Story by May Man

 

©Freepik

Research Suggests all Humans Share One Single Ancestor—and it's not Adam
Diversity is often hailed as the essence of beauty—an observation that is readily apparent when we consider the vibrant array of flowers, animals, landscapes, and humans that populate our world.

Yet, this remarkable diversity wasn’t always the norm. In fact, all life on Earth traces its lineage back to a singular origin.

©New Scientist

The True Ancestor Humans: LUCA
Contrary to popular beliefs—like those found in biblical texts—the progenitor of all living organisms wasn’t named God or Adam but is known as LUCA.

LUCA stands for "Last Universal Common Ancestor," a term used by scientists to describe a fundamental, primitive organism from which all life has descended.

©Wikimedia

The Ancient Root of All Life

This tiny, rudimentary life form is considered the root of the entire tree of life, encompassing everything from the tiniest bacteria to the most massive creatures that have ever existed.

Recent research, however, has revealed that LUCA’s existence may date back even further than previously thought

©Wikimedia

New Findings Suggest LUCA Predates Earlier Estimates
For a long time, scientists estimated that LUCA emerged approximately 4 billion years ago—around 600 million years after the Earth was formed.

But new findings, detailed in a recent study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, suggest that LUCA might have appeared even earlier.

©Alexander Gerst/ESA via Getty Images

Detailed Insights into LUCA and Early Earth
The research not only pushes back the timeline of LUCA’s existence but also provides fascinating insights into its characteristics and the conditions of early Earth.

An international team of researchers from the UK, Netherlands, Hungary, and Japan undertook the challenge of pinpointing LUCA’s exact appearance on Earth.

©Sangharsh Lohakare/Unsplash

Genetic Analysis
To achieve this, they employed a technique that involved analyzing genetic data from modern species and tracking the mutations that have accumulated since these species diverged from their common ancestor—LUCA.

By applying a genetic equation to estimate the separation time between species, the team concluded that LUCA may have been around as early as 400 million years after Earth’s formation.

©Hellbus/Wikimedia

Life Amidst Earth’s Fiery Beginnings
This new timeframe places LUCA squarely within the Hadean Eon, a tumultuous period named after Hades, the Greek god of the underworld.

The Hadean Eon, which also draws from the Hebrew word for "hell," was characterized by extreme conditions, including a molten surface, relentless volcanic eruptions, and frequent asteroid impacts.

©flydime/Wikimedia

Surviving the Extreme
The fact that LUCA managed to survive in such a harsh environment is remarkable.

The researchers were keen to understand how this early ancestor endured these brutal conditions.

©iStock

LUCA's Primitive Immunity
Their investigation revealed that, despite LUCA’s simplicity as a prokaryote—a single-celled organism lacking a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles—it likely possessed a primitive immune system.

This early immune system would have enabled LUCA to fend off the primordial viruses that were pervasive at the time.

©Wikimedia

Early Microbial Ecosystems and Recycling
Tim Lenton, a co-author of the study from the University of Exeter, noted, “It’s clear that LUCA was exploiting and changing its environment, but it is unlikely to have lived alone.”

“Its waste would have been food for other microbes, like methanogens, that would have helped to create a recycling ecosystem.”

©Wikimedia

Ongoing Research
Although LUCA remains the oldest known common ancestor, the path from this primordial life form to the complex organisms we see today is still a subject of ongoing research.

Scientists continue to delve into our primordial past to uncover the intricate processes that led to the evolution of complex life and the remarkable diversity that defines our world today.

©Jakub Hałun/Wikimedia Commons

Unraveling the Evolution from LUCA to Modern Diversity
Further exploration is needed to fully understand how life evolved from its earliest beginnings.

Additionally, this research will help clarify how these early forms of life gave rise to the extraordinary variety of organisms we see today.

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/channel/topic/Science/ }

23-07-2024 om 21:09 geschreven door peter  

Archaeologists uncover 'monumental' structure in Israel from the Bible

©Facebook

Archaeologists uncover 'monumental' structure in Israel from the Bible
Archaeologists have uncovered a 'monumental' structure in Jerusalem that is mentioned in two books of the Bible. They uncovered ruins of an ancient moat that was built more than 3,000 years ago in the City of David, which is considered one of the oldest cities in history. For 150 years, researchers have worked to prove the city was split in two - as described in the Bible - and they have now uncovered the moat that separated the southern residential region from the upper city in the north.

©Facebook

Archaeologists uncover 'monumental' structure in Israel from the Bible
The moat measured about 30 feet deep and nearly 100 feet wide with perpendicular cliffs on each side that made it impassable. The team said the findings confirmed that the moat was created during the Iron Age - the same period when the Book of Kings and the Book of Samuel were written to describe the City of David being split into Ophel and Millo. 'This is a dramatic discovery that opens up a renewed discussion about the terms from the biblical literature that refers to the topography of Jerusalem, such as the Ophel and the Millo,' Researchers at the Israel Antiquities Association (IAA) said.

©Facebook

Archaeologists uncover 'monumental' structure in Israel from the Bible
Ophel and Millo are terms used in scripture to describe different parts of the City of David. One reference can be found in the first Book of Kings (11:27), as King Solomon is described as building the construction, which was dubbed the 'Millo.': '… Solomon built up the 'Millo' and closed up the breach in the wall of the City of David his father.'

©pen news

Archaeologists uncover 'monumental' structure in Israel from the Bible
The ancient city was the birthplace of Jerusalem and built by King David to unite Israel around one captial. The location was built on top of a narrow, steep ridge overlooking hills and valleys that divided the land and made it difficult to move from one area to another.

©Facebook

Archaeologists uncover 'monumental' structure in Israel from the Bible
'It is not known when the moat was originally cut, but evidence suggests it was used during the centuries when Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah, almost 3,000 years ago, beginning with King Josiah,' Dr Yiftah Shalev (pictured), the excavation director said. 'During those years, the moat separated the southern residential part of the city from the ruling Acropolis in the north; the upper city where the palace and the temple were located.'

©Facebook

Archaeologists uncover 'monumental' structure in Israel from the Bible
The IAA confirmed that construction plans like this one typically date back to the Middle Bronze Age - about 3,800 years ago. 'We are confident that [the moat] was used at the time of the First Temple and the Kingdom of Judah [in the ninth century BC], so it created a clear buffer between the residential city in the south and the upper city in the north,' Dr Shalev said.

©Facebook

Archaeologists uncover 'monumental' structure in Israel from the Bible
According to the researchers, the moat was designed to change the City of David's topography to display Jerusalem's ruler's powers over others who entered their gates and emphasized their strength and capability to defend their walls at the time. The structure was first discovered in the 1960s by British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon who noticed the moat was slightly east of today's Givati Parking Lot.

©Provided by Daily Mail

Archaeologists uncover 'monumental' structure in Israel from the Bible
Kenyon thought the formation was just a natural valley, however, her discovery turned out to be a continuation of the moat as it curved to the west. 'Once again, discoveries are being revealed that shed new and vivid light on the biblical literature,' said Eli Escusido, Director of the IAA.

©Provided by Daily Mail

Archaeologists uncover 'monumental' structure in Israel from the Bible
He added: 'When you stand at the bottom of this giant excavation, surrounded by enormous hewn walls, it is impossible not to be filled with wonder and appreciation for those ancient people who, about 3,800 years ago, literally-moved mountains and hills.'

©Provided by Daily Mail

Archaeologists uncover 'monumental' structure in Israel from the Bible
Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/channel/topic/Science/ }

23-07-2024 om 18:35 geschreven door peter  

17-07-2024 om 21:53 geschreven door peter  

The sudden and catastrophic collapse of the Bronze Age civilizations was one of the most dreadful events in history. Towards the beginning of the 12th century BCE, cities across the eastern Mediterranean region – in Cyprus, Crete, Greece, Anatolia, Egypt, Syria, Levant, etc. – went up in flames, never to rise again, and the cultural expressions and religious institutions of the Bronze Age were lost forever. Historian Robert Drews, Professor of Classical Studies, Emeritus, at Vanderbilt University, wrote in the book, The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe ca. 1200 BC, that, 

“Within a period of forty to fifty years at the end of the thirteenth and the beginning of the twelfth century almost every significant city in the eastern Mediterranean world was destroyed, many of them never to be occupied again…Throughout the eastern Mediterranean, the twelfth century BC ushered in a dark age, which in Greece and Anatolia was not to lift for more than four hundred years. Altogether, the end of the Bronze Age was arguably the worst disaster in ancient history...”[1]

The intensity and geographic scale of this devastation are quite mind-boggling. When the archaeologists of the mid-19th century started exploring the ancient Bronze Age sites in the eastern Mediterranean, they found that the cities and palaces – which were constructed of megalithic blocks of stone - had been entirely leveled and almost everywhere they detected a layer of ash containing charred wood. At Hattusa, the capital of the mighty Hittite Empire, the excavators found a layer of “slag, formed when mud-bricks melted from the intense heat of the conflagration,”[2] while at Mycenae, the “masonry structures within the fortification walls (of the citadel) melted in a fire of great intensity.”[3]

Everywhere there were signs of a massive, violent conflagration that had brought on the utter demise of these longstanding centers of culture. Many of these sites – such as Hattusa or Mycenae - remained unoccupied, forgotten, and lost from the pages of history for thousands of years, until they were dug up by archaeologists in the 19th century. At some of the sites, archaeologists have detected signs of rebuilding after the initial wave of devastation in the early 12th century BCE. However, even the rebuilt cities did not last long and were destroyed and abandoned shortly. Apparently, whatever had brought on this widespread disaster lingered on for some time during the 400 years of the Dark Ages that followed.

However, not all cultures in the region were utterly decimated in the 12th century itself. In some cases, the collapse was long drawn out. In Egypt, the rule of Ramses III – the last of the great pharaohs - ended in 1155 BCE with his murder, following which there was a “mega drought” lasting 150 years or more, which caused a severe economic crisis.[4] The end of the 20th Dynasty in 1069 BCE marked the end of Egypt as an independent power. The period from 1070 BCE – 664 BCE is called the “Third Intermediate Period” of Egypt, when the Libyans and the Kushites claimed the throne, at a time of political turmoil, social disintegration, droughts and famine. 

Another ancient empire that survived the initial wave of destruction in the 12th century was Assyria, even as most cities in the Levant and Southern Mesopotamia went up in flames. However, upon the death of Ashur-bel-kala in 1056 BCE, even Assyria went into a comparative decline for the next hundred or so years. The empire shrank significantly, and by 1020 BCE, Assyria appears to have controlled only areas close to Assyria itself.

The effect of this catastrophic civilizational collapse on the people of the eastern Mediterranean was traumatic, to say the least. There was large-scale depopulation, and the people lived in small, isolated, settlements. Some squatters occupied the ruins of the big cities and lived in small huts. Famine gripped the lands, and people migrated in search of food. The ancient trading networks came to a grinding halt. A Dark Age gripped the lands for nearly 400 years, during which time the entire cultural edifice of the Bronze Age was lost forever. 

When the Iron Age began at around 750 BCE, the construction of megalithic cities and palaces had ceased. The pottery had simple geometric patterns. Iron replaced bronze as the metal of choice for manufacturing tools and weapons. Chariots were no longer used in warfare. The Linear B writing of the Mycenaean period was forgotten, and the Greeks had to re-learn the alphabet from the Phoenicians in the 8th century BCE. It was almost as if an “epoch” of humanity was over and the old had given way to the new.

Modern historians think of the Greek Dark Ages as a time of “transition” from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. Robert Drews used the term “dawn time” to refer to this period of catastrophe and transformation. He wrote that,

“The end of the eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age, in the twelfth century BC, was one of history’s most frightful turning points. For those who experienced it, it was a calamity. In long retrospect, however, the episode marked a beginning rather than an end, the “dawn time” in which people in Israel, Greece, and even Rome sought their origins. ...The metallurgical progress - from bronze to iron - was only the most tangible of the innovations. More significant by far were the development and spread of alphabetic writing, the growth of nationalism, of republican political forms, of monotheism, and eventually of rationalism.”[5]

The philosophers of ancient Greece generally thought of the Dark Ages as a time when a “Shift in the Ages” took place from the “Age of the Heroes” to the “Iron Age”. Many Greek writers dated the famous battle of Troy described in the Iliad, to around the same time that the Late Bronze Age collapse had occurred: Ephorus had dated it to 1135 BCE, Sosibius to 1172 BCE, and Eratosthenes to 1184 BCE. 

As it turns out, the ruins of the city of Troy were discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1870, in the course of his excavations on the mound of Hisarlik, which overlooks the plain along the Turkish Aegean coast. The excavations at the site have revealed multiple occupation layers dating back to 3600 BCE. 

What is interesting is that, Troy was destroyed at around 1180 BCE – coinciding with the onset of the Late Bronze Age collapse - following which the city was rebuilt but was destroyed again in 1050 BCE, possibly due to an earthquake. Troy was again rebuilt by the survivors, but suffered yet another destruction by a fire in 950 BCE. This tells us that the entire Mediterranean region was visited by an extended period of catastrophes during the Dark Ages. Robert Drews makes a similar observation: 

"Altogether, then, the Catastrophe seems to have begun with sporadic destructions in the 1st quarter of the thirteenth century, gathered momentum in the 1190s, and rages in fully fury in the 1180s. By about 1175 the worst was apparently over, although dreadful things continued to happen throughout the twelfth century."

The question is, what could have caused this widespread and long drawn-out calamity in the Mediterranean region that obliterated the Bronze Age cultures that had flourished in the region for nearly three millennia? 

The Sea Peoples

Some historians believe that the so-called “Sea Peoples”- a loose, seafaring, confederation of uncertain origin – are to blame for these upheavals. The principal evidence for the invasions of the Sea Peoples comes to us from the inscriptions and pictorial reliefs on the walls of the mortuary temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu. 

They tell us that, during the eighth year of the pharaoh’s reign, a coalition of foreign states that originally lived “on the islands in the middle of the (Aegean) sea” attacked Egypt. The attackers are said to have defeated a number of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Hatti (Hattusa), Alashiya (Cyprus) and Arzawa (a small city in Western Anatolia). Ramesses III claims to have slaughtered the Sea Peoples in a naval battle, and took many of them as captives.[6]

Scholars now believe that the Sea Peoples were a military alliance of “western Anatolian petty states”, since the names of some of the individual tribes that made up the Sea Peoples (which have been mentioned in the Egyptian inscriptions) are, to a large extent, identical to the neighbors of the Hittites in the west and the southeast.

But, if we think about it, the Sea Peoples were not such a powerful adversary, since they were easily annihilated by Ramses III, and therefore - while they might have defeated a few Hittite cities - they were unlikely to have reduced those cities to utter rubble. Besides, the Late Bronze Age collapse took place over a vast swathe of land in the eastern Mediterranean and the Sea Peoples certainly didn’t go anywhere after the thrashing they received in Egypt. Moreover, the catastrophic events in the Mediterranean region had persisted for some time during the Dark Ages. It was not just a collapse of cities that we are dealing with here. Famines had overtaken the lands, trade networks were disrupted, people forgot how to read and write, and all the cultural expressions of the Bronze Age were lost.

Clearly, this was not the work of some invaders of uncertain origin, but of Mother Nature. A major environmental cataclysm must have brought this on.

Some historians have pointed to the eruption of the Hekla volcano in Iceland as a potential trigger. The eruption of Hekla has been dated to around 1021 BCE (±130), and it caused worldwide temperatures to drop for nearly 18 years, as recorded in Irish bog oaks.[7] Since the explosion occurred nearly two hundred years after the beginning of the Late Bronze Age collapse it cannot be a regarded as a cause, although it certainly contributed to the woes already inflicting the people. 

Meteor Airbursts? 

A possible cause for the Late Bronze Age collapse could be a series of meteor airbursts above the eastern Mediterranean region. When meteors explode in the air, they do not leave any impact craters, but their effects on human civilization can be utterly devastating. Shock waves from meteor airbursts can flatten cities and the intense temperatures from the explosions can cause violent conflagrations capable of melting mud-bricks and stone walls – which is what has been seen at many Late Bronze Age sites. 

A well-known example of a meteor airburst is the Tunguska event of June 30, 1908, when a large meteor - about 120 feet across weighing 100 million kilograms - exploded over Eastern Siberia with the force of 1000 Hiroshima nuclear bombs, and flattened over 2000 square kilometers of forest. Strong seismic waves and near-hurricane gusts of wind were felt 600 kilometers from the site. Locally, hundreds of reindeer were killed, but there was no evidence that any person was killed in the blast, due to the remoteness of the location. The same explosion over a densely populated city would have had tragic consequences on human life. 

In the eastern Mediterranean, a devastating meteor airburst had occurred a few centuries prior to the Late Bronze Age collapse. In 2021, a team of scientists discovered that the Bronze Age city of Tall el-Hammam in Jordan had been completely flattened by a Tunguska-sized meteor airburst at around 1650 BCE. The high temperatures from the airburst melted pottery shards and clay bricks and produced diamond-like carbon, while the incredible pressures shocked quartz crystals. Their findings were published in the journal Nature.[8]

Some researchers believe that Tall el-Hammam could be the biblical city of Sodom mentioned in Genesis, which, in addition to Gomorrah, had been destroyed by God, since its inhabitants had become wicked. As per Genesis, fire and sulfur had rained down on the cities, which leveled the buildings, killed all the inhabitants and destroyed the vegetation in the fields.[9]

James Kennett, emeritus professor of Earth Science at UC Santa Barbara, who was leading the research team, said that “All the observations stated in Genesis are consistent with a cosmic airburst…but there's no scientific proof that this destroyed city is indeed the Sodom of the Old Testament.”[10]

While the biblical identity of Tall el-Hammam will continue to be debated, it is becoming evident that meteor airbursts can have devastating consequences on human civilization, and many such events have occurred in the past. But, did anything of this sort occur during the time of the Late Bronze collapse?

The Kaali Crater 

A recent scientific paper published in the International Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics (2020), claims that the Kaali Crater in Estonia - which is named after a small village called Kaali located close to the impact site - was caused by a meteorite impact between 1183 - 1162 BCE. The force of the impact set up a Baltic-wide mega-tsunami at 1171 BCE, and caused a violent seismotectonic effect in Sweden. 

The author of the paper, Nils-Axel Morner, a retired geologist of Stockholm University wrote,

“At about 1200 cal. yr. BC something quite unique occurred in the Baltic region: a meteorite impacted the ground on Saaremaa Island in Estonia giving rise to the Kaali Crater and 8 minor impact marks. At the same time along the Swedish east coast, we record high-magnitude paleoseismic activity, ground shaking with power of fracturing the bedrock, intensive methane venting tectonics, and the occurrence of a mega-tsunami with a run-up on the order of 15 m. In this paper, we propose that all the events occurred at the same time, and that the geodynamic events along the Swedish east coast were all triggered by the Kaali impact.”[11]

The main Kaali Crater has a diameter of around 110 m and a depth of 25 m, including its debris rim. Today, the crater has a lake in it, fed by groundwater and precipitation. There are eight minor craters within 1 km of the main crater, with diameters ranging from 12 – 40 m. It is believed that these craters were created when a large meteor, weighing anywhere between 400 – 1000 tons entered the earth’s atmosphere and fragmented into multiple pieces, which struck the Saaremaa Island in Estonia with a velocity of about 10 - 20 km. per second.

There have been ongoing debates about the age of the Kaali Crater, with the span of uncertainty ranging between 1700 BCE – 1000 BCE. New mathematical models used by Brendan Duffy for the computation of the boundary age for the onset of sedimentation within the crater provide dates ranging from 1183 BCE - 1162 BCE. This is in close agreement with the 1171 BCE date for the Baltic-wide mega-tsunami that has been recorded at 11 sites in Sweden. 

Nils-Axel Morner has proposed that a large meteor fragment must have fallen into the Baltic Sea, somewhere between Estonia and Sweden, and caused the mega-tsunami. Around the same time, there was an abnormal peak of seismotectonic events at 13 sites in Sweden resulting in bedrock deformation, large-scale liquefaction, and explosive methane venting tectonics. 

The timing of the impact i.e. between 1183 - 1162 BCE coincides with the catastrophe that struck the eastern Mediterranean at the beginning of the 12th century BCE. Since multiple fragments of the meteorite struck the land in Estonia, and a large fragment probably fell into the Baltic Sea, all of them may have originated from a large, disintegrating, comet. 

It is quite possible that some large chunks of cometary debris exploded over the eastern Mediterranean region, flattening the Bronze Age cities, and causing the mud-bricks and stone masonry to melt. Cosmic airbursts and impact events can also destroy the vegetation in the fields and induce widespread aridity, thereby causing famines. Since volcanism can also be triggered by meteor impacts, the Hekla eruption could have been a result of these bombardments. 

The reason why the Sea Peoples were invading other cultures of that time was possibly because they were one of the first victims of the meteor airbursts; and having lost their homes and food sources, they were searching around for a new place to settle. 

There are indications that meteor impacts continued to occur during the Dark Ages. Lars Franzen and Thomas Larsson of Goeteborg University, Sweden, have presented evidence from sites in Tunisia and Sweden, which show that,

“A major atmospheric cooling event, accompanied by excessive precipitation, which led to flooding, occurred around 1000 BCE. The event was sudden and widespread, and the finding of small glassy spherules pointed to a possible impact origin. Franzen and Larsson suggested that an asteroid or comet of diameter in the range 0.5-5 km may have landed in the eastern Atlantic around 1000 BCE, affecting in particular Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.”[12]

Now, why would the earth be subjected to an extended period of bombardment from asteroids and meteors? From where did these impactors originate? The answer to that question probably lies within the dense core of the Taurid meteor stream. 

The Taurid Swarm

The Taurids are the largest meteor stream in the inner solar system. It contains some large chunks of rocks that have struck the earth in the past. Most scientists believe that the Beta Taurids – which is the section of the stream we cross from June 5 to July 18, with peak activity on June 29 – was the source of the Tunguska meteor of June 30, 1908. 

The progenitor of the Taurid stream was a giant comet, around 50 - 100 km in diameter, which had entered the inner solar system at least 20,000 to 30,000 years ago. The comet was tossed into a short-term orbit around the Sun, and disintegrated in stages, leaving behind a trail of debris known as the Taurid meteor stream or Taurid Complex.[13]

The giant progenitor comet of the Taurid meteor stream still remains hidden in the center of the Taurids, moving within a tightly packed swarm consisting of several large comets formed by the fragmentation of the progenitor (all of which are in a dormant state), and dozens of full-size asteroids up to 1 km wide. This dense cluster of comets and asteroids within the Taurid meteor stream is called the “Taurid Resonant Swarm”. The faint Comet Encke, which is the only visible comet within the Taurid meteor stream today, could be a recently reactivated fragment of the Taurid progenitor comet. 

In an article in National Geographic, Australian astronomer Duncan Steel provided an estimate of how often we get hit by the comets and asteroids within the Taurid swarm:

“Every 2,500 to 3,000 years or so, the core of the Taurid stream passes near Earth and produces much more intense meteor showers for a few centuries, said Steel. A gap of a few centuries separates the era of intensity between Northern Taurids and Southern Taurids.”[14]

This is a significant observation from the perspective of the Late Bronze Age collapse. If the earth had passed through the dense core of the Taurids towards the beginning of the 12th century BCE, then it would have resulted in intense meteor showers over a period of a few centuries – with consequent cosmic airbursts and impact events - which could account for all the calamities that befell the eastern Mediterranean region over the next 400 years. 

The area of collapse, in fact, was much wider than the eastern Mediterranean. In reality, the Greek Dark Ages was a time of global collapse of civilization. 

A Global Catastrophe

Everywhere we look around the world, the period from 1200 BCE – 700 BCE was the time when the erstwhile Bronze Age cultures collapsed and gave way to the Iron Age civilizations. In Persia, for instance, the Median kingdom emerged in the 8th century BCE, but what do we know about the Bronze Age cultures of the region? Very little, for all of them disappeared, and it is only at sites like Jiroft that we get an inkling of Bronze Age Persia.

The Indus Valley civilization had already undergone a catastrophic collapse at around 1900 BCE due to a host of environmental conditions – notably droughts and earthquakes - and most Indus cities had been abandoned by 1700 BCE. However, a Late Harappan, post-urban culture continued to survive in parts of Sindh and Saurashtra, which was characterized by relative poverty in their material culture – crude pottery, poorly constructed buildings, disappearance of urban amenities etc. The Late Harappan phase continued till around 1000 - 900 BCE,[15] and ended due to factors not clearly known. After a gap of nearly 400 years we see the emergence of the 16 Great Kingdoms (Mahajanapadas) in the Gangetic plains at around 600 BCE, marking the beginning of the Iron Age culture of India. While certain Harappan traditions were carried over to the later-day Indian civilization, many elements of their skills, beliefs, customs, and socio-cultural setup were lost forever.

Catastrophe also struck the Olmec civilization of Mesoamerica at this time. The center of Olmec culture in the early years was at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan. However, in c.950 BCE there was a wholesale destruction of San Lorenzo monuments. The site was abandoned at around 900 BCE, and the center of power shifted to La Venta soon afterward. Mesoamerican scholars believe that severe environmental changes may have been responsible for this shift in Olmec centers, with certain important rivers changing course.

Apparently, the Greek Dark Ages was a time when civilizations across the world got a drastic reboot. The old ways of doing things were violently erased, and while some elements of the Bronze Age societies were carried forward, we mostly see the emergence of new artistic styles, religious beliefs, philosophies, architecture, and modes of governance. This brings to mind those haunting words that the Egyptian priest of Sais had spoken to Solon, the Athenian law-giver when Solon had gone to Egypt at around 600 BCE: 

“Whereas just when you and other nations are beginning to be provided with letters and the other requisites of civilized life, after the usual interval, the stream from heaven, like a pestilence, comes pouring down, and leaves only those of you who are destitute of letters and education; and so you have to begin all over again like children, and know nothing of what happened in ancient times, either among us or among yourselves.”[16]

The “stream from heaven” that the Egyptian priest spoke of, could refer to the Taurid meteor stream, which seems to play a crucial role in the periodic annihilation of civilization. In my book Yuga Shift, I have proposed that the Greek Dark Ages correspond to the period of transition between the descending Kali Yuga and the ascending Kali Yuga in the Yuga Cycle, and I have identified the Taurid meteor stream as the primary trigger for the cataclysms of the transitional periods between the Yugas.

References

[1] Robert Drews, The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe ca. 1200 B.C., Princeton University Press, 1993, p. 3-4.
[2] Ibid p. 8.
[3] Ibid p. 24
[4] Dave Roos, “What Caused Ancient Egypt’s Decline?”, History, 10 August 2022, https://www.history.com/news/decline-ancient-egypt-causes
[5] Ibid p. 3.
[6] "The Sea Peoples’ Inscriptions and Excavation Results", Luwian Studies, https://luwianstudies.org/the-sea-peoples-inscriptions-and-excavation-results/
[7] Mike Baillie, “Do Irish bog oaks date the Shang dynasty?” Current Archaeology 1989, 10: 310–313.
[8] Ted E. Bunch et al, “A Tunguska sized airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age city in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea”, Scientific Reports, 2021, Vol.11, Article No.18632, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97778-3
[9] Genesis 19:24-26.
[10] Sonia Fernandez, “Evidence that a cosmic impact destroyed ancient city in the Jordan Valley”, Phys.org, 20 September 2021, https://phys.org/news/2021-09-evidence-cosmic-impact-ancient-city.html
[11] N. Mörner, “The Kaali Impact as Trigger of a Mega-Tsunami Event and Violent Seismotectonics in Sweden”, International Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2020, Vol.10, No.3, pp. 235-246, https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=103095
[12] Trevor Palmer, Robert N. Brandon, Perilous Planet Earth: Catastrophes and Catastrophism Through the Ages, Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 344.
[13] D.I. Steel, D.J. Asher, S.V.M Clube, “The Taurid Complex: Giant Comet Origin?” International Astronomical Union Colloquium, 1991, Vol. 126, pp. 327-330, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0252921100067063 
[14] John Roach, “Meteor Shower Promises Seven Shooting Stars an Hour”, National Geographic News, 7 November 2003, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1107_031107_taurids.html
[15] Jim G. Shaffer, “Reurbanization: The Eastern Punjab and Beyond”, Studies in the History of Art, 1993, vol. 31, pp. 53–67.
[16] Plato, Timaeus, http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/timaeus.html

LINKS VIDEOS

• https://youtu.be/q0AIYIjZKWY

• https://youtu.be/B965f8AcNbw

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

16-07-2024 om 00:26 geschreven door peter  

42-million-year-old biting midge. 

Maria Blake

Australian Fossilized Amber Reveals A 42 Million Year-Old Secret

Amber is fossilized tree resin. Unlike traditional fossils found on land or in the sea, amber can preserve ancient life forms in incredible detail.

BY MARIA BLAKE, JEFFREY STILWELL AND THE CONVERSATION

 

Przemek Klos/500px/Getty Images

Australian amber is now helping to understand the biological diversity of ancient Gondwanan environments from 42 million years ago and their connections to today’s Australian forests. From it, we can learn yet more reasons for why we must protect today’s forests.

THE UNIQUE VALUE OF AUSTRALIAN AMBER

Unlike typical, squashed fossil rock shapes, paleontologists value amber for its remarkable ability to preserve inclusions in full three dimensions. This means we can study fossil organisms that would otherwise not have been recorded in such detail.

This is especially important considering that around 85% of modern biodiversity comes from arthropods (spiders, flies, beetles, bees, and the like). Only 0.3% is represented by the “bony” mammals more commonly found as fossils in rocks.

Overall, only a tiny fraction of all life throughout geologic time has been fossilized. This means we work with a biased fossil record that may not accurately represent past diversity.

Amber provides a unique opportunity to find less common specimens. It helps to reveal the diversity of past ecosystems and to reduce these biases in our understanding of ancient life.

Most amber discoveries come from the Northern Hemisphere (the Baltic region, Spain, China, and Myanmar). Australia is one of the rare places in the Southern Hemisphere where scientists can also study organisms trapped in amber.

The most promising site for finding these preserved organisms is a former coal mining area in Victoria. The amber and fossils from this site are estimated to be 42–40 million years old, dating back to the Eocene epoch.

At that time, Australia and Antarctica were still connected as part of the slowly fragmenting supercontinent called Gondwana. Australia had a warm and moist climate and forests teeming with insects, arachnids, and other creatures.

LIVING FOSSILS

The amber we’re working with has been studied by researchers since 2014. Findings described in 2020 include biting midges, baby spiders, and even a pair of mating flies.

Our latest work reveals more details on the species. We’ve learned not only where these organisms lived in the past but also the surprising fact that many of them still exist in Australia’s forests today, albeit in greatly reduced geographic ranges.

This means creatures from ancient Gondwana have persisted for more than 40 million years. Their survival for so long gives even more reason to protect them in the future.

One major breakthrough in our research is based on new advancements at ANSTO’s Australian Synchrotron research facility in Melbourne. Improved resolution and the capability to scan smaller samples with X-rays have greatly improved how we can produce images of organisms trapped in amber. This allows us to create detailed 3D reconstructions, and we can identify the species more easily.

The synchrotron has also made it possible to finally detect inclusions within large, opaque pieces of amber that were hard to examine previously with traditional microscopes.

WHAT HAVE WE FOUND IN AUSTRALIAN AMBER?

Some of the new major findings have been a “non-biting” or “feather” midge from the Podonominae insect subfamily. It’s the first fossil record of the genus Austrochlus in the Southern Hemisphere. Even though it was widely distributed globally in the past, it is now restricted to Australia.

With the synchrotron, we revealed not only the specimen’s sex and position in its family tree but also the internal structures of what are potentially wing muscles. Even in amber fossils, that’s a rarity.

We also found a true biting midge that’s still around today (Austroconops). It’s the first fossil of its kind dating back to the Cenozoic, spanning the last 66 million years. Once widespread, today this midge is only found in Western Australia, again restricted just to our continent.

A wasp from the family Embolemidae, recognised today from all around the world to be a parasite on planthopper nymphs, is another highlight from Australian amber. This group has quite a scarce fossil record, and this is only the second time one has been found in the Southern Hemisphere.

This parasitic wasp has a very scarce fossil record. 

Maria Blake

All of these insect fossils are the first of their kind found in Australia. And we’ve only scratched the surface – there are many more yet to be described.

Remarkably, these insects are still around in Australian forests today, tracing their lineage back in time to ancient Gondwana. Without realizing it, we exist among living fossils.

While we know these species were widely distributed in the past, today, most of them are found only on this continent. They now face new challenges which threaten their habitats. The threats include climate change, deforestation, and urban sprawl.

Protecting these ancient “living fossils” and their environments is essential for the health of our native ecosystems.

• This article was originally published on The Conversation by Maria Blake and Jeffrey Stilwell at Monash University. Read the original article here.

Long-legged flies were 'caught in the act' 42-40 million years ago, 

Image credit: Jeffrey Stilwell

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

15-07-2024 om 20:30 geschreven door peter  

Dat de ontdekking van die extra ogen zo lang op zich heeft laten wachten, is wel te verklaren. Ze zitten – in gefossiliseerde trilobieten – namelijk enigszins verstopt.

Zo’n 500 miljoen jaar geleden wemelden de oceanen van de trilobieten. Dit zijn een bekende klasse uitgestorven geleedpotigen die in vervlogen tijden in de zee leefden. Trilobieten behoren samen met ammonieten en dinosauriërs ongetwijfeld tot de bekendste fossielen. Maar ondanks 150 jaar onderzoek heeft het beestje alsnog verrassingen voor ons in petto. Zo zijn wetenschappers op extra ogen gestuit, die al die tijd over het hoofd zijn gezien.

Ogen

Geleedpotigen hebben meestal twee soorten ogen. Allereerst hebben ze een paar samengestelde ogen (ook wel facetogen genoemd). Deze bestaan vaak uit duizenden aparte lensjes. Daarnaast zijn geleedpotigen ook nog eens uitgerust met mediane ogen. Dit zijn eigenlijk een extra set enkelvoudige ogen, die zich in het midden van het voorhoofd bevinden, tussen de samengestelde ogen in. Alleen trilobieten, een belangrijke groep geleedpotigen die ten tijde van het Paleozoïcum leefden, leken vreemd genoeg geen mediane ogen te hebben.

Ontdekking
Tenminste, dat was tot voor kort de veronderstelling. Totdat onderzoekers de trilobiet Aulacopleura koninckii, waarvan een deel van de kop was afgeschraapt, aan een nadere inspectie onderwierpen.

Het team ontdekte drie bijna identiek gevormde, donkere, onopvallende kleine ovale vlekjes van dezelfde grootte aan de voorkant van de kop. Deze drie structuren lopen evenwijdig aan elkaar en waaieren aan de onderkant iets uit. Alle drie de vlekken worden gekenmerkt door een gladde, duidelijke omtrek en een uniforme, donkerbruine kleur. “Deze plekken onderscheiden zich duidelijk van de vlekken die ontstaan door verval of fossilisatie,” legt onderzoeker Brigitte Schoenemann uit. “In plaats daarvan komt het precies overeen met hoe de overblijfselen van eenvoudige mediane ogen eruitzien.

Mediaan oog
Het betekent dat trilobieten mogelijk toch – net als alle andere geleedpotigen én veel naaste verwanten – niet alleen samengestelde ogen hadden, maar ook met een extra set ogen waren uitgerust. “De ontdekking ondersteunt de veronderstelling dat trilobieten oorspronkelijk mediane ogen hadden,” concludeert Schoenemann.

Onopgemerkt
Dat de trilobiet dit geheimpje zolang heeft weten te bewaren, is opvallend. Zoals gezegd is de trilobiet al ruim een eeuw uitgebreid bestudeerd. Bovendien zijn er ondertussen al meer dan 22.000 soorten ontdekt. Ondanks dat, zijn de mediane ogen al die tijd onopgemerkt gebleven. Toch is dit wel te verklaren. Ze zitten – in gefossiliseerde trilobieten – namelijk enigszins verstopt.

Verstopt
De wetenschappers gaan ervan uit dat de mediane ogen kenmerkend waren voor het larvenstadium, zo leggen ze in hun studie uit. Bovendien bevonden ze zich onder een transparante laag van het schild. Gedurende het fossilisatieproces wordt deze laag echter ondoorzichtig. “Dit heeft er beide toe bijgedragen dat de ontdekking van de extra set ogen zo lang op zich heeft laten verwachten,” aldus Schoenemann.

Meer over trilobieten
Trilobieten zijn te herkennen aan een verkalkt exoskelet aan de rugkant van het lichaam. Ze hadden een halvemaanvormige kop die wel wat weg had van de hedendaagse degenkrab. Hoewel de dieren onderhand zijn uitgestorven, waren ze een succesvolle soort in termen van evolutie. Ze hebben meer dan 250 miljoen jaar weten te overleven; langer dan de dinosauriërs.

Het betekent dat trilobieten waarschijnlijk meerdere verborgen ogen hadden. Toen de onderzoekers de trilobiet Cyclopyge sibilla bestudeerden, vonden ze namelijk ook drie mediane ogen op het voorhoofd, precies tussen de twee samengestelde ogen in. Deze waren bovendien zelfs uitgerust met lenzen die vergelijkbaar zijn met die in menselijke ogen. Dit wijst erop dat deze trilobiet waarschijnlijk beter kon zien dan zijn naaste verwant Aulacopleura koninckii, die – in tegenstelling tot Cyclopyge sibilla – enkel op de bodem leefde.

Variërend
Kortom, uit de bevindingen blijkt dat trilobieten veel meer ogen hadden dan gedacht; waarschijnlijk minstens vijf! Al kan dat aantal ook nog weleens hebben gevarieerd. De onderzoekers denken dat geleedpotigen namelijk op verschillende momenten in de evolutie over een verschillend aantal mediane ogen beschikten. “Het oorspronkelijke aantal mediane ogen is twee,” vertelt Schoenemann. “Daarnaast hadden zeer primitieve geleedpotigen er waarschijnlijk vier. Hedendaagse dieren, zoals insecten en schaaldieren, zijn uitgerust met drie mediane ogen.”

Al met al zijn de onderzoekers er dankzij hun eigen scherpe oog in geslaagd het mysterie van de ontbrekende mediane ogen bij trilobieten op te lossen. Maar dit breidt niet alleen onze kennis over deze uitgestorven prehistorische zeedieren uit. Dat het aantal mediane ogen in geleedpotigen varieerde, zou mogelijk de evolutionaire classificatie van archaïsche geleedpotigen kunnen vergemakkelijken. “Met behulp van het aantal mediane ogen kunnen we nu mogelijk eenvoudiger de positie van een geleedpotige in de evolutieboom bepalen,” besluit Schoenemann.

Bronmateriaal

• "New eyes discovered in trilobites" - University of Cologne
  
• Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel: jonnysek van Getty Images (via canva.com)

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

14-07-2024 om 23:10 geschreven door peter  

Er is een "Pompeii van de zee" ontdekt met perfect bewaarde fossielen: het dateert van 515 miljoen jaar geleden

Abderrazak El Albani, University of Poitiers

Allerlei families van trilobieten verschijnen plotseling in het Cambrium en zien er al direct zeer complex uit. Van evolutionaire voorouders is vooralsnog geen spoor te bekennen.

Overblijfselen van trilobieten bewaard gebleven dankzij gevonden vulkanische as: de studie

We zijn in Aït Youb, in de regio Souss-Massa in Marokko. Hier heeft een team onderzoekers onder leiding van Abderrazak El Albani fossielen ontdekt van twee nieuwe soorten trilobieten die gedateerd kunnen worden op ongeveer 515 miljoen jaar geleden. Tot zover niets vreemds, behalve dat de staat van bewaring van deze trilobieten de beste is die ooit is gevonden.

Zoals we in de inleiding al zeiden, was het tot nu toe onmogelijk om de interne structuren van trilobieten goed te bestuderen: meestal fossiliseert alleen het exoskelet. In het geval van Aït Youb daarentegen heeft vulkanische as van uitbarstingen uit het Precambrium het mogelijk gemaakt om exemplaren te vinden die bijna perfect bewaard zijn gebleven, zo goed zelfs dat ze doen denken aan de vondsten in Pompeii. Aan de andere kant, zo stelt El Albani, is de dynamiek die ten grondslag ligt aan het behoud ervan vrijwel hetzelfde.

Wat is er gebeurd met de trilobieten die ontdekt zijn in Aït Youb?

Didier Descouens/Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 4.0

Volgens El Albani en zijn team hebben we de uitstekende conservering van de trilobieten in feite te danken aan een snelle vulkaanuitbarsting, die de exemplaren begroef en in zeer korte tijd gevangen hield. Sommige trilobieten zijn al opgerold, terwijl andere zich voorbereiden om te ontsnappen, en er zijn enkele exemplaren die zelfs het spijsverteringskanaal vol sediment laten zien dat kort voor de uitbarsting is ingenomen. Als je bedenkt dat het tot voor kort niet mogelijk was om de interne anatomie van een trilobiet te bestuderen, begrijp je heel goed de revolutionaire betekenis van deze ontdekking.

Om deze fossielen beter te kunnen bestuderen, gebruikten de onderzoekers röntgenmicrotomografie, zodat ze een driedimensionale weergave konden bekijken zonder de exemplaren uit de rotsmatrix te halen.  Dit is een innovatieve techniek waarmee anatomische details kunnen worden bekeken zonder de vondsten in gevaar te brengen. Het onderzoek, gepubliceerd in het tijdschrift Science, onthulde ook tot nu toe onbekende anatomische structuren van trilobieten, waaronder sporen van mondaanhangsels en zacht weefsel.

Een bijna perfecte bewaring... zoals in Pompeii

El Albani zelf noemde de vondst in Marokko een “Pompeii van de zee”, en met een goede reden. Zoals we hebben gezien, creëerde de vulkanische as driedimensionale mallen van de trilobieten, waardoor ze in feite bevroren werden in de tijd. Maar terwijl er in het geval van Pompeii zo'n 2000 jaar is verstreken, is er hier 515 miljoen jaar verstreken en daarom was het gebruik van röntgenmicrotomografie bijzonder nuttig.

Ontdekkingen zoals deze zorgen voor een beter begrip van het belang van vulkanische asafzettingen voor het behoud van fossielen, maar tegelijkertijd testen ze de technologische vooruitgang in het bestuderen van het verleden. In staat zijn om trilobieten van 515 miljoen jaar geleden te analyseren vertegenwoordigt een onmisbare kans, die in het verleden onmogelijk was: vanuit een bepaald oogpunt is het ook een vorm van respect voor deze oude fossielen. Laten we niet vergeten dat ze een groot deel van de geschiedenis van onze planeet hebben overbrugd en bijna perfect bewaard zijn gebleven.

Allerlei families van trilobieten verschijnen plotseling in het Cambrium en zien er al direct zeer complex uit. Van evolutionaire voorouders is vooralsnog geen spoor te bekennen.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl}

14-07-2024 om 23:00 geschreven door peter  

Archaeologists Discover 4,000-Year-Old Temple and Theater in Peru

Field Museum scientist Luis Muro Ynoñán with the carving of a mythological bird creature in La Otra Banda, Cerro Las Animas. 

Ucupe Cultural Landscape Archaeological Project

The newly-discovered structures predate the famous Inca citadel of Machu Picchu by roughly 3,500 years, and were made long before the Inca and their predecessors, according to a team of archaeologists with the Ucupe Cultural Landscape Archaeological Project.

The newly-discovered archaeological site, including carving of a mythological bird creature, at La Otra Banda, Cerro Las Animas, Peru.

Image credit: Ucupe Cultural Landscape Archaeological Project.

“It was amazing. This discovery tells us about the early origins of religion in Peru,” said Dr. Muro Ynoñán, an archaeologist at the Field Museum.

“We still know very little about how and under which circumstances complex belief systems emerged in the Andes, and now we have evidence about some of the earliest religious spaces that people were creating in this part of the world.”

“We don’t know what these people called themselves, or how other people referred to them.”

Dr. Ynoñán and his team discovered the new archaeological site at La Otra Banda in Peru in 2023.

They selected a plot roughly 10 by 10 m (33 by 33 feet) and began slowly removing the sediment that had piled up over the millenia.

Just 1.8 m (6 feet) deep, they found signs of ancient walls made of mud and clay.

“It was so surprising that these very ancient structures were so close to the modern surface,” Dr. Ynoñan said.

As they dug deeper, the archaeologists found evidence that the site once housed a temple.

“We think that a large temple was built into the side of the mountain, and we’ve found one section of it,” Dr. Ynoñan said.

“One of the most exciting things we found was a small theater, with a backstage area and a staircase that led to a stage-like platform.”

“This could have been used for ritual performances in front of a selected audience.”

A team of archaeologists work on what appear to be parts of a 4,000-year-old ceremonial temple buried in a sand dune of northern Peru, in Lambayeque, Peru, Jun 27, 2024.

(Photo: Pontifical Catholic University via Reuters)

Flanking one of the theater’s staircases, the archaeologists found mud panels decorated with elaborate carved designs showing a bird-like creature.

“It’s a very beautiful and, at the same time, intriguing design, of a mythological creature — it’s like an anthropomorphic bird, but with some reptilian features,” Dr. Ynoñán said.

“This figure stood out to us because it gives important clues as to when the temple was built and how this construction relates to other ancient temples built by early groups from the Andes.”

“Other images of mythological creatures similar to the one found by our team have been found in Peru, dating to what archaeologists call the Initial Period, roughly 4,000 years ago.”

“Despite the name, the people of the Initial Period were not the first to live in the region: people have inhabited Peru for 15,000 years.”

Close-up of the carving of a mythological bird creature in La Otra Banda, Cerro 

“Around 5000-3000 BCE, called the Preceramic Period, people in coastal Peru began creating societies and complex political systems.”

“The Initial Period came next, starting around 2,000 BCE and lasting until 900 BCE.”

“The Initial Period is important because it’s when we first start to see evidence of an institutionalized religion in Peru.”

“The bird creature at this temple resembles a figure known from the Chavín region, nearly 500 years later. This new site could help reveal the origins of this religion

VIDEOS:

• https://youtu.be/id4R4lT1qEc

• https://youtu.be/76dTXIB9eRw

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

11-07-2024 om 20:28 geschreven door peter  

Story by James Dorman

©Noah's Ark Discovered Project / Facebook

Archeologists Believe They've Located the Remains of Noah's Ark
The story of Noah’s Ark is perhaps one of the most universally known Bible tales. The biblical patriarch used his enormous eponymous vessel to allow his family and a menagerie of animals to survive a great flood and repopulate the earth in its aftermath.

Researchers examining a peculiar geological formation in modern Turkey believe they may have in fact found the remains of Noah’s Ark, which would shine a whole new light on our understanding of the ancient world.

©Grant Whitty/Unsplash

Biblical Flood
The story of Noah’s Ark is one of the more memorable tales from the Bible. Ahead of a great flood, God chooses a man and instructs him to build an enormous boat and populate it with two of every animal, alongside his family.

The story goes that God observed man’s corruption, violence and weakness. Abhorred by the actions of his creation, God looked to wipe the slate clean with a cleansing flood and restore man’s goodness.

©Elias Null/Unsplash

Hunt for the Ark
The story is known all around the world. Many view it, along with other stories in the bible, as simple metaphor and myth, perhaps inspired by some natural calamity like a devastating flood of some kind.

Others believe the event occurred exactly as described in the Bible, and finding the remains of the Ark would prove their stance correct. Scholars, archaeologists and even amateur adventurers have tried, and failed, to locate the Ark over the years.

©Daniel Born/Unsplash

The Ark’s Location
The Bible states that the Ark arrived on Turkey’s “mountains of Ararat” after the 150-day flood sent by God. Since 2021, archaeologists have been working at a geological formation in the Doğubayazıt district of Ağrı in eastern Turkey, which aligns well with the description in the Bible.

The Durofeiner formation looks, from above, to have a boat-like outline. Some suggest this could in fact be the fossilized remains of the Ark.

©Wikimedia Commons

Noah’s Ark Research Team
Many have believed Mount Ararat to be the Ark’s final resting place for some time now. Recent work at the Durofeiner site has been carried out by a collaboration between Turkish and American universities, the “Mount Ararat and Noah’s Ark Research Team.”

Researchers have taken samples from the rock formation, and tests revealed seafood, clay and marine materials. Some claim this as evidence of human activity in the region.

©Rod Long/Unsplash

Age of the Site
The 500-foot-high rock formation sits just 3 miles from the Turkey/Iran border. It’s composed primarily of limonite.

Researchers have determined that test samples from the site are around 3,500 to 5,000 years old. Biblical archaeologists and scholars put the time of the 150-day flood from the Noah’s Ark tale at around 3,000 BC, meaning the samples align well with this time frame.

©Julia Koblitz/Unsplash

Human Activity in the Region at the Time of the Flood
Dr. Faruk Kaya of the Agri Ibrahim Chechen University claims the data gathered from the samples is proof of human activity in the area during the period following the biblical flood.

In her words: “According to the preliminary findings of our research, we believe that human activity occurred in this region during the Chalcolithic period (Stone and Copper Age), specifically between 5,500 and 3,000 BC.”

©Scott Graham/Unsplash

Too Early to Draw Conclusions
Dr. Kaya was careful to stress that while these findings are promising for Ark hunters, they are far from conclusive, and it’s too early to tell whether they could lead to the discovery of Noah’s Ark.

In the same study, Dr. Kaya says: “Noah’s flood is believed to have taken place 5,000 years ago, and our findings indicate the presence of life in this region during that time. However, it is too early to draw definitive conclusions.”

©Trust “Tru” Katsande/Unsplash

Dispute of the Findings
Not everyone supports the suppositions of the Mount Ararat team, and many geologists in particular have pushed back against their claims. Far from being evidence of human activity, they believe the formation at the Durofeiner site is simply ancient rocks.

It would take something far more substantial than the current findings to convince many in the geological community that researchers have found the fossilized remains of Noah’s Ark.

©Lukas Hron/Unsplash

Flood Myths and Actual History
Many ancient cultures share narratives of massive, cataclysmic floods. They likely represent a shared symbolic representation in mythical narratives of survival, rebirth and intervention of the divine.

These stories may indicate how ancient cultures responded to natural disasters. If we examine flood myths alongside geological evidence, we can start to get an idea of what actually happened and what is mythical embellishment.

©Dan Dimmock/Unsplash

Future Research
Through multidisciplinary research of things like the Durofeiner site by archaeologists, Bible scholars and geologists working in tandem, we may be able to start to recontextualize the myth of Noah’s Ark into an established, historical narrative.

Researchers are far from done with the Durofeiner site and are planning excavations to conduct detailed analysis and hopefully uncover new artifacts. They hope to get greater insight into the history of the region, particularly ancient civilizations in the area, and hopefully firmly establish the existence of Noah’s Ark.

©Ben White/Unsplash

Transparency Is Key in Future Research
Whatever the findings at the Durofeiner site ultimately mean, future research is probably warranted. It will be crucial to keep this research transparent, though, so that it’s properly framed.

Things can sometimes get contentious when science meets faith. Having a multidisciplinary team can help to give findings proper context without a skewed narrative one way or the other. If findings don’t completely support the myth of the great flood and Noah’s Ark, there is still meaningful significance to finding proof of human activity in an area of biblical importance.

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/ }

09-07-2024 om 16:32 geschreven door peter  

Scientists investigate Grand Canyon's ancient past to predict future climate impacts

by Keyonna Summers, Tony Allen, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

The Grand Canyon's valleys and millions of years of rock layers spanning Earth's history have earned it a designation as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. But, according to a new UNLV study, its marvels extend to vast cave systems that lie beneath the surface, which just might hold clues to better understand the future of climate change—by studying nature's past.

(Credit: sumikophoto/Shutterstock)

A research team—led by UNLV paleoclimatologist and professor Matthew Lachniet—pulled an ancient stalagmite from the floor of an undisturbed Grand Canyon cave. By studying the mineral deposits' geochemistry, they were able to analyze precipitation patterns during the rapidly warming period following the last Ice Age to improve understanding about the potential impact of future climate change on summer monsoon rains in the U.S. Southwest and northwestern Mexico.

Their findings, published Oct. 2 in Nature Geoscience, revealed that increasing levels of water seeped into the cave between 8,500 and 14,000 years ago, during a period known as the early Holocene when temperatures rose throughout the region. Using a paleoclimate model, the researchers determined that this was likely caused by intensified and expanded summer rainfall stemming from atmospheric impacts on air circulation patterns that more quickly melted the winter snowpacks and sped up the evaporation process that fuels monsoon rains.

Recent photograph of Grand Canyon from Walhalla Plateau, with the red line showing the Great Unconformity between the metamorphic Proterozoic basement complex and the Paleozoic sediment strata.

This is significant, authors say, because most of the water currently infiltrating through the bedrock and into caves and aquifers—and contributing to groundwater recharge—comes from winter snowmelt. During the early Holocene, however, when peak temperatures were only slightly warmer than today, both summer and winter moisture contributed to groundwater recharge in the region.

The authors suggest that future warming, which could cause temperatures to rise above those of the early Holocene, may also lead to greater rates of summer rainfall on the high-elevation Colorado Plateau and an intensifying North American monsoon, the pattern of pronounced and increased thunderstorms and precipitation that typically occur between June and mid-September.

"What was surprising about our results is that during this past warm period, both the summer monsoon and infiltration into the cave increased, which suggests that summer was important for Grand Canyon groundwater recharge, even though today it is not an important season for recharge," said Lachniet, who personally retrieved the stalagmite from a cave in the Redwall Formation on the South Rim of eastern Grand Canyon in 2017. "While we still expect the region to dry in the future, more intense summer rainfall may actually infiltrate into the subsurface more than it does today."

Stalagmites are common cave formations that act as ancient rain gauges that record historic climate change. They grow as mineral-rich waters seep through the ground above and drop from the tips of stalactites on cave ceilings. Calcite minerals from tiny drops of water accumulate over thousands of years, and much like tree rings, accurately record the rainfall history of an area. Three natural forms of oxygen are found in water, and the quantity of one form decreases as rainfall increases. This information is locked into the stalagmites over time.

Because of the distinct difference in the oxygen isotope composition between summer and winter precipitation, it is possible to estimate the relative contributions from each season. Variation in uranium-234 isotope and changes in the growth thickness of stalagmite give indication of the change in the amount of precipitation.

"We were able to validate the oxygen record with the growth data, with the uranium isotope data to confirm that in fact, we see significant increases in summer moisture during this warm period, which we attribute to the monsoon," said the University of New Mexico professor Yemane Asmerom. "Unfortunately, effective moisture is the balance between precipitation and evaporation. Unlike the more temperate Grand Canyon climate, the dry southern part is likely to be drier, as a result of the increased temperatures."

The research team used stalagmite samples to reconstruct groundwater recharge rates—or, the amount of water that penetrates the aquifers—in the Grand Canyon area during the early years of the Holocene period. High groundwater recharge rates likely occurred on other high-elevation plateaus in the region, too, they said, though it's unclear how the activity applies to hotter, low-elevation deserts.

What is clear is that ongoing human-caused climate change is leading to hotter temperatures throughout southwestern North America, including the Grand Canyon region. Alongside population growth and agricultural pressures, this warming can reduce the infiltration of surface water into groundwater aquifers. Groundwater recharge rates also depend on the frequency and intensity of summer rains associated with monsoon season.

Though summer infiltration isn't a significant contributor to groundwater recharge in the region today, these latest findings suggest that could change in the future as the climate warms and monsoonal moisture increases. What's unknown is how a projected decrease in winter precipitation and snowpack could impact overall groundwater reserves.

In addition to Lachniet and Asmerom, the following researchers collaborated on the report: Xiaojing Du and Sylvia G. Dee of Rice University; Victor Polyak of the University of New Mexico; and Benjamin W. Tobin of the University of Kentucky.

• Provided by University of Nevada, Las Vegas 

{https://phys.org/ }

08-07-2024 om 01:30 geschreven door peter  

Denisovans Survived on Tibetan Plateau until 48,000-32,000 Years Ago

Archaeologists have found a new hominin rib specimen in Baishiya Karst Cave, one of the only two places where Denisovans are known to have lived. Dated to 48,000-32,000 years old, the specimen also belongs to the Denisovan lineage, extending their presence at the cave well into the Late Pleistocene.

A portrait of a juvenile female Denisovan based on a skeletal profile reconstructed from ancient DNA methylation maps.

Image credit: Maayan Harel.

Denisovans are an extinct hominin group initially identified from a genome sequence determined from a fragment of a finger bone found in Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia.

Subsequent analyses of the genome have shown that Denisovans diverged from Neanderthals 400,000 years ago and that at least two distinct Denisovan populations mixed with ancestors of present-day Asians.

In 2019, a 160,000-year-old jawbone from Baishiya Karst Cave, a limestone cave at the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau, was identified to be of Denisovan origin.

In 2020, archaeologists found Denisovan mtDNA in the sediments of this cave d indicating their presence at about 100,000 years ago, 60,000 years ago, and possibly 45,000 years ago.

The new rib bone of a Denisovan from Baishiya Karst Cave dates to approximately 48,000-32,000 years ago.

“Together, the fossil and molecular evidence indicates that Ganjia Basin, where Baishiya Karst Cave is located, provided a relatively stable environment for Denisovans, despite its high-altitude,” said Dr. Frido Welker, an archaeologist at the University of Copenhagen.

“The question now arises when and why these Denisovans on the Tibetan Plateau went extinct.”

In their research, Dr. Welker and colleagues studied more than 2,500 bones from Baishiya Karst Cave.

“We were able to identify that Denisovans hunted, butchered and ate a range of animal species,” said Dr. Geoff Smith, a zooarchaeologist at the University of Reading.

“Our study reveals new information about the behavior and adaptation of Denisovans both to high altitude conditions and shifting climates.”

“We are only just beginning to understand the behavior of this extraordinary human species.”

The Baishiya Karst Cave is revealing the resilience of the Denisovans who endured a harsh climate.

Credit...Dongju Zhang’s group/Lanzhou University

An artist's impression of the Stone Age landscape of Ganjia Basin where Baishiya Karst Cave is located, depicting some of the animals which were identified by archaeologists via bone analysis. 

Xia Li© Provided by CNN

Many of the bones recovered from Baishiya Karst Cave, like this spotted hyena vertebra, contain traces of human activities such as cut marks. 

Dongju Zhang’s group/Lanzhou University© Provided by CNN

Many of the bones recovered from the Baishiya Karst Cave, such as this hyena vertebra, have cut marks most likely made by Denisovans using stone tools.

Credit...Dongju Zhang’s group/Lanzhou University

Bone remains from Baishya Karst Cave were broken into numerous fragments preventing identification.

The researchers used a novel scientific method that exploits differences in bone collagen between animals to determine which species the bone remains came from.

“Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) allows us to extract valuable information from often overlooked bone fragments, providing deeper insight into human activities,” said Dr. Huan Xia, a researcher at Lanzhou University.

The scientists determined that most of the bones were from blue sheep, known as the bharal, as well as wild yaks, equids, the extinct woolly rhino, and the spotted hyena.

They also identified bone fragments from small mammals, such as marmots, and birds.

“Current evidence suggests that it was Denisovans, not any other human groups, who occupied the cave and made efficient use of all the animal resources available to them throughout their occupation,” said Dr. Jian Wang, also from Lanzhou University.

“Detailed analysis of the fragmented bone surfaces shows Denisovans removed meat and bone marrow from the bones, but also indicates the humans used them as raw material to produce tools.”

• This research is described in a paper in the journal Nature.
• H. Xia et al. Middle and Late Pleistocene Denisovan subsistence at Baishiya Karst Cave. Nature, published online July 3, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07612-9

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

06-07-2024 om 18:20 geschreven door peter  

Tibetaanse grot vertelt over oude uitgestorven mensen: Denisoviërs leefden hier 100.000 jaar

Door Janine

Dongju Zhang/Wikimedia commons -

CC BY-SA 4.0

De Denisoviërs zijn oude, uitgestorven mensen die voor het eerst werden geïdentificeerd in 2010: een nieuw onderzoek heeft meer ontdekt op de plek waar ze meer dan honderdduizend jaar leefden.

De Denisoviërs zijn recenter dan gedacht

De wetenschap weet nog steeds niet veel over de oude Denisoviërs, mensen die duizenden jaren geleden uitstierven, maar een nieuwe studie heeft iets meer ontdekt: deze groep leefde meer dan 100.000 jaar op het Tibetaans Plateau. Archeologen onderzochten 2500 fossiele botfragmenten van verschillende diersoorten, die werden ontdekt in de karstgrot van Baishiya, in Tibet, op een hoogte van 3.280 meter. De grot ligt nabij Xiahe, in de Chinese provincie Gansu. Het is een van de slechts drie plaatsen ter wereld waar bewijs is gevonden van hun bestaan op aarde.

Uit het nieuwe onderzoek is gebleken dat de Denisoviërs in staat waren om te jagen en een grote groep dieren van verschillende grootte te verwerken voor consumptie en het maken van gereedschappen, waaronder vogels, wolharige neushoorns, marmotten en blauwe schapen. De onderzoekers vonden ook een menselijk fossiel overblijfsel van tussen 48.000 en 32.000 jaar geleden, het meest recente van de fossielen van Denisoviërs die tot nu toe zijn ontdekt. Dit betekent dat deze soort later uitstierf dan eerder werd gedacht.

De Denisoviërs van Tibet waren veerkrachtige mensen

Nature

De beperkte hoeveelheid fossiel bewijs heeft het moeilijk gemaakt om informatie te verkrijgen over deze mensen, maar dankzij het nieuwe onderzoek weten we nu dat de Denisoviërs die de karstgrot Baishiya bewoonden een grote veerkracht hadden en zich aanpasten aan een van de meest barre omgevingen op aarde. Dongju Zhang, hoofdauteur van het onderzoek, archeoloog en professor aan de Universiteit van Lanzhou, zei: "Ze gebruikten alle dieren die ze tot hun beschikking hadden, wat betekent dat hun gedrag flexibel was."

Het gevonden fossiel was hoogstwaarschijnlijk een tijdgenoot van de moderne mens en de Neanderthalers die destijds in Eurazië leefden, volgens Frido Welker, professor aan de Biomolecular Paleoanthropology Group van het Globe Institute aan de Universiteit van Kopenhagen en co-auteur van het onderzoek.

Denisoviërs: de ontmoeting met Neanderthalers en moderne mensen

Nature

Zoals we al zeiden, werden Denisoviërs voor het eerst geïdentificeerd in 2010 door DNA-sequenties te onderzoeken die in het laboratorium werden verkregen uit het eerste fossiele fragment dat werd gevonden. Sindsdien zijn er slechts een dozijn overblijfselen gevonden op de hele planeet, waarvan de meeste in de Denisova-grot in het Altaigebergte in Siberië, waar deze uitgestorven soort zijn naam aan te danken heeft.

Op basis van genetische analyse hebben wetenschappers ontdekt dat zij zich, net als de Neanderthalers, bij de moderne mens hebben gevoegd: zelfs vandaag de dag overleven sporen van Denisovan-DNA in de mens en dit duidt op hun geconcentreerde aanwezigheid in Azië. Het eerste fossiel buiten de grot werd in 2019 door een monnik ontdekt in de aartsgrot Baishiya, die door Tibetaanse boeddhisten als heilig wordt beschouwd en meer dan 160.000 jaar oud is. De duizenden fragmenten van dierlijke botten werden onderzocht met behulp van de meest recent uitgevonden techniek genaamd Archeozoölogie die erin slaagde individuele dieren te identificeren. Tegenwoordig herbergt dit gebied voornamelijk blauwe schapen, geiten en jakken.

Naast de Denisoviërs leefden er verschillende groepen mensen in de Denisova grot, waaronder de Neanderthalers en de eerste moderne mensen: in de karstgrot Baishiya  leefden echter alleen de eersten en hier zijn alle “geheimen” over hun uiterlijk, gedrag en de redenen voor hun uitsterven verborgen.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

06-07-2024 om 17:55 geschreven door peter  

Typically ranging from 5 to 500 micrometers in size and anywhere from a couple of million years to over 500 million years old, these tiny fossils are found mostly in sedimentary rocks, making them invaluable both to geologists and paleontologists. They help determine the age of rock layers, reconstruct past environments, and understand the evolutionary history of life on Earth. For instance, the presence of certain microfossils can indicate whether a rock layer was formed in a marine or terrestrial environment, providing insights into past climate conditions and geological events. Simply put, they offer a glimpse into what a specific area was like all those years ago.

Fossil specimen (left) and diagram (right) of Gangtoucunia aspera preserving soft tissues, including the gut and tentacle. Image credit: Luke Parry and Guangxu Zhang.

Credit: Luke Parry and Guangxu Zhang.

Fossil specimen of Gangtoucunia aspera preserving soft tissues, including the gut and tentacles (left and middle). The drawing at the right illustrates the visible anatomical features in the fossil specimens. Image credit: Luke Parry and Guangxu Zhang.

Credit: Luke Parry and Guangxu Zhang.

According to the researchers, Gangtoucunia would have looked similar to modern scyphozoan jellyfish polyps, with a hard tubular structure anchored to the underlying substrate. The tentacle mouth would have extended outside the tube, but could have been retracted inside the tube to avoid predators. Unlike living jellyfish polyps however, the tube of Gangtoucunia was made of calcium phosphate, a hard mineral that makes up our own teeth and bones. Use of this material to build skeletons has become more rare among animals over time.

Corresponding author Dr. Luke Parry, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, said, "This really is a one-in-million discovery. These mysterious tubes are often found in groups of hundreds of individuals, but until now they have been regarded as 'problematic' fossils, because we had no way of classifying them. Thanks to these extraordinary new specimens, a key piece of the evolutionary puzzle has been put firmly in place."

The new specimens clearly demonstrate that Gangtoucunia was not related to annelid worms (earthworms, polychaetes and their relatives) as had been previously suggested for similar fossils. It is now clear that Gangtoucunia's body had a smooth exterior and a gut partitioned longitudinally, whereas annelids have segmented bodies with transverse partitioning of the body.

The fossil was found at a site in the Gaoloufang section in Kunming, eastern Yunnan Province, China. Here, anaerobic (oxygen-poor) conditions limit the presence of bacteria that normally degrade soft tissues in fossils.

Ph.D. student Guangxu Zhang, who collected and discovered the specimens, said, "The first time I discovered the pink soft tissue on top of a Gangtoucunia tube, I was surprised and confused about what they were. In the following month, I found three more specimens with soft tissue preservation, which was very exciting and made me rethink the affinity of Gangtoucunia. The soft tissue of Gangtoucunia, particularly the tentacles, reveals that it is certainly not a priapulid-like worm as previous studies suggested, but more like a coral, and then I realized that it is a cnidarian."

Although the fossil clearly shows that Gangtoucunia was a primitive jellyfish, this doesn't rule out the possibility that other early tube-fossil species looked very different. From Cambrian rocks in Yunnan province, the research team have previously found well-preserved tube fossils that could be identified as priapulids (marine worms), lobopodians (worms with paired legs, closely related to arthropods today) and annelids.

Co-corresponding author Xiaoya Ma (Yunnan University and University of Exeter) said, "A tubicolous mode of life seems to have become increasingly common in the Cambrian, which might be an adaptive response to increasing predation pressure in the early Cambrian. This study demonstrates that exceptional soft-tissue preservation is crucial for us to understand these ancient animals."

The paper "Exceptional soft tissue preservation reveals a cnidarian affinity for a Cambrian phosphatic tubicolous enigma' will be published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B on Nov. 2.

Traditionally, the classification of microfossils has been a manual, time-consuming process requiring expert knowledge, with scientists staring into a microscope or at a computer screen for hours at a time. Given the sheer volume of data—potentially billions of microfossils from numerous slides—manual classification is tedious work, and attempting to classify all these microfossils is an insurmountable and impossible task. There are just too many of them, hence the advantage of letting AI assist in that process.

Spearheaded by a team from the University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway, researchers have developed a novel method to automate the classification of microfossils. 

The study introduces a two-stage AI-driven pipeline to automate the detection and classification of microfossils from microscope images. 

The first stage involves using a pre-trained object detection model, YOLOv5, to identify and extract individual microfossils from high-resolution slide images. This model efficiently generates bounding boxes around each microfossil, a task that would be labor-intensive if done manually.

In the second stage, the researchers employ self-supervised learning (SSL) techniques to train models that can extract features from the detected microfossils. SSL is particularly advantageous in scenarios with limited labeled data, as it allows the model to learn useful representations from unlabeled data. The study compares two SSL frameworks, SimCLR and DINO, and finds that both significantly improve classification performance.

An image of the same slide of microfossils. On the left, the Machine learning approach. On the right, the pipeline of standard image processing methods. As the study notes, more fossils are separated with the machine learning approach as it is better able to differentiate the various fossil types.

(Image: Artificial Intelligence in Geosciences)

Basically, the AI is able to differentiate between different fossils and classify them. According to the study, this method is fast and computationally light, making it feasible to process and classify millions of microfossils efficiently. This scalability is crucial for handling the vast datasets typical in geological research. Moreover, as the AI classifies more fossils, it labels them and learns from its data, continuously adding to its own knowledge base. 

“This work shows that there is great potential in utilizing AI in this field,” explained Iver Martinsen, one of the study’s authors, in a press statement. “By using AI to automatically detect and recognize fossils, geologists might have a tool that can help them better utilize the enormous amount of information that wellbore samples provide.”

The ability to automate microfossil classification has profound implications for earth sciences. It can accelerate research in subsurface exploration, aiding in oil and gas exploration and carbon capture and storage projects. Moreover, the insights gained from microfossil analysis can contribute to broader scientific inquiries, such as studying past climate changes and mass extinction events. Understanding these historical patterns is essential for predicting future environmental changes and developing strategies to mitigate their impacts.

Close up photograph of the mouth region of Gangtoucunia aspera showing the tentacles that would have been used to capture prey. Image credit: Luke Parry and Guangxu Zhang.

Credit: Luke Parry and Guangxu Zhang.

“We are very happy with our results,” Martinsen concluded. “Our model exceeds previous benchmarks available out there. We hope that the present work will be beneficial for geologists both in industry and academia.”

• MJ Banias covers space, security, and technology with The Debrief. You can email him at mj@thedebrief.org or follow him on Twitter @mjbanias.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/science/

https://phys.org/ }

29-06-2024 om 00:50 geschreven door peter  

Originally discovered among the wreckage of a shipwreck along the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901, the mysterious mechanism has long intrigued modern scientists and engineers, primarily because it appears to be a singular invention, with no other similar devices from this period known to exist.

Now, researchers with the University of Glasgow have employed statistical modeling techniques originally developed for analyzing ripples in spacetime to determine how many holes likely existed in one of the famous Antikythera mechanism’s broken rings.

At the time of its discovery, the Antikythera mechanism was in a highly eroded state, having spent close to two thousand years amidst the wreckage of a ship that sank near the Aegean Island of Antikythera, the device’s namesake.

Roughly the size of a shoebox, the device features an array of intricately tooled gears that are surprisingly complex for any innovation from the second century BCE. Over the decades, studies of the device have revealed that it likely functioned as a hand-operated computer that would have allowed its operator to predict the arrival of eclipses, as well as calculate the positions of planets over time.

Fast forward to 2020, when X-ray images of one of the device’s components, which researchers identify as its calendar ring, unveiled new features that included a series of regularly spaced holes beneath the ring. Given its highly eroded state, the presence of rings could be discerned, although the number remained unclear, with estimates suggesting anywhere between 347 and 467 of the holes having once existed along this damaged portion of the device.

Now, in new research published in the Horological Journal, Glasgow researchers outline their use of a pair of statistical techniques in a new effort to refine the previously estimated number of holes that once existed in this region of the Antikythera mechanism. Applying Bayesian analysis and, notably, new techniques from gravitational wave research, the team determined that the ring likely contained 354 holes.

This is significant since the 354 holes on the device would have perfectly aligned with the Greek lunar calendar, as opposed to the Egyptian calendar’s 365 holes. Based on the new analysis, the presence of 354 holes is hundreds of times more probable than the previously considered 360-hole count.

Professor Graham Woan, a co-author of the paper, explained that he became interested in the problem after being introduced to data by YouTuber Chris Budiselic, who was creating a replica of the calendar ring.

“Towards the end of last year, a colleague pointed to me to data acquired by YouTuber Chris Budiselic, who was looking to make a replica of the calendar ring and was investigating ways to determine just how many holes it contained.”

Woan said Budiselic’s conundrum “struck me as an interesting problem, and one that I thought I might be able to solve in a different way during the Christmas holidays.” Woan then went to work employing statistical techniques to see if a definitive answer could be obtained.

Dr. Joseph Bayley, a colleague of Woan’s at the University’s Institute for Gravitational Research, further refined the research by adapting techniques used in analyzing LIGO gravitational wave data to study the calendar ring. Their combined approaches, including Markov Chain Monte Carlo and nested sampling, confirmed the probability of 354 or 355 holes with a precision of about 1/3 mm.

Additionally, the new analysis also reveals the extraordinary accuracy of the holes’ placement, with an average radial variation of just 0.028mm. According to Bayley, the use of these dual approaches to resolving the lingering questions about the Antikythera mechanism showcases the truly remarkable skill employed by the device’s mysterious builder(s).

“It’s given me a new appreciation for the Antikythera mechanism and the work and care that Greek craftspeople put into making it,” Bayley said. “[T]he precision of the holes’ positioning would have required highly accurate measurement techniques and an incredibly steady hand to punch them.”

Professor Woan says using contemporary techniques to study an ancient device designed to track celestial events will enhance the research community’s appreciation of ancient technological achievements like the Antikythera mechanism, which represents a singularly unique and innovative construction.

“We hope that our findings about the Antikythera mechanism, although less supernaturally spectacular than those made by Indiana Jones, will help deepen our understanding of how this remarkable device was made and used by the Greeks,” Woan said in a statement.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/tech/ }

28-06-2024 om 22:03 geschreven door peter  

Existence of lost temple dedicated to the Greek goddess of war is discovered in 2,500-year-old graffiti

• READ MORE: 'Miracle plant' used by the ancient Greeks rediscovered in Turkey

By MATTHEW PHELAN SENIOR SCIENCE REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Archeologists have discovered a lost ancient Greek temple dedicated to the goddess of war, after translating a newly found case of 2,500-year-old graffiti. 

Among over 2,000 remnants of ancient Greek graffiti, one scholar has uncovered a diagram of this lost temple to Athena, ancient Greece's goddess of war and wisdom.

The graffiti, which experts said was made by a shepherd or herder, depicts a now bygone temple on the very same site as Athens' historic, still-standing Parthenon.

'The structure,' according to the University of Tennessee classics professor who made the discovery, 'is identified by its inscription as 'the Hekatompedon' and was produced by an individual named Mikon.'

Among over 2,000 remnants of ancient Greek graffiti, one scholar has uncovered a diagram (above) of a lost temple to Athena, ancient Greece's goddess of war and wisdom 

'The structure,' according to the University of Tennessee classics professor who made the discovery, ' is identified by its inscription as 'the Hekatompedon' and was produced by an individual named Mikon.' Above, the professor's sketch of Mikon's 2,500-year-old graffiti

Hekatompedon was once the official ancient name for the temple to Athena, but it translates literally to '100-footer' in ancient Greek, a reference to the temple's size.

Crucially, however, the alphabet used in this graffiti dates it back to the 6th century BC — at least 50 years before the construction of the Parthenon structure, also dedicated to Athena, even began.

'Mikon's graffito supports the scenario that the Hekatompedon in the decree was an operational temple on the south side of the Acropolis,' classics professor Merle Langdon wrote in his new study, published in the American Journal of Archaeology.

This earlier temple would have been dismantled, and many of its columns and other structures could have been reused, for the ancient Greek structures still standing atop the hill where the Parthenon rests today, within the Acropolis of Athens. 

Translated from this ancient Greek alphabet, the engraved inscription simply reads 'the Hekatompedon [—] of Mikon,' according to Langdon who was the first to discover the graffiti.

The professor noted that there are two possible temple 'candidates' known to archeologists that could match the diagram that Mikon drew in his graffiti.

One nicknamed 'the Bluebeard Temple' by archeologists and another called 'the Gigantomachy Temple,' a neutral temporary term used while scholars still debate what the remnants of these historic structures might have once really been.

The Bluebeard Temple, which is theorized to have been built on the north side of the Acropolis around the second quarter of the 6th century, was named by archeologists for a prominent three-headed serpent with a blue beard, found among in its ruins.

The Gigantomachy Temple, also called the Old Temple of Athena by some scholars, dates back to roughly the same 6th century period. 

It's remnants were also found on the Acropolis in Athens, but its exact original location is still debated by scholars.

Langdon and his co-author, archeologist Jan van Rookhuijzen, said they would stop short of trying to definitively identify 'the drawn temple' any further, as 'the debate on the architectural history of the Archaic Acropolis has not come to a resolution.'

Hekatompedon, ancient Greek for '100-footer,' was the official ancient name for the temple to Athena. But the alphabet used in this graffiti dates it back to the 6th century BC, over 50 years before construction on the Parthenon even began. Above, on the hill, the Parthenon today

Above, a closer look at the Parthenon today - sitting atop the Acropolis in Athens, Greece

In other words, the complete history of the lost temple to Athena, that Mikon called 'the Hekatompedon' is still shrouded in mystery and remains yet to be written. 

For years, the team has studied the 6th century BC sketches, scrawlings and graffiti made by the ancient Greek's in this region — drawings that include ships, horses, and 'erotic scenes.'

'Why the shepherds produced so many graffiti is not known,' van Rookhuijzen wrote in an article at The Conversation, discussing he and Langdon's new study.

'It may have simply been a form of escapism during the dull moments of their job.'

The hill where Mikon's graffiti was located, along the north and east of Vari, Attica, is now a southern suburb of Athens. 

The landscape has become a boon to scholars as it is literally covered in ancient shepherd graffiti.

Langdon and van Rookhuijzen employed high-resolution photographs and detailed reproductions to analyze the long-dead shepherd's writing style, hunting for clues in his letter forms, handwriting, and spelling to better date and authenticate the find.

Above, the site where Langdon and his co-author found Mikon's ancient graffiti (red arrow). the shepherd's inscription - made on the exposed marble of Vari's Barako Hill near Athens - has now suffered from two millennia's worth of erosion

The team compared the Mikon drawing and its writing style to other previously discovered architectural drawings and inscriptions from the wider Athens area.

Mikon's sketch of the temple, they concluded is 'the earliest known testimony of admiration of the architecture of the Acropolis,' based on its faithful and favorable depiction of the structure's columns and roof-like entablature.

They also noted that Mikon's graffiti is now the earliest recorded instance of a person using 'Hekatompedon' to mean a large temple or building.

'Our occurrence is earlier than the 37 other known examples of this name in the Greek world,' the team wrote in their new study, 'including 12 from Attica.'

But the ancient graffiti still has some mysteries left to decode, as the shepherd's inscription — made on the exposed marble of Vari's Barako Hill — has now suffered from over two millennia's worth of erosion

'This impedes a full appraisal of both the drawing and the inscription,' the researchers noted, 'of which some letters are illegible.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

22-06-2024 om 00:23 geschreven door peter  

“Mikon is not otherwise known, but he was most likely a shepherd who made the graffito while grazing his flocks,” explained Janric van Rookhuijzen, an archaeologist and co-author of the study, in a recent article. “The version of the Greek alphabet used is very ancient, making it clear that the drawing was made as early as the 6th century BCE.”

Photograph of the graffiti 

(American Journal of Archaeology/Langdon et al)

Close-up view of the words τὸ hεκατόµπεδον.

Credit: Langdon et al., American Journal of Archaeology (2024)

Sketch of the graffiti, indicating reasonably secure lines and letters 

(American Journal of Archaeology/Langdon et al)

The graffito (a term sometimes used to describe a singular piece of graffiti) was found among over 2,000 ancient engravings on marble outcrops in the hills north and east of Vari. These engravings, typically created by local herders, include simple drawings of animals, ships, and buildings, as well as short inscriptions. The particular graffito in question looks like a building facade, showing at least five

The term “Hekatompedon” refers to a structure approximately 100 feet in length. In ancient Greek architecture, this term was often used to describe large temples. But, it also means something else.

“The term is known to be the official ancient name of the famous temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena – later known as the Parthenon,” van Rookhuijzen explained. “It is likely that Mikon wanted to depict a building on the Acropolis of Athens.”

However, the inscriber, Mikon, pre-dated the Parthenon by several decades.

Patch of bedrock where the graffito is located (arrow); the earthen road is visible in the background 

(American Journal of Archaeology/Langdon et al)

“Because the alphabet he used can be firmly dated to the 6th century BCE, the drawing must be at least 50 years older than the Parthenon, which was begun around 450 BCE,” van Rookhuijzen wrote.

According to the researchers, they believe that the graffito likely depicts an archaic temple on the Acropolis of Athens, possibly the so-called Bluebeard Temple or the Gigantomachy Temple. These temples are thought to have stood on the Acropolis at the end of the sixth century BCE, but were destroyed by the Persians in 480 BCE.

The Acropolis of Athens.

(Image: Unsplash)

Utilizing high-resolution photographs and detailed sketches, the work of this long-dead shepherd was analyzed for the various letter forms, orthography, and layout to determine its authenticity. The team compared this drawing and writing style to other known examples, as well as other known architectural drawings and inscriptions from the area.

Based on their research, they note this is the earliest written record of the term “Hekatompedon” being used to describe a large temple or building. Moreover, noting the style of the graffito, as it features lines for columns and a cross line that represents an entablature (the horizontal lintel that sits on top of the columns), the study argues that this was probably some kind of symbolic gesture of admiration for the temple.

In simple terms, Mikon probably just dug big buildings, and shepherds and herders were notorious for their graffiti. The hill where this drawing was discovered is covered in ancient shepherd graffiti, including images of horses, boats, and, of course, ancient erotica.

“Why the shepherds produced so many graffiti is not known – it may have simply been a form of escapism during the dull moments of their job,” van Rookhuijzen mused.

“However, the graffito made by Mikon shows how a small scribble may be the key to tackling the historical riddles behind one the world’s most iconic archaeological sites.”

• MJ Banias covers space, security, and technology with The Debrief. You can email him at mj@thedebrief.org or follow him on Twitter @mjbanias.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

21-06-2024 om 23:53 geschreven door peter  

Meet the 'richest man who ever lived': Scientists recreate the face of Tutankhamun's grandfather, Amenhotep III, for the first time in 3,400 years

• Amenhotep III ruled ancient Egypt at the height of its powers, 3,400 years ago
• Using the skull of his mummy, his true likeness has been revealed for first time 

By SHIVALI BEST FOR MAILONLINE 

He ruled ancient Egypt at the height of its powers, was worshipped as a living god, and was the grandfather of Tutankhamun. 

And now the true face of Amenhotep III has been revealed.

The pharaoh, described by one archaeologist as 'one of the richest men that ever lived', led Egypt through a period of unprecedented prosperity and international power.

He's considered one of the greatest pharaohs and has more surviving statues than any other, yet a scientific reconstruction of his face had never been made.

Now, using data from the skull of his mummy, a multinational team has revealed his true likeness for the first time in almost 3,400 years.

He ruled ancient Egypt at the height of its powers, was worshipped as a living god, and was the grandfather of Tutankhamun. And now the true face of Amenhotep III has been revealed

Michael Habicht, an archaeologist at Flinders University in Australia, said he looked quite different to the pharaoh seen on statues.

He said: 'It's a placid face for a man who promoted peace and lived in a time of the greatest economic prosperity.

'He might well have been one of the richest men that ever lived, at least in his epoch.'

He continued: 'It is difficult to know the cause of death by analysing the available remains.

'Research carried out in the 1970s described Amenhotep III as an obese, sick, and sedentary man, who was almost bald, and suffered from dental problems in the last years of his life.

Brazilian graphics expert Cicero Moraes, who brought the face back to life, said the reconstruction began by digitally recreating the pharaoh's skull, using images and data from his mummy

The mummy of Amenhotep III is now kept at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo

'Although he was one of the truly great kings of Egypt, his body height is about 156cm, making him one of the smallest kings we know from their preserved mummies.

'This rather small body height is not reflected in art – in artworks he is famous for his gigantic statues.'

Brazilian graphics expert Cicero Moraes, who brought the face back to life, said the reconstruction began by digitally recreating the pharaoh's skull, using images and data from his mummy.

Additional data from living donors was then used to inform the likely dimensions and position of the king's nose, ears, eyes, and lips.

Mr Moraes said: 'Based on historical knowledge, Amenhotep III had a robust appearance, which is why we used data from individuals with a high body mass index.'

He added: 'If we are not mistaken, this is the first facial approximation of Amenhotep III.

'Compared to other approximations of pharaohs that I have participated in, this was the most complete too, as we modelled the clothes and accessories.

'We were amazed with the final result; seeing a complete bust with these colours and the facial serenity is quite satisfying.

'It is our gift to all those who appreciate history.'

The pharaoh was worshipped as divine in his lifetime, and he claimed the god Amun was his real father – with the name Amenhotep meaning 'Amun is satisfied'.

He is thought to have died between the ages of 40 and 50, leaving his successor a kingdom at the height of its power and wealth.

Data from living donors was used to inform the likely dimensions and position of the king's nose, ears, eyes, and lips

The pharaoh was worshipped as divine in his lifetime, and he claimed the god Amun was his real father – with the name Amenhotep meaning 'Amun is satisfied'. Pictured: a bust of Amenhotep III in the Cleveland Museum of Art

Dr Habicht said: 'Diplomatic letters by foreign potentates begged him to send them some gold as a present, 'as gold shall be abundant in Egypt as sand'.

'It's the usual overexaggeration for such a letter, but nevertheless hints towards extreme wealth.'

He added: 'There are speculations that the mummy of Amenhotep III may have been entirely covered with gold leaf, so that he must have looked like a statue of a god.'

The archaeologist said the pharaoh may also have been something of a womanizer.

'He was apparently very interested in women; he imported hundreds of foreign harem ladies and collected them as other people collect postal stamps,' he said.

On his death, Amenhotep III was succeeded by his son, Amenhotep IV.

The new pharaoh would rebel against the powerful Amun priesthood, installing the sun god Aten as the top Egyptian deity.

He changed his name to Akhenaten – meaning 'beneficial to Aten' – and even moved his capital away from Thebes – the 'city of Amun' – to a new city honouring the sun god, Akhetaten.

But his son, Tutankhaten, would restore the cult of Amun to prominence, changing his name to Tutankhamun – meaning 'the living image of Amun'.

Tutankhamun would become one of history's most famous pharaohs thanks to the discovery of his tomb in 1922, which was largely intact and contained many of its original artifacts.

Dr Habicht, Mr Moraes, and their colleagues Elena Varotto from Flinders University, and Francesco Galassi from the University of Lodz in Poland, plan to publish their findings in a scientific journal.

WERE KING TUTANKHAMUN'S PARENTS ALSO COUSINS?

The complex family arrangements of Tutankhamun has been one of the great mysteries surrounding the young king.

While his father was known to have been Pharaoh Akhenaten, the identity of his mother has been far more elusive.

DNA testing has shown that Queen Tiye, whose mummy is pictured above, was the grandmother of the Egyptian Boy King Tutankhamun

In 2010 DNA testing confirmed a mummy found in the tomb of Amenhotep II was Queen Tiye, the chief wife of Amenhotep III, mother of Pharaoh Akhenanten, and Tutankhamun's grandmother.

A third mummy, thought to be one of Pharaoh Akhenaten wives, was found to be a likely candidate as Tutankhamun's mother, but DNA evidence showed it was Akhenaten's sister.

Later analysis in 2013 suggested Nefertiti, Akhenaten's chief wife, was Tutankhamun's mother.

However, the work by Marc Gabolde, a French archaeologist, has suggested Nefertiti was also Akhenaten's cousin.

This incestuous parentage may also help to explain some of the malformations that scientists have discovered afflicted Tutankhamun.

He suffered a deformed foot, a slightly cleft palate and mild curvature of the spine.

However, his claims have been disputed by other Egyptologists, including Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

His team's research suggests that Tut's mother was, like Akhenaten, the daughter of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye. 

Hawass added that there is 'no evidence' in archaeology or philology to indicate that Nefertiti was the daughter of Amenhotep III.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

07-06-2024 om 21:29 geschreven door peter  

While previous studies have revealed that Egyptians from these periods were able to identify, describe, and treat diseases and traumatic injuries, build prosthetics, and even place dental fillings, this study is the first to show that these surprisingly advanced ancient people may have tried to treat cancer around the same time they were building the pyramids.

“This finding is unique evidence of how ancient Egyptian medicine would have tried to deal with or explore cancer more than 4,000 years ago,” said Prof Edgard Camarós, a paleopathologist at the University of Santiago de Compostela and the study’s lead author. “This is an extraordinary new perspective in our understanding of the history of medicine.”

CUT MARKS ON 4,000-YEAR-OLD EGYPTIAN SKULL LEAVE RESEARCHERS STUNNED

To conduct their analysis, the researchers were able to procure two separate skulls that showed signs of cancerous lesions. The first, dubbed “Skull and mandible 236,” has previously been dated to between 2687 and 2345 BCE, while the second, “Skull E270,” has been dated to between 663 and 343 BCE. For comparison, the Great Pyramid of Giza is believed to have been built over a period of about 27 years, sometime around 2,600 BCE.

The skulls were examined using microscopic analysis and CT scanning.

Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024. CREDIT: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

When examining the roughly 30 small, metastasized lesions and one large lesion likely caused by neoplasm spread across Skull 236 under a microscope and also using a CT scanner, the researchers say they were “stunned” to discover something unexpected: clear cutmarks around a number of the lesions.

Cutmarks found on skull 236, probably made with a sharp object. Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

CREDIT: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

“When we first observed the cutmarks under the microscope, we could not believe what was in front of us,” said Tatiana Tondini, a researcher at the University of Tübingen and first author of the study.

In fact, according to Tondini, they weren’t even looking for things like cutmarks in the first place. “We wanted to learn about the role of cancer in the past, how prevalent this disease was in antiquity, and how ancient societies interacted with this pathology,” the researcher explained.

SIGNS ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MAY HAVE RECEIVED AND SURVIVED CANCER SURGERY

After finding evidence of cutmarks on the 4,000-year-old Egyptian Skull known as 236, the team performed a similar analysis of Skull E270. Like the older sample, E270 also had a large lesion the researchers described as “consistent with a cancerous tumor that led to bone loss.” However, unlike the other skull, this specimen had two smaller, “healed” lesions likely caused by traumatic injuries. Furthermore, one of the smaller lesions appears to be the result of a “close-range violent event” involving some sort of sharp instrument.

A closer analysis showed that this second lesion appeared to have healed after encountering a sharp object. Such a finding hints at the possibility that this person had surgery to remove cancer and then survived the treatment. “These healed lesions could mean that the individual potentially received some kind of treatment and, as a result, survived,” the press release announcing the study expl

Skull E270, dating from between 663 and 343 BCE, belonged to a female individual who was older than 50 years. Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

CREDIT: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.

The researchers concede that the injury could be the result of combat. However, they also point out that E270 belonged to a roughly 50-year-old woman. In ancient Egypt, it was rare to find evidence of women in any form of combat, especially one of such an advanced age, meaning either answer could have the potential to rewrite the history books.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

31-05-2024 om 22:44 geschreven door peter  

Story by Andrea Vacchiano

Wisconsin historians recently announced the discovery of at least 11 ancient canoes in a Badger State lake – including one boat that dates back to 2500 BC.

The findings were announced in a press release by the Wisconsin Historical Society on May 23. The canoes were found in Lake Mendota, which is located outside of Madison.

The Wisconsin Historical Society explained that two ancient canoes were found in a cache in the lake in 2021 and 2022. Since then, historians have found at least 11 other ancient canoes, along what they believe was an ancient shoreline that became submerged over time. 

Not all the canoes will be removed from the lake due to their fragility. In an interview with Fox News Digital on Wednesday, State Archaeologist for the Wisconsin Historical Society Dr. Amy Rosebrough explained the significance of the discovery.

• WOMAN OUT FOR A WALK STUMBLES UPON ONCE-IN-A-DECADE DISCOVERY

The discovery of ancient canoes was announced in a press release by the Wisconsin Historical Society last week.

Fox News© Wisconsin Historical Society

"The Indigenous peoples of Wisconsin and the wider United States fished, traveled, and traded extensively on inland lakes and streams, and until now we have not had a clear look at the canoes used in the Great Lakes region," she explained.

"To put it in modern terms, it’s like trying to understand life in the Midwest without ever seeing a real pickup truck in person. Canoes allowed people to fish in deeper lakes, to transport goods over hundreds of miles, and to travel to far-away places. "

Rosebrough added that they believe an ancient village site is located under the waters, although it has not been found yet. Divers have found stone tools in the water, and experts believe that the lake is filled with other hidden sites.

"Lake Mendota is a hard lake to work in, however," Rosebrough admitted. "There is a limited window of visibility for diving missions, and we are exploring non-destructive remote sensing techniques that might help this summer."

• MICHIGAN RESEARCHERS DISCOVER EERIE 1909 SHIPWRECK AT BOTTOM OF LAKE SUPERIOR

Archaeologists discovered the ancient canoes in the murky waters of Lake Mendota.

Fox News© Fox News

"Even without finding the village, the discovery of these canoes and the tools found within the first canoe that was found, human-worked stone tools called net sinkers, reminds us that people have lived and worked alongside the lake for thousands of years."

Radiocarbon dating found that the oldest canoe dates back to 2500 B.C., which would mean it was built around the time Stonehenge was constructed. The canoe was constructed more than 1,700 years before Ancient Rome was first settled and 2,500 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.

All the canoes varied in age, with the youngest one dating back to 1250 AD. The archaeologist explained that the canoes "may have been intentionally cached in the water during the winter months, a standard practice to keep canoes safe from freezing and warping."

All the canoes varied in age. Not all will be removed from the lake due to their fragility.

Fox News© Fox News

"Either this practice of storing canoes for winter was carried out in roughly the same spot over generations – perhaps because of a living area nearby – or we are only seeing a window into a much larger site that might span much of the lakeshore," she described.

Rosebrough added that, though the Great Lakes dwarf Lake Mendota, the south central Wisconsin lake is small but mighty when it comes to archaeological potential.

Archaeologists conduced carbon dating to determine age of canoes.

Fox News© Fox News

"The Great Lakes oftentimes receive more funding for maritime archaeology but smaller bodies of water like Lake Mendota have their own distinct histories and stories to tell us about the people who lived here hundreds and thousands of years ago," she said. "We are proud to work in partnership with Native Nations in Wisconsin to discover all we can about Tee Waksikhominak and to share these stories now and in the future at the new Wisconsin History Center set to open in early 2027."

• For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.
• Original article source: Prehistoric discovery in US lake leaves experts in shock and awe

{ https://www.msn.com/en-us/feed?ocid=nl_article_link }

30-05-2024 om 13:00 geschreven door peter  

Ondergrondse structuur ontdekt bij de piramides van Gizeh: het dateert van meer dan 4000 jaar geleden

 Door Janine

Egypte is een land met een eeuwenoude geschiedenis, rijk aan archeologische vindplaatsen en artefacten die duizenden jaren oud zijn. Ondanks de vele vondsten zijn er echter nog veel mysteries die moeten worden opgelost en die geleidelijk aan de oppervlakte komen. Onlangs hebben archeologen bijvoorbeeld sporen gevonden van een ondergrondse structuur die nog nooit eerder is ontdekt: deze bevindt zich in de buurt van de piramides van Gizeh.

Ondergrondse structuur ontdekt bij de piramides van Gizeh

Sato et al./Archaeological Prospection

Een onderzoeksteam van Japanse en Egyptische archeologen heeft sporen ontdekt van een bouwwerk in de vlakte van Gizeh. Het zou gaan om een tweedelige ondergrondse constructie die verborgen ligt onder de Westelijke Necropolis, een van de meest bestudeerde archeologische vindplaatsen in Egypte van de afgelopen decennia.

Als we de resultaten lezen die gepubliceerd zijn in het tijdschrift Archaeological Prospection, gebruikten de onderzoekers bodemradar en elektrische resistiviteit tomografie. De scans onthulden een L-vormige structuur die zich uitstrekte over een gebied van 10 bij 15 meter en ongeveer een meter onder het zand begraven lag. Maar dit is niet de enige ontdekking, want er kan een nog grotere structuur onder liggen op een diepte tot 10 meter onder het woestijnoppervlak. Het is de vraag waar deze structuren voor werden gebruikt, maar op dit moment kunnen archeologen er alleen maar naar gissen.

Hoe slaagden ze erin een ondergrondse structuur te vinden zonder te graven?

Sato et al./Archaeological Prospection

Het vinden van een ondergrondse structuur zonder te graven is niet eenvoudig: archeologen zijn weliswaar bekend met de Westelijke Necropolis, en de vlakte van Gizeh ligt vol met locaties om onderzoek uit te voeren, maar het is niet allemaal zo eenvoudig als het lijkt. Daarom maakten de onderzoekers gebruik van bodemradar en elektrische resistiviteit tomografie. De eerstgenoemde methode, ook bekend als Ground-penetrating Radar of GPR, is een methodologie die in de geofysica wordt gebruikt om de ondergrond te bestuderen. In de praktijk worden elektromagnetische golven naar de grond gestuurd en net als bij een radar worden hun reflecties gemeten om de ondergrond te reconstrueren. De tweede is in plaats daarvan een methodologie die veranderingen in de elektrische weerstand van ondergrondse materialen detecteert.

Met behulp van deze twee technologieën, die beloven een revolutie teweeg te brengen in de archeologie, hebben onderzoekers gebieden met verschillende dichtheden geïdentificeerd onder een deel van de Westelijke Necropolis. Op het eerste gezicht is het een gebied dat niet bedekt is met graven; ondergronds zijn er echter twee structuren die moeten worden bestudeerd.

Wat was het doel van de twee verborgen structuren?

Nina Aldin Thune/Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED

De twee structuren waarvan het onderzoeksteam de sporen heeft ontdekt, zijn niet van natuurlijke oorsprong maar door mensenhanden gemaakt. Toch is er, zoals we al zeiden, weinig bekend over hun daadwerkelijke doel: ze kunnen zo'n 4000 jaar oud zijn, zoals een groot deel van de rest van de Westelijke Necropolis, maar ze kunnen ook ouder zijn. En verder, niets. Op dit moment hebben archeologen opgemerkt dat er mogelijk een kamer is in de diepste structuur, maar gezien het ontbreken van andere informatie hebben ze besloten om het een “anomalie” te noemen.

Verder onderzoek zal nodig zijn om echt te begrijpen waar de twee verborgen structuren voor werden gebruikt. Na alle opgravingen van de afgelopen twee eeuwen is Egypte nog steeds de hoofdrolspeler van verrassende ontdekkingen en onverwachte vondsten. En zoals zo vaak het geval is, staan we nog maar aan het begin.

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

28-05-2024 om 19:33 geschreven door peter