Posted on 07/16/2004 11:27:10 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Ha, I just love the irony intrinsic to that comment.
Outstanding stuff as usual.
You are a prolific FReeper, and b/n you and Blam I hesitate to even guess who can even “Show” after your continued FReeper race “Winning” and “Placing.”
L. F. Font used to say the same thing, until he died in that horrible trampling incident.
Hey, thanks! That’s the nicest compliment I’ve seen in some time around here.
Which goes to show, the rest of you are a bunch of ingrates.
[joke alert! joke alert!]
Blam, you’ll wanna see this. Well, not this, but what Radix wrote.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs
Weekly Digest #155
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Catastrophism and Astronomy
Super-Eruption: No Problem (Toba)
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/06/2007 12:02:21 PM EDT · 20 replies · 667+ views
Nature | 7-6-2007 | Katherine Sanderson
Super-eruption: no problem?Tools found before and after a massive eruption hint at a hardy population. Katharine Sanderson Massive eruptions make it tough for life living under the ash cloud. A stash of ancient tools in India hints that life carried on as usual for humans living in the fall-out of a massive volcanic eruption 74,000 years ago. Michael Petraglia, from the University of Cambridge, UK, and his colleagues found the stone tools at a site called Jwalapuram, in Andhra Pradesh, southern India, above and below a thick layer of ash from the eruption of the Toba volcano in Indonesia ó...
Helix, Make Mine a Double
Change to gene theory raises new challenges for biotech
Posted by aimhigh
On General/Chat 07/04/2007 6:32:19 PM EDT · 5 replies · 70+ views
International Harold Tribune | July 3, 2007 | Denise Caruso
The $73.5 billion global biotech business may soon have to grapple with a discovery that calls into question the scientific principles on which it was founded. Last month, a consortium of scientists published findings that challenge the traditional view of the way genes function. The exhaustive, four-year effort was organized by the United States National Human Genome Research Institute and carried out by 35 groups from 80 organizations around the world. To their surprise, researchers found that the human genome might not be a "tidy collection of independent genes" after all, with each sequence of DNA linked to a single...
Was Lucy a Brutal Brawler?
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/04/2007 2:40:31 PM EDT · 28 replies · 288+ views
Discover | June 26, 2007 | Boonsri Dickinson
Anthropologists have long assumed that the short stature of australopithecines like Lucy was related to treetop living: Having short legs makes it easier to climb trees and gives stability when balancing on branches. David Carrier, a biologist at the University of Utah, has another idea. After taking measurements and collecting observations on nine living primate species, including humans, Carrier concluded that the living apes with the shortest legs for their body size, like gorillas and orangutans, are those that spend the least time in trees. They're also the ones whose males exhibit especially aggressive behavior. Carrier doesn't rule out that...
Climate
Ancient Greenland was actually green!
Posted by Ancient Drive
On News/Activism 07/05/2007 5:54:18 PM EDT · 49 replies · 1,153+ views
MSNBC | 7-05-07 | By Ker Than
The oldest ever recovered DNA samples have been collected from under more than a mile of Greenland ice, and their analysis suggests the island was much warmer during the last Ice Age than previously thought. The DNA is proof that sometime between 450,000 and 800,000 years ago, much of Greenland was especially green and covered in a boreal forest that was home to alder, spruce and pine trees, as well as insects such as butterflies and beetles.
India
Sanskrit echoes around the world
Posted by Lorianne
On General/Chat 07/06/2007 3:18:56 AM EDT · 29 replies · 251+ views
Christian Science Monitor | July 5, 2007 | Vijaysree Venkatraman
The rise of India's economy has brought an eagerness to learn the ancient 'language of the gods' -- and a great-great aunt to English. Deep inside the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a Wednesday evening recently, a class of about a dozen students were speaking an arcane ancient tongue. "It is time for exams, and I play every day," says one. "Perhaps, you should study, too," counters another at the conversation table. The others laugh. No, this isn't Latin 101 -- that would be easy. This is Sanskrit, a classical language that is the Indian equivalent of ancient Greek...
Archaeoastronomy and Megaliths
Workers Discover Ancient 'Snake' (UK)
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/05/2007 2:08:07 PM EDT · 42 replies · 1,314+ views
BBC | 7-4-2007
Workers discover ancient 'snake' An aerial view of the 4000 year old 'Rotherwas Ribbon' Diggers constructing a new access road have uncovered a mysterious serpent-shaped feature, dating from the early bronze age. The 197ft (60m) long ribbon of stones, found in Rotherwas, near Hereford, is thought to date from the same period as Stonehenge, roughly 2000 BC. County archaeologist Dr Keith Ray said as far as he is aware the stone feature is unique in Europe. "We can only speculate it may have been used in some kind of ritual," he said. 'International significance' The Rotherwas Ribbon, as it is...
Ancient Europe
Ancient island settlement rebuilt
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/04/2007 7:28:14 PM EDT · 10 replies · 109+ views
BBC | Friday, June 29, 2007 | unattributed
An ancient Shetland settlement at risk of crumbling into the sea has been rebuilt - despite fears that it will soon be eroded. The work on the burial site in Sandwick Bay, Unst, follows an excavation led by the Scottish Coastal Archaeology and the Problems of Erosion Trust (Scape). It teamed up with the Council for Scottish Archaeology's Adopt-a-Monument scheme for the rebuild project. The new structures will allow visitors to see the excavation findings. It is thought that the structures may only last a couple of years, due to coastal erosion. Local groups, working with archaeologists and ancient building...
Prehistory and Origins
'First west Europe tooth' (million-year-old human tooth) found in Spain
Posted by GraniteStateConservative
On News/Activism 06/30/2007 6:05:03 PM EDT · 12 replies · 368+ views
BBC News | 6-30-07 | BBC/AFP
Scientists in Spain say that they have found a tooth from a distant human ancestor that is more than one million years old. The tooth, a pre-molar, was discovered on Wednesday at the Atapuerca site in northern Spain's Burgos Province. It represented western Europe's "oldest human fossil remain", a statement from the Atapuerca Foundation said. The foundation said it was awaiting final results before publishing its findings in a scientific journal. Human story Several caves containing evidence of prehistoric human occupation have been found in Atapuerca. In 1994 fossilised remains called Homo antecessor (Pioneer Man) - believed to date back...
Fossil Tooth Belonged to Earliest Western European, Experts Say(in Spain, 1.2million years old)
Posted by TigerLikesRooster
On News/Activism 07/03/2007 12:39:19 AM EDT · 10 replies · 379+ views
National Geographic News | 07/02/07 | James Owen
Fossil Tooth Belonged to Earliest Western European, Experts Say James Owen for National Geographic News July 2, 2007 A fossil tooth discovered last week in Spain belonged to the oldest known western European, scientists have announced. The early-human molar was discovered last Wednesday at the Sierra Atapuerca archaeological site in the Burgos Province of northern Spain. Caves at the site, which lies about 15 miles (25 kilometers) east of the provincial capital of Burgos, have previously yielded other prehistoric human remains (map of Spain). Early human fossils found at the nearby Gran Dolina site in 1994 indicated that humans had...
Paleontology
Chinese villagers eat dinosaur bones
Posted by Flavius
On News/Activism 07/04/2007 8:30:21 AM EDT · 81 replies · 1,303+ views
ap | 7/4/07 | ap
BEIJING - Villagers in central China dug up a ton of dinosaur bones and boiled them in soup or ground them into powder for traditional medicine, believing they were from flying dragons and had healing powers. Until last year, the fossils were being sold in Henan province as "dragon bones" at about 4 yuan (50 cents) per kilogram (2.2 pounds), scientist Dong Zhiming told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
What Has Five Sides...
China: Mysterious building discovered in emperor's tomb (a buried step-pyramid?)
Posted by TigerLikesRooster
On News/Activism 07/01/2007 3:31:24 AM EDT · 45 replies · 1,081+ views
China Economic Net | 07/01/07
Mysterious building discovered in emperor's tomb Last Updated(Beijing Time):2007-07-01 10:33 Chinese archaeologists said that after five years of research they have confirmed that there is a 30-meter-high building buried in the tomb of Qinshihuang, Chinese first emperor more than 2,000 years ago. The building, buried in the 51-meter-high, pyramid-like earth above the tomb's main body underground, has four surrounding stair-like walls and each wall with nine steps of platforms, said Duan Qingbo, a researcher with Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology. The whole building were buried under the earth, which made it difficult for researchers to get a complete picture of it,...
China
Rare Green Crystals Found In 2,500-Year-Old Tomb (China)
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/05/2007 1:45:36 PM EDT · 43 replies · 1,537+ views
China Daily | 7-4-2007 | Xinhua
Rare green crystals found in 2,500-year-old tomb (Xinhua) Updated: 2007-07-04 16:43 JING'AN -- Chinese archaeologists exploring a 2,500-year-old tomb in east China's Jiangxi province that contained 47 coffins in a remarkable state of preservation were stunned to discover several pieces of green crystal lodged in the bones of the skeletons in the coffins. One of the diamond-shaped crystals was 8.5 centimeters long. The coffins also contained bronze, gold, silk, porcelain and jade items and even body tissue. Archaeologists said the crystals appeared to have "grown" in the bones. They pointed out that the coffins were made from halved nanmu, a...
Workers destroy ancient Chinese tombs: media
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/04/2007 7:24:37 PM EDT · 3 replies · 54+ views
Reuters | Tuesday, July 3, 2007 | unattributed
About 10 ancient tombs dating back nearly 1,800 years have been destroyed by construction workers building an IKEA branch in Nanjing in southeastern China, a city newspaper said on Tuesday. The tombs -- from the "six dynasties" period from AD 220 to 589 -- were uncovered on the outskirts of the ancient capital in Jiangsu province, the Nanjing Morning Post said. City archaeologists told the newspaper the tombs might have been those of a wealthy family of the period as the workmanship was of high quality. The tombs were constructed of green bricks embroidered with ornate lotus patterns. The tombs...
Thrace
5000-Year-Old Golden Architectural Decoration Unearthed in Bulgaria
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/04/2007 5:59:58 PM EDT · 5 replies · 60+ views
Novinite | Wednesday, July 4, 2007 | somebody in Bulgaria
While carrying out excavations of small prehistoric moulds, archaeologist Martin Hristov also discovered well-preserved wall ornamentation details in the form of spirals, which are made of tubules of pure gold. Those spirals are unique artifacts compared to all prehistoric ones found in Bulgaria until now. In the middle of the mound Hristov unearthed eight different pottery objects, hidden in a hole and covered with stones... Meanwhile, the archaeologists have now solid ground on which to base their previous hypothesis that the mines and the production center of objects of gold and their art processing was situated on the territory of...
Orpheus Tomb Discovered
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 06/29/2007 4:27:37 PM EDT · 85 replies · 2,076+ views
News.bg | 6-29-2007 | Olga Yoncheva
Orpheus Tomb Discovered? Updated on: 29.06.2007, 17:51 Published on: 29.06.2007, 17:46 Author: Olga Yoncheva Orpheus sanctuary in Rhodope mountains is with thousand years older than the Egyptian pyramids. The sensational discovery was made by an archaeological expedition which investigated the temple of the Thracians near the village of Tatul, informed BNT. The scientists found 6000-year old buildings with preserved tools made of semi-precious stones, crockery, animal remains. According to the archaeologists now it can be claimed that this is the Tomb of Orpheus, which has been visited of thousands of pilgrims from around the antique world. The sanctuary is one...
Egypt
Egypt to use DNA tests to identify pharaoh Tuthmosis
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/04/2007 7:21:10 PM EDT · 5 replies · 45+ views
Reuters Africa | Tuesday July 3, 2007 | unattributed
Egypt will run DNA tests on an unidentified mummy to determine whether it is the pharaoh Tuthmosis I, who ruled over a period of military expansion and extensive construction, state news agency MENA said on Tuesday. Egypt's chief archaeologist Zahi Hawass said the findings would be compared with DNA from mummies of known members of Tuthmosis's family, including Queen Hatshepsut, whose mummy was identified last week, and Kings Tuthmosis II and III, according to MENA. Hawass said on Wednesday that he had recently concluded that a mummy once assumed to be that of Tuthmosis I was not in fact his,...
Near East
The other side of Socatra: Archeological discoveries
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/04/2007 2:47:25 PM EDT · 4 replies · 75+ views
Yemen Times | Issue: (1064), Volume 15 , From 2 July 2007 to 4 July 2007 | Nisreen Shadad
The number of Yemeni islands in these regions amounts to 182 islands, the most important of which is the Island of Socotra. Other Yemeni islands are scattered in three main sectors, namely, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea... Yemeni archeologist Ahmed Billah, who is researcher working in Socotra, is concerned that the ancient features must be protected from the adventures of man. "I recommended in my last report on the island practical solutions to overcome the dangers threatening the ancient landmarks in Socotra. People are using flagstones and ancient rocks in building the houses. Add...
Let's Have Jerusalem
Archaeological discoveries in Tall Twaini
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/04/2007 7:37:40 PM EDT · 3 replies · 23+ views
SANA | Sunday, July 1, 2007 | Ghossoun (?)
The Syrian-Belgian joint excavation mission in the coastal city of Latakkia, Tall Twaini site has recently discovered a bronze archaeological masterpiece on a shape of furniture stuffed with a lead material in addition to a bronze dagger dating back to the old bronze age. Director of Jabla Directorate for Antiquities Ibrahim Kheir Bek said: "these findings were unearthed at the same building which is probable to be a temple where a necklace of beads and an imperial stamp were founded in it." The unearthing works made in the place had reached to a level that dates back to Ugarit period...
Elam, Persia, Parthia, Iran
Persepolis Tablets Reveal Realities of Ancient Persia
Posted by freedom44
On News/Activism 06/30/2007 9:34:58 PM EDT · 8 replies · 531+ views
CHN Press | 6/27/07 | CHN Press
Tehran, 27 June 2007 (CHN Foreign Desk) -- For the first time, a text has been found in Old Persian Language that shows the written language was used for practical recording and was not just limited to the royal family. The text is inscribed on a damaged clay tablet from the Persepolis Fortification Archive which is currently kept at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago for being decoded. The tablet is an administrative record of the payout of at least 600 quarts of an as-yet unidentified commodity belongign to 2500 years ago in five villages near Persepolis world...
Greece
The Story of the Archimedes Manuscript
Posted by BGHater
On News/Activism 07/03/2007 10:07:49 AM EDT · 12 replies · 761+ views
Spiegel Online | 22 June 2007 | Matthias Schulz
For 2,000 years, the document written by one of antiquity's greatest mathematicians was ill treated, torn apart and allowed to decay. Now, US historians have decoded the Archimedes book. But is it really new? When the Romans advanced to Sicily in the Second Punic War and finally captured the proud city of Syracuse, one of their soldiers met an old man who, surrounded by the din of battle, was calmly drawing geometric figures in the sand. "Do not disturb my circles," the eccentric old man called out. The legionnaire killed him with his sword. That, at least, is the legend....
PreColumbian, Clovis, and PreClovis
Peru: Tomb Believed To Be Older Than "SeÃ’or de Sipan" Found In Northern Peru
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/04/2007 4:08:01 PM EDT · 16 replies · 256+ views
Living In peru | 7-3-2007
Art/Culture/History | 3 July, 2007 [ 10:45 ] Peru: Tomb believed to be older than "SeÒor de Sipan" found in northern Peru© Andina (LIP-ir) -- A team of archaeologists, led by Walter Alva, have discovered the wooden tomb of another member of the Mochica culture's elite - older than the "SeÒor de Sipan" (Lord of Sipan). These findings belong to the Moche civilization, which ruled the northern coast of Peru from the time of Christ to 800 AD, centuries prior to the Incas. Alva has stated that he and his team are investigating and within the next few days will...
Bird Is the Word
Takeoffs a problem for giant bird (Argentavis magnificens, 23-foot wingspan)
Posted by NormsRevenge
On General/Chat 07/03/2007 12:54:54 AM EDT · 17 replies · 307+ views
AP on Yahoo | 7/2/07 | Randolph E. Schmid - ap
WASHINGTON - Weighing in at 150 pounds or more, the all-time biggest bird couldn't just hop into the air and fly away, researchers say. A team led by Sankar Chatterjee of Texas Tech University used computer programs originally designed for aircraft to analyze the probable flight characteristics of Argentavis magnificens, a giant bird that lived in South America 6 million years ago. Like today's condors and other large birds, Argentavis would have had to rely on updrafts to remain in the air. Doing so, it could have soared for long distances, they conclude in a paper in Tuesday's edition of...
Biology and Cryptobiology
Science Imitates (Comic Book) Art
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/04/2007 12:59:44 PM EDT · 10 replies · 180+ views
Discover | June 20, 2007 | unattributed
Gary Larson, creator of The Far Side, crossed over into anatomical nomenclature with a 1982 comic in which a caveman teaches a class this faux-scientific word. (Larson later joked, "Father, I have sinned -- I have drawn dinosaurs and hominids together in the same cartoon.") But when fossil evidence suggested that the dinosaur used its stego-tail as a weapon, scientists co-opted the moniker. Ken Carpenter, a paleontologist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, was the first to use the term professionally, quipping, "And now, on to the thagomizer," when describing a specimen with broken tail spikes at...
Faith and Philosophy
India: Putting the Fallouts of the Islamic Invasion and British Occupation in Perspective
Posted by sergey1973
On Religion 06/22/2006 6:23:43 PM EDT · 25 replies · 1,060+ views
Islam Watch | 05-26-2005 | Alamgir Hussain
A major part of the history of India is characterized by two major foreign rules: the Islamic invasion and the British occupation. The Islamic invasion started with the assault of Muhammad bin Qassim in 712 on the order of Hajjaj, the governor of what is now Iraq, and it took until 1690 for the Muslim rulers to conquer India completely. The fall of Islamic rule started with the British East India Company's capture of Bengal in 1757, during the days of Industrial Revolution in Europe. The British rulers took almost 150 years to capture the entire sub-continent from the hands...
Navigation
Volvo's treasure hunt finds real-life pirate treasure worth $500 million
Posted by TigerLikesRooster
On News/Activism 07/02/2007 3:08:52 AM EDT · 15 replies · 1,171+ views
eGMCarTech | 06/22/07
Volvo's treasure hunt finds real-life pirate treasure worth $500 million Posted on: June 22nd, 2007 Filed under: Industry News, Volvo Remember Volvo's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End treasure hunt? The Volvo treasure chest is filled with $50,000 in gold and a key to a new Volvo from the sea floor. Well the retrival of that chest will hang in the balance until controversy dies down over the discovery of real life treasure by Volvo's Hunt partner, Odyssey Marine Exploration. Earlier this year, Volvo selected Odyssey to sink a treasure chest in the Western Mediterranean. They had planned to...
Vikings
Replica Viking longship sets sail - Sea Stallion of Glendalough
Posted by NormsRevenge
On News/Activism 07/01/2007 3:16:55 PM EDT · 11 replies · 619+ views
AP on Yahoo | 7/1/07 | Jan M. Olson - ap
ROSKILDE, Denmark - A 100-foot-long replica of a Viking longship glided out of a Danish fjord Sunday with 65 crew members determined to sail across the North Sea to Ireland. Roughly 4,000 people watched the Sea Stallion of Glendalough begin the attempt to relive the perilous journey its Viking forebear made some 1,000 years ago. The ship is billed as the world's biggest and most ambitious Viking ship reconstruction. It was modeled after a warship excavated in 1962 from the Roskilde fjord after being buried in the seabed for nearly 950 years. "The Vikings are coming back. Be prepared," skipper...
Agriculture
Call to tap hidden water under desert
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/02/2007 12:23:15 PM EDT · 15 replies · 222+ views
Gulf News | July 01, 2007 | Emmanuelle Landais
Groundwater reserves under Arabian deserts have yet to be exploited but could provide vital resources for agriculture in some of the world's driest areas, according to a space photography expert. Large underground reserves are situated under what appears to be barren deserts, said Farouk Al Baz... Director of the Centre for Remote Sensing at Boston University... Al Baz said radar images of Arab deserts have revealed numerous courses of rivers and streams that led to depressions where lakes have formed... "A lot of pumping in one area at the same level is not good. What is there is probably all...
Africa
'Stolen' treasures better off in the West, says African curator
Posted by MadIvan
On News/Activism 04/13/2006 2:16:15 AM EDT · 29 replies · 1,295+ views
The Daily Telegraph | April 13, 2006 | Mike Pflanz
Antiquities "looted" during the colonial era are better off in western collections than being returned to Africa, according to a Kenyan curator overseeing an exhibition of artefacts loaned to Nairobi by the British Museum.Governments in Africa and other former colonies have long demanded that Europe hands back boatloads of relics plundered by explorers, anthropologists, missionaries and others before and during colonisation. But facilities to care for precious objects that may otherwise be left to rot are far better among the world's great museum houses than those in Africa, Kiprop Lagat said yesterday. Mr Lagat, 35, is running a six-month exhibition...
Longer Perspectives
News Ages Quickly - Scientific publishing moves into the 21st century at last
Posted by neverdem
On News/Activism 07/05/2007 4:46:53 AM EDT · 12 replies · 303+ views
Reason | July 3, 2007 | Ronald Bailey
Arguably, the Information Age began in 1665. That was the year the Journal des scavans and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London started regular publication. Making new scientific information more easily and widely available was the spark that ignited the Industrial Revolution. The founding editor of the Journal des scavans, Denis de Sallo, chose to publish his new journal weekly because, as he explained, "news ages quickly." Scientific news ages even more quickly in the 21st century than it did in the 17th century. Last week, one of the world's leading scientific journals, Nature, conceded this fact by...
Rome and Italy
Pope Benedict said to plan examination of St. Paul
Posted by NYer
On Religion 06/29/2007 9:32:01 AM EDT · 15 replies · 253+ views
Kath Net | June 29, 2007 | Paul Badde
According to reliable sources, Pope Benedict XVI. has given green light for an examination of the interior of St. Paul's tomb in the Basilica San Paolo fuori le Mura. The position of the stone coffin has not been altered since the year 390. Soon, it is said, archeologists will remove a plug with which the coffin had been sealed in Antiquity. An endoscopic probe is supposed to transmit images of the content. What they will show nobody knows. This alleged decision of the Pope has to be seen in the context of the Year of St. Paul which was...
Pope OKs opening of St. Paul's tomb
Posted by Bladerunnuh
On News/Activism 06/30/2007 2:19:17 PM EDT · 54 replies · 1,657+ views
World Net Daily | 6-30-07
Eighteen months after the sarcophagus believed to have once contained the remains of St. Paul the apostle was positively identified by Vatican archaeologists, Pope Benedict XVI has given his approval to plans by investigators to examine the interior of the ancient stone coffin with an optical probe, according to a German Catholic paper. As WND reported in 2005, the sarcophagus was discovered during excavations in 2002 and 2003 around the basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in south Rome. "The tomb that we discovered is the one that the popes and the Emperor Theodosius [A.D. 379-395] saved and presented...
Middle Ages and Renaissance
From Rags To Riches, Or How Undergarments Improved Medieval Literacy
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/06/2007 12:10:23 PM EDT · 42 replies · 1,142+ views
Alpha Galileo | 7-6-2007 | University Of Leeds
06 July 2007 From Rags to Riches, Or How Undergarments Improved Medieval Literacy Thought the invention of the printing press led to an upsurge in literacy rates in the later Middle Ages? Wrong, according to some historians of communication, who believe that paper was more important than printing. "The development of literacy was certainly helped by the introduction of paper, which was made from rags," says Dr Marco Mostert, a historian at the Centre for Medieval Studies, Utrecht University and one of the organisers of this year's International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds. "These rags came from discarded...
Early America
Revolutionary War hero honored with statue
Posted by Pharmboy
On General/Chat 06/29/2007 11:58:18 PM EDT · 27 replies · 229+ views
Charlotte Observer: AP Story | Jun. 29, 2007 | The Associated Press
CHARLESTON, S.C. --Hundreds gathered at the end of Charleston Peninsula to watch the unveiling of a statue to honor Revolutionary War hero and former South Carolina governor, Maj. Gen. William Moultrie. Moultrie's most famous battle was fighting off a British attempt to capture what was then called Charles Town Harbor. Moultrie and his group of about 400 men battled from a fort made of sand and palmetto logs on Sullivans Island. Moultrie's unit held firm against an estimated 2,000-strong British group trying to cross from what's now Isle of Palms. "This statue represents freedom and liberty, from now to eternity,...
The Americans Who Risked Everything
Posted by TBP
On General/Chat 07/04/2007 1:00:05 AM EDT · 18 replies · 193+ views
RushLimbaugh.com | Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.
"Our Lives, Our Fortunes, Our Sacred Honor" It was a glorious morning. The sun was shining and the wind was from the southeast. Up especially early, a tall bony, redheaded young Virginian found time to buy a new thermometer, for which he paid three pounds, fifteen shillings. He also bought gloves for Martha, his wife, who was ill at home. Thomas Jefferson arrived early at the statehouse. The temperature was 72.5 degrees and the horseflies weren't nearly so bad at that hour. It was a lovely room, very large, with gleaming white walls. The chairs were comfortable. Facing the single...
Project aims to identify blacks who fought in Revolution
Posted by Pharmboy
On News/Activism 07/19/2006 10:28:41 PM EDT · 46 replies · 1,101+ views
AP via boston.com | July 19, 2006 | Mark Pratt
BOSTON --Thousands of black men fought for American independence during the Revolutionary War, yet their contributions to the nation's freedom are for the most part unrecognized and rarely appear in modern history books. Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the Sons of the American Revolution are hoping to change that by undertaking an ambitious project to identify those soldiers, and then find their descendants. "My first goal with this project is to enhance the awareness of the American public of the role of African-Americans in the struggle for freedom in this country," said Gates, director of the W.E.B....
Civil War
Today in History: Pickett's Charge (03 July 1863)(great illustrations)
Posted by yankeedame
On General/Chat 07/03/2007 11:51:36 AM EDT · 94 replies · 832+ views
Answers.com
Pickett's Charge A lone cannon and the field of Pickett's Charge. The Copse of Trees (focal point of the charge) is the right-most cluster of trees on the ridge, "The Angle" is marked by the single tree to the left of the Copse of Trees. Pickett's Charge was a disastrous infantry assault ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge, on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, and it was arguably an...
World War II
The World at War: a remarkable TV documentary that cries out to be seen
Posted by Lorianne
On General/Chat 07/06/2007 5:01:07 PM EDT · 20 replies · 231+ views
Daily Mail | 6th July 2007 | Max History
Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby selling war bonds; German armour thrashing through the fatal autumn mud of Russia; GIs jitterbugging with British girls; air duels in the Pacific and tales of housewives enduring the blitz on Britain. These are just a few of the many faces of The World At War, probably the most remarkable TV documentary series ever made. It reached British screens for the first time in 1974, amid tumultuous critical acclaim. In the intervening 33 years, hundreds, maybe thousands more programmes have been made about World War II. None, however, has come close to matching the majesty...
Thoroughly Modern Miscellany
What's Your Favorite Television Show?
Posted by HungarianGypsy
On General/Chat 05/15/2007 11:52:16 AM EDT · 182 replies · 1,526+ views
I don't watch too much television, but one of my favorite shows is Supernatural on the CW. So, I was just curious about what other Freepers like to watch.
end of digest #155 20070707
Gods Graves Glyphs Digest #155 20070707To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.
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by Admin Moderator (Olive)
Admin Lecture Series
February 1, 2006
I've never seen any of these, don't get cable or satellite, and actually seldom watch broadcast TV (I get zero stations here for some reason). This looks like its up my alley, and I've got to pick up new documentaries every once in a while just to keep my mind sharp and my debt high. Motivates me to go to work every day. ;') After I watch this a few times I plan to review it.
The History Channel Presents
Engineering an Empire
narrated by Peter Weller
Gods, Graves, Glyphs
Weekly Digest #156
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Catastrophism and Astronomy
Frozen baby mammoth to be sent to Japan for research(near-perfect preservation: photo)
Posted by TigerLikesRooster
On News/Activism 07/10/2007 4:48:34 AM EDT · 79 replies · 3,080+ views
Kyodo News | 07/06/07
Frozen baby mammoth to be sent to Japan for research (Kyodo) _ A frozen mammoth found recently in Russia in unprecedented good condition is set to be sent to a Japanese university for examination, several experts told Kyodo News on Friday. The mammoth, thought to be a six-month-old female, was found in the best state of preservation among all frozen mammoths ever recovered, said the experts. "The mammoth has no defects except that its tail was bit off," said Alexei Tikhonov, vice director of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. "In terms of its state of preservation,...
Paleontology
Fossilized Midges Provide Clues To Future Climate Change
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/10/2007 4:42:58 PM EDT · 29 replies · 541+ views
Alpha Galileo | 7-9-2007 | University Of Liverpool
09 July 2007 Fossilised midges provide clues to future climate change Fossilised midges have helped scientists at the University of Liverpool identify two episodes of abrupt climate change that suggest the UK climate is not as stable as previously thought. The episodes were discovered at a study in Hawes Water in Northern Lancashire, where the team used a unique combination of isotope studies and analysis of fossilised midge heads. Together they indicated where the climate shifts occurred and the temperature of the atmosphere at the time. The first shift detected occurred around 9,000 years ago and the second around 8,000...
Prehistory and Origins
Evidence Of Very Recent Human Adaptation: Up To 10 Percent Of Human Genome May Have Changed
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/12/2007 8:19:43 PM EDT · 135 replies · 2,160+ views
Science Daily | 7-12-2007 | Cornell University
Source: Cornell University Date: July 12, 2007 Evidence Of Very Recent Human Adaptation: Up To 10 Percent Of Human Genome May Have Changed Science Daily -- A Cornell study of genome sequences in African-Americans, European-Americans and Chinese suggests that natural selection has caused as much as 10 percent of the human genome to change in some populations in the last 15,000 to 100,000 years, when people began migrating from Africa. DNA double helix. (Credit: National Human Genome Research Institute)The study, published in the June 1 issue of PLoS (Public Library of Science) Genetics, looked for areas where most members of...
Africa
Ethiopia Unveils New Find Of Ancient (Hominid) Fossils
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/11/2007 5:24:24 PM EDT · 40 replies · 580+ views
Reuters | 7-10-2007
Ethiopia unveils new find of ancient fossils Tue Jul 10, 2007 12:13PM EDT ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian scientists said on Tuesday they have discovered hominid fossil fragments dating from between 3.5 million and 3.8 million years ago in what could fill a crucial gap in the understanding of human evolution. Ethiopian archaeologist Yohannes Haile Selassie said the find included several complete jaws and one partial skeleton and were unearthed in the Afar desert at Woranso-Mille, near where the famous fossil skeleton known as Lucy was found in 1974. "This is a major finding that could fill a gap in...
Climate
Bedouin Culture In Egypt Dying In Drought
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/11/2007 6:10:40 PM EDT · 25 replies · 451+ views
VOA News | 7-10-2007 | Cache Seel
Bedouin Culture in Egypt Dying in Drought By Cache Seel Shalatin, Egypt 10 July 2007 Facing Drought and the loss of grazing land for their herds, many Bedouin of southeastern Egypt are giving up their traditional lifestyle. The Egyptian Government and aid organizations have stepped in to help, but critics claim they are doing more harm than good. Reporter Cache Seel has details from Shalatin. The sword dance of the Ababda is performed in celebrations and is used to welcome guests. Two men with swords and shields dance in a circle around each other to a drum beat while the...
Ancient Art
Egypt's Oldest Known Art Identified, Is 15,000 Years Old
Posted by blam
On General/Chat 07/13/2007 11:12:36 AM EDT · 20 replies · 246+ views
National Geographic | 7-11-2007 | Dan Morrison
Egypt's Oldest Known Art Identified, Is 15,000 Years Old Dan Morrison in Cairo, Egypt for National Geographic News July 11, 2007 Rock face drawings and etchings recently rediscovered in southern Egypt are similar in age and style to the iconic Stone Age cave paintings in Lascaux, France, and Altamira, Spain, archaeologists say. "It is not at all an exaggeration to call it 'Lascaux on the Nile,'" said expedition leader Dirk Huyge, curator of the Egyptian Collection at the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels, Belgium. "The style is riveting," added Salima Ikram of the American University in Cairo,...
Egypt's Oldest Known Art Identified, Is 15,000 Years Old
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/13/2007 11:23:42 AM EDT · 1 reply · 3+ views
National Geographic News | July 11, 2007 | Dan Morrison in Cairo, Egypt
"The style is riveting," added Salima Ikram of the American University in Cairo, who was part of Huyge's team. The art is "unlike anything seen elsewhere in Egypt," he said. The engravings -- estimated to be about 15,000 years old -- were chiseled into several sandstone cliff faces at the village of Qurta, about 400 miles (640 kilometers) south of Cairo... Of the more than 160 figures found so far, most depict wild bulls. The biggest is nearly six feet (two meters) wide... The Qurta art has now twice been uncovered by modern researchers. Some of the engravings were first...
Egypt
Mystery of Tut's Father: New Clues on Unidentified Mummy
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/10/2007 7:52:43 PM EDT · 22 replies · 441+ views
National Geographic | 7-10-2007 | Brian Handwerk
Mystery of Tut's Father: New Clues on Unidentified Mummy Brian Handwerk for National Geographic News July 10, 2007 Egyptologists have uncovered new evidence that bolsters the controversial theory that a mysterious mummy is the corpse of the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten, husband of Nefertiti and, some experts believe, the father of King Tut. (Photos: Who Was Tut's Father?) The mummy's identity has generated fierce debate ever since its discovery in 1907 in tomb KV 55, located less than 100 feet (30 meters) from King Tutankhamun's then hidden burial chamber. So an international team of researchers led by Zahi Hawass, head of...
Greece
Albania's long-lost Roman city [ Butrint ]
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/09/2007 1:40:27 AM EDT · 4 replies · 68+ views
BBC | Saturday, July 7, 2007 | Malcolm Billings
Richard Hodges, Professor of World Archaeology at the University of East Anglia, directed the first excavations in 1994... Thirteen years on, the English lords still support the work at Butrint, along with another multi-millionaire, David Packard of the Hewlett Packard computer fortune. Between them about £500,000 is being spent on Butrint every year... At the foot of the acropolis there is a well-preserved Greek temple with Roman additions. And alongside the massive walls of an early Christian church, I could make out the double circle of pillars of a Baptistery in the centre of a perfectly preserved intricate mosaic floor....
Rome and Italy
A new museum confronts an old mystery at Masada
Posted by Fred Nerks
On News/Activism 07/11/2007 10:37:13 PM EDT · 14 replies · 696+ views
Haaretz | Wed., July 11, 2007 Tamuz 25, 5767 | By Danny Rubinstein
A new museum confronts an old mystery at Masada The exhibit at the end of the tour of the new museum at Masada consists of 11 tiny sherds bearing intriguing names. Hundreds of inscriptions on sherds were found at Masada, including some on earthenware jugs. Some are only a single letters, others contain names and numbers from the days of the rebellion and the Roman siege. The archaeologists, in particular Yigael Yadin, were reasonably good at decipher the inscriptions on the various sherds, but the inscription on these 11 sherds was unusual. They were all found in the same place,...
Let's Have Jerusalem
Olmert allows Muslims to dig on Temple Mount- (They prviously disposed of Jewish artifacts)
Posted by Bladerunnuh
On News/Activism 07/12/2007 11:34:24 AM EDT · 44 replies · 892+ views
World Net Daily | 7-11-07 | Aaron Klein
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has quietly granted the Waqf -- the Muslim custodians of the Temple Mount -- permission to dig unsupervised on the sacred site, WND has learned. The permission was granted in spite of longstanding fears from leading Israeli archeologists the Waqf might hide or dispose of Jewish Temple artifacts discovered during any Muslim digs. The last time the Waqf conducted an unsupervised excavation on the Temple Mount, in 1997, the Muslim custodians ultimately were caught by Israeli authorities disposing truckloads of Mount dirt that contained Jewish Temple artifacts. Most Palestinian leaders routinely deny well-documented Jewish ties to...
Near East
Tiny Tablet Provides Proof For Old Testament
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/10/2007 8:48:08 PM EDT · 143 replies · 3,406+ views
The Telegraph (UK) | 7-10-2007 | Nigel Reynolds
Tiny tablet provides proof for Old Testament By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent Last Updated: 7:33pm BST 10/07/2007 The sound of unbridled joy seldom breaks the quiet of the British Museum's great Arched Room, which holds its collection of 130,000 Assyrian cuneiform tablets, dating back 5,000 years. But Michael Jursa, a visiting professor from Vienna, let out such a cry last Thursday. He had made what has been called the most important find in Biblical archaeology for 100 years, a discovery that supports the view that the historical books of the Old Testament are based on fact. Searching for Babylonian financial...
Babylonian King's Eunuch Really Existed!
Posted by ScaniaBoy
On News/Activism 07/11/2007 3:24:29 PM EDT · 107 replies · 2,299+ views
Arutz Sheva | 11 july, 2007 | Hillel Fendel
(IsraelNN.com) A routine research visit to the British Museum nets a landmark archaeological discovery and proof of the Old Testament's truth. British newspapers report that ancient Babylonian expert Dr. Michael Jursa of Vienna discovered a small clay tablet that provides proof of the Old Testament's veracity. Though the tablet was unearthed near Baghdad in 1920, only last week was it deciphered for the first time, by Dr. Jursa. Upon reading the tablet, which records a donation of gold by "the chief eunuch of King Nebuchadnezzar," a man named Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, Jursa suddenly realized that the name sounded familiar. He quickly consulted...
Faith and Philosophy
Secrets of Assassins' fort unearthed in Syria
Posted by BGHater
On General/Chat 07/13/2007 12:45:59 PM EDT · 5 replies · 285+ views
Reuters | 13 July 2007 | Tom Perry
Nestled at the foot of Syria's coastal mountains, an ancient citadel has been put on the tourist map by restoration and excavation that revealed mysteries of the medieval Assassins sect, once based here. Saladin, the great Muslim leader, laid siege to Masyaf castle in the 12th century. But he thought twice before launching an assault on the Assassins, who had a reputation for mounting daring operations to slay their foes. "Anyone who tried to take the Assassins' castle would be dead the next day," said Haytham Ali Hasan, an archaeologist involved in the restoration project. Although Saladin had conquered Crusader...
The View Beneath Serendip
History stands still in seabed off Sri Lanka
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/09/2007 2:01:39 AM EDT · 9 replies · 155+ views
Asian Tribune | Sunday, July 8, 2007 | Janaka Perera
The popularization of scuba diving after World War II had its impact on Sri Lanka, when Sir Arthur Clarke and Mike Wilson (later Swami Siva Kalki) came here after their successful expedition on the Great Barrier Reef. They came here to write on the 'Reefs of Taprobane' (Sri Lanka ). Here they were joined by Jonklass. Although spear-fishing and coral reef exploration were the scuba divers' primary aims, searching for wrecks soon became their past time in a sea strewn with ship wrecks. It was Sir Arthur Clarke's book which first carried colour photographs of off-shore shipwrecks and the ruins...
India
Major Buddhist Site Comes To Light
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/10/2007 4:52:27 PM EDT · 18 replies · 416+ views
New India Press | 7-10-2007
Major Buddhist site comes to light Tuesday July 10 2007 14:16 IST VIJAYAWADA: A chance digging by mulberry farmers in agricultural lands have uncovered major Buddhist architectural finds in Kanthamanenivarigudem of West Godavari district. Two ancient sites are not only seen as prototypes of the present-day temples, but they have also provided the first-ever proof of the existence of another major Buddhist sect apart from the hitherto known Mahayana, Hinayana and Vajrayana sects. Interestingly, the new finds are just 2 km away from the famous Second Century rock-cut Buddhist caves of Guntupalli or Jilakarragudem in West Godavari, known as the...
PreColumbian, Clovis, and PreClovis
Ancient Massacre Discovered in New Mexico -- Was It Genocide?
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/13/2007 5:40:09 PM EDT · 39 replies · 893+ views
National Geographic | 7-12-2007 | Blake d Pastino
Ancient Massacre Discovered in New Mexico -- Was It Genocide? Blake de Pastino in Jemez Springs, New Mexico National Geographic News July 12, 2007 Seven skeletons discovered in a remote New Mexico canyon were victims of a brutal massacre that may have been part of an ancient campaign of genocide, archaeologists say. The victims -- five adults, one child, and one infant -- were members of an obscure native culture known as the Gallina, which occupied a small region of northwestern New Mexico around A.D. 1100 (see New Mexico map). The culture suddenly vanished around 1275, as the last of its members either left...
Ancient Culture Prompts Worry For Arid Southwest
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/11/2007 5:11:08 PM EDT · 35 replies · 809+ views
NPR | 7-10-2007 | Richard Harris
Ancient Culture Prompts Worry for Arid Southwest by Richard Harris Jane Greenhalgh An overview of what remains standing at Chaco Canyon. NPR Eve Goldman A view into the ruins at Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon. Peek into the Cole-Overpeck family camping trip under the towering Ponderosa pines in the highlands of eastern Arizona, where climate change is both a personal and professional concern. All Things Considered, July 9, 2007 -- Chaco Canyon is a stark and breathtaking ruin, nestled under soaring, red sandstone cliffs. It resembles the condition of the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru. For climate...
Squirrels Unearth Ancient Artifact In Roseville
Posted by Daffynition
On General/Chat 07/13/2007 4:10:32 PM EDT · 43 replies · 401+ views
(CBS13) | Jul 13, 2007 | Dennis Shanahan
ROSEVILLE An amazing discovery has been unearthed in Placer County. Amazing because of its history significance....and amazing because of how it was found. Archaeologist did not carefully unearth the 8,000 to 10,000 year old artifact, but it appears some curious squirrels dug it up. And now, folks at the Maidu Indian Interpretive Center are trying to preserve what the squirrels unearthed. The center allows people to learn how Native Americans lived thousands of years ago. And it was here that the squirrels made their find in what could be called an ancient compost pile. "You can see where little tiny...
Biology and Cryptobiology
A Huge Amazon Monster Is Only a Myth. Or Is It?
Posted by BGHater
On News/Activism 07/08/2007 3:14:36 PM EDT · 31 replies · 1,323+ views
New York Times | 08 July 2007 | Larry Rohter
RIO BRANCO, Brazil -- Perhaps it is nothing more than a legend, as skeptics say. Or maybe it is real, as those who claim to have seen it avow. But the mere mention of the mapinguary, the giant slothlike monster of the Amazon, is enough to send shivers down the spines of almost all who dwell in the worldÃs largest rain forest. The folklore here is full of tales of encounters with the creature, and nearly every Indian tribe in the Amazon, including those that have had no contact with one another, have a word for the mapinguary (pronounced ma-ping-wahr-EE)....
Navigation
Reed boat heads for Spain from NYC
Posted by NormsRevenge
On General/Chat 07/11/2007 10:23:32 PM EDT · 15 replies · 212+ views
AP on Yahoo | 7/11/07 | Richard Pyle - ap
NEW YORK - A 41-foot raft made of reeds and wooden planks set out Wednesday on voyage from New York to Spain, a daring and perhaps foolhardy attempt to prove people in the Stone Age could have crossed the Atlantic. The fragile-looking craft was towed down the harbor past the Statue of Liberty, to be cut loose once it passed into the open sea. At the helm was Dominique Gorlitz, 41, a German botanist and ex-teacher who has spent years preparing for the expedition. "We are trying to retrace the ancient waterways to prove that prehistoric people crossed the ocean...
Stuntman's stick ship revives Vikings' voyage (Thor,, 15 Million ice-cream sticks glued together)
Posted by NormsRevenge
On General/Chat 07/13/2007 2:11:46 PM EDT · 5 replies · 129+ views
Reuters on Yahoo | 7/13/07 | Reuters
LELYSTAD, Netherlands (Reuters) - A Viking ship made from ice-cream sticks set sail across the Netherlands' IJsselmeer lake on Friday and its stuntman builder hopes to cross the Atlantic later. The 15-metre (50-foot) Thor was made from 15 million recycled ice-cream sticks glued together by U.S.-born Robert McDonald, his son and more than 5,000 children. "Pick up your ice-cream stick, send them to me and I will put them to use," McDonald, 48, said on radio, hoping to auction the ship later and donate the proceeds to charity. "Kids from all over the world started mailing them to me. I...
Agriculture
Ancient Americans Liked It Hot: Mexican Cuisine Traced To 1,500 Years Ago
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/09/2007 8:47:32 PM EDT · 40 replies · 496+ views
Science Daily | 7-9-2007 | Smithsonian
Source: Smithsonian Date: July 9, 2007 Ancient Americans Liked It Hot: Mexican Cuisine Traced To 1,500 Years Ago Science Daily -- One of the world's tastiest and most popular cuisines, Mexican food also may be one of the oldest. These chili peppers from the Guila Naquitz cave in Oaxaca Mexico date to between A.D. 490 and 780, and represent two cultivars or cultivated types. A Smithsonian scientist analyzed the chili pepper remains and determined that Pre-Columbian inhabitants of the region hundreds of years ago enjoyed a spicy fare similar to Mexican cuisine today. (Credit: Linda Perry, Smithsonian Institution) Plant remains...
Longer Perspectives
The seven wonders of the ancient world
Posted by bd476
On News/Activism 07/07/2007 9:38:22 PM EDT · 34 replies · 1,235+ views
Reuters and The Times of India | 8 July 2007
The seven wonders of the ancient world 8 Jul 2007, 0513 hrs IST, REUTERS The results were announced on Sunday: the Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan, Brazil's statue of Christ the Redeemer, Peru's Machu Picchu, Mexico's Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, the Colosseum in Rome and the Taj Mahal in India. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only one of the traditional Seven Wonders of the ancient world still standing. Here are some details on the original seven: The historian Herodotus (ca 484-425 BC), and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca 305-240 BC) at the Museum...
Epigraphy and Language
Underwear's historic role... in Western learning
Posted by Daffynition
On General/Chat 07/12/2007 1:28:32 PM EDT · 33 replies · 431+ views
YahooNews | Thu Jul 12, 2007 | Staff Reporter
London - Underwear underpins the spread of Western culture, with discarded underpants ranking alongside the invention of printing in the spread of literacy, according to a medieval historian. Delegates at the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds, northern England, were told that social migration from rural to urban areas in the 13th century brought with it changes in attire. Whereas rough and ready peasants thought little of wearing nothing under their smocks, the practice became frowned upon in the burgeoning towns and cities, leading to a run on undergarments. And when the underwear was worn out, it provided...
Middle Ages and Renaissance
History's bloodiest siege used human heads as cannonballs (Siege of Malta in 1565 against Muslims)
Posted by wagglebee
On News/Activism 07/07/2007 4:10:40 PM EDT · 172 replies · 3,870+ views
UK Daily Mail | 7/7/07 | James Jackson
A hot and fetid June night on the small Mediterranean island of Malta, and a Christian sentry patrolling at the foot of a fort on the Grand Harbour had spotted something drifting in the water. The alarm was raised. More of these strange objects drifted into view, and men waded into the shallows to drag them to the shore. What they found horrified even these battle-weary veterans: wooden crosses pushed out by the enemy to float in the harbour, and crucified on each was the headless body of a Christian knight. This was psychological warfare at its most brutal, a...
Early America
The Revolutionary War was tough and brutal
Posted by Pharmboy
On General/Chat 07/08/2007 10:39:21 AM EDT · 61 replies · 527+ views
Creators.com | July 4, 2007 | Froma Harrop
In the popular mind, the American Revolution was mostly about liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- and the war that followed the Declaration of Independence wasn't much of a war. We imagine toy soldiers in red coats chasing picturesque rebels. Actually, the War of Independence was horrific, according to John Ferling, a leading historian of early America. It was a grinding conflict that rivaled, and in some ways exceeded, the Civil War in its toll on American fighters when looked at on a per-capita basis. Ferling chronicles the suffering in his new book, "Almost a Miracle: The American Victory...
Thoroughly Modern Miscellany
Leonardo Da Vinci drawings to go online
Posted by wagglebee
On News/Activism 07/09/2007 8:11:45 PM EDT · 20 replies · 493+ views
UK Telegraph | 7/9/07 | Malcolm Moore
Thousands of Leonardo Da Vinci's drawings and scientific theories will soon be viewable for free on the internet. Leonardo chose to write in reverse because it prevented smudging Until now the majority of the manuscripts have been seen only by scholars but the National Museum of Leonardo in his hometown of Vinci has promised to scan about 12,000 pages and create an archive.The European Union is funding the website www.leonardodigitale.com, and 3,000 pages have been scanned so far.The drawings, from the late 15th and early 16th century, demonstrate the artist's incredible range, touching on geometry, astronomy, botany, zoology,...
end of digest #156 20070714
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Friday |
Welcome to the issue 156 of the Gods, Graves, Glyphs ping list Digest. This marks the end of the third year (!) of this brilliant idea to create more work for myself. Rather than wait until the inaugural issue of year four (what's next, "Volume IV"?), I've come up with the idea of adapting this simulated blogger format for use as the Digest ping message. |
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I like your new format (liked the other just fine too)...but, very nice job, SC.
Thanks for the ping.
Thanks!
yw. : )
Did I type that out loud?
;-)
;')
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Gods |
Issue 156 of the Gods, Graves, Glyphs ping list Digest inaugurated a different ping message format, and this is the first prototype of the ordinary ping message. |
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· Mirabilis · Texas AM Anthropology News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · · History or Science & Nature Podcasts · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists · |
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Just joking! Thanks for your hard work here Civ.
bttt. : )
:’)
Gods, Graves, Glyphs
Weekly Digest #157
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Ancient Art
(Watch This Movie Clip!) 10,000 B.C.
Posted by DogByte6RER
On General/Chat 07/14/2007 8:14:13 PM EDT · 63 replies · 2,116+ views
Yahoo! Movies | July 14, 2007 | Yahoo! Movies
10,000 B.C. (2008) Actors Steven Strait (D'Leh) Camilla Belle (Evolet) Omar Sharif Marco Khanlian (One Eye) Cliff Curtis Nathanael Baring Timothy Barlow (The Pyramid God) Mona Hammond (Old Mother) Reece Ritchie Joel Virgel Nakudu Mo Zinal Director by Roland Emmerich Director Epic tale that centers on three stages in the development of primitive man, as seen through a 21-year-old hunter from a primitive tribe who must hunt mammoth to survive. Release Date: March 7th, 2008 (wide) Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution
Paleontology
Dinosaurs' Rise Was Slow, Not "Lucky Break," New Fossils Suggest
Posted by indcons
On News/Activism 07/20/2007 4:20:19 AM EDT · 26 replies · 371+ views
National Geographic News | July 19, 2007 | Susan Brown
A new species of dinosaur ancestor is among a fossil trove recently uncovered in New Mexico that suggests the rise of the dinosaurs was a gradual process. The find counters the theory that dinos came to dominate the landscape suddenly as the result of an evolutionary "lucky break." Until now, fossils of dinosaur precursors had been found only in rocks more than 230 million years old. The first true dinosaurs were found in much younger deposits. This lack of overlap led many experts to conclude that dinosaurs had burst onto the scene after intense competition or a dramatic extinction event...
Climate
Ice Age Survivors Found In Iceland
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/20/2007 6:39:11 PM EDT · 60 replies · 1,321+ views
Science Daily | 7-20-2007 | University Of Chicago
Source: University of Chicago Date: July 20, 2007 Ice Age Survivors Found In Iceland Science Daily -- Many scientists believe that the ice ages exterminated all life on land and in freshwater in large parts of the Northern Hemisphere, especially on ocean islands such as Iceland. Crymostygius thingvallensis, the only species in a recently described family of groundwater amphipods Crymostygidae. (Credit: photograph by Thorkell Heidarsson) Scientists at Holar University College and the University of Iceland have challenged that belief, at least when looking at groundwater animals. They have discovered two species of groundwater amphipods in Iceland that are the only...
Australia and the Pacific
Sole survivor sitting on a $5b fortune
Posted by Daffynition
On General/Chat 07/15/2007 9:25:31 AM EDT · 23 replies · 436+ views
Sydney Morning Herald | July 14, 2007 | Staff Reporter
As the only member of his clan, Jeffrey Lee controls the fate of Koongarra, writes Lindsay Murdoch. Custodian Jeffrey Lee at an outcrop sacred to his clan. "I can go fishing and hunting. That's all that matters to me." Custodian Jeffrey Lee at an outcrop sacred to his clan. "I can go fishing and hunting. That's all that matters to me." "It's my belief that if you disturb that land bad things will happen, there will be a big flood, there will be an earthquake and people will have a big accident." Mr Lee said there were...
Catastrophism and Astronomy
Giant flood separates Britain from Europe
Posted by FoolNoMore
On News/Activism 07/18/2007 5:08:03 PM EDT · 33 replies · 843+ views
AP | Jul 18, 4:22 PM (ET) | THOMAS WAGNER
Study: Megaflood Separated U.K., France Jul 18, 4:22 PM (ET) By THOMAS WAGNER LONDON (AP) - One of Earth's largest-ever megafloods broke apart a strip of land connecting what is now Britain and France, permanently separating them, a new study says. The flood unleashed about 35 million cubic feet of water per second, 100 times greater than the water discharge of the Mississippi River. The natural disaster, which occurred about 400,000 years ago during a glacial period, was later followed by rising sea levels that created what is now the English Channel, the study says. It is not known if...
Africa
Underground lake holds key to Darfur conflict, scientist says
Posted by Fred Nerks
On News/Activism 07/18/2007 9:10:57 PM EDT · 17 replies · 376+ views
ABC News (Australia) | July 18 | U/A
The recent discovery of a huge underground lake in Sudan could spell an end to four years of conflict in the drought-stricken region of Darfur, a US geologist says. More than 200,000 people have been killed and some two million displaced in the conflict, sparked in part by competing claims to scarce natural resources in the western region, humanitarian organisations say. "Access to fresh water is essential for refugee survival, it will help the peace process and provide the necessary resources for the much needed economic development in Darfur," Farouk El-Baz from Boston University said. The discovery was reported in...
Vast Buried "Fossil Lake" Reported in Darfur
Posted by indcons
On News/Activism 07/20/2007 4:31:07 AM EDT · 11 replies · 334+ views
National Geographic News | July 19, 2007 | Dan Morrison in Cairo, Egypt
Deep beneath the desert and scrub of northern Darfur, Sudan, lies a vast hidden cache of water, experts said this week. The newfound aquifer could turn the arid conflict zone into a broad oasis of farms and watering holes, according to Farouk El-Baz, director of Boston University's Center for Remote Sensing. In April El-Baz's team had announced that they had found signs of a huge ancient lake in Darfur. At that time they had speculated that the long-gone lake's water may be lurking underground. After further testing, El-Baz said, "we know there's water." However, "we don't yet know how much,"...
Chew Know What I Mean?
Ancient Jawbone Could Shake Up Fossil Record [ Australopithecus anamensis ]
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/17/2007 12:32:39 PM EDT · 24 replies · 212+ views
National Geographic News | Friday the 13th, July 2007 | Nick Wadhams
Jawbones from an early human ancestor, found recently in northeast Ethiopia, could shine light on a murky period of human evolution, paleontologists say. The bones were found in the fossil-rich Afar region, just 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of the spot where the famed skeleton of "Lucy" -- early human ancestor who lived 3.2 million years ago -- was unearthed in 1974... The new bones are believed to date from 3.8 million to 3.5 million years ago. Though more research needs to be done, the group says the bones could bridge the gap between two known human ancestor species. Australopithecus...
Early-Man 'Missing Link' Possibly Found (The teeth prove it)
Posted by Bladerunnuh
On News/Activism 07/18/2007 12:31:21 PM EDT · 138 replies · 1,782+ views
Live Science via Fox News | 7-28-07 | Robin Lloyd
New jaw fossils might suggest a direct line of descent between two species of early humans, including the one to which "Lucy" belongs. The 3.2 million-year-old Lucy, the earliest known hominid, was found in Ethiopia in 1974 by U.S. paleontologists Donald Johanson and Tom Gray. Lucy and her kind, Australopithecus afarensis, stood upright and walked on two feet, though they might also have been agile tree-climbers. Anthropologists have suspected an ancestor-descendant relationship between the Lucy species and a predecessor -- Australopithecus anamensis -- based on
Prehistory and Origins
Skulls confirm we're all out of Africa
Posted by freespirited
On News/Activism 07/18/2007 4:48:08 PM EDT · 88 replies · 1,451+ views
Yahoo News | 7/18/07 | Ben Hirshler
LONDON (Reuters) - An analysis of thousands of skulls shows modern humans originated from a single point in Africa and finally lays to rest the idea of multiple origins, British scientists said on Wednesday. Most researchers agree that mankind spread out of Africa starting about 50,000 years ago, quickly establishing Stone Age cultures throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. But a minority have argued, using skull data, that divergent populations evolved independently in different areas. The genetic evidence has always strongly supported the single origin theory, and now results from a study of more than 6,000 skulls held around the world...
Modern Humans Came Out of Africa, "Definitive" Study Says
Posted by indcons
On News/Activism 07/20/2007 4:26:32 AM EDT · 28 replies · 485+ views
National Geographic News | July 18, 2007 | James Owen
We are solely children of Africa, with no Neandertals or island-dwelling "hobbits" in our family tree, according to a new study. Scientists who compared the skulls and DNA of human remains from around the world say their results point to modern humans (Homo sapiens) having a single origin in Africa. The study didn't find any evidence to suggest that human species living elsewhere in the world contributed to our direct ancestors' make-up. A team led by Andrea Manica at the University of Cambridge, England, combined analysis of global genetic variations with comparisons of more than 6,000 skulls from more than a...
Egypt
Manchester University Helps With Pharaoh Analysis (Hatshepsut)
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/16/2007 10:19:32 PM EDT · 35 replies · 525+ views
Eureka Alert | 7-16-2007 | University Of Manchester
Contact: Aeron Haworth aeron.haworth@manchester.ac.uk 44-771-788-1563 University of Manchester Manchester University helps with pharaoh DNA analysis Preliminary results support positive identification of Egyptian queen Preliminary results from DNA tests carried out on a mummy believed to be Queen Hatshepsut is expected to support the claim by Egyptian authorities that the remains are indeed those of Egypt's most powerful female ruler. Egyptologists in Cairo announced last month that a tooth found in a wooden box associated with Hatshepsut exactly fitted the jaw socket and broken root of the unidentified mummy. Now, Dr Angelique Corthals, a biomedical Egyptologist at The University of Manchester, says...
Let's Have Jerusalem
Warriors Once Occupied Dead Sea Scrolls Site
Posted by Renfield
On News/Activism 07/15/2007 7:29:41 AM EDT · 7 replies · 695+ views
Live Science | 7-12-07 | Heather Whipps
Fierce warriors once occupied the famous complex where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written, new research suggests. Ruins of the Qumran site -- in the present-day West Bank -- resemble a monastery, but scholars have argued over its uses before the religious sect who penned the scrolls moved in somewhere between 130 and 100 B.C. Using the world's first virtual 3-D reconstruction of the site, historians recently found evidence of a fortress that was later converted into its more peaceful, pious function....
Qumran scrolls view challenged (Dead Sea Scrolls)
Posted by wagglebee
On Religion 07/15/2007 1:25:17 PM EDT · 12 replies · 420+ views
Ynet News | 7/15/07 | Yaakov Lappin
An American academic leading visitors around an exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Natural History Museum in San Diego will challenge the consensus on the identity of the scrolls' authors, the Chicago Jewish News said on Friday. Professor Norman Golb, of the Jewish History and Civilization department at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, does not believe that the scrolls were authored by the ancient Jewish Essene sect, a pacifist group, as most experts believe, arguing instead that the scrolls were authored by a variety of Jewish residents of Judea who fled the Roman Army in 70 C.E....
Navigation
New "Kon-Tiki" expedition postponed (Norway)
Posted by franksolich
On News/Activism 02/07/2005 9:01:51 AM EST · 12 replies · 374+ views
Aftenposten | February 7, 2005 | reporter
New 'Kon-Tiki' expedition postponed Norwegian organizers of a new expedition in a replica of the late explorer Thor Heyerdahl's famed "Kon-Tiki" raft were supposed to cast off from Peru this spring. Now they're aiming for the spring of 2006 instead.The group of adventurers, which included a grandson of Heyerdahl, had high hopes for their so-called "Tangaroa Expedition," named after a Polynesian god of the sea. They planned to set off April 28, on a 101-day voyage across the Pacific. The tsunamis that hit Asia on December 26, however, doused those plans. Important sponsors decided to redirect funding grants to tsunami victims instead...
Mediterranean
Sailors may have cruised the Med 14,000 years ago
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/18/2007 2:22:55 PM EDT · 25 replies · 242+ views
Reuters | Wednesday, July 18, 2007 | Michele Kambas
Archaeologists in Cyprus have discovered what they believe could be the oldest evidence yet that organized groups of ancient mariners were plying the east Mediterranean, possibly as far back as 14,000 years ago... about 30 miles away from the closest land mass, may have been gradually populated about that time, and up to 2,000 years earlier than previously thought... The discovery at a coastal site on the island's northwest has revealed chipped tools submerged in the sea and made with local stone which could be the earliest trace yet of human activity in Cyprus. U.S. and Cypriot archaeologists conducting the...
Anatolia
Troy Story [The Straight Dope]
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/18/2007 2:14:32 PM EDT · 15 replies · 225+ views
Salt Lake City Weekly | July 19, 2007 | Cecil Adams (The Straight Dope)
Schliemann's identification of Troy with a place near Turkey's Aegean coast called Hisarlik is more certain than ever. He wasn't the first to make the connection, but his excavations in 1870 proved the Bronze Age city was prosperous enough to match Homer's description... Among the subdued lands, Hittite texts tell us, was a place called Wilusa. Since the 1920s, shortly after Hittite was deciphered, some have identified Wilusa with Troy (Ilios in Greek, possibly Wilios before Greek lost its W sound)... several Hittite texts... use the place-name "Ahhiyawa," currently thought to refer to one or more Greek-speaking kingdoms. Ahhiyawa is...
Greece
Bulgarian Archaeologists Discover 2,400-Year-Old Golden Mask
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/16/2007 9:59:01 PM EDT · 19 replies · 760+ views
IHT | 7-16-2007
Bulgarian archaeologists discover 2,400-year-old golden mask The Associated Press Published: July 16, 2007 SOFIA, Bulgaria: Archaeologists have unearthed a 2,400-year-old golden mask in an ancient Thracian tomb in southeastern Bulgaria, scholars announced Monday. The mask was discovered over the weekend by a team of archaeologists excavating near the village of Topolchane, 290 kilometers (180 miles) east of the capital, Sofia. Its discovery, archaeologists said, indicates a Thracian king was buried in the tomb. It was found together with a solid gold ring engraved with a Greek inscription and with the design of a bearded man in a timber-lined Thracian grave....
Rome and Italy
Ancient Bath Complex Unearthed in Rome
Posted by dynachrome
On General/Chat 07/21/2007 7:01:52 PM EDT · 4 replies · 92+ views
foxnews.com | 7-20-07 | Fox News
"The complex was believed to be part of a multi-story villa that belonged to the Roman-era equivalent of a billionaire, a man called Quintus Servilius Pudens who was a friend of Emperor Hadrian, Arya said. It was unclear whether the baths were open to the public or reserved for the owner's distinguished guests."
Longer Perspectives
Why Did Rome Fall? It's Time For New Answers
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/16/2007 8:34:07 PM EDT · 91 replies · 2,925+ views
History News Network | 7-16-2007 | Peter heather
7-16-07 Why Did Rome Fall? It's Time for New Answers By Peter HeatherMr. Heather is professor at Worcester College, University of Oxford, and the author of The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians (Oxford University Press). The Roman Empire stretched from Hadrian's Wall to northern Iraq, and from the mouth of the Rhine to the Atlas Mountains of North Africa. It was the largest state that western Eurasia has ever seen. It was also extremely long-lived. Roman power prevailed over most of these domains for five hundred years -- and all this in...
India
Ancient silver coins unearthed in Orissa
Posted by nickcarraway
On News/Activism 12/15/2005 2:06:44 AM EST · 11 replies · 695+ views
New Kerala | 14 Dec 2005
Kendrapada (Orissa): Nearly 600 ancient silver coins were found by workers at a construction site in the coastal district of Jagatsinghpur in Orissa. The workers found the coins, believed to be over 100 years old, while digging earth in a field owned by one Bhabagrahi Sarangi at Kapur village Tuesday. Sarangi informed the police after hearing about it from one of his workers. He claimed that he recovered over 200 coins from some of his workers. Historian Bijaya Mohanty urged the district administration to cordon off the area, as many curious villagers were reported to have dug their fields hoping...
Epigraphy and Language
Ancient Chinese coins dug up in central Vietnam
Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 07/17/2007 11:59:13 AM EDT · 12 replies · 122+ views
Thanh Nien | July 2007 | Nguyen Cong Khe, editor
Three refuse collectors found five jars July 11 containing the coins and weighing around 30 kilograms in Ham Ninh commune. At the same place a week earlier a local farmer named Nguyen Duc Dung found a pot weighing 20 kilograms containing copper coins while digging on a rice paddy. On all the coins one side has four Chinese characters while the other is plain. Tran Anh Tuan, director of the Quang Binh Museum, said the coins were rare and valuable and had appeared in Vietnam at the peak of the Tang Dynasty's rule. "The money was circulated in Vietnam for...
China
Striking Gold (Archaeology - China)
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/21/2007 9:43:10 PM EDT · 8 replies · 440+ views
China Org | 7-21-2007 | Xinhua
Striking Gold It all started in 2001, when a bulldozer driver heard a scraping sound as his machine's blade bit deep into the dirt. Working at a new real estate development site on the west end of Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, the driver looked down to see what his scoop had snagged. He had struck a collection of golden and jade objects in the earth. Soon after construction workers and passers-by rushed to the site, snapping up the treasures and scurrying off. Those too late to get anything were disgruntled, and then reported the incident to the...
Vikings
Father and son treasure hunters discover Viking treasure worth £1m
Posted by uglybiker
On News/Activism 07/19/2007 12:28:52 PM EDT · 65 replies · 1,750+ views
Daily Mail (UK) | 19th July 2007
A £1 million collection of Viking artefacts, discovered by a father and son team of amateur treasure-hunters using metal detectors, is set to be unveiled at the British Museum. Experts say the artefacts, including hundreds of silver coins, ornaments and a spectacular gilt silver vessel, are the most important Viking hoard discovered in Britain in the last 150 years. The collection is expected to be officially declared treasure today, paving the way for the museum to buy it and put it on public display. The pieces were found in January, on farmland in North Yorkshire, by father and son David...
Middle Ages and Renaissance
'Lost' Coronation Abbey Unearthed (Robert The Bruce)
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/20/2007 5:39:43 PM EDT · 43 replies · 1,042+ views
BBC | 7-20-2007
'Lost' coronation abbey unearthed Experts have found the abbey where Robert the Bruce was crowned Archaeologists have unearthed the site where Robert the Bruce was crowned king of Scotland. The location of the abbey at Moot Hill, the original home of the Stone of Destiny, was forgotten centuries ago. But it has now been identified by experts from Glasgow University who have been surveying the grounds of Scone Palace for the first time. They used scanners to detect buried structures and found part of the abbey church and a bell tower. The coronation of Pictish and Scottish kings took place...
Thoroughly Modern Miscellany
Hell on Earth: The never before seen colour photographs of the bloody battle of Passchendaele
Posted by LibWhacker
On General/Chat 07/17/2007 5:32:18 PM EDT · 77 replies · 1,307+ views
Daily Mail | 7/12/07 | Victoria Moore
They are the most remarkable pictures of one of the most hellish places on earth. Never seen before, these astonishing photographs, lovingly hand-touched in colour to bring to life the nightmare of Passchendaele, were released this week to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the battle that, between July and November 1917, claimed a staggering 2,121 lives a day and in total some quarter of a million Allied soldiers. Killing field: A German machine gun unit strafes No Man's Land at Passchendaele as artillery shells churn up hte ground and mustard gas billows over the front What was once pretty countryside...
end of digest #157 20070721
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Saturday |
Welcome to the issue 157 of the Gods, Graves, Glyphs ping list Digest. No one puked about this simulated blogger format, so I'm continuing to use it. I have yet to update the ping message to match. Since I'm over an hour late posting this week's Digest (I had plans, which is unusual), don't expect it soon. |
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