Gods, Graves, Glyphs
Weekly Digest #123
Saturday, November 25, 2006
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Biology and Cryptobiology
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Humans Show Big DNA Differences
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/23/2006 10:09:00 PM EST · 35 replies · 1,158+ views
BBC | 11-23-2006
Humans show big DNA differences DNA comparisons: Gains (green), losses (red), the same (yellow) Scientists have shown that our genetic code varies between individuals far more than was previously thought. A UK-led team made a detailed analysis of the DNA found in 270 people and identified vast stretches in their codes to be duplicated or even missing. A great many of these variations are in areas of the genome that would not damage our health, Matthew Hurles and colleagues told the journal Nature. But others are - and can be shown to play a role in a number of disorders....
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Agriculture and Animal Husbandry
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Wheat's lost gene helps nutrition
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/24/2006 10:34:31 PM EST · 11 replies · 139+ views
BBC News | Friday, 24 November 2006 | unattributed
Turning on a gene found in wheat could boost levels of protein, iron and zinc, scientists have discovered. The gene occurs naturally in wheat, but has largely been silenced during the evolution of domestic varieties. Researchers found evidence that turning it back on could raise levels of the nutrients in wheat grains. Writing in the journal Science, they suggest that new varieties with a fully functioning gene can be created through cross-breeding with wild wheat... The researchers identified a gene called GPC-B1, GPC standing for Grain Protein Content... The UC Davis team is already making such varieties, not by genetic...
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Navigation
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Early Roman Shipwreck Carried Fish Sauce
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Posted by dbehsman
On News/Activism 11/14/2006 5:47:35 AM EST · 21 replies · 659+ views
Breitbart.com | 11-13-06 | DANIEL WOOLLS
A shipwrecked first-century vessel carrying delicacies to the richest palates of the Roman Empire has proved a dazzling find, with nearly 2,000-year-old fish bones still nestling inside clay jars, archaeolgists said Monday. Boaters found its cargo of hundreds of amphoras in 2000 when their anchor got tangled with one of the two-handled jars. After years of arranging financing and crews, exploration of the site a mile off the coast of Alicante in southeast Spain began in July, said Carles de Juan, a co-director of the project, who works for the Valencia regional government. The ship, estimated to be 100 feet...
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2,000-year-old shipwreck yields hundreds of jars
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/19/2006 11:08:23 PM EST · 26 replies · 316+ views
Knoxville News Sentinel | November 19, 2006 | Daniel Woolls
THE FIND: The wreck of a first-century vessel carrying delicacies to the wealthy during the Roman Empire lay for 20 centuries in waters just off the Spanish coast, until it was discovered in 2000.THE CARGO: Its cargo of an estimated 1,500 well-preserved clay amphoras has been found to have contained fish sauce - a prized condiment for wealthy Romans - and includes traces of fish bones, archaeologists said.SIGNIFICANCE: The size of the ship, good condition of its cargo and its easy accessibility in just 80 feet of water are providing important insights.
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Giant Roman Shipwreck Yields "Fishy" Treasure
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Posted by Lorianne
On News/Activism 11/20/2006 7:14:08 PM EST · 45 replies · 1,144+ views
National Geographic | 20 November 2006 | James Owen
Sunken treasure with a distinctly fishy flavor has been recovered from a huge Roman shipwreck in the Mediterranean. The 2,000-year-old vessel, discovered off the Spanish coast, was described by marine archaeologists last week as "a jewel of the Old World." However, it wasn't gold or silver that the ship was carrying but hundreds of jars of a foul-smelling fish sauce. The ancient delicacy, known as garum, was usually made from fermented fish guts and blood. Wealthy Romans, experts say, couldn't get enough of the stuff. The sailing ship, dating from the first century A.D. lies about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers)...
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Giant Roman Shipwreck Yields "Fishy" Treasure
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Posted by Red Badger
On News/Activism 11/21/2006 12:41:03 PM EST · 28 replies · 1,085+ views
National Geographic | 11/20/2006 | James Owen
Sunken treasure with a distinctly fishy flavor has been recovered from a huge Roman shipwreck in the Mediterranean. The 2,000-year-old vessel, discovered off the Spanish coast, was described by marine archaeologists last week as "a jewel of the Old World." Jars found in Roman shipwreck photo However, it wasn't gold or silver that the ship was carrying but hundreds of jars of a foul-smelling fish sauce. The ancient delicacy, known as garum, was usually made from fermented fish guts and blood. Wealthy Romans, experts say, couldn't get enough of the stuff. The sailing ship, dating from the first century A.D....
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Prehistory and Origins
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Archeologists to Excavate the 14000-Y-Old Island of Khark
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/23/2006 8:00:40 PM EST · 3 replies · 146+ views
Cultural Heritage News Agency | November 23, 2006 | Maryam Tabeshian
Archeologists of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department of Bushehr province are about to start their excavations to identify historic sites of the southern Iranian Island of Khark, located in the Persian Gulf. Based on the available historic accounts and archeological evidence, about 14000 years ago Khark Island emerged from the depth of the Persian Gulf. The same documents suggest the existence of human settlements on this island as far back as the mid third millennium BC. Remaining evidence from different historic periods, from the Achaemenid dynastic era (550 BCñ330 BC) to the Islamic period, abounds in this Island. Head...
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Elam, Persian, Parthia, Iran
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Elements Of Forgotten Empire (Sassanids)
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/17/2006 6:55:37 PM EST · 21 replies · 395+ views
Al-Ahram | 11-16-2006
Elements of forgotten empire While the Sassanids are perhaps best known for their defeat at the hands of Arab forces in 642 CE, a new exhibition reveals more about their empire than its sudden final collapse, writes David Tresilian in Paris Sassanid king Shapur III (reigned 383-388) shown spearing a leopard, fourth century (St Petersburg: Hermitage Museum) Occupying the ground-floor rooms of the Musee Cernuschi in Paris until 30 December, Les Perses Sassanides, Fastes d'un empire oublie (The Sassanid Persians: Splendours of a Forgotten Empire) is an exhibition that brings together items from major European and North American museums and...
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Unprecedented Jar Burial of a Dog Observed in Gohar Tepe
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/24/2006 10:21:51 PM EST · 7 replies · 101+ views
Payvand's Iran News | 11/15/06 | Soudabeh Sadigh
Discovery of a jar containing the skeleton of a dog in a human grave for the first time in Gohar Tepe, northern Iran, has puzzled archeologists. The two skeletons are dated to the 1st millennium BC... Human burials in jars have commonly been observed in different historic sites of Iran. Similar examples of jar burials of humans have also been found in Gohar Tepe. However, this is the first time that the skeletons of a dog are found in a jar. This is why the new discovery has astounded the archeologists... According to Mahforouzi, three daggers and eight arrowheads all...
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Holy Cow Statue Discovered in Iran
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Posted by F14 Pilot
On News/Activism 09/30/2005 4:09:46 PM EDT · 66 replies · 2,557+ views
Iran News | 9/29/05
Tehran, 28 September 2005 (CHN) -- Archaeological excavations in Gohar Tepe, in Mazandaran province in Iran, has led to the discovery of the remains of the statues of some cows which were most probably used in religious ceremonies. The discovery of these sculptures indicates that the people of the region worshiped cows 3000 years ago. Mazandaran is one of the most ancient provinces in Iran. Archaeological excavations indicate that the province has been inhabited by human beings since 400,000 years ago until the present time, and that around 5000 years ago, urbanization flourished in the area. Gohar Tepe is a...
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British Isles
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3,000-year-old tools to museum
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/24/2006 9:02:43 PM EST · 1 reply · 1+ view
BBC | Monday, 20 November 2006 | unattributed
A man with a metal detector who came across a hoard of prehistoric bronze tools and weapons has handed over his find to the National Museum Wales. Phil Smith came across the Bronze Age haul on land in Llanbadoc in Monmouthshire and reported his find. Dating between 1,000 and 800 BC, the haul contains axes, fragments of swords and a spearhead as well knives and harvesting tools. The 3,000-year-old pieces are being studied by experts. The treasure was thought to have been buried together in the ground, probably in a small pit, as a ritual gift to the pagan gods...
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Let's Have Jerusalem
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The Largest City In The Ancient World (Tel Megiddo)
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/20/2006 2:19:01 PM EST · 15 replies · 920+ views
Haaretz | 11-20-2006 | Ran Shapira
Last update - 00:12 20/11/2006 The largest city in the ancient world By Ran Shapira The Early Bronze Age temple was initially discovered at Tel Megiddo a decade ago. When part of it was first unearthed in 1996, the researchers realized this was a very impressive structure. Since then, evidence accumulated supporting the estimated dimensions: In 2000, two large column bases were excavated. Then last summer, most of the structure was excavated, and the researchers were surprised. The temple, it emerged, was built on a larger area than had been previously assumed, and is an artful construction of excellent materials....
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Special Report: Ekron Identity Confirmed [ from 1998 ]
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/21/2006 12:03:51 AM EST · 10 replies · 130+ views
Archaeology | January/February 1998 | Seymour Gitin, Trude Dothan, and Joseph Naveh
An inscription carved into a limestone slab found at Tel Miqne, 23 miles southwest of Jerusalem, confirms the identification of the site as Ekron, one of the five Philistine capital cities mentioned in the Bible. The inscription is unique because it contains the name of a biblical city and five of its rulers, two of whom are mentioned as kings in texts other than the Bible. The only such inscription found in situ in a securely defined, datable archaeological context, it has far-reaching implications for our understanding of the history of Ekron and Philistia... The inscription was found in the...
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Ancient Art
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At Mideast holy site, what is treasure? (Discoveries at Temple Mount)
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Posted by NYer
On News/Activism 11/18/2006 10:04:03 AM EST · 34 replies · 999+ views
AP | November 17, 2006 | MATTI FRIEDMAN
Off an East Jerusalem side street, between an olive orchard and an abandoned hotel, sit a few piles of stones and dirt that are yielding important insights into Jerusalem's history. They come from one of the world's most disputed holy places -- the square in the heart of Jerusalem that is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.The story behind the rubble includes an underground crypt, a maverick college student, a white-bearded archaeologist, thousands of relics spanning millennia and a feud between Israelis and Palestinians which is heavily shaped by ancient history.Among finds that...
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The Mediterranean
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The Real Prehistoric Religion Of Malta
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/18/2006 1:39:32 PM EST · 9 replies · 456+ views
The Malta Independent | 11-17-2006 | Noel Grima
The real prehistoric religion of Malta by NOEL GRIMA Forget the goddess theory, which you hear every tourist guide trying to explain the huge statues at the National Museum of Archaeology or while touring Hagar Qim. That may not have been the original religion of Malta. This was the startling starting point in a lecture "Ritual, Space and Structure in Prehistoric Malta and Gozo: New Observations on Old Matters", given by Dr Caroline Malone, co-director, Xaghra Stone Circle excavation during the recent Heritage Malta international conference held at the Grand Hotel in Gozo. Dr Malone is senior tutor at Hughes...
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Astronomy and Catastrophism
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Icelandic Volcano Caused Historic Famine In Egypt
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Posted by cogitator
On General/Chat 11/22/2006 11:44:38 AM EST · 18 replies · 202+ views
Terra Daily | 11/22/2006 | Staff Writers
An environmental drama played out on the world stage in the late 18th century when a volcano killed 9,000 Icelanders and brought a famine to Egypt that reduced the population of the Nile valley by a sixth. A study by three scientists from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and a collaborator from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, demonstrates a connection between these two widely separated events. The investigators used a computer model developed by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies to trace atmospheric changes that followed the 1783 eruption of Laki in southern Iceland back to their point...
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Archaeoastronomy and Megaliths
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Sky disc of Nebra shines in Basel
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/23/2006 7:45:15 PM EST · 13 replies · 174+ views
SwissInfo | November 22, 2006 | Urs Maurer
Made out of bronze with gold embossing, the 3,600-year-old object is an astronomical clock. It connects the sun and the moon calendars together, with the sun giving the day and year and the moon, the month. The moon year is, however, 11 days shorter than the sun year. This was taken into account in ancient times by adding an extra month, leading experts to believe that people in the Bronze Age were already making sophisticated astronomical observations similar to those written about by the Babylonians around 1,000 years later. The disc is thought to be a depiction of the Bronze...
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Oh So Mysteriouso
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21st century technology cracks alchemists' secret recipe
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/23/2006 7:35:30 PM EST · 3 replies · 140+ views
EurekAlert! | November 22, 2006 | Judith H Moore et al
Now, writing in Nature, the researchers reveal using petrographic, chemical and X-ray diffraction analysis that Hessian crucible makers made use of an advanced material only properly identified and named in the 20th century. Dr Marcos MartinÛn-Torres, of the UCL Institute of Archaeology, who led the study, explains: "Our analysis of 50 Hessian and non-Hessian crucibles revealed that the secret component in their manufacture is an aluminium silicate known as mullite (Al6Si2O13)... This material was only first described in the 20th century, though Hessian crucible makers were already taking advantage of this peculiar aluminium silicate 400 years earlier: they synthesised mullite...
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India
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Talakad, a legend buried in time
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/20/2006 11:23:16 PM EST · 7 replies · 110+ views
IBN Live | Monday, November 20, 2006 | Deepa Balakrishnan
The five Shiva temples in Talakkad have always been submerged in sand. And the ancient legend revolving around them begins with Srirangaraya, a local chieftain... Alamelamma instead committed suicide by jumping into River Cauvery. But locals believe before dying, she cursed the town - Talakadu Maralagili, malangi maduvagali, wodeyar doreyarige makkalagidirali (May Talakad be filled with sand, may Malangi become a whirlpool, May the Wodeyars never have children). Strangely, it's all come true. But is there a scientific explanation for this? ...Ever since this happened, temple authorities in Talakkad have conducted the Panchalingadarshana festival, which takes place every seventh or...
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Carved rocks, wall found under sea
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/19/2006 11:34:01 PM EST · 11 replies · 270+ views
Chennai Online | Sunday, November 19, 2006 | unattributed
Rocks with step-like cuttings, a wall and carved blocks found under the sea in the southern coast near the heritage site of Mahabalipuram are believed to be evidence of an early settlement or a port. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) came across the remains while recently conducting excavations underwater at the site in Tamil Nadu. "Mahabalipuram is a historical place. We started detailed excavation 500 metres from the shore in the sea and recently came across different types of rocks which indicate human activity. We have also found a wall running from the shore into the sea," Alok Tripathy,...
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Tsunami throws up India relics - The Tides of Spirituality
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Posted by Red Sea Swimmer
On News/Activism 02/12/2005 9:11:11 PM EST · 6 replies · 736+ views
BBC News, Delhi | Soutik Biswas
The relics have been buried under the sand for centuries. The deadly tsunami could have uncovered the remains of an ancient port city off the coast in southern India. Archaeologists say they have discovered some stone remains from the coast close to India's famous beachfront Mahabalipuram temple in Tamil Nadu state following the 26 December tsunami. They believe that the "structures" could be the remains of an ancient and once-flourishing port city in the area housing the famous 1200-year-old rock-hewn temple. Three pieces of remains, which include a granite lion, were found buried in the sand after the coastline receded...
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Asia
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Archaeologists Dig Deep To Revive 2,200 Year-Old Ancient (Han) City
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/20/2006 2:35:43 PM EST · 3 replies · 290+ views
Peoples Daily - Xinhua | 11-20-2006
Archaeologists dig deep to revive 2,200 year-old ancient capitalFifty years of excavation work on the ancient city of Chang'an, situated in the northwestern part of Xi'an, have now passed and archaeologists have been able to map out a clear layout of the former capital of the Han Dynasty. But there is still much work to be done. Experts, such as Liu Qingzhu, a veteran archaeologist with the Institute of Archeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), insist that only one thousandth of the total ruins has been unearthed. "Like the ancient site of Pompeii, the study of large-scale...
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Corruption alive in China 2800 years ago(court document dug up?)
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Posted by TigerLikesRooster
On News/Activism 11/19/2006 9:36:53 AM EST · 15 replies · 291+ views
China Daily | 11/19/06
Corruption alive in China 2800 years ago (Xinhua) Updated: 2006-11-19 16:07 XI'AN -- Much has been made of the corruption that has tarnished the image of Chinese local government officials but it seems bribery among the country's authoritative ranks was in full swing more than 2,800 years ago. The inscriptions on two bronze urns unearthed recently in northwest China's Shaanxi province tell the story of how, in 873 B.C., a noble man managed to bribe the judiciary in order to dodge charges of appropriating farmland and slaves. The inscriptions on each urn contain 111 ancient Chinese characters, which detail the...
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PreColumbian, Clovis, and PreClovis
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11,000-Year-Old Texans Are Stars Of The Bosque Museum
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 11/18/2006 1:15:51 PM EST · 19 replies · 508+ views
Dallaq Morning News | 11-17-2006 | Mary G Ramos
11,000-year-old Texans are stars of the Bosque Museum 01:31 PM CST on Friday, November 17, 2006 By MARY G. RAMOS / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News A special new exhibit at the Bosque Museum in Clifton, Texas, features the lives of some extremely early Texans. Prehistoric people (called Paleo-Americans by archaeologists) lived in a cave shelter on the western bank of the Brazos River a bit downstream from the Lake Whitney Dam in Bosque County about 11,000 years ago. Paleo-Americans were using the 150-foot by 30-foot shelter before ancient Egyptian civilization began. A Texas archaeologist discovered the shelter,...
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Peruvian archaeologists excavate tombs
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Posted by Pharmboy
On News/Activism 11/22/2006 1:09:04 PM EST · 22 replies · 418+ views
Associated Press via Yahoo | Wed Nov 22, 2006 | MARTIN MEJIA
Peruvian workers clean graves containing a trove of pre-Inca artifacts in Ferrenafe, Peru, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006. Archaeologists in northern Peru said Tuesday they have unearthed 22 artifact-rich graves containing a trove of pre-Inca artifacts, including the first 'tumi' ceremonial knives ever excavated scientifically. The more than 900-year-old tombs were found next to a pyramid in the Pomac Forest Historical Sanctuary, about 680 kilometers (420 miles) northwest of the capital, Lima. They are from the Sican culture, which flourished on Peru's northern desert coast from A.D. 750 to 1375. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) Archaeologists said Tuesday they have unearthed 22...
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Tomb find reveals pre-Inca city
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Posted by csvset
On General/Chat 11/22/2006 8:12:38 PM EST · 3 replies · 25+ views
BBC | 22 Nov 2006 | BBC
Tomb find reveals pre-Inca city The discover of tumis in situ is particularly exciting to scientists Archaeologists working in northern Peru have discovered a spectacular tomb complex about 1,000 years old.The complex contains at least 20 tombs, and dates from the pre-Inca Sican era. Among the discoveries are 12 "tumis", ceremonial knives which scientists have not been able to study in a burial site before, as well as ceramics and masks. The Sican culture flourished from approximately AD 800-1300, one of several metalworking societies which succumbed to drought and conquest. Archaeologists working on the project say the find will...
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Faith and Philosophy
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Announcing a New Book by Alamo-Girl and betty boop
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Posted by betty boop
On News/Activism 11/13/2006 10:34:14 PM EST · 323 replies · 5,534+ views
Alamo-Girl and betty boop | November 13, 2006 | betty boop
Table of Contents Authors' Foreword Prologue Dramatis Personae The Scene The Dialogue The so-called "Cartesian Split" What is "all that there is?" Pure, blind chance? First reality and second realities What is knowledge? Does science "have it in" for God? Is Intelligent Design science? What is matter? What lies at the beginning of "all that there is?" Aristotle's Four Causes What is "randomness?" First Adam, Second Adam Is science "killing the soul?" The Public Square: a "values-neutral zone?" What is science? What is the universe? What is life? What is reality? Endnotes Appendix Nuts and Bolts Numbers Big and Small Combinatorics,...
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Longer Perspectives
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How Private Property Saved the Pilgrims
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Posted by FreeKeys
On General/Chat 11/18/2006 3:29:36 PM EST · 28 replies · 379+ views
The Hoover Digest (The Hoover Institution's r | Jan. 1999 | Tom Bethell
When the Pilgrims landed in 1620, they established a system of communal property. Within three years they had scrapped it, instituting private property instead. Hoover media fellow Tom Bethell tells the story. There are three configurations of property rights: state, communal, and private property. Within a family, many goods are in effect communally owned. But when the number of communal members exceeds normal family size, as happens in tribes and communes, serious and intractable problems arise.[...]Thirty years old when he arrived in the New World, Bradford became the second governor of Plymouth ... and the most important figure in the...
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Middle Ages and Renaissance
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Whether Moon-gods Were The High-gods In South Arabian Religions
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Posted by allahisamoongod
On General/Chat 11/18/2006 2:58:32 AM EST · 10 replies · 195+ views
Yoel Natan Books Yoel.info | October 2006 | Yoel Natan
I. Introduction. This piece is written in response to "Reply to Robert Morey's Moon-God Allah Myth: A Look at the Archaeological Evidence," dated 26 Jun 2006, authored by Saifullah, Juferi & David and published on the Islamic Awareness website. This response is more focused on the issues in question rather than on defending Morey's scholarship. While a few of Saifullah's criticisms of Morey's work are addressed, Morey may wish to issue another pamphlet like the one he wrote answering a prior critic, Shabir Ally.[1][snip] VIII. Conclusion. Most of this essay is extracted from the "Critique of the Revisionist View on...
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Thoroughly Modern Miscellany
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The Trial of Akhenaten [ a play ]
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 11/22/2006 12:09:48 AM EST · 4 replies · 65+ views
Philadelphia City Paper | Nov 21, 2006 | Rachel Frankford
God's been on trial a whole lot lately, poor fellow. Now it's even going on retroactively. For proof, check out Vagabond Acting Troupe's The Trial of Akhenaten, a 25-minute play written specifically to be performed in the Penn Museum of Art and Architecture's exhibit "Amarna: Ancient Egypt's Place in the Sun." The city of Amarna was built by the pharaoh Akhenaten (believed to be the father of King Tut), and razed just a generation later. His legacy turned to rubble so quickly because he angered the Egyptian people by replacing the traditional pantheon of gods with worship of just one,...
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Was An Ancient Egyptian City Found In the Grand Canyon?
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Posted by Bill_o'Rights
On News/Activism 11/20/2006 3:01:14 PM EST · 60 replies · 2,466+ views
Raiders News Network | Nov 19th, 2006 12:51 PM | David H. Childress
An Egyptian tomb in the Grand Canyon similar to the Valley of Kings in Luxor, Egypt? An article published on the front page of the Phoenix Gazette on April 5,1909, claimed that just such an Egyptian rock-cut cave was found! The Gazette article, dated April 5,1909, starts with four headlines, "Explorations in Grand Canyon", "Mysteries of Immense Rich Cavern Being Brought to Light", "JORDAN IS ENTHUSED" and "Remarkable Finds Indicate Ancient People Migrated From Orient." From the Gazette article: "...the explorer who found this great underground citadel of the Grand Canyon during a trip from Green River, Wyoming, down the...
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end of digest #123 20061125
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