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  Quote Don Quixote Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Archaeology news updates
    Posted: 06-Feb-2012 at 01:46
Did Early Humans Ride the Waves to Australia?
".. So a new idea was born, sometimes called the "beachcomber express," in which the first ex-Africans were seashore dwellers who spread rapidly around the coast of the Indian Ocean, showing an unexpected skill at seafaring to reach Australia across a strait that was at least 40 miles wide. The fact that the long-isolated Andaman islanders have genes that diverged from other Asians about 60,000 years ago fits this notion of sudden seaside peopling..."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204740904577192960294508268.html
[RIDLEY] John S. Dykes

The 'beachcomber express' may have carried our African ancestors to the Indian Ocean and beyond.


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  Quote Don Quixote Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06-Feb-2012 at 01:52
Is This Russian Landscape the Birthplace of Native Americans?
"...In their analyses of Altay and Native American DNA, the scientists focused on two parts of the human genome: mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down through mothers, and the Y chromosome, which is passed down through fathers. (Get a genetics overview.)Over time, mutations accumulate in these part of the genetic code that can help scientists pinpoint when populations branched off and migrated to new places, said Schurr, who is also the North American director for the National Geographic Society's Genographic Project, which is conducted independently from the Altay DNA project. (The Society owns National Geographic News.)

In the case of the Altay people, the scientists found a mutation in one paternal lineage that arose about 18,000 years ago—a genetic marker that's also found in modern-day Native Americans.The finding dovetails with previous studies, including some by Schurr, that found a shared mutation in the two groups' mtDNA, one that arose around the same time as the newfound Y chromosome mutation.This time line also fits with other genetic research showing that the first Altay populations began to leave for North America about 15,000 years ago, most likely reaching the continent via the now submerged Beringia land bridge...."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/01/120203-native-americans-siberia-genes-dna-science/
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  Quote tjadams Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06-Feb-2012 at 08:38

US researchers discover 'Shieldcroc,' dating back 95 million years

Published February 05, 2012

| FoxNews.com


A new species of prehistoric crocodile that dates back 95 million years ago has been identified by a University of Missouri researcher.

The extinct creature, nicknamed “Shieldcroc” due to a thick-skinned shield on its head, is an ancestor of today’s crocodiles. Its discovery provides scientists with additional information about the evolution of crocodiles and how scientists can gain insight into ways to protect the species’ environment and help prevent extinction, according to the University of Missouri website.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/02/05/us-researchers-discover-new-species-crocodile-dubbed-shieldcroc-dating-back-5/#ixzz1lbnxuStV



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  Quote TheAlaniDragonRising Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07-Feb-2012 at 13:19

Archeologists make new finds at the Hill of Jonah

An archeological find at the Hill of Jonah near Ashdod may prove that the area had been occupied during the time when archeologists believe Jonah the prophet walked the Earth

Archeologists have discovered the remains of massive walls,possible the remains of a fortress, that were dated to the late eighth and early seventh centuries BCE, the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced on Monday.

The find is significant because the discovery of life at the site, which is traditionally the landmark site for the tomb of Jonah for both Muslims and Jews, indicates that there was human activity at the coastal hill during the time of Jonah. 

Excavation director Dmitir Egrov estimated that the fortress likely stood on the hill overlooking the glistening Mediterranean sea during the First Temple Period. Jonah, who is believed to have lived in the eighth century BCE, was active during this same time period, according to Egrov. 

Sa'ar Ganor, the Ashkelon District Archaeologist of the IsraelAntiquities Authority, said that the occupying power at the time would have built a fortress on the Hill of Jonah because of its strategic location.

The hill rises some 50 meters above sea level - the highest hill in the area - and probably looked out to an ancient port and Tel Ashdod, according to Ganor.

Ganor said either the Assyrians or the kingdom of Judah probably developed the area. 

“There are two possibilities regarding who inhabited the fortress at that time: one possibility is that it was controlled by the Assyrians who were the regional rulers in the Iron Age. Another possibility is that Josiah, king of Judah, occupied the fort at the time, who we know conquered territory from the Assyrians and controlled Ashdod-Yam in the seventh century BCE”. 

The find joins a previous discovery in the adjacent area, which was excavated before the construction of the modern Ashdod lighthouse. There, similar wall remains dated to the First Temple and Persian periods were inscribed with an Aramic phrase apparently denoting a financial, religiousoffering.


Edited by TheAlaniDragonRising - 07-Feb-2012 at 13:20
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  Quote TheAlaniDragonRising Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07-Feb-2012 at 13:24

Jerusalem dig uncovers earliest evidence of local cultivation of etrogs

The earliest evidence of local cultivation of three of the Sukkot holiday's traditional "four species" has been found at the most ancient royal royal garden ever discovered in Israel.

The garden, at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel in Jerusalem, gave up its secrets through remnants of pollen found in the plaster of its walls.

Israelite palace -  Courtesy - 02022012

An artist’s impression of the Israelite palace at Ramat Rachel.

Photo by: Courtesy

The garden was part of an Israelite palace at Ramat Rachel that has been excavated for many years, most recently in a joint dig by Prof. Oded Lipschits and Dr. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University and Prof. Manfred Oeming of Heidelberg University. The palace existed from the time of King Hezekiah until the Hasmonean period in the second century B.C.E.

The excavations revealed that the garden must have had a beautiful - and strategic - view, but it lacked its own water source. Thus the ancient landscape architects had to build channels and pools to collect rainwater for irrigation.

The archaeologists discovered that the garden's designers had removed the original hard soil and replaced it with suitable garden soil. But until recently, they had no idea what was grown there.

Then, Lipschits said, he and his colleagues had a "wild thought": If plasterers had worked on the garden walls in springtime, when flowers were blooming, breezes would have carried the pollen to the walls, where it would have become embedded in the plaster.

Enlisting the aid of Tel Aviv University archaeobotanist Dr. Dafna Langgut, they carefully peeled away layers of the plaster, revealing pollen from a number of plant species.

Most of the plants were wild, but in one layer of plaster, apparently from the Persian period (the era of the Jewish return from the Babylonian exile in 538 B.C.E. ) they found pollen from ornamental species and fruit trees, some of which came from distant lands.

The find that most excited the scholars was pollen from etrogs, or citrons, a fruit that originated in India. This is the earliest botanical evidence of citrons in the country.

Scholars believe the citron came here via Persia, and that its Hebrew name, etrog, preserves the Persian name for the fruit - turung. They also say royal cultivation of the exotic newcomer was a means of advertising the king's power and capabilities.

The garden at Ramat Rachel is also the first place in the country to yield evidence of the cultivation of myrtle and willow - two more of the four species used in Sukkot rituals.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/jerusalem-dig-uncovers-earliest-evidence-of-local-cultivation-of-etrogs-1.410505

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  Quote TheAlaniDragonRising Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07-Feb-2012 at 13:30

Ancient Greek Pills Found in Greek Shipwreck

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In 130 BC, a ship fashioned from the wood of walnut trees, bulging with medicines and Syrian glassware, sank off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. Archaeologists found its precious load 20 years ago and now, for the first time, archaeobotanists have been able to examine and analyse pills that were prepared by the physicians of ancient Greece.

DNA analyses show that each millennia-old tablet is a mixture of more than 10 different plant extracts, from hibiscus to celery.

“Medicinal plants have been identified before, but not a compound medicine, so this is really something new,” says Alain Touwaide, director of the Institute for the Preservation of Medical Traditions, which has the world’s largest digital database of medical manuscripts.

The pills, which researchers believe were diluted with vinegar or water to make them easier to ingest, were preserved inside tin boxes and were the size of coins.

“What is remarkable is that we have written evidence [from the ancient Greeks] of what plants were used for which disorders,” says Alisa Machalek, a science writer for the National Institute of Health, one of the world’s leading research centres.

“This research is interesting, especially for medical historians, because it confirms that what we eat affects our bodies.”

The shift toward synthetic chemical medicines occurred in the 20th Century, but according to Mark Blumenthal, the founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council, there is renewed interest in the medicinal benefits of natural foods – including those found in the pills.

http://usa.greekreporter.com/2012/02/05/ancient-greek-pills-found-in-greek-shipwreck/

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  Quote TheAlaniDragonRising Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07-Feb-2012 at 13:33

In Small Things Not Forgotten


Archaeologists excavating at the site of America's first permanent English colony on Jamestown Island in Virginia will tell you that even the smallest, microscopic artifacts recovered from the soil can tell you much about what life was like during the first years of the fledgling colony. So demonstrates Jamestown Rediscovery archaeologist Danny Schmidt through a newly released video (see below). He shows how recently excavated soil from the colony's first well (constructed some time before 1611) has been water-screened through an 8th-inch mesh screen onto a window mesh to reveal tiny objects that, together, have told a story about the lives and events of the first colonists.     

The well, called "John Smith's Well" after the famous colonist, was excavated by a team of archaeologists and students in 2009. The processing and analysis of the finds from the well, however, continue to this day. Located near the center of the original historical James Fort, it was part of a large, rectangular cellar. Excavations revealed that it was barrel-lined within the floor and was used for a time and then abandoned and backfilled with rubbish at some point before 1611. Because of the early date, archaeologists suggest that the well may likely be James Fort’s first well, which was dug in late 1608 or early 1609 according to a document where John Smith relates, "we digged a faire Well of fresh water in the Fort of excellent, sweet water which till then was wanting." The well is located adjacent to a storehouse that is identified as the first structure the colonists built inside the fort. 

Notable finds from the well include a slate writing tablet with visible drawings and words, a child’s silver teething whistle with coral, iron tools and parts of weapons, a glass medicinal phial, objects made by the local Native Americans, a whale vertebra, dolphin bones with butcher marks, and shark bones and teeth. Most telling were numerous butchered dog and horse remains, along with rat and turtle bones. These animal remains suggest evidence from the "Starving Time" winter of 1609–1610, a period of forced starvation initiated by the Native American Powhatan Confederacy to remove the settlers from Virginia. Wrote colony president George Percy about that winter, "Then, having fed upon horses and other beasts as long as they lasted, we were glad to make shift with vermin, as dogs, cats and mice."

The artifacts from the well number in the tens of thousands, but when considering the tiniest finds recovered from the water-screening, objects can number in the "millions", as stated by Schmidt in the video. Small Venetian trade beads, shell beads, fish scales, and pieces of crab claw, for example, so small that they could easily be missed without the wet-sieving, say something about trade, relationships, and diet within the Jamestown colony.

"While the smaller objects are not as eye-catching as some of the museum pieces you might see," says Schmidt, "they are still an important part of the story of what life was like here at James Fort during the early years of the colony." 

According to Jamestown archaeologists, the analysis of the artifacts from the well will likely continue for many years to come, affording an ongoing opportunity for not only other archaeologists and specialists, but also for the visiting public. Says Schmidt, "the public can join us in picking through this material and sharing in the moment of discovery".

http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/december-2011/article/in-small-things-not-forgotten



Edited by TheAlaniDragonRising - 07-Feb-2012 at 13:34
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  Quote TheAlaniDragonRising Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07-Feb-2012 at 13:37
Viking barley in Greenland

The Vikings are both famous and notorious for their liking of beer and mead and archaeologists have discussed for years whether Eric the Red (ca 950-1010) and his followers had to make do without the golden drink when they settled in Greenland around the year 1,000:  The climate was mild when they landed, but was it warm enough for growing barley?

Researchers from the National Museum in Copenhagen say the answer to the question is ‘yes’. In a unique find, they uncovered tiny fragments of charred barley grains in a Viking midden on Greenland.

The find is final proof that the first Vikings to live in Greenland did grow barley – the most important ingredient in making a form of porridge, baking bread and of course in brewing beer, traditionally seen as the staple foods in the Vikings’ diet.

Poppies and barley. Image: Nedm44 (Flickr, Creative commons Licence)

Cultivated barley. Image: Nedm44 (Flickr, Creative commons Licence)

“Archaeologists have always believed that the Vikings tried to cultivate the soil on their farms in fertile southern Greenland,” says Peter Steen Henriksen, who holds an MSc in agriculture.“But this hasn’t been proved until now.”

Settling in a harsh environment

Henriksen, an archaeobotanist at the National Museum’s Environmental Archaeology and Archaeometry section (NNU) in Copenhagen, led an expedition to Greenland to study how the Vikings tackled the task of settling in a cold and harsh environment.

“Now we can see that the Vikings could grow barley, and this was very important for theirsurvival,” he says.

The find also substantiates a well-known text from about 1250, ‘King’s mirror (Konungs skuggsjá)’, which mentions in passing that the Vikings attempted to grow grain on Greenland. It is the only report about cultivating barley that we have from that time and says: “As to whether any sort of grain can grow there, my belief is that the country draws but little profit from that source. And yet there are men among those who are counted the wealthiest and most prominent who have tried to sow grain as an experiment; but the great majority in that country do not know what bread is, having never seen it.”

Researchers believe the Vikings probably grew barley in small quantities, and sowed grain in enclosures that were no bigger than their ability to irrigate the field and keep hungry animals out.

Well-preserved Viking farms

A well-preserved Viking ruin, excavated in 2011. Photo: Peter Steen Henriksen

A well-preserved Viking ruin, excavated in 2011. Photo: Peter Steen Henriksen

Henriksen and his colleagues were in Greenland in 2010 and 2011 to search for signs of agriculture at Viking farms at the island’s southernmost point.

“We carried out several excavations at 12 different ruined Viking farms, even though they were abandoned 700 to 800 years ago,”says the researcher. “Many of the farms were well preserved. The peat and stone walls can still be seen, and in some places they’re a metre and a half high.”

Midden heaps are a mine of knowledge

The researchers had little chance of finding the remains they wanted in what was left of the stone buildings, and Greenland’s soil is too thin to preserve remnants of any Viking agriculture. Further traces that might have existed have been destroyed by the weather and not least by modern agricultural activities – today’s Greenland sheep farmers have settled in the same places as their Viking forebears.

But the Vikings were just like the rest of us, and needed somewhere to get rid of their rubbish. The researchers found these rubbish heaps (known as middens) close to the Vikings’ farms.

Barley at the bottom of the heap

The middens – containing food remains, household rubbish and ashes from the fires – were quite large, which was not surprising as the Vikings had inhabited the farms for many decades. As the contents rotted, the heaps subsided, and are now only about a metre thick.

The sample we took from the bottom layer of a heap contained cereal grains. The grains had been close to a fire and were charred, which is what preserved them

“We excavated the middens down to the bottom layers, which date from the time the settlers arrived,” says Henriksen, whose team took 300 kg of samples for further analysis. “The sample we took from the bottom layer of a heap contained cereal grains. The grains had been close to a fire and were charred, which is what preserved them.”

Excavating a midden at a Viking farm on Greenland. Peter Steen Henriksen is in the trench, while archaeologist Caroline Polke Paulsen works outside, as they take the samples that are found to include the barley grains. Photo: Inge Kjær Kristensen

Excavating a midden at a Viking farm on Greenland. Peter Steen Henriksen is in the trench, while archaeologist Caroline Polke Paulsen works outside, as they take the samples that are found to include the barley grains. Photo: Inge Kjær Kristensen

From their shape and size, the grains were positively identified as barley and they came from local agricultural production.

Wild barley is not strong enough to grow in Greenland, says Henriksen, who also rules out imported barley, as even small quantities of grain would be too much for the cargo hold of the Vikings’ ships.

“If the cereal grains had been imported, it would have already been threshed, so finding parts of grains of barley is a very strong indication that the Vikings grew their own,” he adds. The find also confirms researchers’ theory that they tried to continue the form of life they knew so well from their original homes.

barleyLittle Ice Age stopped cultivation

The Greenland climate was slightly warmer than it is today, and the southernmost tip of the great island looked fertile and green and no doubt tempted Eric the Red and his followers. This encouraged them to cultivate some of the seed they brought with them from Iceland.

The Vikings also tried to grow other agricultural crops. Their attempts to grow these crops and barley did not last long, however, as the climate cooled over the next couple of centuries until the Little Ice Age started in the 13th century.

“The Vikings couldn’t cultivate very much in the last decades they were in Greenland because the climate was too bad,” says Henriksen. “Barley needs a long growing season, and if that season is too short you can’t harvest seed for the next season.”

At some point the Vikings were no longer able to maintain the seed production for their food and drink, and that made it more difficult for them to survive.

The mysterious end of Greenland’s Viking era

The cold climate may have finished off not only the barley but also the Vikings on Greenland themselves.

When Eric the Red arrived in Greenland, the island’s original inhabitants, the Inuit, had already died out because of the harsh climate. Perhaps the Vikings suffered the same fate, or perhaps the cold caused them to abandon their life on Greenland and move on.

According to written sources, the Vikings in Greenland were last heard of in 1408. After that they disappeared; no-one knows when, where or how.

http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/02/2012/viking-barley-in-greenland



Edited by TheAlaniDragonRising - 07-Feb-2012 at 13:39
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  Quote TheAlaniDragonRising Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07-Feb-2012 at 13:43

Viking axe find in Slimbridge discounted by archaeologists

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The axe head has been on display at Stroud Museum for the last six months

An axe head found in a garden in Gloucestershire, which was claimed to be of Viking origin, is an 18th Century woodworking tool, experts have said.

It was found in 2008 by Ian Hunter Darling under a hedge at his home in Slimbridge.

Slimbridge Local History Society who said last week it was Viking have now renamed it the "Slimbridge axe head".

A meeting about the find is taking place in Slimbridge on 21 February.

David Mullin, from Stroud Museum, where the axe head has been on display for the last six months, said: "The axe was deposited with the museum, its Viking origin having been suggested by others.

'Difficult to date'

"It will continue to be on display at the museum and we plan to take it to the Slimbridge Local History meeting on 21 February."


"The find has aroused a great deal of interest and incredulity with the archaeological community”

Professor Mark HortonUniversity of Bristol

Archaeologist Kurt Adams, from Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, said he went to see the find at Stroud Museum on Thursday.

He said: "It's definitely an 18th or 19th Century woodworking tool - a heavy duty woodworking axe.

"Axes can be quite difficult to date because the form fits the function - but having said that Viking and battle axes are quite distinct.

"A single artefact doesn't show evidence for a battle, as it could have been an object which was traded or lost."

Peter Ballard, from the Slimbridge Local History Society, said: "We've decided to call it the 'Slimbridge axe head' because we don't know whether it's Viking or 18th Century."

Professor Mark Horton, from the University of Bristol, said: "The find has aroused a great deal of interest and incredulity with the archaeological community on the internet - on the Britarch discussion board.

"There is no way that this is a Viking axe head - they look completely different. As to the claim that there was a major battle at Minchinhampton in the 10th Century - these I'm afraid are the product of an over fertile antiquarian imagination.

"There was certainly Viking activity on the River Severn during this period but this is a case of two plus two equalling five."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-16907224



Edited by TheAlaniDragonRising - 07-Feb-2012 at 13:46
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  Quote tjadams Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09-Feb-2012 at 11:12

Dead Sea Scrolls get new life

Written By John R. Quain-Published February 08, 2012-FoxNews.com


The most extensive public display of 2,000-year-old Biblical documents just got a refresh. 

At the Discovery Times Square exhibit “The Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Biblical Times," a new set of 10 documents have been installed to replace the previous set on display. The new collection includes a section from the book of Isaiah and two scrolls never before seen by the public, “Greek Minor Prophets” and “Job Targum.”

FoxNews.com was given exclusive access to observe conservators removing the set of scrolls and installing the new fragments. The latest 10 pieces of the scrolls were transported in special cases (we were asked not to describe them or take pictures) from Israel to New York.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/02/08/dead-sea-scrolls-get-new-life/#ixzz1ltyGDUDe






Edited by tjadams - 09-Feb-2012 at 11:15
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  Quote tjadams Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09-Feb-2012 at 11:19

Entire Genome of Extinct Human Sequenced-Published February 08, 2012-NewsCore


The entire genome of an extinct human was reconstructed from a 30,000-year-old finger bone and posted on the web Tuesday.

Scientists at the Germany-based Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology said they were able to sequence the genome of a Denisovan using DNA extracted from less than 10 milligrams of the finger bone.

Fossils of the Denisovans -- an extinct group closely related to the Neanderthals -- were discovered in southern Siberia in 2008.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/02/08/entire-genome-extinct-human-sequenced/#ixzz1ltzwZZDv


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  Quote tjadams Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10-Feb-2012 at 20:06
Archaeologists Find the Bodies of 21 Tragic World War One German Soldiers

The bodies of 21 German soldiers entombed in a perfectly preserved World War One shelter have been discovered 94 years after they were killed.

The men were part of a larger group of 34 who were buried alive when a huge Allied shell exploded above the tunnel in 1918, causing it to cave in.

Thirteen bodies were recovered from the underground shelter, but the remaining men had to be left under a mountain of mud as it was too dangerous to retrieve them.

Nearly a century later, French archaeologists stumbled upon the mass grave on the former Western Front in eastern France during excavation work for a road building project.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099187/Bodies-21-German-soldiers-buried-alive-WW1-trench-perfectly-preserved-94-years-later.html#ixzz1m1yssuiD




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  Quote tjadams Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10-Feb-2012 at 20:16

Piltdown Man: British Archaeology's Greatest Hoax


In a few weeks, a group of British researchers will enter the labyrinthine store of London's Natural History Museum and remove several dark-coloured pieces of primate skull and jawbone from a small metal cabinet. After a brief inspection, the team will wrap the items in protective foam and transport them to a number of laboratories across England. There the bones and teeth, which have rested in the museum for most of the last century, will be put through a sequence of highly sensitive tests using infra-red scanners, lasers and powerful spectroscopes to reveal each relic's precise chemical make-up.
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  Quote tjadams Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10-Feb-2012 at 20:32

The Debate Over Dinosaur Sight


What’s scarier than a Velociraptor? A Velociraptor at night. That’s the hook I used last spring when a study published in Science used the fossilized bony rings that once supported dinosaur eyes to discern which species might have run around during the day and which stalked the night. (In truth, you wouldn’t have much to fear fromVelociraptor at either time—the feathered dinosaur was about the size of a turkey and probably specialized in prey smaller than themselves.) Since the time that study was published, however, other researchers have raised questions about whether or not we can really use remnants of dinosaur eyes to study their behavior.
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  Quote tjadams Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10-Feb-2012 at 20:42

Rock Holds Fossilized Dinosaur, Finder Says


Carmel Lee Quintana credits bonsai and sculpting work with giving him a good eye.

That in turn allowed him to spot an interesting rock while walking the trails along the Arkansas River upstream from Lake Pueblo.

He noticed an ovoid shape inside of a rock, something he’s sure is a fossilized dinosaur egg.

http://www.chieftain.com/news/local/rock-holds-fossilized-dinosaur-finder-says/article_68465878-521e-11e1-887a-001871e3ce6c.html


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  Quote tjadams Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10-Feb-2012 at 21:07

LARGE METEORITE LIKELY FOUND IN DRUID BURIAL SITE


With a weight that rivals a baby elephant, a meteorite that fell from space some 30,000 years ago is likely Britain's largest space rock. And after much sleuthing, researchers think they know where it came from and how it survived so long without weathering away.

The giant rock, spanning about 1.6 feet (0.5 meters) across and weighing 205 pounds (93 kilograms), was likely discovered by an archaeologist about 200 years ago at a burial site created by the Druids (an ancient Celtic priesthood) near Stonehenge, according to said Colin Pillinger, a professor of planetary sciences at the Open University.

http://news.discovery.com/space/druids-meteorite-stonehenge-ice-age-120209.html

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  Quote tjadams Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10-Feb-2012 at 21:11

Oldest Animal Discovered—Earliest Ancestor of Us All?


The creature, Otavia antiqua, was found in 760-million-year-old rock in Namibiaand was as tiny as it may be important.

"The fossils are small, about the size of a grain of sand, and we have found many hundreds of them," said study leader Anthony Prave, a geologist at the University of St. Andrews in the U.K.

"In fact, when we look at thin sections of the rocks, certain samples would likely yield thousands of specimens. Thus, it is possible that the organisms were very abundant."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/120207-oldest-animals-sponges-earliest-science-evolution/

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  Quote Centrix Vigilis Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11-Feb-2012 at 06:31
"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"

S. T. Friedman


Pilger's law: 'If it's been officially denied, then it's probably true'

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  Quote TheAlaniDragonRising Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11-Feb-2012 at 13:50

Acropolis of forgotten kingdom uncovered

Numerous archaeological excavations are underway at a huge site in Anatolia which will uncover an ancient and rich yet forgotten kingdom known as Tuwana from the darkness of history, which will be featured in an open-air museum. The news was reported by Lorenzo d'Alfonso, an Italian archaeologist leading the joint mission by the University of Pavia and NYU, who provided details on the excavation campaign in a press conference in Istanbul this month, during which the details of the Italian archaeological missions in Turkey were explained. This "new discovery" from the pre-classical age which "needs to be continued" in southern Cappadocia took place in Kinik Hoyuk, the scholar said, referring to a site mainly involving the beginning of the first millennium BC. The area is "fully" part of the "forgotten kingdom" of Tuwana, said d'Alfonso, known until now through hieroglyphics and from several sources from the Assyrian Empire, but "never studied archaeologically": "A completely intact site that has been left untouched", trying to "place it historically to understand which civilisation it belonged to and what it's role was in the region". Kinik Hoyuk, the archaeologist said, is "one of the major sites" in terms of size in pre-classical Anatolia, if you leave the capital of the Hittites out: the most conservative estimates say that it spans 24 hectares "but topographers say that it could cover 81 hectares". "A completely new mission" is working here, jointly began last year by the University of Pavia and NYU, which began collaborating with Turkish universities such as Erzurum and Nigde. "The site was uncovered by excavations conducted by several colleagues, but its importance emerged in a campaign that we conducted," said d'Alfonso, who said that "southern Cappadocia is important because it controlled the Cilician Gates, or the passageway between the East and the West and between Europe and Asia": essentially, "one of the most important junctions" in the world during that period and at the "centre" of which lies Kinik Koyuk. Tuwana was a small buffer state between the Phrygian kingdom and the Assyrian Empire "and this is why it was particularly rich": "one of the great subjects of our study involves the cultural richness of this kingdom," said D'Alfonso, referring mainly to the development of the alphabet. He pointed out that three steles from the Iron Age were uncovered in the area, "which are not very well preserved", but which do say a lot "about the importance that the site had". The strategy of the excavation, said the archaeologist, was guided by "geomagnetic surveys in 2010 which revealed particularly significant remains of the acropolis wall and buildings at the centre of the acropolis itself": "monumental" walls excavated "to a height of 6 metres" in an outstanding state of preservation (or at least which "are not easily comparable to other pre-classical sites in Anatolia, particularly the central region"). "Original plaster was found" on the walls and we are planning on reinforcing it before restorations take place" starting next year. The excavation campaign was "planned from the very beginning to be transformed into an open-air museum": Kinik Hoyuk, underlined D'Alfonso, is "easily accessible". Its "strength" is that it is only 45 minutes from the major tourist attractions in Cappadocia (and less than 2km from one of the major 4-lane roads in the region).
It is in the heart of a tourist route which is among the most important in Turkey, and therefore, the archaeologist said, the local government "fully supports the mission, seeing great possibilities for development in it".
What a handsome figure of a dragon. No wonder I fall madly in love with the Alani Dragon now, the avatar, it's a gorgeous dragon picture.
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  Quote TheAlaniDragonRising Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12-Feb-2012 at 17:21
Pottery from 1900 BCE discovered in India

Hallmark pottery dating back to 1900 BCE has been discovered during the recent excavations in Rupnagar (Punjab, India). The Archaeological Survey of India, which recently started excavating the site after a gap of 56 years, has recovered fragments of geometrical designs dating back to the Harappan era.
     Ropar is situated on a high ancient mound overlaying the Shiwalik deposition on the left bank of the river Satluj where it emerges into the plains. It has yielded a sequence of six cultural periods or phases with some breaks from Harappan times to the present day. The first excavations at the site were carried out by Dr. Y.D. Sharma of the Archaeological Survey of India. The migration of people from Harappa to Ropar has been postulated through the lost Saraswati River to the Satluj as both rivers once belonged to
     After more than five decades, archaeologists say further digging may allow them to discover typical Harappan culture findings. "We have so far found the contemporary, regional elements, but there is a possibility of discovering typical Harappan culture items," said superintending archaeologist V.N. Prabhakar.
     Experts say once the excavations are over, they will use scientific methods to establish the dietary pattern of the Asian population that lived there.

http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/004710.html

What a handsome figure of a dragon. No wonder I fall madly in love with the Alani Dragon now, the avatar, it's a gorgeous dragon picture.
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