Gods, Graves, Glyphs
Weekly Digest #168
Saturday, October 6, 2007
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Helix, Make Mine a Double
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Why Home Doesn't Matter
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 09/29/2007 12:53:22 PM EDT · 42 replies
Prospect | May 2007 | Judith Rich Harris
Why home doesn't matterMay 2007Judith Rich Harris The BBC series "Child of Our Time" assumes that studying children with their parents will help us understand how their personalities develop. But this is a mistake: parents influence their children mainly by passing on their genes. The biggest environmental influences on personality are those that occur outside the home During much of the 20th century, it was considered impolite and unscientific to say that genes play any role in determining people's personalities, talents or intelligence. But we're in the 21st century now, the era of the genome. So when Robert Winston informs...
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Paleontology
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Funny-Looking Dinosaur Found in China
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Posted by decimon
On News/Activism 10/04/2007 7:32:47 PM EDT · 30 replies · 980+ views
Live Science | October 04, 2007 | Robin Lloyd
A strange, long-necked waddling dinosaur with massive arms and probably enormous claws has been discovered. It walked only on its hind legs like the carnivorous dinosaurs from which it evolved, but Suzhousaurus megatherioides, meaning "giant sloth-like reptile from Suzhou," was an herbivore, says researcher Daqing Li of the Third Geology and Mineral Resources Exploration Academy of Gansu Province in northwestern China, where the fossil specimen was found. The creature belongs to a group of dinosaurs called therizinosaurs, characterized by long necks capped by small heads, massive arms and claws, and flaring ribs and hips that made their bodies very wide.
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Duck-billed dinosaur amazes scientists
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Posted by Renfield
On General/Chat 10/05/2007 7:14:06 AM EDT · 12 replies · 119+ views
Yahoo News | 10-03-07 | BROCK VERGAKIS
SALT LAKE CITY - Scientists are amazed at the chomping ability of a newly described duck-billed dinosaur. The herbivore's powerful jaw, more than 800 teeth and compact skull meant that no leaf, branch or bush would have been safe, they say. "It really is like the Arnold Schwarzenegger of dinosaurs -- it's all pumped up," said Scott Sampson, curator of the Utah Museum of Natural History. The newly named Gryposaurus monumentensis, or hook-beaked lizard from the monument, was discovered near the Arizona line in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in 2002 by a volunteer at the site. Details about the...
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Biology and Cryptobiology
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Giant Bones Challenged 18th-Century Intellectuals
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 09/29/2007 8:27:14 PM EDT · 31 replies
Cincy Post | Dan Hurley
Giant bones challenged 18th-century intellectuals By Dan Hurley Post columnist Today, the valley is dry, dusty and unremarkable, but 250 years ago it was one of the most fascinating spots ever discovered in the North America. From the very first time in 1739 that local Indians led a contingent of French explorers to the salt licks near the Ohio River in what is today Boone County, Ky., the spot raised intellectually troubling questions. European and American scientists understood the importance of salt licks and why thousands of modern buffalo, deer and elk beat broad paths to the marshy lick, but...
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Catastrophism and Astronomy
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Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago
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Posted by baynut
On General/Chat 09/30/2007 1:14:28 PM EDT · 55 replies
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, October 9, 2007, Vol. 104 | Setember 27, 2007 | R. B. Firestone, et. al.
A carbon-rich black layer, dating to 12.9 ka, has been previously identified at 50 Clovis-age sites across North America and appears contemporaneous with the abrupt onset of Younger Dryas (YD) cooling. The in situ bones of extinct Pleistocene megafauna, along with Clovis tool assemblages, occur below this black layer but not within or above it. Causes for the extinctions, YD cooling, and termination of Clovis culture have long been controversial. In this paper, we provide evidence for an extraterrestrial (ET) impact event at 12.9 ka, which we hypothesize caused abrupt environmental changes that contributed to YD cooling, major ecological reorganization,...
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Neanderthal / Neandertal
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Neanderthals Roamed As Far As Siberia
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 09/30/2007 6:03:36 PM EDT · 20 replies
New Scientist | 9-30-2007 | Roxanne Khamsi
Neanderthals roamed as far as Siberia 18:00 30 September 2007 NewScientist.com news service Roxanne Khamsi DNA extracted from skeletal remains has shown that Neanderthals roamed some 2000 kilometres further east than previously thought. Researchers say the genetic sequence of an adolescent Neanderthal found in southern Siberia closely matches that of Neanderthals found in western Europe, suggesting that this close relative of modern humans migrated very long distances. Svante Paabo at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and colleagues examined skeletal remains found in the Okladnikov cave in the Altai Mountains and dated as between 30,000 and...
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Go East old man: Neanderthals reached China's doorstep
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Posted by Renfield
On General/Chat 10/01/2007 1:11:19 PM EDT · 5 replies
AFP | 9/30/07
PARIS (AFP) -- European Neanderthals, modern man's ill-fated cousins who died out mysteriously some 28,000 years ago, migrated much further east than previously thought, according to a study released Sunday. Remains from the slope-browed hominid have previously been found over an area stretching from Spain to Uzbekistan, but the new study extends the eastern boundary of their wanderings another 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) deep into southern Siberia, just above the western tip of what is today China. The fossils underpinning the study are not new, but the techniques used to analyse them are. Geneticist Svante Paabo of the Max Planck...
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British Isles
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The man who died half a million years ago
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Posted by Renfield
On General/Chat 10/05/2007 7:25:03 AM EDT · 28 replies · 310+ views
Current Archaeology
Boxgrove The man who died half a million years ago In a gravel pit at Boxgrove, just outside Chichester, the remains of a man have been discovered, half a million years old. Only a shin bone and two teeth were discovered, but his position, under thick layers of gravel show that he is the oldest 'man' so far discovered in Britain. The Boxgrove quarry The discovery was made in a gravel quarry. The gravel was laid down in a later Ice Age on top of a chalk bed, which is visible in the upper squares. Originally a stream flowed from...
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Navigation
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Underwater survey nets traces of 2,400-year-old Greek wreck off southern Albania
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 10/05/2007 2:18:24 AM EDT · 5 replies · 41+ views
International Herald Tribune | September 12, 2007 | Associated Press
Encrusted with tiny shells and smelling strongly of the sea, a 2,400-year-old Greek jar lies in a saltwater bath in Durres Museum, on Albania's Adriatic coast. Part of a sunken shipment of up to 60 ceramic vessels, the 67-centimeter (26-inch) storage jar, or amphora, was the top find... Launched in July, the month-long survey was the first step in compiling an underwater cultural heritage map that could eventually plot the position of sunken fleets from ancient and mediaeval times believed to lie along Albania's 360-kilometer (220-mile) coastline... The light-brown clay amphora, probably used to store wine or oil, was found...
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Greece
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Even Without Math, Ancients Engineered Sophisticated Machines
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 10/02/2007 8:58:55 PM EDT · 59 replies · 184+ views
Science Daily | 10-2-2007 | Harvard University
Source: Harvard University Date: October 2, 2007 Even Without Math, Ancients Engineered Sophisticated Machines Science Daily -- Move over, Archimedes. A researcher at Harvard University is finding that ancient Greek craftsmen were able to engineer sophisticated machines without necessarily understanding the mathematical theory behind their construction. Recent analysis of technical treatises and literary sources dating back to the fifth century B.C. reveals that technology flourished among practitioners with limited theoretical knowledge. "Craftsmen had their own kind of knowledge that didn't have to be based on theory," explains Mark Schiefsky, professor of the classics in Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences....
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Prehistory and Origins
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Senate Bill Could Untie Kennewick Man Bones
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 10/04/2007 8:36:07 PM EDT · 33 replies · 557+ views
Tricity Herald | 10-4-2007 | Annette Cary
Senate bill could untie Kennewick Man bones Published Thursday, October 4th, 2007 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer A Senate committee has approved a bill that could clear the way for Native Americans to claim the ancient bones of Kennewick Man. This is the third time the change has been proposed to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. It would ensure federally recognized tribes could claim ancient remains even if a direct link to a tribe can't be proven. Tribes have pushed for a change to the law since the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2004...
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Ancient Europe
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Archaeologists Stumble On Sensational Find (7,500 YO Metal Tools)
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 10/04/2007 11:12:12 AM EDT · 20 replies · 1,007+ views
B92 | 10-4-2007
Archaeologists stumble on sensational find 4 October 2007 Prokuplje -- Serbian archaeologists found evidence of the what could be the oldest metal workshop in all of Europe. According to National Museum archaeologist Du?oan ?aljivar, experts found a "copper chisel and stone ax at a location near Prokuplje in which the foundation has proven to be 7,500 years old, leading us to believe that it was one of the first places in which metal weapons and tools were made in prehistory. Archaeologists hope that this find in southern Serbia will prove the theory that the metal age began a lot earlier..."
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Scotland Yet
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Burial chambers of the Neolithic
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Posted by Renfield
On General/Chat 10/05/2007 7:31:41 AM EDT · 7 replies · 113+ views
Current Archaeology
Clava Burial chambers of the Neolithic In the Neolithic - the New Stone Age - the older you were, the more important you were, and thus logically the dead were the most important of all. Ancestor worship became the centre of people's lives, and great emphasis was placed on the burial of the dead. Magnificent tombs where therefore built as houses for the dead. Some of the finest of these are the Clava cairns, in North East Scotland, near Inverness. Here stone chambers were built, and then stones were built up around them to form a mound, and a long...
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Agriculture
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[Mesa Verde] M. Verde repairs ruins in alcove
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 10/05/2007 11:57:42 AM EDT · 9 replies · 114+ views
Cortez Journal | September 29, 2007 | Shannon Livick
[A]rchaeologist Jim Hampson... is part of a four-person team of archaeologists working this fall to repair a wall that was crushed in late 2006 when a large slab of rock sheered off the alcove above and crushed a 12-foot-high wall and pierced another wall of a kiva... The rock that fell was estimated to weigh about 4.5 tons. Crews spent several weeks breaking up the boulder and hauling it away so they could begin documenting the damage and planning a route to repair. "It was a huge slab," archaeologist Tim Hovezak said. "We lost most of the north wall. You...
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Stripes and Solids
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Sabre-Toothed Tiger Was A Pussycat
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 10/01/2007 9:57:03 PM EDT · 38 replies · 18+ views
The Telegraph (UK) | 10-2-2007 | Roger Highfield
Sabre-toothed tiger was just a pussycat By Roger Highfield, Science Editor Last Updated: 12:01am BST 02/10/2007 It may have had some of the most ferocious teeth ever seen on a mammal but scientists say that the much feared sabre-tooth tiger was actually a bit of a pussycat. Smilodon, the sabre-tooth tiger, roamed across North and South America until 10,000 years ago Powerfully built, with upper canines like knives, the sabre-tooth tiger was a fearsome predator of Ice-Age America's lost giants, such as bison and horses, perhaps even mammoths. But while Smilodon ("knife tooth") may have had an impressive set of...
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Sabretooth's surprising weak bite
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Posted by Renfield
On General/Chat 10/05/2007 10:34:36 AM EDT · 5 replies · 79+ views
BBC News | 10-02-07
The sabretooth tiger may have looked a fearsome sight with its massive canines but its reputation takes something of a knock with a new piece of research. Scientists who have studied the extinct creature's skull in detail say it had a relatively weak bite - compared with, say, a modern lion. And although those fangs must have been amazing killing implements, they made for a very restricted hunting strategy.....
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PreColumbian, Clovis, and PreClovis
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Canary expedition in search of the white stone llamas
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Posted by Fred Nerks
On News/Activism 10/03/2007 5:50:55 PM EDT · 39 replies · 566+ views
tenerifenews.com | updated August 11, 2007 | unattributed
A team of Canary investigators is currently in remotest Peru to study a startling new archaeological discovery which came to light recently in Choquequirao, an ancient Inca site which is being described in glowing terms as Machu Picchu's "twin town". The find consists of a line of white stone llamas embedded in massive terraced stone walls and which, it is thought, could well form part of the entrance to the sacred valley of the Incas. And make no mistake - the expedition to Choquequirao is no jolly. The three men and two women face a gruelling five days on foot...
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Oh So Mysteriouso
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Archeological Discovery in Ohio River Causes Debate [Indian's Head Rock]
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 10/03/2007 1:14:10 PM EDT · 23 replies · 332+ views
WSAZ | September 27, 2007 | Randy Yohe
A recent river recovery of an eight ton treasure was followed by angry claims of arch[a]eological thievery... After years of planning and weeks of effort, a Portsmouth, Ohio Volunteer Recovery Team pulled the prehistoric, legendary Indian's Head Rock off the mighty Ohio River's bottom... In the 18 and early 1900's before the days of locks and dams, the boulder would pop up every decade or so, depending on river levels the rock became a popular tourist attraction, a gilded age photo op, featured in post cards. Some of Portsmouth's most prominent citizens scratched their names in the sandstone. Some think...
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Egypt
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Ancient Pharaoh Temple Discovered Inside Egypt Mosque
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Posted by SunkenCiv
On General/Chat 10/03/2007 11:06:56 AM EDT · 11 replies · 198+ views
National Geographic | September 27, 2007 | Steven Stanek
The previously concealed architectural elements reveal well-preserved hieroglyphics and unique scenes depicting the powerful pharaoh. The discovery is likely to touch a nerve among religious leaders, because the newly exposed reliefs contain representations of humans and animals, which are forbidden inside mosques, the experts said. The mosque was erected as a shrine to Muslim saint Abul Haggag in the 13th century A.D. on the site of an earlier Christian church, which was itself built on top of the ancient temple, the archaeologists explained... Christians, and later Muslims, frequently built their shrines on top of ancient Egyptian holy sites, said W....
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Let's Have Jerusalem
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Radio-dating authenticates Biblical tunnel
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Posted by Aracelis
On News/Activism 09/23/2003 8:52:08 AM EDT · 15 replies · 239+ views
CBS News | Updated 10 Sep 2003 | CBC News Online staff
JERUSALEM - Scientists have found and radio-dated a tunnel described in the Bible. The books of Kings II and Chronicles II report the construction of the Siloam Tunnel during the reign of King Hezekiah, who ruled 2,700 years ago. It was built to move water from the Gihon spring into ancient Jerusalem, protecting the city's water supply in the event of an Assyrian siege. It has been difficult for scientists to verify modern equivalents of buildings mentioned in the Bible because specimens have been poorly preserved, hard to identify and access. Amos Frumkin of the geography department at the Hebrew...
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Longer Perspectives
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Earthquake Experts At Tel Aviv University Turn To History For Guidance
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Posted by blam
On News/Activism 10/04/2007 11:05:51 AM EDT · 12 replies · 205+ views
Tauac | 10-2-2007
Earthquake Experts at Tel Aviv University Turn to History for Guidance Tuesday, October 2, 2007 Ancient documents reveal devastating earthquake may threaten Middle East's near future Damage in Jerusalem's Old City following a July 11, 1927, earthquake. One of the first earthquakes on the Dead Sea Fault to be recorded by modern seismographic techniques, it reached 6.2 on the Richter scale. The epicenter was in the northern part of the Dead Sea. Photo credit: American Colony Hotel, American Colony Collection. The best seismologists in the world don't know when the next big earthquake will hit. But a Tel Aviv University...
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Elam, Persia, Parthia, Iran
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Tomb of Cyrus the Great under Threat in Iran
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Posted by freedom44
On News/Activism 10/05/2007 4:52:58 PM EDT · 8 replies · 445+ views
Moscow Times | 10/05/07 | Fredrik Dahl and Reza Derakhshi-Salmasi
PASARGADAE, Iran -- For the people protesting against it, a new dam near these sun-drenched ruins may be more than an environmental upheaval: In it they see an affront to the country's pre-Islamic identity. For 2,500 years, the tomb of Cyrus the Great has stood on the plain at Pasargadae, in southern Iran, a simple but dignified monument to a king revered as the founder of the mighty Persian empire. But some fear the dam and reservoir pose a threat to the ancient structure. They say the project may increase humidity in the arid area near the city of Shiraz,...
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Ancient Autopsies
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10 Most Fascinating Tombs in the World
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Posted by Renfield
On General/Chat 10/03/2007 5:44:57 PM EDT · 16 replies · 259+ views
Neatorama.com | 10-1-07
Throughout the history of human civilization, different cultures mourn and treat the dead differently. Some, like Tibetan Buddhists, have no use for burials as they dispose the dead by feeding corpses to vultures or by burning them in funeral pyres. Most cultures, however, show their respect by burying the dead, sometimes in complex and ornate tombs, crypts, and catacombs. This article takes a look at ten of the most fascinating final resting places around the world, from the largest prehistoric burial mound in Europe to the the tombs of pharaohs to the most beautiful mausoleum in the world:....
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Rome and Italy
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Ancient World Treasure Unearthed
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Posted by blam
On General/Chat 10/05/2007 1:57:39 PM EDT · 12 replies · 423+ views
BBC | 10-5-2007 | David Willey
Ancient world treasure unearthed By David Willey BBC News, Rome The head of a satyr was discovered during the dig After seven hot summers of digging, an Italian archaeological team believe they have discovered one of the most important sites of the ancient world. Fanum Voltumnae, a shrine, marketplace and Etruscan political centre, was situated in the upper part of the Tiber river valley. It lies at the foot of a huge outcrop of rock, upon which is perched the mediaeval city of Orvieto. A walled sanctuary area, 5m-wide (16ft) Etruscan roads, an altar, and the foundations of many Roman...
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Middle Ages and Renaissance
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Vatican paper set to clear Knights Templar
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Posted by Daffynition
On General/Chat 10/05/2007 4:44:50 AM EDT · 6 replies · 184+ views
The Telegraph | 05/10/2007 | Malcolm Moore
The mysteries of the Order of the Knights Templar could soon be laid bare after the Vatican announced the release of a crucial document which has not been seen for almost 700 years. A new book, Processus contra Templarios, will be published by the Vatican's Secret Archive on Oct 25, and promises to restore the reputation of the Templars, whose leaders were burned as heretics when the order was dissolved in 1314. The Knights Templar were a powerful and secretive group of warrior monks during the Middle Ages. Their secrecy has given birth to endless legends, including one that they...
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Vatican book on Templars' demise
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Posted by NYer
On News/Activism 10/05/2007 4:44:55 PM EDT · 112 replies · 2,065+ views
BBC | October 5, 2007
The Vatican is to publish a book which is expected to shed light on the demise of the Knights Templar, a Christian military order from the Middle Ages. The book is based on a document known as the Chinon parchment, found in the Vatican Secret Archives six years ago after years of being incorrectly filed. The document is a record of the heresy hearings of the Templars before Pope Clement V in the 14th Century. The official who found the paper says it exonerates the knights entirely. Prof Barbara Frale, who stumbled across the parchment by mistake, says that...
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Climate
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Caribbean Forests Thrived In 'Little Ice Age'
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Posted by blam
On General/Chat 10/01/2007 10:20:31 PM EDT · 4 replies
New Scientist | 10-1-2007 | Jeff Hecht
Caribbean forests thrived in 'Little Ice Age' 22:00 01 October 2007 NewScientist.com news service Jeff Hecht Some Caribbean forests were at their densest for the past 2000 years during the 'Little Ice Age', new research shows. This forest growth was not expected, because other areas in the region were cool and dry, but the curious finding shows that the effects of climate change can vary from place to place, say researchers. From approximately 1350 to 1850, the Little Ice Age cooled low latitudes and dried the Caribbean including the Yucatan Peninsula. So you might expect to see evidence of this...
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Was There a 15th-Century "Little" Medieval Warm Period?
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Posted by PeaceBeWithYou
On News/Activism 07/04/2004 8:37:51 PM EDT · 18 replies · 1,358+ views
CO2 Science Magazine | June 30, 2004 | Sherwood, Keith and Craig Idso
Volume 7, Number 26: 30 June 2004 In one of the more intriguing aspects of his study of global climate change over the past three millennia - of which he amazingly makes no particular mention - Loehle (2004) presents a graph of the Sargasso Sea and South African temperature records of Keigwin (1996) and Holmgren et al. (1999, 2001) that reveals the existence of a major spike in surface air temperature that began sometime in the early 1400s. This abrupt and anomalous warming pushed global air temperatures considerably above the peak warmth of the 20th century, after which they fell...
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Early America
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Pony Express to ride again
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Posted by SandRat
On General/Chat 10/01/2007 8:59:40 PM EDT · 3 replies
Sierra Vista Herald/Review | Adam Bernal
BENSON -- The Pony Express will ride again during Butterfield Stage Days on Oct. 13, and the U.S. Postal Service will issue a special postmark to commemorate the event. At noon, special Pony Express riders will be sworn in by Postmaster Lesley Tower in a ceremony in Lions Park. They will carry the mail from Benson to the Dragoon post office, arriving in Dragoon around 3:30 p.m. The Benson post office will offer a special postmark commemorating the 22nd Annual Pony Express Ride. The postmark, which features a Butterfield Overland Stagecoach design, will be available from 9 a.m. to noon...
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Thoroughly Modern Miscellany
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Goodbye Mr Burns: Ken Burns' "The War"
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Posted by american_ranger
On News/Activism 10/01/2007 8:59:05 PM EDT · 216 replies · 22+ views
Dear Mr Burns; I just turned off my TV. I have watched 5 of your episodes on WWII. I have defended your negativism by posting positive comments on several blogs. But tonight is the end. Your blatant anti-Americanism propaganda in repeating bullshit about a recent West Point graduate being a battalion commander and ordering American soldiers to execute German POWs is way over the line. Recent West Point graduates are 2nd Lieutenants (O1). Bn Commanders are normally LTC(O5) or Majors (O4). You sir, are a commie pinko. Maybe you should get a haircut and a real job. I will never...
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end of digest #168 20071006
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