Posted on 10/31/2005 3:59:50 PM PST by blam
Greenhouse effect occurred 5,000 years ago: archaeologists
www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-31 19:10:24
JINAN, Oct. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- It is common sense nowadays that excessive carbon dioxide in the air caused by excessive lumbering leads to global greenhouse effects.
But a team of archaeologists from China and the United States is saying that the greenhouse effect started about 5,000 years ago, much earlier than people might expect.
This is the conclusion reached by a group of Chinese and US archaeologists based on research on the relics excavated from the ruins of a Neolithic site in Rizhao City, east China's Shandong Province, over the past ten years.
The joint archaeological team of experts from Shandong University and US scholars began its survey at the ruins of the ancient Liangcheng Town in suburban Rizhao in 1995, focusing on the relationship between plants and human activity.
They collected wood samples from the site and did research on 21 pieces of waterish logged timber and three pieces of charcoal. Archaeologists found that the wood excavated at the site were mostly the remains of burning or construction activities.
"Prehistoric human beings probably burned wood in cooking, lighting, molding pottery and even bronze smelting, while large quantities of relics of ancient housing facilities indicate that people of that time lumbered much to build houses," said Kuan Fengshi, head of the Archaeological Research Center of the Shandong University and a member of the excavation group.
The team also deduced that prehistoric human beings used plantsfor other purposes, such as curing diseases, making furniture or tools and feeding animals, but these plants were hardly preserved and found.
Luan concluded that the remains of plants and trees at the siteshowed that prehistoric humans had started lumbering and that the increase of carbon dioxide therefore probably started before the industrial age.
The traditional view was that human beings affected the environment little in ancient times and that it was not human beings but climate change or catastrophes that promoted or vanquished ancient cultures.
"What we have found has refuted the conception," said Luan. Enditem
GGG Ping.
Bush's fault.
damn bush/rove time machine!
I'm guessing "China View" is not a MSM rag.
What effect would a worldwide Noahs Flood have on the trees? or the co2? I'm betting plenty.
So they're saying that humans back then started the greenhouse effect? Right.
bump
Well they didn't use solar energy to cook those bronto burgers!
LOL! What it really shows is that climate change is a natural phenomenon and was not triggered by human activity. But they don't dare state such a conclusion.
"about 5,000 years ago"
5000 years or so... let me check my calendar to see if there were any other climatic events claimed around then...
...oh, nevermind.
The total human population in 5000 BC is estimated at 5 million. I wonder if prehistoric man put out lightning induced forest fires? Was volcanic activity was more or less than it is today?
The amount of co2 produced by human fires back then could hardly have caused a greenhouse effect.
If only the US had implemented the Kyoto Protocol, none of this would have ever happened! Oh wait ... 5000 years ago ... nevermind.
Duh!
large quantities of relics of ancient housing facilities indicate that people of that time lumbered much to build houses,"
Duh!
The team also deduced that prehistoric human beings used plantsfor other purposes, such as curing diseases, making furniture or tools and feeding animals,
Duh!
It must have had something to do with their outrageous demand for petroleum or those prehistoric SUVs.
Oh, wait...
Considering that one(1) volcano equals about a trillion camp fires I would tend to agree.
It is??
"Prehistoric human beings probably burned wood in cooking, lighting, molding pottery and even bronze smelting, while large quantities of relics of ancient housing facilities indicate that people of that time lumbered much to build houses," said Kuan Fengshi, head of the Archaeological Research Center of the Shandong University and a member of the excavation group.
Anyone with a lick of sense knows that one decent unfought forest fire, complete with an active volcano or two, would outdo a continent's worth of people's campfires. Environmentalism is a religion, it often makes no logical sense, and it's adherent's don't care if it doesn't.
75,000 years ago it was 2,000-10,000.
"Was volcanic activity was more or less than it is today?"
More, due to the continuing weight redistribution of the ice from the Ice Age. Same with tsunamis and earthquakes.
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