Mysterious GodSelf Icon Found Worldwide: Lost Symbol of an Ancient Global Religion?

Significant evidence now exists that ancient cultures worldwide were all connected by a powerful religious symbol which I call the “GodSelf Icon,” that is especially conspicuous among the pyramid cultures.

The pyramid cultures shared the “Triptych Temple” and “GodSelf Icon.”

In my 2011 book, Written in Stone , I revealed how these pyramid cultures all employed the same three-door “Triptych Temple” pattern. Another discovery that I announced concerns the GodSelf Icon, an image depicting a central figure, a hero or god, facing forward and holding in either hand parallel objects or animals.

THE GODSELF ICON

My new book, The Missing Link, shows more than 500 spectacular images as evidence of the central role the GodSelf Icon played in civilizations as diverse as Egypt, India, China, Persia, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and ancient Europe:

GodSelf Icons found worldwide.

Just as the crucifix symbol unites millions of Christians under one universal religion, so the GodSelf Icon symbol did the same for our ancient ancestors.

GodSelf Icons found worldwide.

TRIPTYCH TEMPLES
Parallel art and architecture in Antiquity—pyramid-building, corbel arches, and mummification—always interested me, so much so that I began traveling at a young age in an effort to examine these parallels as well as discover as many more parallels that I could find:

The ancients shared a common wisdom and possibly a common heritage.

Written in Stone tells the heroic story of how organized guilds of medieval stonemasons— who officially surfaced in 1717, calling themselves “Freemasons”— attempted to take back the religious narrative from priests by embedding the lost secrets of this universal religion into Gothic cathedrals. Gargoyles have nothing to do with Christianity. I realized that the standard blueprints of Gothic cathedrals, which called for a large central door flanked by two smaller doors, and two towers on either side of the central entrance hall, were a memory of pagan temples in Egypt, Mexico, Peru, China, India, etc.:

Central door flanked by two smaller doors seen in architecture around the world.

The center door is the “source”—the “soul” inside the body. The twin doors are the opposing bodily forces of duality that surround the soul on either side, and that the soul must confront and master in life.

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The Universal Religion of the Triptych Temple formed the foundation of other Secret Societies besides Freemasonry, including the Knights of Pythias, Skull & Bones, and Shriners, all of whom use the Triptych entrance into their headquarters:

The Lost Universal Religion of the Triptych Temple

The main façade of Rockefeller Center in New York City depicts one of the most striking esoteric Triptychs of modern times. It shows a "god" image in the center doorway (the “GodSelf”) balanced between male / female opposites. Note that the god holds a compass—a key Masonic symbol :

Triptych façade, Rockefeller Center, NYC.

As with the Triptych, the GodSelf Icon represents the soul of the hero or sage who balances his opposing bodily forces, represented by the twin objects held symmetrically in each hand. The GodSelf Icon calls upon us to develop our inner strength and spiritual potential by means of balancing the twin opposing forces within us (through meditation) and by carefully cultivating our physical and mental powers.

The concept of an external “God,” as in the familiar monotheistic and polytheistic religions, is a distraction from what I believe is the true purpose of religion, which is to recognize the eternal nature of our own spiritual being and to nurture the “GodSelf” within ourselves.

The GodSelf Icon inspired the logos of companies like Starbucks.

Starbucks logo. (Source: BrandsoftheWorld.com)

A beautiful variation of the GodSelf Icon is visible at Rockefeller Center. The “twin opposites” are symbolized by the Comedy and Tragedy masks, held aloft on the right and left sides of the goddess:

Rockefeller Center in New York City, USA

THE GOLDEN AGE
The origins of the GodSelf Icon can be traced to a Golden Age “Mother Culture” that may have existed in the prehistoric past. Some Victorian-era scholars associated the Golden Age with Plato’s Atlantis, and with ideas of the rise and fall of civilization over a period corresponding with the Zodiacal precession of the equinoxes which takes roughly 25,000 years. Plato called it the “Great Year”; the ancient Greeks, even before Plato, linked the Great Year with the seasons. Similar theories lay behind such phenomena as the Mayan and Aztec calendars, and the Hindu Yuga concept.

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Recently, some alternative researchers have latched onto this Golden Age idea, claiming that a “technologically” advanced civilization flourished in the distant past. These researchers are making the mistake of projecting the spirit of our own times onto the distant past, rather than paying attention to what the ancients were trying to tell us. Plato describes the Golden Age as a “spiritually” advanced civilization, not “technically” advanced. The demise of this civilization occurred because the Atlanteans ceased identifying with their “divine” nature (i.e., their GodSelf nature):

“For many generations…they obeyed the laws and loved the divine to which they were akin…But when the divine element in them became weakened…and their human traits became predominant, they ceased to be able to carry their prosperity with moderation.”
—Plato, Timaeus

SURPRISING FIND: MORE ANCIENT = MORE ADVANCED

We see evidence of the remnants of the Golden Age not only in the common language of symbolism left by our ancient ancestors, but also in the common architecture (like the Triptych Temple). Ancient civilization is characterized by remarkable skill in stonemasonry. One of the most amazing facts about ancient stone masonry is that many of the greatest works are among the oldest: 

The most ancient stone structures are the most advanced.

In Italy, for example, Etruscan aqueducts and monuments are more tightly put together than later Roman-era constructions. The Great Pyramid at Cheops is thousands of years older than the inferior pyramids that surround it. The aqueduct in Segovia, Spain (said to be Roman) is far more advanced than later aqueducts. The development of many technologies in the ancient world often seems to reflect more degeneration and decay than progress. Perhaps this is really a result of a genuine pattern of a Great Year cycle of the decline and fall of civilizations, where the great period of spiritual achievement occurred over ten thousand years ago, and has been followed by a period of ever-accelerating spiritual decline. The purpose of my new book is to help uncover the real truth of the human past, in order to understand and eventually to reverse this decline.

MASONIC GODSELF ICONS
Much evidence that would illuminate the meaning of the GodSelf Icon was destroyed by the conquistadors, Crusaders, Mongol Hordes, and slave traders. My presentation emphasizes the critical role of medieval stonemasons in preserving ancient symbols like the GodSelf Icon into the present. Gothic cathedrals are full of marvelous examples of the GodSelf Icon:

GodSelf Icons in cathedrals.

The clincher for me was the image of the Rebis, an androgynous alchemical drawing published in 1613. The sun is over its right shoulder; the moon over its left:

The Rebis is an ancestor of Masonic tracing boards that feature similar dualities; like the tracing boards, the message of the Rebis is to overcome dualities by means of mystic techniques involving the ancient practice of balancing opposites to find the center. Note the Masonic Square and Compass symbols in the left and right hands of the Rebis—simple tools used to build incredibly advanced stone monuments (pyramids, aqueducts, cathedrals) which to this day remain a testament not to the “technological” power of the ancients, but to their “spiritual” centeredness.

Most Freemasons have no idea what their symbols mean. My research has convinced me that the “lost secret of Freemasonry” is the same as the “lost secret of the Incas” and the same as the “lost secret of the Egyptians.” The GodSelf icon, which is identical in form and meaning in places as far apart as Egypt and Peru, is an important key for understanding the origins and destiny of mankind.

• Richard Cassaro ’s new book, The Missing Link , is available on Amazon.com and on his website www.RichardCassaro.com.
• Top Image: Deriv; Step Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt. ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ), El Castillo (pyramid of Kukulcán) in Chichén Itzá, Mexico ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ), Candi Sukuh in eastern Central Java ( CC BY-SA 3.0 )
• Images, unless otherwise noted, via author Richard Cassaro.

By Richard Cassaro

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

05-08-2021 om 00:54 geschreven door peter  

The Mysterious Ancient Etruscan Monuments of Selva di Malano

Selva di Malano, which may be translated to mean ‘Forest of Malano,’ is an archaeological site located in Viterbo, in the central Italian region of Lazio. The site is known for its carved stone monuments, a number of which have been interpreted to be altars. It is believed that these altars date to the time of the Etruscans, though some of the site’s monuments are thought to be from the Roman period.

There is evidence that some of the Etruscan monuments were reused by the Romans for funerary purposes. It has been suggested that the monuments at Selva di Malano, as well as other Etruscan monuments in the area, played a part in the creation of the 16 ^th century Sacro Bosso (‘Sacred Grove’), located in nearby town of Bomarzo.

The Malano Jungle

Selva di Malano is a wooded area located between the municipalities of Soriano nel Cimino and Bomarzo. The forest is situated in the foothills of the Cimini Mountains, in the Vezza River Valley, and about 4 km (2.5 miles) to the west of the Tiber River . In terms of geology, the Selva di Malano “borders a long, exposed outcrop of quartzolatitic ignimbrite from the Cimini complex.” In other words, this is an area that has access to volcanic rock suitable for construction purposes. And there is evidence that the Romans carried out quarrying activities within the Selva di Malano.

The exploitation of this natural resource in the Selva di Malano, however, predates the Romans, as is evidenced by the monuments in the forest. Before the hegemony of Rome in Italy, the central part of the peninsula was dominated by the Etruscans. At the peak, during the 6 ^th century BC, the Etruscan civilization stretched as far north as the Po River valley and as far south as Campania. Additionally, by this time, the Etruscans had developed into three confederacies consisting of 36 cities. Central Italy, however, remained the heartland of the Etruscan civilization. This region, known as Etruria, corresponds roughly to modern day Tuscany, Lazio, and Umbria.

The Etruscans: The People and Culture That Influenced Rome

The origin of the Etruscans has been debated since antiquity. Some have argued that they were an indigenous people of Italy, while others claim that they came from outside Europe, perhaps from Lydia, or from the Greek island of Lemnos. Though this debate continues even today, it is clear that the Etruscan civilization had a huge impact on Europe and the Mediterranean world, as a result of their influence on the Romans.

The Etruscans made a big contribution to Roman culture, as Rome was once situated within Etruscan territory. Moreover, there is substantial evidence that during the early part of Rome’s history, the city was dominated by the Etruscans. In fact, it was only in 396 BC when the Etruscan city of Veii was sacked by the Romans.

One of the important sources for our understanding of the Etruscan civilization are ancient texts. It may be pointed out, however, that these works were written by Greek and Roman authors, rather than the Etruscans themselves. In addition to these texts, archaeological work has also helped to shed light on this ancient civilization. Nevertheless, archaeology its own limitations. Very few preserved Etruscan constructions have survived, as the Romans who succeeded them built over their settlements.

On the other hand, archaeologists have discovered numerous Etruscan necropolises in the areas where they once inhabited. Amongst the most famous of these are the necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia, which have been designated as World Heritage Sites . The tombs and grave goods unearthed at these necropolises offer us a glimpse into the world of the Etruscans, especially their artistic achievements.

Steps leading to an Etruscan rock altar.

Source: Project Tuscia

The Notable Etruscan Monuments of the Selva di Malano

Although Selva di Malano is an Etruscan site, it is not considered to be a necropolis since the original Etruscan monuments are not believed to have had a funerary purpose. Neither are the monuments that are remnants of a lost Etruscan settlement. Instead, the site is thought to have been a place where ritual ceremonies were carried out. Some have even speculated that sacrifices to the gods were performed by the Etruscans in the forest. Therefore, a number of monuments in the Selva di Malano have been interpreted as being ‘altars,’ or ‘sacrificial altars’.

Sasso del Predicatore or ‘Stone of the Preacher’ in the Selva di Malano.

( Youtube screenshot )

Amongst the most notable monuments in the Selva di Malano are the two so-called Sasso del Predicatore (‘Stone of the Preacher’). The monuments were given this name due to their resemblance to pulpits. Both monuments are quite similar, consisting of an ovoid boulder with an altar on its flattened top. A flight of stairs is carved into the boulder, which allows access to its top. On the top of the first Sasso del Predicatore are the remains of what may have been a small altar. The top of the second Sasso del Predicatore , on the other hand, was modelled into a cube-like structure, which is still visible today.

The actual function of these two monuments is unclear, though it is quite unlikely that the Etruscans used them for preaching. It has been suggested that the monuments were used for haruspicy, a form of divination involving the inspection sacrificed animal entrails. Alternatively, it has been speculated that the two monuments were used for augury, specifically the interpretation of omens based on the flight of birds, or that they were used for astronomical observations .

Incidentally, there is another Etruscan monument not far from the Selva di Malano that resembles the Sasso di Predicatore . Tacchiolo, near Bomarzo, is the location of the so-called Piramide Etrusca di Bomarzo (‘Etruscan Pyramid of Bomarzo’). In spite of its name, the monument bears more resemblance to the Etruscan altars in the Selva di Malano. Like the Sasso del Perdicatore , steps were cut into the rock. The first flight of stairs leads to a pair of intermediate altars. Beyond the altars is another flight of stairs, which leads to the top of the rock, where there seems to have been another altar.

Piramide Etrusca di Bomarzo or the ‘Etruscan Pyramid of Bomarzo.’

(Alessio Pelligrini / Flickr)

Within the Selva di Malano, the second Sasso del Predicatore is not the only monument in the area with a cubic structure. Not far from the first Sasso del Predicatore is another cubic monument called the Ara Cubica (‘Cubic Altar’). Unlike the two monuments mentioned previously, the Ara Cubica is thought to have been created during the Roman period, and that it served as a sepulchral memorial stone. The problem with these three monuments, however, is the fact that there are no identifying or epigraphic marks on them. This means that their date of creation and their purpose are still nothing more than speculations. Nevertheless, one cannot help but marvel at the ability of the Etruscans and Romans to carve such perfectly shaped cubes out of rocks.

Etruscan Sasso del Predicatore rock cube in the Selva di Malano, Italy.

(Project Tuscia / Youtube screenshot )

Rock-cut ‘Dice Tombs’ of The Selva di Malano

At the bottom of a steep tufo (or volcanic tuff) cliff in the Selva di Malano are three rock-cut tombs, which are also believed to have been created during the Roman period. The tombs are known as tombe a dado in Italian, which roughly translates to mean ‘dice tombs.’ They are believed to have been made during the Late Republican or Early Imperial period, based on the observation that they possess both Roman and Etruscan characteristics. One of the tombs is surmounted by a low relief pediment and entablature, which are supported by five fictive Doric columns in sunken relief. As these features were carved into the rock, it looks as though the monument is emerging from the rock.

Etruscan tombe a dado or “dice tombs” in the Salvo di Malano.

(Giulio Monaldi / Flickr)

Another tomb has the inscription “Heros V.A. XXV”, above a niche, indicating that this was the tomb of a 25-year-old slave with the Hellenized name of Heros. Interestingly, a Benedictine abbey called San Nicolao was built on the top of the cliff much later. Today, however, the abbey lies in ruins.  

Epigraphic marks and artistic features allow us to attain a better understanding of the monuments, as seen in the case of the tombe a dado . Another monument where inscriptions have been found is the so-called Coelius Altar, known also as the Coelius Tomb or the Coelius Monument. This monument is believed to have originally been made by the Etruscans. Later on, however, it was reused by the Romans. The inscription on this monument reads “D. Coelius D. L. Alexander / Quintia P. L. Hilara”, which means “Decimus Coelius Alexander, freedman of Decimus and Quintia Hilara freedwoman of Publius.” In addition to this inscription, a small modification was made to the original monument, in order to make it suitable for its new purpose. Two niches were carved on the top of the Coelius Altar. These were meant to hold the ashes of Coelius and Quintia.

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Glaucus in the Parco dei Mostri, Bomarzo.

( CC BY-SA 4.0 )

Connections Between Selva di Malano and the Parco dei Mostri

The monuments in the Selva di Malano may be regarded as relics of a lost civilization. Nevertheless, it seems that they were not entirely forgotten by the inhabitants of that region. Similarities have been drawn between these ancient monuments and the Sacro Bosso , a Renaissance garden in nearby Bomarzo. This has led to the suggestion that the garden was partly inspired by the monuments of the Selva di Malano.

The Sacro Bosso is known also as the Parco dei Mostri , or ‘ Park of the Monsters ,’ due to its grotesque sculptures. The garden is located beneath Orsini Castle, and was commissioned in 1552 (based on an inscription in the park) by Pier Francesco Orsini, known also as Vicino Orsini. According to one interpretation, the garden was designed as an expression of grief, and was meant to shock those who visited it. In any case, in order to comprehend the Sacro Bosso , one has to first gain some understanding of its patron.

Pier Francesco Orsini was born in 1523. He was the second son of Duke Gian Corrado Orsini of Bomarzo and Clarice di Franciotto di Monterotondo. When he grew up, Orsini became a condottiere (a mercenary captain) like his father and served under the banner of the Farnese family. In the early 1540s, Orsini married Giulia, the daughter of a fellow condottiere, Galeazzo Farnese. During the 1550s, Orsini was active in the field. He retired from military service around 1560.

It was also around the time of Orsini’s retirement that his wife died. It has been argued, therefore, that the death of Giulia left Orsini inconsolable, and that he created the Sacro Bosso in her memory. An alternative interpretation argues that the garden was Orsini’s pet project. This takes into consideration Orsini’s infidelity and the pride he took in taking nobles and learned men (Orsini himself was an accomplished man of letters) around the garden.

As mentioned earlier, the Sacro Bosso was filled with grotesque sculptures, many of which make a clear reference to classical mythology . These include the Orcus Mouth, Proteus with the weapons of the Orsini family, and a triton in a niche. Other sculptures include a war elephant seizing a Roman legionary in its trunk, a turtle with a winged woman on its back, and a giant tearing its victim apart.

If the inhabitants of the region during the Renaissance had no memory or understanding of the Etruscans, then the monuments of the Selva di Malano would have made no sense to them. In this case, the monuments in the forest and the sculptures in Orsini’s garden would have been similar, in the sense that they are both enigmas that puzzle on-lookers. Moreover, both the ancient monuments and the grotesque sculptures are covered with moss and lichen. In Orsini’s garden it is unclear whether he intended his sculptures to have this look, though one may imagine that he was inspired by the monuments in the forest and to allow nature to add the ‘finishing touches’ to his art pieces.

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{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

04-08-2021 om 00:53 geschreven door peter  

Godlike Power and Monster Malevolence: Mishipizheu of Lake Superior

In Gordon Lightfoot’s 1976 song  The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald , he figuratively blames the sinking of that ship on the “witch” of November. Folks more familiar with Ojibway mythology might, however, have pointed to Mishipizheu, one of the most important of the underground mythological creatures of the Northeastern and Midwestern North American tribes.

This pictograph of the Great Lynx known as Mishipizheu was created by Ojibway spiritual leaders at Agawa Rock in Lake Superior Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada.

( Chris Hill  / Adobe Stock)

Was Mishipizheu a God or a Monster? 

The “Great-Lynx” Mishipizheu blurs the line between god and monster and thus sheds light on what it takes to be one or the other. The Ojibway, an indigenous people from southern  Canada and the northern Midwestern United States, believed Mishipizheu was a giant lynx-like creature. An apt description would be that the Mishipizheu was a horned panther covered in copper scales with razor-sharp spikes down its back and a long flexible tail. 

According to Ojibway mythology, Mishipizheu lived under the vast waterways of their territory in the Canadian Shield, in and near the Great Lakes. It exercised complete control over the waterways and had a mean-streak which had to be placated with  copper or tobacco offerings lest it use its tail to create violent whirlpools or harsh waves to drown the people residing in the area. 

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On the one hand, we might consider him a god as he exercised supernatural power over a vast area of waterways and accepted tokens or  sacrifices for his cooperation with human endeavors. On the other hand, he is primarily a malevolent presence, drowning those who forget their offerings to him, creating tumult capriciously with a whip of his tail, and standing in opposition, in many stories, to the heroic Thunderbird. He was godlike in his power, but monster-like in his malevolence.

The SS. Algoma went down on Lake Superior in 1885. It was the worst loss of life in the history of Lake Superior.

( Public domain )

The Malevolent Intentions of Mishipizheu the Underwater Panther

It is no wonder that a malevolent spirit was felt to inhabit Lake Superior. Some people believe Mishipizheu has sunk at least 400  ships on the lake in recorded memory alone, in addition to the Edmund Fitzgerald. Some have even said that the island of Michipicoten, in Ontario (Canada) in the northeastern part of Lake Superior, is the primary abode of Mishipizheu, when he is not swirling through underground tunnels and caverns throughout the region. 

The belief of  indigenous tribes  of the region is that Mishipizheu lives and travels through a vast system of tunnels and caverns underlying the vast waterways of Midwestern United States and  Canada, often wreaking havoc on those who sail those waters. But, why?

Mishipizheu guards the vast amount of copper which, to this day, lies within the  Great Lakes . Native inhabitants of the Great Lakes region, stretching back to about 7,500 BC, discovered copper that was 99% pure in Lake Superior, in veins or just lying around in nugget form. Initially they used the copper for spear points and tools, but as a larger social organization developed the copper was used for personal ornamentation denoting social standing. 

There was only one problem. Lake Superior was not a gentle lake to those extracting the copper, in fact it was quite fierce. The fierceness was attributed to a creature which seemed obviously to be guarding the  copper. Hence the existence of Mishipizheu. Indeed, if we dig a little deeper, the belief in this creature points to why  monsters were created in the first place. In pre-scientific cultures, folks often attributed evil intentions or ill will to events possessing no evil intentions or ill will. 

To this day, in some villages, when someone falls ill a shaman might declare that a personal enemy sent an evil spirit to possess the victim. A person does not just fall ill, someone or something must desire that. Thus it is with the sea and other bodies of water. Unpredictable tragedies occurred and we were quick to attribute the tragedies to an invisible malice or ill will. Anything other than natural causes. 

We seem to be wired, for whatever reason, to be super-keen to perceive and attribute malice and malevolence to adverse things that happen to us. It was too difficult for us to believe that things affecting us negatively could just happen. Mishipizheu became the figuration of the malice of the sea, part godlike in his scope, mostly monstrous in his intentions. But, interestingly, we attributed a reason for his malice – his irrational desire to possess all the copper in Lake Superior.

Stormy sky over Lake Superior, the home of Mishipizheu.

( boundlessimages / Adobe Stock)

Mishipizheu Ancillary Stories

The odds are that the origin of the Mishipizheu myth is derived from the destructive power of Lake Superior and other violent waterways of the Canadian Shield and the emotionally painful tragedies caused by the unpredictable harshness of these bodies of water. Mishipizheu became the malicious element causing the lake to harm innocent people. From this initial birth of the  monster, various tribes added on stories, which is not uncommon in myth-making. In fact, we can look at Mishipizheu as a good example of the possible evolution of a myth.

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Hunting and gathering peoples often have animistic beliefs. Every natural element has a spirit, even stones and streams. Perhaps it was recognized early on that Lake Superior’s was not a gentle spirit. Lake spirits often became personified in world  mythology. If you can imagine one being or creature controlling the lake, it is easier to deal with this entity through sacrifice and bargaining. 

Once you create a god, spirit or monster that you can appease or cajole, then stories concerning the exploits of this being can be constructed. You can even think of the Greek myths this way. Zeus was once a sky and thunder spirit. Then, through story-telling, he morphed into the leader of a pantheon and a character in a rich mythological tradition.

Some of the stories concerning Mishipizheu even purport that he engaged in acts of benevolence, thus adding to his stature as a god and not solely a  monster. In one story Mishipizheu was responsible for the primordial flood. In another story, we learn that swamps and quicksand are due to his slithering on the ground when he chose to take shortcuts from river to river. 

In one particular mythological tale, Mishipizheu is referred to as the ancestor of all  snakes, due to the belief that he was hit by lightning and shattered into thousands of those creatures. Another story tells of Mishipizheu the trickster. A shaman seeks a powerful medicine from Mishipizheu who happily complies. Unfortunately, the medicine only works for the shaman as he remains healthy while he watches his family and loved ones deteriorate and die around him.

Artists rendering of the famed Mishipizheu.

(Australopithecusman /  CC-BY-SA)

Final Verdict On Mishipizheu: Godly Extortion or Defender of Humanity

So is Mishipizheu more monster than god? What might tip the scales is that he does not engage in acts of benevolence. He is predisposed to cause harm continually and only will desist from this if he receives, basically, extortion money. But gods receive extortion money too, do they not? Did the ancient Greeks not placate Poseidon before sea travel? It seems that the gods like to be appreciated and remembered but are also quick to do good things for good people. They also might need to be coaxed a little into supplying help.

And it is not like the gods are a constant threat which has to be avoided. So the scales would seem to tip more toward  monster in this case, yet one interested in mythology might ask whether a primarily malevolent “god” is possible. Or, dare we stretch and say that  Mishipizheu was not at all malevolent but merely attempted, as well as he could, to steer humanity away from the world bought through copper, in an attempt to keep humanity living in a land of paradise.

• Top image: The malevolent Mishipizheu monster-god of Lake Superior.
• Source: SJB1995 /  CC-BY-SA

By Daniel Gauss

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

03-08-2021 om 21:31 geschreven door peter  

The Disc of Sabu: Ancient Egyptian Water Pump or Alien Hyperdrive?

There is no doubt that the Ancient Egyptian civilization is filled with wonders and mysteries beyond our comprehension. An exceptionally old culture that reaches far back to the early dawn of man’s advancement, Egypt left behind it many man-made wonders. From the enormous pyramids, the giant statues, and the sprawling mortuary temples, their monuments are many and glorious. 

While some of these are easy to understand, study, and explain, others remain an absolute mystery. One such enigma is the so-called “Disc of Sabu”, a curious stone object that almost defies all logic. Over the years, many odd theories arose have arisen in an attempt to uncover its true purpose.

The Tomb of Prince Sabu

Anyone visiting the sprawling museum of antiquities in  Cairo will be awed by the wealth of Ancient Egyptian treasures contained inside it. From the famed treasures found in the Tomb of  Tutankhamun, to the pharaonic statues and well-preserved mummies, this museum is the number one stop for all lovers of this ancient culture. But while you will be dazzled by these popular treasures, one curious item can be easily overlooked. The Disc of Sabu.

This odd item is circular in shape and measures roughly 610 millimeters (24 inches) in diameter and roughly 104 millimeters (4 inches) in height. It was discovered in 1936 by a renowned British Egyptologist, Mr. Walter Bryan Emery, and has been dated to the earliest periods of Ancient Egypt.

Emery devoted his career to excavations in the Nile River valley, and between 1935 and 1939 he conducted numerous surveys and digs in the burial grounds of Saqqara. The resting grounds of many high-status individuals from the early dynastic period, Saqqara is one of the oldest and largest necropolises from Ancient Egypt.

The Necropolis at Saqqara

(Jose Javier Martin Espartosa / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 )

Of course, digging in Saqqara yielded many important and valuable items, but none so odd as the Disc of Sabu. Emery discovered it while excavating the tomb of Prince Sabu, a First Dynasty governor and the son of the famed Pharaoh Anedjib. The latter was the fifth ruler of the First Dynasty, and succeeded the powerful Pharaoh Den.

Sadly, little is known of Anedjib’s son, Prince Sabu. He did not succeed his father on the throne, but still received an honorable burial at Saqqara. History does not record a lot of details about the dynastic relations in the First Dynasty, so we may never know of Sabu’s fate, his exact role in the court, or the political events of that time. Emery writes that Sabu was likely a high official and an administrator of a province, both during the reigns of Pharaoh Den (likely his grandfather), and his father Anedjib.

The Mysteries Beneath the Sands of Saqqara

The Mastaba (tomb) of Prince Sabu was discovered on the very edge of the plateau in the northern part of Saqqara. It was situated roughly 1.7 kilometers (1.1 miles) north of the iconic  Stepped Pyramid of Djoser . Designated as “Tomb 3111”, it was excavated by Emery on January 10th, 1936. 

The tomb consisted of seven funerary chambers, each strewn with assorted grave goods. The largest room held the body of Prince Sabu, which was accompanied by many funerary items. Most of these were nothing out of the ordinary - animal bones, flint implements, pottery vessels, ivory items, stone bowls. But one item stood out like a sore thumb: Emery discovered a curious disc, broken into numerous pieces.

The Disc of Sabu

(Gretarsson /  Public Domain )

Once painstakingly re-assembled, the Disc of Sabu intrigued many leading Egyptologists. The disc-shaped object resembles a round-bottomed bowl and has three extremely thinly carved, curving lobes at roughly 120 degree intervals around the bowl’s periphery. These lobes are separated from the rim by three biconvex holes. 

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In the center of the disc is a thin tube, roughly 10 centimeters in diameter. The object is constructed of  metasiltstone, elsewhere referred to as  schist. This is a porous, fragile rock that would be extremely difficult to carve - especially in such delicate detail.

Schist is comprised of coarse grains and characterized by elongated minerals in marked layers. It has the propensity to flake when worked, and can be crushed very easily when tools are applied to it. So here we have our first mystery: how was the disc carved in such fine detail? 

When asking this question, we need to consider the age of the disc. Prince Sabu’s tomb is dated to circa 3,000 BC, making the disc at least 5,000 years old! It is believed that the tools used back then were made of stone and copper, which would make fine craftsmanship quite challenging, if not impossible, especially on such a fragile material as schist stone. Somehow, the Disc of Sabu seems out of place in a tomb of a First Dynasty noble.

An Ancient Egyptian Puzzle

The next mystery is the purpose of this object. Over the years, many convincing theories surfaced. Almost immediately following its discovery, the disc was “dismissed” as being a “vase” or  “incense burner” , or simply a trivial decorative or ceremonial item. But many believe that this is far, far from the truth. One glimpse and just the basic knowledge of mechanics and engineering offers a wholly different interpretation – this disc could be a part of a mechanism.

There are marked similarities between the disc and a modern pump impeller

(Asurnipal /  CC BY-SA 3.0 )

One resourceful amateur historian may have solved the mystery. Armed with a 3D printer, this person created an accurate replica of the disc of Sabu in an attempt to prove his own theory: the disc was an ancient “impeller”, a part of a centrifugal  pump. When placed in a housing and propelled at high speed via the small shaft at its center, the disc was extremely efficient at displacing water. 

Furthermore, when propelled without a housing to direct the displaced water, the disc creates a powerful vortex. Observing these recorded experiments makes one thing clear: the curiously folded lobes and a slightly concave shape of the disc are there for a purpose. Thanks to the intricately carved details, the disc is able to displace water with ease, and is seemingly a crucial component of a water pump mechanism.

One fact supports this theory: Ancient Egypt depended on  irrigation. Later in their history they perfected water management through basin irrigation, a process that allowed them to control the rise and fall of the river. Thus they managed to maximize their crops and boost their agricultural capabilities. So, why should it be odd to consider that they made attempts at creating an advanced design that would help them irrigate land quickly and efficiently?

An even older clay object dated to the Predynastic  Naqada II period (3650 - 3300 BC) is oddly similar to the disc of Sabu.  This object shows three “snakes” leaping up from the center of a disc that looks extremely similar to the Sabu disc, complete with the central shaft and the three biconvex holes. Could this clay object represent three water spouts being propelled from the disc? It seems very likely.

Proof of Ancient Astronauts?

But schist does not seem a strong enough material for a pumping mechanism. This suggests something else: were craftsmen from the First Dynasty of Egypt attempting to recreate an older object using the tools and materials available to them, an object they perhaps did not completely understand? 

Many theories suggest that the disc of Sabu is just a schist stone replica of an original item made from metal. It is even suggested that the object was discovered amongst the remnants of an older, more advanced civilization, one that preceded the earliest history of Ancient Egypt.

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The renowned  Swiss author, Erich Von Däniken , is one of the leading proponents of the theory that extraterrestrials or superior, advanced civilizations influenced early humans. He suggests that the Disc of Sabu was an Egyptian stone copy of an internal component from an extraterrestrial ship’s  hyperdrive, or more simply a stone model of a  flying saucer . Others likened the disc to the advanced light-rimmed flywheels that were developed in the 1970’s by Lockheed missile engineers, and there are indeed plenty of similarities. 

Does the Disc suggest alien contact with Ancient Egypt?

( Matrioshka / Adobe Stock)

Some however have proposed a much simpler role for the disc. They state that the three lobes were used to hold strands of  silk or rope: when the disc was spun, it would weave the three strands into one, creating twine and thicker ropes. This theory is often dismissed as simply too straightforward: the Egyptians would not go to such extreme lengths to create the disc just to weave fibers when other methods were available quite early on.

There are other theories, some more extreme than the others. One  French author suggests that the Disc of Sabu is just one of many that were an integral part of an early “factory”. This complex theory explains how the Ancient Egyptians manufactured Sodium Carbonate within  pyramids using advanced systems and technologies. 

As can be seen, a lot of proposals simply swerve into the realms of the impossible, and seem more based on wish-fulfilment than sound archaeology. Ancient hyperdrives, factory complexes, steering wheels, and other unlikely suggestions are simply impossible to prove.

Certainly More than a Vase

On the other hand, mainstream science has a suspicious tendency to dismiss every suggestion that the disc is part of a mechanism. Mainstream archaeology considers the disc to be an incense burner, or – bluntly – a  vase. 

Going to such extreme lengths to polish and shape the super-delicate schist stone into such a complex form simply to create a “vase” seems, on the face of it, unlikely. Even the process used to create the disc is difficult to explain, given its age. But, if we accept the fact that this is something craftsmen of the First Dynasty were able to create with the  tools at their disposal, the question still remains: for what purpose? It seems clear that the disc of Sabu was part of something complex.

Schist was a popular choice for funerary carvings through Ancient Egypt

(Daderot /  Public Domain )

Walter Bryan Emery made note of his discovery in his  Great Tombs of the First Dynasty , mentioning it as simply “a container in the form of a schist bowl.” He later mentioned it again in his work  Archaic Egypt , where he described it as a “cachivache” – a knick-knack or trinket, a gadget. 

However, several sources point to the fact that he was well aware of the problem it posed in scientific circles, where it was described “as a small hole that threatens to become a much larger one”. It is perhaps, for this reason, that the Disc of Sabu is often overlooked in scholarly literature. In fact, little is known at all about Prince Sabu, his tomb, or his peculiar disc.

Ancient Doesn’t Mean Primitive

In the end, it remains entirely possible that the Disc of Sabu was a crucial part of a more advanced design, one likened to a water pump. Considering the fact that the experiments using a disc replica were highly successful in that role, it could certainly function as one. 

Ancient Egypt was highly dependent on irrigation to survive in the desert

( dejank1 / Adobe Stock) 

With an adequate housing, water outlet, and means of propulsion, the Disc of Sabu could have easily displaced large amounts of water, quickly and efficiently. And given the need for  irrigation in Ancient Egypt , the pieces of the puzzle quickly seem to fall into place. Given how unusual the design of the disc is, and given how useful a pump of this kind would be, it seems beyond coincidence that the disc would not be used for that purpose.

Perhaps it is time that we looked at the early Egyptians from a different perspective. Even though Prince Sabu lived 5,000 years before present, it doesn’t mean he and his contemporaries weren’t able to observe the world around them and come up with logical and ingenious solutions to the problems of their time. Even so, plenty of aspects about this disc cannot be easily explained, which leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

• Top image: The Mysterious Disc of Sabu.                         
• Source: Christian Hart /  Public Domain

By Aleksa Vučković

RELATED VIDEOS, selected and posted by peter2011

{  https://www.ancient-origins.net/general }

03-08-2021 om 21:10 geschreven door peter  

Neanderthals Hunted with Leaf-Shaped Spears, Archaeologists Say

Archaeologists say they have found a 65,000-year-old leaf point in a cave in the Swabian Jura, Germany.

“This discovery represents the first time a leaf point has been recovered from a modern excavation, allowing us to study the fresh find with state-of-the-art methods,” said Professor Nicholas Conard, a researcher at the University of Tübingen and the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment.

“The last time archaeologists in the region recovered such artifacts was in 1936.”

The leaf point was found at the archaeological site of Hohle Fels, a cave in the Swabian Jura of Germany.

The artifact is 7.6 cm (3 inches) long, 4.1 cm (1.6 inches) wide, 0.9 cm (0.35 inches) thick, and has a mass of 28 grams.

“Our results document how the tool was made, used and why it was discarded,” Professor Conard said.

“Thanks to a series of four ESR-dates the find is securely dated to over 65,000 years ago.”

“Until now finds of leaf points were interpreted as belonging to the period between 45,000 and 55,000 years ago — the last cultural phase of Neanderthals in Central Europe,” he added.

“The new results demonstrate that our assumptions about the dating of the cultural groups of the late Neanderthals were wrong and need revision.”

Using detailed microscopic analyses, the researchers found that the leaf point was mounted on a wooden shaft.

“Damage to the tip indicates that the artifact was used as a hafted spear point, and that the spear was likely thrust into prey rather than being thrown,” they said.

“Neanderthals used plant-based glue and bindings made from plant fibers, sinew, or leather, to secure the leaf point to the spear.”

“They clearly used the spear for hunting. While they re-sharpened the tool it broke, leading to its discard.”

“Neanderthals were expert stone knappers and knew exactly how to make and use complex technologies combining multiple parts and materials to produce and maintain deadly weapons,” said Dr. Veerle Rots, a researcher at the University of Liège.

“Homo heidelbergensis used sharpened wooden spears for hunting too, but their spears lacked mounted stone points like those used by Neanderthals.”

The team’s results appear in two papers in the journal Archäologische Ausgrabungen in Baden-Württemberg and the journal Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Urgeschichte.

_____

• Nicholas J. Conard & Alexander Janas. Ausgrabungen im Hohle Fels: Fundschichten aus dem Mittelpaläolithikum und Neues zur Jagdtechnik der Neandertaler. Archäologische Ausgrabungen in Baden-Württemberg 2020: 60-65
• Veerle Rots et al. 2021. A Leaf Point Documents Hunting with Spears in the Middle Paleolithic at Hohle Fels, Germany / Eine Blattspitze belegt die Jagd mit Speeren im Mittelpaläolithikum am Hohle Fels, Deutschland. Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Urgeschichte 30: 1-28

{ http://www.sci-news.com/ }

03-08-2021 om 20:42 geschreven door peter  

Fossils belonging to very ancient sponges dating back nearly a billion years have been discovered in northwest Canada and may be the oldest ever evidence of animal life on our planet.

Geologist Elizabeth Turner made an incredibly significant discovery on rocks located in a very remote area in the Northwest Territories that is only accessibly by helicopter. However, about a billion years ago, this area which is now covered with steep mountains was a marine environment.

In the thin layers of rock, she noticed the fossilized remains of what looked similar to sponges from modern times but they were much older than that. Analysis of the rock layers revealed that the fossils date back approximately 890 million years. This is absolutely jaw-dropping as the previous oldest sponge fossils were 350 million years younger.

Close-up of a sponge.

A lot of scientists think that the first groups of animals that were present on our planet included soft sponges or sponge-like creatures that didn’t have any nerves or muscles but did have cells with numerous functions as well as sperm. Unfortunately, there isn’t much animal evidence that dates back close to a billion years and that’s why this recent discovery is so fascinating and important.

It is believed that life first appeared on our planet approximately 3.7 billion years ago and that the first animals only showed up many years later but the exact date is still unknown and highly debated.

Since the previous oldest sponge fossil dated back about 540 million years during the Cambrian Period and this new specimen is around 890 million years old, it means that it was around for hundreds of millions of years longer than first estimated and possibly even longer (perhaps a billion years). Since sponges didn’t have any hard shells or skeletons that would have remained preserved over time, evidence of them dating back 890 million years is astonishing.

Another close-up of a sponge.

Paco Cardenas, who is an expert on sponges at Sweden’s Uppsala University but wasn’t involved with the study, stated, “This would be the first time that a sponge fossil has been found from before the Cambrian, and not only before, but way before — that’s what’s most exciting,” adding, “To have discovered sponge fossils from close to 900 million years ago will greatly improve our understanding of early animal evolution.”

Further analysis needs to be conducted on the fossilized sponge, but if it is confirmed to be 890 million years old, it would mean that the first animals to have inhabited our planet would have survived during a time when scientists didn’t think anything would have been able to live based on the small amount of oxygen that was in our oceans and atmosphere. (Pictures of the sponge’s remains found in the Northwest Territories can be seen here.)

The research was published in the journal Nature.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

31-07-2021 om 23:57 geschreven door peter  

300,000-Year-Old Nanostructures in the Ural Mountains: Alien Technology?

A team of archaeologists was surprised during an investigation to find strange microscopic objects; a mysterious nanostructures in the Ural Mountains in Russia.

During a geological investigation for the extraction of gold in 1991 , a group of archaeologists found themselves on the banks of the Balbanyu, Narada and Kozhim rivers , in the Ural Mountains. In the process, they found nanostructures. Some extremely strange microscopic objects.

Nanostructures in the Ural Mountains

Due to the minute dimensions of the structures, various theorists suggest that they were made by a very ancient advanced civilization .

This civilization could have, approximately 300,000 years ago , the capacity to develop nanotechnology.

They found metallic coils and spirals axes that make up the list of rare nanopiezas. These were found embedded in a rock over 100,000 years old .

This nanotechnology, in addition, was classified as an Oopart, or an object out of time. The scientists agreed that it is impossible for such technology to be around 300,000 years old.

For an object to be considered an Oopart, it must be unique and little known in historical or paleontological archaeological records. Scientists classify it as something “anomalous”, since they are found when and where they ” should not be “. Hence, it contradicts the traditional story.

Mainstream research regarding these objects is usually looking for a logical explanation . For archeology it is ” impossible to affirm” that there existed a degree of technology and culture more advanced than that known to the academic world.

However, alternative researchers are convinced of the existence of ancient astronauts . Or extraterrestrial beings that visited Earth in the past.

Discovery investigation

The study was originally conducted by the Russian Academy of Sciences in Syktyvkar. After conducting different tests on the nanostructures, the experts found strange characteristics .

The larger pieces are made of pure copper , the smaller ones were made of molybdenum and tungsten . These metals have been used in the manufacture of missiles and spacecraft due to their high resistance to high temperatures.

The length of the smallest object is only one tenth of an inch.

Subsequently, they underwent intensive investigations at facilities in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Helsinki in order to find clues about their origin.

The scientists concluded that these components were not a product of nature , but that their origin is artificial. In short, they were built.

Experts said the nanostructures were the rocket parts from the Plesetsk launch base.

However, a report that was made in 1966, excluded this possibility, since the analysis showed that they were found in great depth .

As if the discovery of these objects was not mysterious enough, the Ural Mountains have always been the subject of theories and strange events.

One of the most enigmatic events to take place in the region was the Dyatlov Pass incident . A group of Russian hikers were found dead in strange circumstances.

Many theories were created from the event, from UFOs , secret experiments. Even even from a Yeti or unknown tribes.

Could they be alien technology? If so, these nanostructures would confirm the visit of ancient astronauts in the remote past.

{ https://mysteriousthing.com/ }

31-07-2021 om 01:19 geschreven door peter  

Max Kozlov

Most major groups of animals — including arthropods, molluscs and worms — first appear in the fossil record during the Cambrian explosion, 541 million years ago. But according to a paper published today in Nature¹, sponge fossils from northwestern Canada could be 350 million years older, significantly pushing back the date of Earth’s earliest-known animals.

The ancient discovery is igniting debate among palaeontologists, who have long contested when complex animal life first evolved.

“If I’m right, animals emerged long, long before the first appearance of traditional animal fossils,” says study author Elizabeth Turner, a sedimentary geologist at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Canada. “That would mean there’s a deep back history of animals that just didn’t get preserved very well.”

Weird and wonderful shapes

Some scientists, however, are not convinced that the microscopic patterns in Turner’s 890-million-year-old fossils indicate an ancient sponge, given the evidence provided in the study.

“It’s such a big claim that you really have to eliminate all the other possibilities,” says Rachel Wood, a geoscientist at the University of Edinburgh, UK, who researches fossil reefs. “Microbes, for example, produce weird and wonderful shapes and forms.” Sometimes crystals also grow in a way that looks like patterns formed by living organisms, she says, meaning that the rock samples Turner found might not be fossils at all.

Turner counters that none of the known reef-building organisms that existed 890 million years ago, such as cyanobacteria or algae, can explain the complex structures in her samples.

She collected the purported fossils from ancient microbial reefs preserved in the rocks of Canada’s remote Northwest Territories, starting during her graduate studies in the 1990s.

When Turner examined slices of the rock under a microscope, she saw branching networks of crystalline tubes. She later realized that these structures resemble the internal scaffolding of modern horny sponges, and line up with the expected decay and fossilization patterns of spongin, a collagen protein that forms their scaffolding.

“These rocks are beautiful, but you don’t expect to find something that complicated or weird in them,” she says.

Early history of animal life

It wasn’t until the past few years, when she saw studies that described similar structures in much younger rocks — from a time when sponges were known to exist — that Turner felt confident in publishing her results. But those studies, too, are disputed on the grounds that they might not be actual sponge fossils.

The authors of one of these papers² took photographs of many thin slices of their rock sample and used them to generate a 3D model of the purported sponge. Wood says that a similar piece of evidence would have strengthened Turner’s claim.

If Turner’s structures do prove to be sponge fossils, says David Gold, a geobiologist at the University of California, Davis, “it would be very exciting, and help us nail down the early story of animal evolution”, a subject that has been hotly debated for decades.

But although “it’s easy to find things that look like sponges in the fossil record”, he says, it’s more difficult to back them up with other evidence. He and other researchers, for instance, have supported³ fossil claims by pointing to rock samples containing traces of biological molecules that are linked to sponges. Unfortunately, given the sheer age and type of Turner’s rock samples, this type of preservation isn’t really possible, he adds.

It’s not inconceivable that sponges could have pre-dated the Cambrian explosion, says Phoebe Cohen, a geobiologist at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Scientists estimate how long ago the ancestors of groups of living animals diverged using ‘molecular clocks’, which measure the rate of mutation in DNA and proteins over time.

The majority of these estimates suggest that the last common ancestor of all animals alive today evolved before the Cambrian explosion, but not by as much as 350 million years, says Cohen. Nevertheless, she says she could be convinced that Turner’s samples are sponge fossils if she saw more evidence, including studies on how horny sponges fossilize.

Molecular-clock estimates

The palaeontological community is split on whether the dearth of animal fossils from before the Cambrian period is because the creatures that lived then rarely survived as fossils to the present day, or because molecular-clock estimates of animal origins are wrong. Gold is convinced there were sponges before the Cambrian, but says that exactly how far back is a big, unresolved question.

Ancient worm fossil rolls back origins of animal life

If the ancestors of modern sponges really were alive 890 million years ago, then it means early animals survived through very trying conditions for life, such as extremely low levels of oxygen and ‘snowball Earth’ periods during which the surface of the planet almost entirely froze over, says Gold.

Turner argues that sponges could have survived the low-oxygen environment by eking out a living in cavities and crevices in the microbial reef next to photosynthetic cyanobacteria, which release oxygen. The sponges might also have been nourished by organic ooze that the bacteria produced. “There was probably a delicious and very copious supply of ‘snot’ for these filter-feeding organisms to have eaten,” she says.

Scientists are passionate about their views of when animal life started on Earth. The paper could reinvigorate the debate that has been quietly simmering for decades, says Gold. “But I suspect it’s not going to change a lot of minds for those who have made a decision about how old animals are.”

© Photograph by Rasmus Loeth Petersen, Alamy Stock Photo A great bathing sponge, Spongia officinalis, surrounded by funnel weed and other algae; Mediterranean Sea, Malta.

• doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02066-9

References

1. 1. Turner, E. C. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03773-z (2021).

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2. 2. Luo, C. & Reitner, J. Naturwissenschaften 101, 467–477 (2014).

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3. 3. Gold, D. A. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 113, 2684-2689 (2016).

   PubMed Article Google Scholar 

{ https://www.nature.com/ }

30-07-2021 om 01:38 geschreven door peter  

The Borg have landed — or, at least, researchers have discovered their counterparts here on Earth. Scientists analysing samples from muddy sites in the western United States have found novel DNA structures that seem to scavenge and ‘assimilate’ genes from microorganisms in their environment, much like the fictional Star Trek ‘Borg’ aliens who assimilate the knowledge and technology of other species.

Borgs seem to be associated with single-celled microorganisms known as archaea, shown in this scanning-electron microscopy image of Sulfolobus sp. archaea.

Credit: Science Source

These extra-long DNA strands, which the scientists named in honour of the aliens, join a diverse collection of genetic structures — circular plasmids, for example — known as extrachromosomal elements (ECEs). Most microbes have one or two chromosomes that encode their primary genetic blueprint. But they can host, and often share between them, many distinct ECEs. These carry non-essential but useful genes, such as those for antibiotic resistance.

Borgs are a previously unknown, unique and “absolutely fascinating” type of ECE, says Jill Banfield, a geomicrobiologist at the University of California, Berkeley. She and her colleagues describe their discovery of the structures in a preprint posted to the server bioRxiv¹. The work is yet to be peer-reviewed.

Unlike anything seen before

Borgs are DNA structures “not like any that’s been seen before”, says Brett Baker, a microbiologist at the University of Texas at Austin. Other scientists agree that the find is exciting, but have questioned whether Borgs really are unique, noting similarities between them and other large ECEs.

In recent years “people have become used to surprises in the field of ECEs”, says Huang Li, a microbiologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. “However, the discovery of Borgs, which undoubtedly enriches the concept of ECEs, has fascinated many in the field.”

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The life of archaea

Their vast size, ranging between more than 600,000 and about 1 million DNA base pairs in length, is one feature that distinguishes Borgs from many other ECEs. In fact, Borgs are so huge that they are up to one-third of the length of the main chromosome in their host microbes, Banfield says.

Banfield studies how microbes influence the carbon cycle — including the production and degradation of methane, a potent greenhouse gas — and, in October 2019, she and her colleagues went hunting for ECEs containing genes involved in the carbon cycle in Californian wetlands. There, they found the first Borgs and later identified 19 different types from this and similar sites in Colorado and California.

Borgs seem to be associated with archaea, which are single-celled microorganisms distinct from bacteria. Specifically, those Banfield and her team have discovered are linked to the Methanoperedens variety, which digest and destroy methane. And Borg genes seem to be involved in this process, says Banfield.

Scientists can’t yet culture Methanoperedens in the laboratory — an ongoing challenge for many microbes — so the team’s conclusions that Borgs might be used by the archaea for methane processing are based on sequence data alone.

“They’ve made an interesting observation,” says systems biologist Nitin Baliga, at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Washington. But he cautions that when researchers sift through fragments of many genomes and piece them together, as Banfield’s team has done, it’s possible to make errors. Finding Borgs in cultured Methanoperedens will be necessary for the finding to be considered definitive, he adds.

Costs and benefits

Assuming Borgs are real, maintaining such a massive ECE would be costly for Methanoperedens, Banfield and colleagues say, so the DNA structures must provide some benefit. To learn what that might be, the researchers analysed the sequences of hundreds of Borg genes and compared them with known genes.

Borgs seem to house many genes needed for entire metabolic processes, including digesting methane, says Banfield. She describes these collections as “a toolbox” that might super-charge the abilities of Methanoperedens.

So what makes a Borg a Borg? In addition to their remarkable size, Borgs share several structural features: they’re linear, not circular as many ECEs are; they have mirrored repetitive sequences at each end of the strand; and they have many other repetitive sequences both within and between the presumptive genes.

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Scientists glimpse oddball microbe that could help explain rise of complex life

Individually, these features of Borgs can overlap with those seen in other large ECEs, such as elements in certain salt-loving archaea, so Baliga says the novelty of Borgs is still debatable at this stage. Borgs also resemble giant linear plasmids found in soil-dwelling Actinobacteria, says Julián Rafael Dib, a microbiologist at the Pilot Plant for Microbiological Industrial Processes in Tucumán, Argentina.

Banfield counters that although the individual features of Borgs have been seen before, “the size, combination and metabolic gene load” is what makes them different. She speculates that they were once entire microbes, and were assimilated by Methanoperedens in much the same way that eukaryotic cells gained energy-generating mitochondria by assimilating free-living bacteria.

Now that scientists know what to look for, they might find more Borgs by sifting through old data, says Baker, who used to work in Banfield's lab. He thinks he might already have discovered some candidates in his own genetic database since the preprint was posted.

Resistance is futile

When analysing the Borg genome, Banfield and colleagues also saw features suggesting that Borgs have assimilated genes from diverse sources, including the main Methanoperedens chromosome, Banfield says. This potential to ‘assimilate’ genes led her son to propose the name ‘Borg’ over Thanksgiving dinner in 2020.

Banfield’s team is now investigating the function of Borgs and the role of their DNA repeats. Repeats are important to microbes: differently-structured repeats called CRISPR are snippets of genetic code from viruses that microbes incorporate into their own DNA to ‘remember’ the pathogens so they can defend against them in the future.

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Pioneers of revolutionary CRISPR gene editing win chemistry Nobel

CRISPR and its associated proteins have been a boon for biotechnology because they have been adapted into a powerful gene-editing technique — hinting that Borg genomes might also yield useful tools. “It could be as important and interesting as CRISPR, but I think it’s going to be a new thing,” says Banfield, who is collaborating on future investigations with her preprint co-author, Jennifer Doudna, a pioneer of CRISPR-based gene editing at the University of California.

One potential application that the researchers see for Borgs could be as an aid in the fight against climate change. Fostering the growth of microbes containing them could, perhaps, cut down the methane emissions generated by soil-dwelling archaea, which add up to about 1 gigatonne globally each year. It would be risky to do this in natural wetlands, Banfield says, but it might be appropriate at agricultural sites. So, as a first step, her group is now hunting Borgs in Californian rice paddies.

Nature 595, 636 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01947-3

{ https://www.nature.com/ }

29-07-2021 om 01:31 geschreven door peter  

9,350-year-old structure found in the Mediterranean “could rewrite history”

In 2015 a strange 11.88 meter high monolith was discovered off the coast of Sicily, 39 meters deep. This structure is very similar to Stonehenge and could rewrite history.

The Stonehenge found in the Mediterranean Sea is at least 9,350 years old . Studies revealed that it weighs about 15 tons and is divided into two parts.

An underwater Stonehenge?

Emanuele Lodolo , an oceanographer at the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics in Italy, along with Zvi Ben-Avraham, from the University of Haifa and Tel Aviv, were responsible for finding the monolith.

“The monolith is made of stones other than those that make up all the neighboring outcrops, and is quite isolated from them.”

The stones that compose it are chalcirudites, from the late Pleistocene age , as determined from radiocarbon measurements.

The structure was found on the Bank of Panteleria Vecchia, an ancient island in the Sicilian Channel. This island, according to archaeologists, was submerged during a flood 9,300 years ago.

This time chronologically squares with the beginning of the Mesolithic of Europe and the Middle East. The discovery of this monolith fully expands the knowledge of the first civilizations of the Mediterranean basin and the knowledge about their technology and development.

The structure required a cutting, extraction, transportation and installation system that undoubtedly demonstrates advanced engineering skills and techniques.

“The belief that our ancestors lacked the knowledge, skill and technology necessary to exploit marine resources or make sea voyages must be progressively abandoned.

The recent findings of submerged archeology have definitively dismantled the idea of ​​technological primitivism that is usually attributed to the hunter-gatherer coastal settlers ”, the archaeologists concluded.

Radar view of the monolith.

Who built the monolith?

While it is true that the monolith of Sicily is very similar to Stonehenge, this could explain more about the civilizations that inhabited the Mediterranean basin.

To date it is not known if the structure was alone and if it was part of a group, like the monument in England , which is much younger.

Currently, little or nothing is known about the inhabitants of Pantalleria Vecchia some 10,000 years ago . However, this construction demonstrates his skill for construction.

Experts believe that this town traded with the fish they caught, with other islands. The stone may have served as a primitive “lighthouse” , even as a place to moor or anchor ships.

Although, its enormity does not convince much that it was used for that purpose. If so, the boats must be huge.

• All this information suggests that a prehistoric civilization not only prospered, but was much more advanced than is believed. This could change the history of the region completely. Here is an interesting video of submerged cities.

{ https://mysteriousthing.com/ }

29-07-2021 om 00:00 geschreven door peter  

Just 7% of Human DNA Is Unique, Says Latest Large-scale Genetic Study

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27-07-2021 om 22:57 geschreven door peter  

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27-07-2021 om 22:41 geschreven door peter  

Did Japanese Population Originate with this Minatogawa Man?

A new scientific report published in Nature has concluded that the modern Japanese descended from the Minatogawa people of the Paleolithic era. This is based on a DNA study of a 20,000-year-old human, codenamed Minatogawa 1, who was discovered in a limestone quarry in the Japanese Okinawa Prefecture back in 1970.

Replica of the Minatogawa man’s skeleton with DNA ties to modern Japanese population.

(National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo)

The Origins of Modern Human Japanese Population

Paleoanthropologists have long assumed that modern man ( Homo sapiens ) first migrated east out of Africa and into modern-day China about 50,000 BC. The popular belief is that the first humans on the Japanese Archipelago migrated from somewhere in southeast Asia. According to human migration models and archaeological evidence, people first reached Japan in the late Pleistocene, around 40,000 or 30,000 years ago, at a time when the archipelago was connected to the Asian continent.

• 9,000-Year-Old Human Remains May Shed Light On Prehistoric Okinawa
• Five Bold Navigators Master the Deadly ‘Black Stream’ Migration After 32,000 Years

The frequently told story of human history in Japan claims that the modern-day Japanese descended from two different groups of migrants. These were the historic ancestors of the Jomon people, hunter-gatherers who existed between 14,500 BC and 1,000 BC. Later they were followed by a second wave of farming human migrants from Northeast Asia known as the Yayoi who existed between 1,000 BC and 250 AD. Both cultures have been identified due to their distinctive pottery styles.

Forensic reconstruction and skull of a Jomon person in Japan.

(inazakira / CC BY-SA 2.0 )

Discovery of the Minatogawa

In the late 1960s, amateur archaeologist Seiho Oyama purchased a series of stone blocks in which he observed fossilized bone fragments within. This unexpected discovery led to his near obsession with the Minatogawa quarry in the Okinawa Prefecture, on the Japanese Ryukyu Islands, from where they had been sourced. In 1968 Oyama reported the discovery of human remains to a Tokyo University professor who then proceeded to excavate the site up until 1974.

Digs at the site took place in a 1-meter-wide (3.28 ft) exposed fissure at the quarry. Archaeologists unearthed bone fragments belonging to between 5 and 9 individual skeletons, which they named the Minatogawa people. The Tokyo University professor who led the excavations, Hisashi Suzuki, argued that these Paleolithic individuals had been killed by arrows or spears and were then cannibalized.

The males were about 1.55 meters tall (5 ft) while the women were about 1.4 meters (4.6 ft) tall. “Narrow-shouldered, they had a sturdy lower-body skeletal build, which experts believe made them suited to running on barren land,” explains Archaeology News Network . Minatogawa 1 is the name given to a complete skeleton found at the site, a replica of which is now on display at the Tokyo University Anthropology Museum.

This discovery was very exciting for Japanese archaeology, due to the lack of skeletal remains and DNA unearthed to date on the islands. This is caused by the acidic soil composed of volcanic ash which creates “an environment which is detrimental to the preservation of ancient biomolecules,” explains the report in Nature. The 20,000-year-old remains discovered at the Okinawa quarry “are amongst the few Paleolithic humans whose remains have so far been discovered in Japan,” explains Archaeology News Network .

Reconstruction on display of a Minatogawa man in Japan.

( Tsunagaru Map )

Science Uncovers New Links to Explain the Origins of Japanese Population

Nevertheless, after the excitement subsided researchers were unable to uncover the link between these Minatogawa peoples and the story of human history in Japan as evidenced in the rest of the archaeological record. Were these Minatogawa peoples the ancestors for the Jomon? Had the Minatogawa died out? Or had they simply emigrated somewhere else at some point in ancient history?

Due to a lack of evidence to prove any direct connection, Archaeology News Network highlights that “the issue had remained moot, not least because the facial skeleton of the Minatogawa people bore little resemblance to Jomon people.” That is until a group of researchers from a selection of institutions, including the Graduate University for Advanced Studies and Toho University, came together to look at mitochondrial DNA.

Minatogawa 1, the male Paleolithic human found at the quarry, became the focus of the study after the team managed to extract a complete mitogenome sequence. Their hope was to trace the human origins of Japanese population further back than the Jomon. To understand why this was an important breakthrough, “Mitochondrial DNA is passed down from mothers to their children and contains region-specific vestiges due to mutations, which allows origins of populations to be traced,” highlights Archaeology News Network .

• Here’s How Genetics Helped Crack the History of Human Migration
• Surprise Discovery of 45,000-Year-Old Tools in Mongolia Indicates Early Human Migration

Through analysis of Minatogawa 1’s DNA, the team were able to identify a component common to the Jomon, the Yayoi and modern Japanese humans. While an analysis of about 2,000 modern-day members of the Japanese population did not find any direct descendants, that doesn’t rule out the possibility that Minatogawa direct ancestors will not be discovered in future studies.

In a nutshell, this means that the “modern Japanese likely have distant ancestral ties with Minatogawa people.” Nevertheless, to truly decipher the human history of Japanese populations, archaeology will need to keep digging to find more Paleolithic bones and do more tests on existing human remains. The lead author of the study, Jun Gojobori, stressed that they “hope to study the bones of more Paleolithic people to better understand the origins of the Japanese .”

• Top image: The Japanese population is descended from the Minatogawa man, depicted here in an artistic reconstruction. Source: Teruya Yamamoto / National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo

By Cecilia Bogaard

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

27-07-2021 om 22:22 geschreven door peter  

An ancient road as well as the remnants of a dock and structures were found submerged in a lagoon located in Venice, Italy. While there is a lagoon there now, this proves that the location once had some dry land. The discoveries were located in the Treporti channel in the northern part of Venice’s outer lagoon.

A research team conducted sonar scans and archaeological dives in the channel and that’s when they discovered several stones that had an ovoid underside and a smooth upper face that were very similar to Roman basoli which were stones that were used to pave the upper surfaces of ancient roads.

Additionally, they found 12 archaeological structures within a distance of 1,140 meters (3,740 feet). They measured as high as 2.7 meters (9 feet) and 52 meters in length (171 feet) and could have possibly been part of a road-bed. Then they located other structures around 9 meters (30 feet) underneath the road that might have been part of a dock.

Remains of an old dock were found.

They even found the remains of what they believe were several settlements that were located along the ancient road such as bricks, roof tiles, and even pottery.

Based on what they found, the researchers think that the road connected the dock and settlements to several additional roads that connected other towns in the southern portion of the now-lagoon to the northern Roman trading center of Altinum. Although there would have been lots of dry land in that area during that time, there would have also been a decent amount of water – the sea coast would have been on the eastern side of the road while an enclosed waterway would have been on the other side.

As for when the road and settlements were constructed as well as how long they were in use for, the researchers aren’t entirely sure but they are hopeful that radiocarbon dating will help to answer those questions. (A reconstructive photo of the road can be seen here.)

(Not the old road found in Venice)

In an email to Live Science, Fantina Madricardo, who is a geophysicist at the Institute of Marine Science (ISMAR) in Venice, stated, “The Venice lagoon formed from the main sea-level rise after the last glaciation, so it’s a long-term process,” adding, “We know that since Roman times — about 2,000 years — that the sea level there rose [up to] two and a half meters [8 feet].”

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports where it can be read in full.

Figure 1

Figure 2

The Venice Lagoon and the bathymetry of the tidal channels. High resolution bathymetry of the Treporti Channel (DTM horizontal resolution 0.2 m, vertical exaggeration 5 x). The numbers 1 to 12 indicate the alignment of structures whose properties are summarized in Table 1. The letters a to d identify other structures found in the area. The zoom-in pictures show the detail of some of the archaeological structures: the sites 3, 8–9 and 10 (bottom-right) and the structure a (top-left), with the profiles I–II and III–IV, described in the text. The lower part of the picture represents the bathymetric profile extracted along all identified structures (white dashed line).

Figure 3

Stratigraphy of cores extracted below the archaeological layer under the structures 8 and 9 (Fig. 2) and their position on the bathymetric map.

Figure 4

Upper part. Pictures of material discovered in the Treporti Channel in correspondence to the structure 8–9 (Figs. 2, 3) in 1985: (a) Basoli; (b,c) small amphora; (d) basoli on the seafloor; (e) Dressel 6A type amphora; (f) vase discovered in 1985; Lower part. Pictures extracted from the videos recorded by the divers of the Nucleo Sommozzatori della Polizia di Stato during the shooting of a documentary (see Supplementary Material) in different points along the structure 3, depicted in Fig. 3: (g) about 50 cm × 50 cm cubic stone found close to the flat stones; (h) preserved alignment of flat stones (basoli?); (i) inclined flat stone (basolo?) flanked by square stones in alignment; (j) detail of the square stone flanking the (basolo?).

Figure 5

RSL data points (red dots) extracted from the database by Vacchi et al.⁴⁷ and their location in the Venice Lagoon plotted as calibrated age against sea level relative to the present. The error bars represent the elevation and age errors.

Figure 6

The position of the paleobeach ridge in the Treporti Channel in Roman Times (in yellow in transparency over the current satellite data) and the alignment of Roman lithic remains and levee road (red dots and lines), buildings (green squares) and brick walls (white pentagons); the map was modified from the Archaeological Map of the Venice Lagoon¹¹. The pink solid line indicates the position of the structures reconstructed by this study (Fig. 2). Satellite image source: Esri DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, i-cubed, USDA,USGS,AEX,Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, swisstopo, and the GIS User Community, 

https://services.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer.

Figure 7

Reconstruction of the Treporti Channel paleobeach ridge and the Treporti Channel road (TC road)in Roman Times: (a) from an aerial perspective, with the Venice lagoon to the left and the Adriatic Sea to the right. The position of the TC road corresponds exactly to the position of the archaeological structures mapped (Fig 2), whereas the extension of the TC paleobeach ridge is only hypothetical since the area has been radically modified over the centuries; (b) a zoom-in view and (c) section of the TC road based on the stratigraphy of the cores extracted under the basoli (Fig. 3).

Figure 8

(Left) Roman road and waterways network in the Augustan Venetia et Histria Regio in the North-East Italy. (Right) zoom on the Venice Lagoon showing the fossa Popilliola in blue (after Dorigo²²) and the hypothetical path of the Roman road along the littoral in red, with the TC road segment in purple and the segment reconstructed from Canal¹¹ (Fig. 6, 123), in yellow. Satellite image source: Esri DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, i-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, swisstopo, and the GIS User Community, 

https://services.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer.

 READ MORE on https://www.nature.com/srep IN 

New evidence of a Roman road in the Venice Lagoon (Italy) based on high resolution seafloor reconstruction

© Federica Foglini Bathymetric map showing the locations of the structures.

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26-07-2021 om 18:53 geschreven door peter  

Denisova Cave DNA: Neanderthals, Denisovans and Humans Lived Together!

The deeply-ancient Denisova Cave in Siberia was at times home to Neanderthals, Denisovans and modern humans “at the same time” based on the latest Denisova Cave DNA research.

Nobody in the world had expected first-contact to come from a tiny, fossilized pinkie bone, but 10 years ago it was the discovery of such a bone that introduced us to the hitherto unknown and now extinct "Denisovans.

A new study of Denisova Cave DNA sampled from the floor of the Russian cave has revealed for the first time that the cave was also used by modern humans. But what was completely unexpected is that the new dating suggests the ancestors of modern humans lived “alongside Denisovans and Neanderthals.”

Researchers Zenobia Jacobs, Bo Li and Kieran O'Gorman collecting soil samples in the main chamber to test for Denisova Cave DNA.

( Professor Richard G. Roberts / University of Wollongong)

Denisova Cave DNA Changes Everything And Proves More

“Aju-Tasch” is more famously known as the “ Denisova Cave ,” and this time capsule of anthropological treasures was found hidden in a cliff face in the Anui River valley in the Altai Mountains of Russia. The cave comprises 20 layers of excavated artifacts indicating occupation by hominins as long ago as 280,000 years before the present, and signs of habitation have been found all the way into the Middle Ages.

• 45,000-year-old Cave Lion Figurine Uncovered At Denisova Cave
• Denisovan DNA in Tibetan Cave Changes History of Early Humans in Asia

Up until recently, according to Britannica encyclopedia , researchers have suspected that the cave was inhabited by early modern humans ( Homo sapiens ) and Neanderthals ( H. neanderthalensis ). However, evidence of a previously unknown group of hominins, the Denisovans, who were neither modern humans nor Neanderthals, was also discovered at the site.

Researchers Zenobia Jacobs, Bo Li and Kieran O'Gorman in the south chamber of the cave taking sediment samples as they search for more Denisova Cave DNA.

( Professor Richard G. Roberts / University of Wollongong)

Scraping Hominin DNA From Prehistoric Soils

The new research was published in the Nature journal and covered as well in a release from the Max Planck Institute . The research study’s lead author, Dr Elena Zavala, a graduate student at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and her colleagues worked with a team of Russian DNA researchers. The primary goal was to test the soil floor of the three-chamber cave to try and gain a clearer picture of how and when modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans lived in the now famous Denisova Cave.

For four decades researchers have been studying artifacts and DNA gathered from soils within the cave. However, according to an article about the new research in Science Mag , only over the last 4 years has anyone found DNA from extinct humans in the ancient cave soil.

A Denisovan tooth found in Russia’s famous Denisova Cave in 2000.

(Thilo Parg / CC BY-SA 3.0 )

Decompressing The Habitation Layers

Previous research highlighted in this Science Mag article stated that “728 soil samples” had been taken in the cave. And now, after almost 24 months, the researchers have published new research about their discovery of “ human DNA in 175 of the samples.”

An article about the paper published by the Max Planck Institute quotes Dr Katerina Douka, an archaeological scientist at the institute who said the new study represents the “largest and most systematic of its kind.”

• Finger Bone Points the Way to Revealing Denisovan DNA Secrets
• A Trove of New Denisovan Discoveries Revealed At A Recent Anthropological Conference

The study concludes that the three different groups “moved in and out of the cave over time.” However, Dr Zavala’s work confirms that Denisovans were the cave ’s first inhabitants about 300,000 years ago and that they disappeared 130,000 years ago. A different group of Denisovans who “likely made many of the stone tools,” then moved into the cave shelter about 30,000 years later. It would be 170,000 years after the first inhabitants that Neanderthals used the cave, at times, “overlapping with the Denisovans,” and the first humans used the cave beginning around 45,000 years ago.

A reconstructed fossil skeleton of a cave hyena (Crocuta crocuta spelaea). Cave hyena bones were also found in the Denisova Cave, and this must have resulted in horrible attacks on the hominins living there.

(Muséum de Toulouse / CC BY-SA 3.0 )

Even Man Eaters Loved The Denisova Cave!

DNA is like any organic matter, and it has a shelf life dependent on the environment in which it found. The Denisova Cave DNA covered all three human groups, and the researchers wrote in their paper that the time periods represented by each soil layer “are quite large.” According to Dr Zavala, this is the first time archaeologists have discovered an ancient site where Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans “lived together through time.”

The fossils of many ancient animals were also discovered in the cave which corresponded with times the climate became cooler. Over time, many different species of hyenas and bears use the cave to shelter from the harsh Russian winters, and it was for this reason it is known locally in Altay as “ Aju-Tasch” or “bear rock.”

• Top image: The entrance to the Denisova cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia where the so-called new “Denisova Cave DNA” has proven, for the first time, the Neanderthals, Denisovans and Homo sapiens occupied the same cave at the same time sometimes!   Source: Professor Richard G. Roberts / University of Wollongong

By Ashley Cowie

RELATED VIDEOS, selected and posted by peter2011

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25-07-2021 om 23:02 geschreven door peter  

The pandemic shutdown has taught us that it’s difficult to stay inside one’s home for an extended period with one’s immediate family. It was more difficult for those living with extended family and/or friends. Now, think of how challenging, frustrating and even murder-enticing it might be to have to live with people of other species – and the offspring of mixed-species marriages. That’s the new story of the famous Denisova cave in southern Siberia, where researchers previously discovered a new archaic hominin species, the Denisovans, living with another archaic hominin species, the Neanderthals, and now have found both shared the cave with a third hominin species – humans. All at the same time! How did they get along? Was the evidence discovered an archaic boxing ring?

“Denisova Cave in southern Siberia is the type locality of the Denisovans, an archaic hominin group who were related to Neanderthals. The dozen hominin remains recovered from the deposits also include Neanderthals, and the child of a Neanderthal and a Denisovan, which suggests that Denisova Cave was a contact zone between these archaic hominins.”

You can stay but you have to contribute.

The determination that Denisovans and Neanderthals occupied the Denisova cave at the same time came from the discovery of just eight fossils – including a Denisovan pinkie, three bones from Neanderthals and one from a child with one Neanderthal and one Denisovan parent. That’s the frustratingly tiny total after archeologists have combed through piles of animal bones and fossils mixed with stone tools and artifacts. As Science Magazine explains, researchers like Elena Zavala, a graduate student at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, turned to analyzing the layers of sediment in the three-chamber cave and looking for DNA. What they found, as explained in a new study in the journal Nature co-authored by Zavala, has added crucial data to the history of humans.

“We detect a turnover in the mtDNA of Denisovans that coincides with changes in the composition of faunal mtDNA, and evidence that Denisovans and Neanderthals occupied the site repeatedly—possibly until, or after, the onset of the Initial Upper Palaeolithic at least 45,000 years ago, when modern human mtDNA is first recorded in the sediments.”

After 2 years of analyzing 728 sediment samples dating to the Pleistocene epoch, they found ancient hominin mitochondrial DNA in 175 of them. Human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is the DNA located in cellular organelles that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use. It’s part of the human genome and recognized by anthropologists as the next best thing to bone samples, and in this case the mtDNA samples far exceed the fossilized bone fragments found.

Yes, this discovery affects human history in a big way. It confirms that a first group of Denisovans occupied the cave about 300,000 to 130,000 years ago. A second came in about 30,000 years later. Neanderthals moved in around 170,000 years ago – again with different groups occupying and leaving the cave. What the newly discovered mtDNA shows is modern humans living there about 45,000 years ago and the soil layer from that period contains DNA from all three human groups. Katerina Douka, an archaeological scientist at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History who was not involved with the research, puts it best:

“I cannot think of another site where three human species lived through time.”

Not only that, the existence of Denisovans was not known until 2010! The ability to identify mtDNA is the game-changer. The study concludes with that acknowledgement.

“High-resolution profiling of sediment DNA can therefore provide an effective means of filling gaps in our knowledge of human evolutionary history and palaeoecology, independent of the discovery of skeletal remains.”

It doesn’t matter what species you are.

Does this change our history? Of course not – our history already happened and there’s nothing we can do to change it. (Keep that in mind during your next political discussion.) All we can do is acknowledge that our records of it have huge gaps of reliable data and we must continue our search for more. Our history books should be looked at as constantly-updated, ever-growing chronicles, not stone tablets.

How long before our ancestry DNA tests go back to the Denisovan cave? It may be sooner than you think.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

25-07-2021 om 22:35 geschreven door peter  

The pyramids of Nubia are located in the city of Meroë, former capital of the Kingdom of Kush. In these structures there is an old mural where a giant is seen lifting two elephants.

In the royal cemetery of the ancient Kingdom of Kush , there is a group of 50 pyramids made of sandstone and red brick.

Many of these are dilapidated, the fault of time and looters. The decorations on these monuments speak volumes about how global the kingdom was. However, there is one that is especially striking.

The giant of the ancient mural

The different pyramids found in the city of Meroë make it coveted by tourists. Among these are the famous Nubian pyramids .

This deposit was discovered by Europeans in 1821, thanks to the French mineralogist Frédéric Cailliaud. The most interesting of these pyramids is in reliefs and paintings of the burial chambers.

The one that caused the most concern in the experts was the ancient mural that represents a giant of enormous proportions lifting two elephants .

The features of this character are not characteristic of the area, but Caucasian . Many theorists have hinted that this is proof that red and white giants inhabited Earth.

This theory has been around since 79 AD. C., when the Roman historian Josefo Flavio , wrote that the last race of Egyptian giants lived in century XIII a. C. , during the government of Josué.

Flavio wrote that these were huge, their faces evoked fear, as did their thunderous voice, which they compared to the roar of a lion.

This is assumed by the different paintings found in ancient Egypt , where the pyramid builders are depicted as giants.

Experts believe that these people were over 5 meters tall and could lift up to 4 tons of blocks.

Some of those paintings also showed giant kings ruling Egypt. Others show ordinary people, very small in comparison to such characters.

This theory could be confirmed with a discovery in 1988. Gregor Spoerri , a Swiss businessman and passionate about ancient Egyptian history, found a giant finger after meeting with grave robbers.

White giants in other cultures

The appearance of “Caucasian giants”, such as that of the ancient mural of the pyramids of Nibua, is also mentioned in other cultures.

The Paiutes , an ancient North American tribe native to Nevada, have an oral tradition that they related to settlers.

These include a race of giant, white and red-haired individuals known to their ancestors as “Si-Te-Cah”, which inhabited an ancient cave.

The Choctaw Amerindian people also tell legends where their ancestors fought against a race of Caucasian giants that inhabited the territory that is now Tennessee.

Even the first settlers who arrived in South America, said that in the Patagonia region , they saw a town of tall, white and red-haired people.

All these legends, including that of the ancient Nubian pyramid mural, could have a common origin; the Atlantis .

Historians, theorists, and alternative researchers have suggested a hypothesis about the survivors of the cataclysm . These would have fled to different regions of the world, where they settled and created different civilizations, based on the ancient Atlantean knowledge.

The Pyramids of Mero in Bazarwia, Sudan

Is this ancient mural a representation of an Atlantean giant? It’s possible. Historians assure that all these stories are simple mythology, however, it is hardly credible that so many cultures around the world have such similar legends.

{ https://mysteriousthing.com/ }

24-07-2021 om 01:04 geschreven door peter  

Wedge of Aiud: A piece of a 20,000-year-old ship?

A strange artifact known as the Aiud wedge has become one of the most controversial objects in recent years. This is because it could belong to a 20,000 year old UFO …

The Aiud wedge is a piece of metal discovered in the year 73, about 10 meters deep. Strange mastodon bones were accidentally found . However, what caused the most controversy was a piece of metal.

The strange piece found in the city of Aiud, Romania, was donated to the Transylvanian History Museum and was hidden for years until it was rediscovered.

5 pounds and 20 × 12.5 × 7 centimeters in diameter were its characteristics. But what was that strange thing?1

What is the Aiud wedge?

The millimeter-thick oxide covered the entire block evenly, but this helped date its age to about 400 years .

But the geological layer in which it was found suggests that it must have been in the area about 20,000 years ago , in the Pleistocene .

Florin Gheorghita, a famous historian, managed to examine the analysis carried out on the Aiud wedge, ensuring that the metal alloy that made it up was extremely complex .

Gheorghita assured that the alloy is composed of 12 different elements; 89% aluminum, 6.2% copper, 2.84% silicon, 1.81% zinc, 0.41% lead, 0.33% lagoon, 0.2% zirconium, 0.11 % cadmium, 0.0024% nickel, 0.0023% cobalt, 0.0003% bismuth, 0.0002% silver and gallium in minute quantities.

Why was an object with these characteristics next to mastodon bones? It should be impossible, since aluminum in its pure state is not in nature and humanity managed to reach such a degree of purity only appeared in the nineteenth century .

Added to that are two perfect oval piercings, indicating that the Aiud wedge was undoubtedly made artificially .

The hypotheses behind the mystery

Some experts suggest that it is a man-made tool , which would not make sense at the time.

It has even been compared to the fulcrum of space modules , such as the Viking , but it has not had results either.

This and other reasons have led us to think about the possibility that it was part of some extraterrestrial spacecraft . What function would such a modern piece of technology have in the remote past?

Gheorghita, in an article published in Ancient Skies, stated that he asked an aeronautical engineer about the piece about the artifact and the results of his analyzes.

The engineer replied that, according to its composition and the hole in the jock, as well as a pattern of abrasions and scratches on the metal, it was a piece of an airplane landing gear .

How and why was such an advanced piece of technology found alongside such ancient fossils? How did it get there? It is possible that we are facing the remains of a UFO accident in our remote past or something else.

{ https://mysteriousthing.com/ }

19-07-2021 om 23:58 geschreven door peter  

Atlantis, 75,000 B.C. Archeologists Discover Highly Advanced Civilization Beyond Modern Technology

Atlantis, 75,000 B.C. Archeologists Discover Highly Advanced Civilization Beyond Modern Technology

Rex, man this was a great video! This guy is speaking of things I’ve never heard of. I will have to watch it again and take notes because he has referenced so many things that I want to learn about. Fascinating!!! Thank you Rex. Love you my brother. Rita Mills

{ https://beforeitsnews.com/ }

13-07-2021 om 22:12 geschreven door peter  

A tiny bone is changing how we think about Neanderthals

 By Katie Hunt, CNN

This is the public entrance to the Einhornhöhle cave, the Unicorn cave in English, in the Harz Mountains, Germany, where the tiny piece of engraved bone was found.

(CNN) A tiny piece of bone that once belonged to a giant Ice Age deer is changing how we think about Neanderthals.

Found in Einhornhöhle cave in northern Germany, the decorated deer phalanx, or toe bone, features an engraved geometric pattern and has been dated, using several techniques, to at least 51,000 years old.

It refreshes the debate over to what extent Neanderthals, the heavily built Stone Age hominins that disappeared about 40,000 years ago, were capable of artistic expression and symbolic thought and whether they developed these skills themselves or through interactions with early modern humans, who first arrived in Europe around this time.

"The phalanx from Einhornhöhle with its stacked offset chevrons represents one of the most complex cultural expressions in Neanderthals known so far," according to a study that published Monday in the journal Nature.

The team of German researchers said the small bone appears to be of no practical use, and the chevron design, with its three uniform parallel lines appears to be intentionally created -- perhaps as a personal ornament.

"The choice of material, its preparation before carving and the skilful technique used for the engraving are all indicative of sophisticated expertise and great ability in bone working," said Silvia M. Bello, a researcher at the Centre for Human Evolution Research, Department of Earth Sciences, at the Natural History Museum in London, in a commentary that accompanied the paper. She wasn't involved in the research.

"The presence of incisions artistically arranged in a chevron pattern on the bone of a giant deer, supports the symbolic meaning of this find and raises new questions about how complex Neanderthal behaviour might have been."

The giant deer bone has no practical use and is believed to be purely decorative.

Boiled before decorated

The bone was from a giant deer, an animal that researchers described as "very impressive," but also one that would have been very rare north of the Alps at the time. Choosing the giant deer bone as the raw material emphasizes the special character of the object and supported that it had a symbolic meaning, they said.

The decorated bone was found in the former entrance to the cave about 1 meter behind the person holding the staff in the right of the image.

To understand how the object was made, the researchers made their own versions using stone blades from Baltic flint and carved five bones belonging to Limousin cows. The bones were treated in different ways: one was fresh, another was room dried and a third was dried in the open air, while bone four was boiled once and bone five was boiled twice.

"The fresh bone... it didn't really work out. The bone was really hard. We were constantly slipping with the tools," said Dirk Leder, a research associate at the State Service for Cultural Heritage Lower Saxony, Hannover, Germany, and an author of the study.

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Leder and his colleagues found that the boiled bones offered a softer "mellow" surface to make controlled incisions in a way that closely resembled the original item. They said it took around one-and-a-half hours to make the object using a combination of cutting and scraping.

The earliest evidence for cultural innovation and artistic expression among early modern humans emerged in Africa and dates back to around 100,000 years ago -- where we see we see tools made from material other than stone, such as bone, ivory and antlers, shell bead ornaments, and advancements including the use of pigments, cave art and deliberate burials.

Although scarcer, archeologists have uncovered similar technological and cultural innovation at Neanderthal sites in Europe. These include ornaments such as talons from birds of prey, tooth pendants and evidence of funerary behavior. At some cave sites in Spain, there's evidence -- albeit contentious -- that Neanderthals created abstract motifs and hand stencils.

Complex behavior

Homo sapiens are thought to have first arrived in Europe about 45,000 years ago and overlapped with Neanderthals for thousands of years. During that time, the two groups encountered each other -- sometimes having sex and babies, leaving traces of Neanderthal DNA in our genes.

Given its age, the study authors said they believe the engraved deer bone was of "independent Neanderthal authorship" and not linked to any interactions with Homo sapiens.

Computerized topography scans of the engraved bone showed six lines that show the shape of the chevron symbol.

They noted that the earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in central Europe comes from sites in the Upper Danube area of between 43,500 and 38,000 years ago -- several millennia after the engraved bone. They said the earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in Europe -- pendants made from animal teeth from 45,500 years ago is from 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) away in Bulgaria.

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However, the Natural History Museum's Bello said more recent research had found genetic evidence in a Homo sapien's skull from a site in the Czech Republic -- around 400 kilometers (248 miles) from Einhornhöhle -- that suggested the individual had some Neanderthal DNA, This raises the possibility early modern humans and Neanderthals had interbred more than 50,000 years ago.

"Given this early exchange of genes, we cannot exclude a similarly early exchange of knowledge between modern human and Neanderthal populations, which may have influenced the production of the engraved artefact from Einhornhöhle," she wrote in the commentary.

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"The possibility of an acquired knowledge from modern humans doesn't undervalue, in my opinion, the cognitive abilities of Neanderthals," she wrote.

"On the contrary, the capacity to learn, integrate innovation into one's own culture and adapt to new technologies and abstract concepts should be recognized as an element of behavioural complexity."

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08-07-2021 om 23:56 geschreven door peter