest. Using an analysis of grave sites, the researchers found more female remains during periods of political influence, providing an interesting insight into the ways warfare may... |
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Epigraphy and Language
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| Isai Tamil inscription in ruins |
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/08/2006 2:24:19 AM EST · 1 reply · 1+ viewThe Hindu | Monday, Nov 6, 2006 | Karthik MadhavanThe inscriptions are tala notes (adavu) that a Bharatnatyam dancer dances to. It has five lines and as many rows, resembling a five-row - five-column matrix. It has been arranged in such a way that read either from left to right or top to bottom it reads the same. It is a palindrome as well. Close by is another inscription, which is also in Tamil Brahmi. It talks about the person who chiselled the above-mentioned lines. Most of it is damaged. The third inscription is equally bad... [T]he inscriptions came to light only about five decades ago, when Prof. S.... |
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| Possible Third Jellinge Stone Found (Viking Era) |
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/06/2006 1:35:51 PM EST · 21 replies · 564+ views
Jyllands-Posten/Copenhagen Post | 10-31-2006Possible third Jellinge stone found By The Copenhagen Post Archaeologists believe they have found a new Viking-era stone engraved with ancient Danish Rune writing Archaeologists from Vejle Museum think they may have found a third 'Jellinge stone' - a large rock with carved runes and considered the first examples of written language in Denmark. The researchers have found seven stones in all, which they believe date from the 10th century. Jellinge stones tell of the founding of Denmark and of Christianity's arrival in the country. Even if the stones do not yield a true Jellinge stone, the find is still... |
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Ancient Art
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| Ancient Venus gets an X-ray checkup |
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/05/2006 9:59:46 PM EST · 3 replies · 116+ views
Associated Press / MSNBC | Nov. 2, 2006 | Giovanna Dell'OrtoDelta Air Lines maintainance inspectors moved the hulking engine case of a Boeing 757 from beneath the giant scanner in a lead-enclosed X-ray room and gingerly replaced it with the head of a 1,900-year-old Roman marble statue of Venus. Thursday's X-ray scans at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport are the first step in a months-long process to reunite the late first-century statue of the goddess of love with its head. Conservators at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University, which bought both pieces in June, will study the X-rays to see just in how many points -- besides the neck... |
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Ancient Greece
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| Unique Mycenaean suit of armor due for conservation |
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/05/2006 12:34:39 PM EST · 22 replies · 240+ views
Kathimerini English Edition | November 3, 2006 | Iota SykkaThe only complete example of a Mycenaean suit of armor ever found is to be sent for conservation work, 46 years since its discovery at Dendra in the Argolid, the Central Archaeological Council (KAS) has decided... [I]t is made up of four pieces: a neckpiece, two epaulettes, a breastplate and an articulated section with three straps to protect the rest of the warrior's torso. Broad strips of metal were fastened to a leather lining which appears to have covered the body from neck to knee. At 15 kilos, its weight must have made it hard to move in and it... |
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Ancient Egypt
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| Today in history: Howard Carter discovers tomb of Tutankhamen (11/04/1922) |
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Posted by yankeedame
On General/Chat 11/04/2006 8:09:50 AM EST · 12 replies · 79+ views
Answers.comThe British Egyptologist Howard Carter (employed by Lord Carnarvon) discovered Tutankhamun's tomb (since designated KV62) in The Valley of The Kings on November 4, 1922 near the entrance to the tomb of Ramses VI, thereby setting off a renewed interest in all things Egyptian in the modern world. Carter contacted his patron, and on November 26 that year both men became the first people to enter Tutankhamun's tomb in over 3000 years. After many weeks of careful excavation, on February 16, 1923 Carter opened the inner chamber and first saw the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun. Lord Carnarvon financed Carter's search... |
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Anatolia
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| Georgia, Azerbaijan Debate Control Of Ancient Monastery's Territory |
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/05/2006 9:52:54 PM EST · 7 replies · 32+ views
Eurasia Insight | November 3, 2006 | Diana Petriashvili and Rovshan IsmayilovSet in semi-desert some 70 kilometers southeast from Tbilisi along the Georgian border with Azerbaijan and within Azerbaijan proper, the complex, which contains a rich collection of cave frescoes, has been a site for conflict as well as for contemplation, ever since construction began in the 6th century. The best-known part of the complex, the Udabno cave monastery, which contain frescoes dating approximately from the 8th to the 13th centuries, as well as the monastery headquarters at Lavra, are located within Georgia. Additional monasteries, some nearly inaccessible and largely ruined, are also on Georgian territory. Azerbaijan contains the monastery of... |
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Middle Ages and Renaissance
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| Spain Digs For Its Once-Hidden Jewish Heritage |
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/06/2006 2:08:52 PM EST · 16 replies · 322+ views
International Herald Tribune | 11-5-2006 | Renwick McLeanSpain digs for its once-hidden Jewish heritage By Renwick McLean / The New York TimesPublished: November 5, 2006 TOLEDO, Spain: Spain has sometimes been slow to recognize its own treasures. Miguel de Cervantes was slipping into obscurity after his death until he was rescued by foreign literary experts. El Greco's paintings were pulled from oblivion by the French. The Muslim palace of Alhambra had fallen into neglect before the American author Washington Irving and others wrote about it in the 1800s. Now, more than 500 years after expelling its Jews and moving to hide if not eradicate all traces of... |
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Thoroughly Modern Miscellany
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| Wrecks to riches (White House plunder - War of 1812) |
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Posted by grjr21
On News/Activism 11/05/2006 5:15:14 PM EST · 8 replies · 613+ views
The Philadelphia Inquirer | Sun, Nov. 05, 2006 | Thomas GinsbergTaking a company public is risky. Searching for buried treasure is chancier. Staking a claim on government artifacts may be plain lunacy. Put them together, however, and you have the makings of a viable treasure-hunting business. Or so hopes a group of Bucks County entrepreneurs, who took their shipwreck salvage business public last year and now have an international fracas on their hands. Sovereign Exploration Associates International Inc., of Newtown, believes it has pinpointed off the coast of Nova Scotia a trove of 19th-century artifacts and coins from the White House and U.S. Treasury that the British plundered during the... |
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end of digest #121 20061111
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