A recent discovery of a bone ornament in Einhornhöhle cave in the northern part of Germany has shed new light on how creative Neanderthals were. An ancient toe bone (also called a phalanx) belonging to a giant deer had geometric patterns engraved into it that date back at least 51,000 years.

It is believed that this is the oldest ever work of art associated with Neanderthals. Other ancient items have been found connected to Neanderthals such as eagle talons that were made into pendants and old cave paintings, but their ages are still being disputed.

This discovery is very significant in regards to learning more information about the creativity of Neanderthals since there has been a lot of debate on this topic. The study read in part, “The phalanx from Einhornhöhle with its stacked offset chevrons represents one of the most complex cultural expressions in Neanderthals known so far.” Since the chevron design on the bone also contained three uniform parallel lines, it is believed that it was intentionally created as a possible ornament.

The ornament was created from a deer bone.

In order to get a better understanding of how the ornament was created, the researchers attempted to make their own version of it. The first thing they did was attempt to recreate the ornament with stone blades from Baltic flint and carved five Limousin cow bones that were all treated differently (fresh, room dried, air dried, boiled once, and boiled twice).

Dirk Leder, who is a research associate at the State Service for Cultural Heritage Lower Saxony, Hannover, Germany, explained that the fresh bone was extremely difficult to work on as the tools were always slipping off of it. They realized that the boiled bones provided a much softer “mellow” surface to carve with the finished product looking quite similar to the original. Furthermore, it took them approximately 1.5 hours to complete the engravings by scraping and cutting the bone.

Silvia M. Bello, who is a researcher at the Centre for Human Evolution Research, Department of Earth Sciences, at the Natural History Museum in London but was not involved with the study, described the intention behind the creation, “The choice of material, its preparation before carving and the skillful technique used for the engraving are all indicative of sophisticated expertise and great ability in bone working,” adding, “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 behavior might have been.”

Even though Homo sapiens arrived in Europe at the same time that Neanderthals were there and they did interact with one another, it is believed that the carved deer bone was of “independent Neanderthal authorship” and had no link to Homo sapiens. (A picture of the bone ornament can be seen here.)

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

The study was published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution where it can be read in full.

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

08-07-2021 om 23:39 geschreven door peter  

Andean Gods Emerge From the Rock in Peru’s Mythological Sculpture Park!

A sculptor in Peru has assured the future for a range of ancient Andean gods, spirits and myths, by carving them into the face of a mountain just north of the famous ancient tourist city of Cusco.

Cusco near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range in southeastern Peru, is the ancient capital of the “ Tahuantinsuyo,” or ancient Inca Empire. While this legendary high altitude stone city attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world to see its magnificent buildings and streets, it now has a new attraction in the making: Apukunaq Tianan or the " Abode of the Andean Gods .”

Located in Senk, a community of the Poroy district, about 40 minutes by car from Cusco, Apukunaq Tianan features sculptures of Andean gods and figures from various Inca creation myths. While the new attraction is still under construction the public are already flocking to what  The Vale Magazine  call “a fun and fascinating outdoor recreation space.”

Created by Cusco sculptor  Michael de Titan  the new artworks are similar to the Mt. Rushmore monument in the United States, just much smaller in scale, with each sculpture work ranging from between 49 and 56 feet (15 and 17 meters) in height.

Two of the sculptures in the process of being created on the mountainside at Senk, near Cusco, Peru.

( Corporacion Monteagudo )

Apukunaq Tianan: A Modern Home For Andean Gods and Myths

Michael de Titan’s celebration of  Andean culture  merges art and nature “just like the ancient Inca did.” Therefore, Apukunaq Tianan is like a royal palace of Andean deities and spirits with its own private library of creation stories.

Pachamama or “Mother Earth” is represented at the new site, who was/is the deity who presides over agriculture, controlled earthquakes, and rain. This god was associated with feminine principals relating to the spirit of the Earth.

• Study of Ceramics Provides New Thinking on Origins of First Peruvian Empire
• Peruvian Archaeologists Unearth Silver Artifacts, a Massive Temple and an Astronomical Observatory Near Cusco

The Chinese music band Laguna Pai on their visit to the Apukunaq Tianan Andean gods sculpture park, north of Cusco.

( Apukunaq Tianan )

While Pachamama was associated with the fertile field and rivers on the sides of mountains, the mountains god, or “ Apu Guardian ” governed mountain tops and consorted with the sky gods. A stunning Apu cliffside sculpture is naturally featured in the new sculpture park.

Also represented at the majestic new tourist attraction is  Puma, one of the sacred animals of the  Andean trilogy  of the condor, the puma and the snake or serpent. Puma represented Earth while the serpent represented the underworld, and the condor was associated with the heavens.

The Andean creator god Viracocha is also immortalized in stone at Apakunaq Tianan. This chief deity of Inca mythology is believed to have emerged from  Lake Titicaca  where he created the entire universe, and everything in it, before vanishing to the east.

Also chiseled in stone in Apakunaq Tianan’s hall of Inca mythological fame, is the last Sapa Inca, " Tupac Amaru ," and mixed in with these massive sculptures are smaller carvings made of wood and stone.

Another of the fantastical Andean god sculptures at Apakunaq Tianan with a log house gallery on top.

( Apukunaq Tianan )

The Ayar Brothers And The Golden Rod Of Cuzco

It is hoped that Apukunaq Tianan will be completed later this year to coincide with the bicentennial year of Peru ’s independence. While each of the sculptures described so far are exceptionally esoteric in nature, there is one that penetrates the veil more so that all the others.

This work represents the myth of the  Ayar Brothers . Inca legends in Cusco say that at the end of the great flood which devastated the land of the mountain  “Tampu Tocco, ” four young brothers with their wives, and ten  “ayllus” (Inca family groups) ventured in search of fertile lands where they could settle.

• Ancient Andean Genes Reveal DNA Continuity Amid Cultural Clashes
• Beyond the Mists of Time: The Mysterious Timoto-Cuica Culture of the Venezuelan Andes

After a series of tribulations, the only survivor of the Ayar brothers was Ayar Manco who managed to reach the aforementioned fertile land. There, he took the golden rod that the  sun god Inti  had given him, and sank it into the moist earth, where it immediately vanished. Such an occurrence could only mean that the sun god had chosen a special spot and it was there that the city of Cusco was founded.

From this ancient Andean center of agriculture, the “Tahuantinsuyo,” would later expand and become  the Inca Empire .

• Top image: One of the Andean gods at the  Apukunaq Tianan sculpture park, featured on a publicity poster from the site.             
• Source: Apukunaq Tianan

By Ashley Cowie

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

06-07-2021 om 23:42 geschreven door peter  

Andean Gods Emerge From the Rock in Peru’s Mythological Sculpture Park!

A sculptor in Peru has assured the future for a range of ancient Andean gods, spirits and myths, by carving them into the face of a mountain just north of the famous ancient tourist city of Cusco.

Cusco near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range in southeastern Peru, is the ancient capital of the “ Tahuantinsuyo,” or ancient Inca Empire. While this legendary high altitude stone city attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world to see its magnificent buildings and streets, it now has a new attraction in the making: Apukunaq Tianan or the " Abode of the Andean Gods .”

Located in Senk, a community of the Poroy district, about 40 minutes by car from Cusco, Apukunaq Tianan features sculptures of Andean gods and figures from various Inca creation myths. While the new attraction is still under construction the public are already flocking to what  The Vale Magazine  call “a fun and fascinating outdoor recreation space.”

Created by Cusco sculptor  Michael de Titan  the new artworks are similar to the Mt. Rushmore monument in the United States, just much smaller in scale, with each sculpture work ranging from between 49 and 56 feet (15 and 17 meters) in height.

Two of the sculptures in the process of being created on the mountainside at Senk, near Cusco, Peru.

( Corporacion Monteagudo )

Apukunaq Tianan: A Modern Home For Andean Gods and Myths

Michael de Titan’s celebration of  Andean culture  merges art and nature “just like the ancient Inca did.” Therefore, Apukunaq Tianan is like a royal palace of Andean deities and spirits with its own private library of creation stories.

Pachamama or “Mother Earth” is represented at the new site, who was/is the deity who presides over agriculture, controlled earthquakes, and rain. This god was associated with feminine principals relating to the spirit of the Earth.

• Study of Ceramics Provides New Thinking on Origins of First Peruvian Empire
• Peruvian Archaeologists Unearth Silver Artifacts, a Massive Temple and an Astronomical Observatory Near Cusco

The Chinese music band Laguna Pai on their visit to the Apukunaq Tianan Andean gods sculpture park, north of Cusco.

( Apukunaq Tianan )

While Pachamama was associated with the fertile field and rivers on the sides of mountains, the mountains god, or “ Apu Guardian ” governed mountain tops and consorted with the sky gods. A stunning Apu cliffside sculpture is naturally featured in the new sculpture park.

Also represented at the majestic new tourist attraction is  Puma, one of the sacred animals of the  Andean trilogy  of the condor, the puma and the snake or serpent. Puma represented Earth while the serpent represented the underworld, and the condor was associated with the heavens.

The Andean creator god Viracocha is also immortalized in stone at Apakunaq Tianan. This chief deity of Inca mythology is believed to have emerged from  Lake Titicaca  where he created the entire universe, and everything in it, before vanishing to the east.

Also chiseled in stone in Apakunaq Tianan’s hall of Inca mythological fame, is the last Sapa Inca, " Tupac Amaru ," and mixed in with these massive sculptures are smaller carvings made of wood and stone.

Another of the fantastical Andean god sculptures at Apakunaq Tianan with a log house gallery on top.

( Apukunaq Tianan )

The Ayar Brothers And The Golden Rod Of Cuzco

It is hoped that Apukunaq Tianan will be completed later this year to coincide with the bicentennial year of Peru ’s independence. While each of the sculptures described so far are exceptionally esoteric in nature, there is one that penetrates the veil more so that all the others.

This work represents the myth of the  Ayar Brothers . Inca legends in Cusco say that at the end of the great flood which devastated the land of the mountain  “Tampu Tocco, ” four young brothers with their wives, and ten  “ayllus” (Inca family groups) ventured in search of fertile lands where they could settle.

• Ancient Andean Genes Reveal DNA Continuity Amid Cultural Clashes
• Beyond the Mists of Time: The Mysterious Timoto-Cuica Culture of the Venezuelan Andes

After a series of tribulations, the only survivor of the Ayar brothers was Ayar Manco who managed to reach the aforementioned fertile land. There, he took the golden rod that the  sun god Inti  had given him, and sank it into the moist earth, where it immediately vanished. Such an occurrence could only mean that the sun god had chosen a special spot and it was there that the city of Cusco was founded.

From this ancient Andean center of agriculture, the “Tahuantinsuyo,” would later expand and become  the Inca Empire .

• Top image: One of the Andean gods at the  Apukunaq Tianan sculpture park, featured on a publicity poster from the site.             
• Source: Apukunaq Tianan

By Ashley Cowie

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

06-07-2021 om 23:42 geschreven door peter  

Sacrifice and Destruction: The Apocalyptic Aztec Creation Myths

Many ancient cultures around the world have their own creation myth to explain their origins, and how the universe came into being. But few are as vivid, or as apocalyptic as the creation myth of the Aztecs. This myth has been referred to as the “Five Suns” wherein the world is created and destroyed again and again.

As the name given to this myth suggests, the current world is the fifth one, preceded by four cycles of creation and destruction. Whilst the Aztecs believed that we are now living in the fifth cycle of creation, they also believed that destruction would ensue if they neglected their duty of nourishing the sun god.

Different Accounts

Before going into the details of the  Aztec creation myth itself, it should be mentioned that there are various versions of the story. In some instances, these different versions even contradict one another. One of the reasons behind the multiple versions of the myth is the way it was transmitted. Since the creation myth was originally passed down orally, different versions emerged. Another reason for this is that the Aztecs incorporated the  gods and myths of the peoples they encountered and conquered, thereby modifying the myth.

Interestingly, the Aztec creation myth shares similarities with that of the  Maya, which is found in the  Popol Vuh , their foundational sacred narrative. For instance, both creation myths are cyclical in nature, though the Maya version has four, instead of five, cycles. It may be added that although both myths are cyclical, each cycle is not a mere repetition of the previous one, but rather, an improvement.

The Mayan “Hero Twins” of the  Popol Vuh  show clear parallels with Aztec mythology

(Lacambalam /  CC BY-SA 4.0 )

It is believed that the Aztec and Maya creation myths share a common source, and the former has been used to shed light on the latter. A key reason for this is that the Aztec creation myth is much more complete, whereas the Maya one has survived only in fragments.  

The Aztec Pantheon

The Aztec creation myth begins with a pair of  creator gods known collectively as Ometecuhtl (meaning ‘Two Lords’ in the Aztec language of Nahuatl). Ometecuhtl consisted of Ometecuhtli, the male deity, and Omecihuatl, his female counterpart. The pair of gods are known also as Tonacatecuhtli and Tonacacihuatl.

The Aztecs believed that Ometecuhtl resided in Omeyocan (meaning ‘Two Place’ or ‘Double  Heaven’), the 13th and highest heaven in the belief system of the Aztecs. Incidentally, Ometecuhtl was the only Aztec deity with neither a  temple dedicated to him, nor any formal cult in his name. Apparently, the Aztecs reasoned that since the deity lived so far away from them, he would never interact with them directly. In spite of Ometecuhtl’s remoteness, the Aztecs believed that he was omnipresent, being in every act of ritual, and in every rhythm of nature.

Ometecuhtl

(Unknown Author /  Public Domain )

According to the Aztec creation myth, Ometecuhtl created themself, after which, being both male and female, the god produced four children – Huizilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, and Xipe Totec. These four gods represented, amongst other things, the four cardinal directions – south, east, west, and north, respectively.

Gods and Monsters

These four gods existed for some time, 600 years, according to one version of the myth, before they began to create the universe. They created cosmic time, the world, and all the other deities.

In one version of the myth, the four gods created a giant  sea monster  called Cipactli, which was part crocodile and part fish. As the children of Ometecuhtl continued to create the universe, this great monster became a source of trouble. Cipactli lived in the water, and had an insatiable appetite. For one reason or another, the creations of the gods would fall into the water, and they inevitably ended up being devoured by Cipactli.

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

06-07-2021 om 23:28 geschreven door peter  

Eleven New Neolithic Hill Sites Discovered Near Göbeklitepe, Turkey

The Turkish government has just announced a major archaeological discovery that could have a serious impact on the study of Neolithic Era culture in the region. On June 27, Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy  told reporters  gathered in the southeastern Turkish city of Sanliurfa that several new sites had been found in the vicinity of Göbeklitepe, the world’s oldest prehistoric stone monument site. Also written as Gobekli Tepe, the site name translates into "belly hill" in Turkish.

"We have [discovered] 11 more major hills on a 100-kilometer line around Göbeklitepe,” Ersoy declared. “Here, we will give the details for the first time, and now call it 12 hills.” 

In fact, Ersoy offered few details about what had been found at these new sites. He explained that a “major study” was on the verge of being completed and said the results of that study would be released in September 2021.

Engaging in what may or may not have been hyperbole, Ersoy said that people may soon be describing the monuments found in the Sanliurfa region as “the pyramids of southeast Turkey.” 

If these new sites are on a par with the spectacular remains uncovered at Göbeklitepe, their discovery would represent a significant milestone in prehistoric archaeology in the Mesopotamian region.

An example of one of the many circular stone monolith formations unearthed at Göbeklitepe, Turkey.

( muratart / Adobe Stock)

The Meaning of Göbeklitepe: What We Know So Far . . . 

First unearthed in 1995 by German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt, the Neolithic excavation site at  Göbeklitepe has produced the most stunning and impressive collection of standing stone pillar  monoliths ever found on Earth.

• Ancient Mesopotamia and the Rise of Civilization
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The biggest monoliths at Göbeklitepe are as tall as 20 feet (six meters) and are estimated to weigh between seven and ten tons (7.7-11 US tons). They were arranged in large circles, with a pair of heavy T-shaped pillars placed in the center of each arrangement. Some were decorated with carved images of animals, and others with obscure shapes and images that have no clear real-world references.

Neolithic hunter-gatherers  working in teams built and inscribed these stone circles, over a period of perhaps 1,000 years. The oldest construction work at Göbeklitepe has been dated to about 9,000 BC, meaning that some of the monoliths found there were carved and erected 6,000 years before the rock pillars at Stonehenge. 

It is important to realize this feat was accomplished by individuals who had no access to metal tools or wheeled transport carts. They used stone / flint hand tools to carve out and shape huge slabs of limestone from nearby quarries. The massive pillars would then be levered out of their places in the quarry rock walls, and somehow hauled, dragged, or lifted to the Göbeklitepe construction site.

In some instances, the builders placed the circles alongside each other. In other instances, they put them one on top of the other, after the circle on the bottom had been buried. Sometime after construction stopped the entire complex was buried, creating a low-topped  artificial mound  or hill that was 50 feet (15 meters) high and 1,000 feet (300 meters) in diameter.

The seemingly forgotten landscape around the Göbeklitepe site and likely where the latest 11 hills or artificial mounds have recently been discovered. So far photographs of the newest discovery area have not been released.

(Zhengan /  CC BY-SA 4.0 )

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy’s statement about the “12 hills” implies that new monolithic sites have been found buried beneath similar artificial mounds. If stone pillar circles have been unearthed at these locations, it remains to be seen if they were built to the same specifications and in the same style as the circles at Göbeklitepe, or if they are as old (or even older).  

Archaeologists have already found other sites in the region where stone pillars have been carved out of quarries and arranged in standing circles. None of the other sites are as ancient as Göbeklitepe, however, which was apparently in use 11,000 years ago. They do all feature the distinctive T-shaped central pillars found at Göbeklitepe, a type of monolith that has only been discovered in ancient sites built close to the city and province of Sanliurfa.

This suggests they all were created by the same stone-monument-building culture, which presumably would also be responsible for making whatever has been found during excavations at the 11 newly discovered hills.

A Neolithic totem pole from Göbeklitepe from Layer II, dated to 8800-8000 BC.

(Cobija /  CC BY-SA 4.0 )

Uncovering the Many Remaining Secrets of Göbeklitepe

Unsurprisingly, Ersoy’s primary interest in the new discoveries is how they might affect tourism in the region. 

"When you look at  Mesopotamia, this region has a unique culture,” the Minister said at his press announcement. “It has its own registered gastronomy. It has many products. And when you combine that with its unique archaeological value, it's a wonderful thing.”

The Turkish government’s priorities are understandable. But the interests of the archaeological community are quite different.

• The Secret of Gobekli Tepe: Cosmic Equinox and Sacred Marriage - Part 1
• Was Göbeklitepe An Ancient Temple of Sacrifice?

With respect to the incredible monuments at Göbeklitepe, perhaps the biggest question left unanswered is, why were they built?

The general consensus is that Göbeklitepe was a religious or spiritual mecca, sought out by ancient worshippers looking to commune with their gods or with the spirits of their ancestors. The site has often been referred to as the world’s oldest temple. Schmidt, the site’s original discoverer, believed that one day graves would be found beneath the monolithic circles, proving they were built as monuments to the dead.

This monolithic pillar at Göbeklitepe is decorated with pictograms of animals. Surprisingly, the meaning of these pictograms is still a mystery that archaeologists and anthropologists are hoping to solve.

( mknisanci / Adobe Stock)

Pictograms were carved into many of the pillars. But unfortunately, scholars have been unable to interpret them, as either pictures or as symbols. Many of the pillars are decorated with images of animals, of dozens of different species including gazelles, lions, bears, foxes, bulls, snakes, birds, spiders, and a variety of insects. While arid now, during the Neolithic era Turkey was part of the  Fertile Crescent , a region blessed with abundant rainfall, fertile soil, dense grasslands, and wildlife of all types.

The imagery on the pillars may relate to worshipping practices or religious rituals in some way. The same can be said about the shapes of the stone circles, which may have been arranged to reflect  astronomical alignments . But since Göbeklitepe was constructed by prehistorical peoples, there is no written record to guide archaeologists and historians in a useful direction, as they attempt to comprehend what they’ve found.

Assuming they were built by the same ancient people, the remains at the newly discovered sites will likely be similar to those found at Göbeklitepe. If so, their ultimate purpose may be just as mysterious. 

But if the stone pillars in these new locations contain different imagery than those at Göbeklitepe, or if they feature clearer pictograms that can be successfully interpreted, their discovery may be a game-changer. Having more remains to examine may increase understanding about the motivations of the builders. It could reveal whether they were inspired by religious sentiments, or by some other type of ancient or universal motivation.   

• Top image: Göbeklitepe is so important that it has been completely covered to protect it from rain. To date, it is the oldest place of worship ever found on Earth, dating to 12000 BC. Archaeologists are expecting more amazing finds and insights from the recently discovered 11 new hills (or artificial mounds) near the site for which details will be released in September 2021.                 
• Source:  Cihangir Zeybek  / Adobe Stock

By Nathan Falde

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

06-07-2021 om 22:55 geschreven door peter  

Star Maps: “40,000-Year-Old Paintings Reveal Advanced Knowledge in Astronomy”

Some 40,000-year-old rock paintings with star maps reveal a superb use of advanced astronomy in ancient times, according to a scientific study.

What was originally believed to be symbols of prehistoric animals turned out to be an ancient star map.

New research has revealed that in early rock art , our ancestors are shown to have advanced knowledge in astronomy. This indicates that the knowledge between the ancient ice age and today was not that different.

Ancient star maps

Scientists revealed that ancient humans had superb control over the passage of time , observing how the stars changed their position in the sky.

This has been shown through the art found in many places in Europe , which are not simple representations of animals, as previously believed.

And it is that these figures are actually the representation of constellations of stars in the night sky. They were used to represent, date and mark important events .

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh suggest that ancient peoples fully understood the effect of gradual change in the Earth’s axis of rotation .

This phenomenon called precession of the equinoxes was previously attributed to the ancient Greeks .

Researcher Martin Sweatman stated that these findings support the theory of multiple comet impacts during human development. So it is likely that they revolutionize the way of seeing prehistoric civilizations.

The study was based on the investigation of caves in Turkey, Spain, France and Germany and the dating of the art was achieved by chemically dating them.

Sophisticated knowledge of constellations

Thanks to the application of computer software, the scientists predicted the position of the stars at the time the paintings were made.

This revealed that it is about the interpretation of constellations, as they appeared in the distant past.

It was concluded that these cave paintings are, in fact, clear evidence that ancient humans practiced a sophisticated method of timekeeping , based on astronomical calculations.

All this was possible, even though the cave paintings were separated in time by tens of thousands of years .

For example, scientists concluded that the oldest sculpture in the world, the Lion-Man from the Hohlenstein-Stadel Cave, is from 38,000 BC. C. This is compatible with the old timing system.

The statuette is a commemoration of the catastrophic impact of an asteroid that occurred 11,000 years ago , initiating the Younger Dryas Event . A period of sudden cooling of the weather.

How is it possible that early humans have developed such advanced knowledge of constellations? It remains a mystery. Without current technology and instruments, it would seem illogical.

{ https://mysteriousthing.com/ }

05-07-2021 om 23:13 geschreven door peter  

Earth’s Largest-Ever Lake Engulfed Europe and Asia 12 Million Years Ago

In-depth research has shed new light on the astonishing and awe-inspiring history of the Paratethys Sea. This 12-milion-year-old megalake was formed in Eurasia by the same tectonic shifts that created many European and Asian mountain ranges. It was the Earth’s largest lake, covering more area than the modern-day Mediterranean Sea .

Until now, not much was known about the lake’s geological history, or about its relationship to the surrounding environment. But two new studies have revealed some fascinating information about how the Paratethys Sea was created, how it disappeared, and how its fluctuations in size and shape ultimately influenced the evolution of modern animal species.

Chart showing the comparison between the water volume of the Paratethys Sea and that of other water bodies. 

Utrecht University )

The Rise and Fall of the Earth’s Largest Lake

Under the leadership of paleo-oceanographer Dan Palcu from the University of São Paulo in Brazil, an international team of geologists, geographers, and evolutionary biologists performed a detailed analysis of fossils and geological samples taken from the area that was once covered by the Paratethys Sea. They recently disclosed their mind-blowing discoveries in the journal Scientific Reports , and it seems their work has solved many of the mysteries involving the life and death of this massive inland body of water.

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At its peak size, the Paratethys Sea covered an area of approximately 1.7 million square miles (2.8 million square kilometers), the researchers report. It bisected the Eurasian continental mass, flooding the lands of what is now Central Europe and creating a watery border that separated northern from southern Asia. Before climate change caused it to shrink, the Paratethys Sea extended from the eastern Alps to what is now the nation of Kazakhstan.

The Paratethys Sea was created through the collisions of moving tectonic plates, explains Sid Perkins in Science. These movements created huge mountains that thrust up and through the existing prehistoric ocean and enclosed one section of it, trapping a massive quantity of ocean water inland. The researchers estimate that the lake’s volume surpassed the astonishing figure of 1.1 cubic miles (1.77 cubic kilometers), which is 10 times more than the volume of water held in all of today’s fresh and saltwater lakes combined.

The remnants of the Earth’s largest lake include Bulgaria’s Cape Kaliakra cliffs (above) overlooking the Black Sea.

( ValentinValkov / Adobe Stock)

How Climate Change Affected the World’s Largest Lake

During the Miocene Epoch, which lasted from 23 million years ago to about five million years ago, the Eurasian climate gradually became dryer. Rainfall levels fell, and the Paratethys Sea was significantly affected by the ongoing climate change. This drying of the climate was not steady, but was instead marked by a series of long-term droughts.

Palcu and his team identified four separate drying events that caused the Paratethys Sea to shrink in size, with the most dramatic shift occurring in the period between 7.9 and 7.65 million years ago. Over this time span the lake lost one-third of its volume and two-thirds of its surface area, with water levels falling by up to 250 meters (820 ft) at areas of greatest depth.

These catastrophic changes caused the salinity of the lake to increase dramatically. This decimated many of the unique species that had evolved there over the nearly five million years the lake had been separated from the world’s larger oceanic ecosystem. "It must have been a post-apocalyptic prehistoric world, an aquatic version of the wastelands from Mad Max," explained Wout Krijgsman, a geologist and study co-author in a Utrecht University press release .

Smaller versions of dolphins, seals, and whales were among the creatures known to have lived in the Paratethys Sea. Spikes in salinity caused these mammals to go extinct, creating evolutionary dead ends. Only a few of the hardiest species (like certain types of mollusks) were able to survive the changes the lake underwent as its size decreased.

The end came for the Paratethys Sea between 6.9 and 6.7 million years ago. Erosion caused a massive breach in its southwest coastline, forming a rampaging river that eventually drained the lake’s remaining water into the Mediterranean.

Based on the fossil record, scientists know know that the Paratethys Sea was once home to unique species, such as the Cetotherium riabinini, the smallest known whale on record.

( Pavel Gol’Din / Lena Godlevska )

How the Paratethys Sea Shaped the Evolution of African Wildlife

Research by another team of scientists, published in May 2021 in  Communications Earth & Environment , has helped publicize the surprising connection between the Paratethys Sea and the evolution and eventual migration of African wildlife.

Fossil finds have shown that the ancestors of giraffes, elephants, and other large mammals that reside on the African savannah originally lived along the southern shores of the Paratethys Sea. They survived by grazing on the grasslands that were formed when the lake’s water levels declined, carving out a niche in a unique ecosystem.

At some point, these large mammals left the area and migrated to the southwest. They eventually settled in Africa and evolved into their modern forms after that. The reason why this migration took place has never been clear, and that motivated evolutionary biologist Madelaine Böhme, from the University of Tübingen in Germany, to launch a study designed to solve this enduring mystery.

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

03-07-2021 om 23:54 geschreven door peter  

Chichen Itza: Ancient Maya City Built Above A Gateway to the Underworld

Chichen Itza is an ancient Mayan city located in the northern part of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The city is though to have been founded around the 6th century AD. Nevertheless, it only rose to prominence several centuries later. Chichen Itza dominated the Yucatan Peninsula during the early part of the postclassic Mayan period, from about the 10th to 13th centuries AD. The supremacy of the city during this period is reflected by the great monuments that were constructed by its rulers. By the time the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, Chichen Itza had been largely left abandoned. Since the 19th century, the site has been explored and excavated by archaeologists. Apart from being an active archaeological site, Chichen Itza is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico.

Where does the name Chichen Itza come from?

The name Chichen Itza comes from a combination of three separate Mayan words. Chi means “mouth” or “edge”, chen means “well,” and Itza is the name of the Mayan ethnic group that settled at the site. Therefore, the name of this ancient city may be said to mean “the mouth of the well of the Itzas.” The word Itza can also be translated to mean “magicians of the water”. This is because Itza itself is a combination of two words, itz, meaning “magic”, and a, meaning “water”.

Chichen Itza is thought to have been founded during the 6th century AD, presumably by the Maya peoples who had occupied the Yucatan Peninsula since the preclassic period, which lasted from around 1500 BC to 300 AD. There is evidence that during the 10th century the city was invaded by foreigners. It was around this time that the Maya cities of the southern lowlands were collapsing. The identity of these invaders, however, is not entirely clear. Some scholars, for instance, believe the invaders were the Itza, whilst others believe that they were Maya who were influenced by the Toltecs of central Mexico, or even the Toltecs themselves. There is also a suggestion that the Itza came to occupy the site, though only two or three centuries after this initial invasion.

Relief sculpture in the Great Ball Court at Chichen Itza showing sacrifice by decapitation.

( CC BY-SA 3.0 )

Interestingly, there is evidence in the Books of the Chilam Balam (“Chilam Balam” meaning “Secrets of the Soothsayers”) that Chichen Itza had a different name prior to the arrival of the Itza. Since there is no single standard of orthography for the Yucatec Maya, the original name for the site has been represented in different ways, including Uuc Yabnal , Uuc Habnal , Uuc Hab Nal , or Uc Abnal . Whilst Uuc or Uc means “seven”, the meaning of the second word varies. Yab, for instance, means “many”, whilst an ab is a type of fruit.

The Sacred Cenote: Ritual Sinkhole Becomes Treasure Trove for Archaeologists

One of the factors that led to the establishment of a settlement at Chichen Itza is the presence of several cenotes at the site. These are large, natural sinkholes that serve as a source of water. Considering that the northern Yucatan is arid, and that its interior has no above-ground rivers, cenotes would have played an important role in the survival of the people who lived there. The most famous cenote at Chichen Itza is the Cenote Sagrada or Sacred Cenote, which was formed by a collapsed cave in the limestone bedrock.

The Sacred Cenote is considered one of the largest repositories of offerings in the Americas.

( Subbotina Anna /Adobe Stock)

As its name suggests, the Sacred Cenote was not just a source of water, but was also a place of ritual significance. According to sources written during the Spanish period, the Maya deposited luxury goods, and made human sacrifices at cenotes as a means of worshipping Chaac, the Maya rain god. Over time, researchers have found truth in these claims, as a variety of luxury goods have been found deposited in the cenote. As a matter of fact, the Sacred Cenote is considered to be one of the largest repositories of offerings found in the Americas during the pre-Columbian period.

During the 20th century, the Sacred Cenote has been investigated by archaeologists. Between 1904 and 1910, for example, a controversial dredging project was undertaken by the American archaeologist Edward Herbert Thompson. The project recovered a large quantity of artifacts, including pottery, gold objects, and goods made of jade. In addition, human remains, which displayed wounds consistent with ritual sacrifice, were found.

Deciphering History Through Architecture at Chichen Itza

As mentioned earlier, Chichen Itza was established during the 6th century AD, but was later captured by foreign invaders. This change in the city’s occupants is physically visible in the structures that have survived. Before the coming of the Itza, the inhabitants of Chichen Itza constructed their buildings in an architectural style known as Puuc. This style is named after the Puuc Hills to the southwest of Chichen Itza, and may be identified by several characteristics. For instance, Puuc buildings normally face inwards towards the city’s ceremonial plaza, and are grouped around a general north-south axis. Apart from that, Puuc buildings consist of a solid core of stone and plaster, covered by well-cut, worked stone that serves a purely ornamental function.

Aerial view of Chichen Itza, UNESCO World Heritage site.

( CC BY 3.0 )

The buildings of Chichen Itza that were constructed in the Puuc style are located to the south of the main plaza, in the area known today as Chichen Viejo , or Old Chichen. The structures of Old Chichen are considered to be the oldest in the site, and include el Caracol , la Iglesia , and the Akabtzib. El Caracol , which means “the snail”, named as such after the stone spiral staircase within it. The structure consists of a round building (where the staircase is found) on a square platform, and it served as a sophisticated astronomical observatory. La Iglesia , meaning “the church,” is a small temple decorated with elaborate masks of Chaac, whereas the Akabtzib, which is Maya for “House of the Dark Writing’, was the home of the city’s administrator. The name of the latter is derived from the intricately carved glyphs found on the lintel above one of the structure’s doorways. Incidentally, the building was once known as “The Flat House with the Excessive Number of Chambers.”

Temple of Kukulcan: The Mesoamerican Step-Pyramid at the Heart of Chichen Itza

The most famous monuments at Chichen Itza, however, were only built after the arrival of the foreign invaders. These include El Castillo , the Great Ball Court, and the Temple of the Warriors. El Castillo, meaning “the castle,” is arguably the most recognizable monument of Chichen Itza. This structure, known also as the Temple of Kukulcan, is situated at the center of the city. The prominence of the temple is enhanced by the fact that it is the tallest structure at the site. The pyramid itself is 24 m (78.7 ft.) in height, whilst the temple on the platform is 6 m (19.7 ft.). Thus, the entire monument is 30 m (98 ft.) high. In addition, the Temple of Kukulacan is the largest temple in Chichen Itza, having a base measuring 53.3 m (174.9 ft.) on all four sides.         

El Castillo, know as the Temple of Kukulcan, at the center of Chichen Itza.

( CC BY-SA 4.0 )

The Temple of Kukulcan is not only impressive for its size, but also for the mathematical brilliance of its architects. According to legend, twice a year, when day and night are in balance, Kukulcan (the Maya version of Quetzalcoatl) would visit this temple. The god would commune with his followers, give them his blessings, and continue into the sacred waters. After taking a bath there, he would continue his journey to the Underworld. The architects of the Temple of Kukulcan designed the pyramid in such a way that during the equinox, those who came to the temple would be treated to a magical spectacle of light and shadow. For five hours on those days, the shadow of seven triangles would appear on the side of the staircase, starting from the top, and making its way down to the giant stone head of Kukulcan at the bottom. The top and the bottom of the pyramid are connected by the shadows for 45 minutes, before it slowly descends, and disappears. For the ancient Maya, this must have been proof of the legend. Interestingly, this phenomenon has been recreated artificially in modern times on a nightly basis, so that tourists need not wait for the equinox to see it.

Great Ball Court and the Temple of a Thousand Warriors

To the northwest of the Temple of Kukulcan is located the Great Ball Court. Although seven ball courts have been discovered at Chichen Itza, this one is considered to be the most impressive. The Great Ball Court measures 166 m (544.6 ft.) by 68 m (223.1 ft.), making it the largest ball court in Mesoamerica. The walls of the court are 12 m (39.4 ft.) high, on the top of which are rings carved with intertwining serpents. The walls are also decorated by sculpted reliefs. One of these reliefs has been interpreted as depicting the victors of a game holding the decapitated head of a member of the losing team.

Great Ball Court at Chichen Itza

( CC BY-SA 3.0 )

As for the Temple of a Thousand Warriors, this is a large, stepped pyramid with rows of carved columns portraying warriors. The columns are located in front and on the side of the temple. Similarities in design have been noted between this temple and Temple B at Tula, the Toltec capital. This has led to the suggestion that there were cultural contacts between the peoples of the two cities.

Decline of Chichen Itza and the Spanish Conquest

Scholars believe that Chichen Itza dominated the Yucatan Peninsula between the 10th and 13th centuries. According to written sources, a revolt and civil war broke out about 1221 in Chichen Itza, leading to the city’s decline. This is corroborated by the archaeological evidence, as the wooden roofs of the Temple of the Warriors and the Great Market were found to have been burned around this time. In more recent years, however, archaeologists have suggested that Chichen Itza went into decline around the 11th century, 200 years earlier than originally thought.

• What Happened to the Maya?
• Advanced Engineering Discovered at the Maya Observatory at Chichen Itza
• Kukulcan, the Snake God of the Maya, Remains as a Legacy of the Once-Powerful Civilization

After its decline, Chichen Itza was replaced by Mayapan, a neighbouring city to its west, as the dominant power on the peninsula. For a period of time, Chichen Itza joined Mayapan and Uxmal to form a political confederacy called the League of Mayapan. The league, along with the supremacy of Mayapan, came to an end around 1450. During the 16th century, the Spanish arrived on the Yucatan Peninsula, and began their conquest of the Maya. Chichen Itza was claimed by the conquistador Franciso de Montejo in 1531. Although de Montejo intended to make the city the capital of Spanish Yucatan, he failed to do so, as the Spanish were driven out by a native Maya revolt several months later.

Page from the illustrated book Incidents of Travel in Yucutan by John Lloyd Stephens.

( Metropolitan Museum of Art / CC0 )

Forgotten Maya Ruins Capture the Imagination

In any case, by the time of de Montejo’s arrival, Chichen Itza had been largely abandoned, as its inhabitants had moved to smaller towns. The situation remained as such in the centuries that followed, and the site was gradually reclaimed by the jungle. Although Chichen Itza remained sacred to the Maya, it was slowly forgotten by the rest of the world. The site, however, entered popular imagination during the 19th century. In 1843, Incidents of Travel in Yucatan was published by the American explorer, John Lloyd Stephens. As a result of Stephens’ book, which recounted his journey in the Yucatan Peninsula, other explorers began to visit the ancient Maya city.

In the decades that followed, various archaeological excavations were conducted at Chichen Itza . As a result of these investigations, the site’s ruins were mapped, and some monuments were restored. The archaeological work at the site has also led to a greater understanding of Chichen Itza. Archaeologists continue to work at Chichen Itza even today, on the hunt for new discoveries. In 2019, for instance, archaeologists were searching for a sacred well under the city. Instead, as they were exploring the Balamku, or ‘Jaguar God’ cave system, they stumbled upon a trove of over 150 ritual objects.

Chichen Itza has become an extremely popular tourist attraction. Stephens’ book not only prompted archaeologists to explore the site, but tourists were not far behind. In the early 1920s, for example, Yucatan’s first official tourism business was established. In recent years, it has been estimated that up to two million tourists visit Chichen Itza annually, which makes it one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico. Chichen Itza is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site . In 2007 it was voted as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a global survey of more than 100 million people.

• Top image: The Maya pyramid of Kukulcan at Chichen Itza in Mexico.
• Source: IRStone /Adobe Stock

By Wu Mingren

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

01-07-2021 om 22:28 geschreven door peter  

Hyperborea: Mythical Land That Fascinated Writers of the Ancient World

Hyperborea is a location in Greek mythology. The inhabitants of this mythical land are known as Hyperboreans, whom the ancient Greeks believed enjoyed extremely long lives. Hyperborea is mentioned by a number of Greek and Roman writers, including Herodotus, Pliny the Elder, and Pindar. Although Hyperborea is a mythical land, there has been speculation over the ages that it is a real place on earth. This has led to a number of theories about its exact location. In addition, attempts have been made to connect the Hyperboreans with real, historical peoples.

The name ‘Hyperborea’ may be translated to mean ‘Beyond the North Wind’, which is an indication of where the ancient Greeks thought this land was located. According to Greek mythology, the North Wind, personified by the god Boreas, lived in Thrace. Therefore, Hyperborea would logically be placed to the north of Thrace. Hyperborea, however, was one of the terrae incognitae (Latin for ‘unknown lands’) of the ancient Greeks and Romans. These were regions which have neither been mapped nor documented. In other words, Hyperborea might very well be a place that exists only in myth. And many of the stories told about Hyperborea and the Hyperboreans are quite unbelievable.

Hyperborea Mentioned Repeatedly by Herodotus

One of the ancient writers who mentions Hyperborea many times in his work is the Greek historian Herodotus. The so-called ‘father of history’ wrote about the Hyperborea in Book IV of his Histories. In one part of this book, Herodotus writes:

“Aristeas the son of Caystrobus, who came from Proconnesus, claimed in a poem that he visited the Issedones in a state of inspiration by Apollo, that beyond the Issedones lived a one-eyed race called the Arimaspians, beyond them there is the land of the gold-guarding griffins, and beyond them the Hyperboreans, all the way to the sea. All these people, from the Arimaspians on, except the Hyperboreans, are constantly attacking their neighbors.”

Ancient north pole map of mythical lands including the central continent of Hyperborea.

(Abraham Ortelius / Public domain )

Herodotus seems to be skeptical about the existence of Hyperborea, but nevertheless informs his readers that this mythical land has been mentioned by two of ancient Greece’s most revered poets, Hesiod and Homer:

“None of the tribes living there, including the Scythians, have anything to say about the Hyperboreans. Perhaps the Issedones do, but I do not think so, because if they did the Scythians would have stories about them too, just as they do about the one-eyed people. Hesiod, however, has mentioned the Hyperboreans, and so has Homer in the Epigoni (if indeed Homer is the author of this poem).”

Herodotus then points out that most of the stories about Hyperborea are told by the inhabitants of the sacred island of Delos, “The overwhelming majority of the stories about the Hyperboreans come from Delos.” The historian goes on to relate some of the tales about the Hyperboreans, in which Delos, as one might expect, plays a prominent role. One of these, for instance, relates to the way sacred objects were transported from Hyperborea to Delos:

“The Delians say that sacred objects are tied up inside a bundle of wheat straws and are transported from the Hyperboreans first to Scythia, then westward as far as possible – that is, to the Adriatic – through a chain of successive neighbouring tribes, then south to Dodona (which is the first Greek community to receive them), then to the Gulf of Malia, where they cross over to Euboea, where they are passed from town to town until they reach Carystus, at which stage Andros is omitted, because the Carystians are the ones taking them to Tenos, and from Tenos the objects are conveyed to Delos. So this is how these sacred objects are said to reach Delos.”

The next story provided by Herodotus explains why the sacred objects were delivered in such a manner. According to the historian, the first time the sacred objects were sent to Delos, they were carried by two Hyperborean women, Hyperoche and Laodice (according to the Delians). The women were accompanied by five Hyperborean men who protected them and served as their escorts. These envoys, however, never returned home, causing the rest of the Hyperboreans to worry that the people they sent to deliver sacred objects in the future would not come back either. Therefore, they devised the method in which the objects were passed from one group of people to another, until they arrived in Delos.

Herodotus states that Hyperoche and Laodice accomplished their mission, and stayed in Delos, rather than returning home. After their deaths, the women were worshipped by the Delians and commemorated in a special ritual:

“Now, the death of the young women who came from the Hyperboreans is commemorated on Delos by a hair-cutting ritual performed by the girls and boys of the island. Before they get married, the girls cut off a lock of hair, wind it around a spindle and put in on the tomb (which is inside the sanctuary of Artemis, on the left as one enters, and an olive-tree has grown over it), and the Delian boys wind some of their hair around a twig and put it on the tomb as well. So that is how these Hyperborean women are worshipped by the inhabitants of Delos.”

Herodotus’ last story about the Hyperboreans is that of Arge and Opis, a pair of women who also travelled from Hyperborea to Delos. The women are said to have made the journey before Hyperoche and Laodice, though for a different purpose. Arge and Opis went to the island in order to pay tribute to Eileithyia, the Greek goddess of childbirth, in exchange for a quick and easy labor at childbirth.

According to Herodotus, the Delians claimed that the two women were accompanied by the gods themselves, and received different honors when they came to Delos. The women of the island begged gifts for Arge and Opis, whilst calling on the pair by name in the words of the hymn composed by Olen of Lycia in their honor. This practice has spread from Delos to the other Aegean islands and Ionia. Like Hyperoche and Laodice, the tombs of Arge and Opis are also found on the island: “This tomb of theirs is situated behind the grounds of the sanctuary of Artemis, facing east, right next to the banqueting-hall of the Ceans.”

Head of Herodotus, the “father of history” who wrote the most about Hyperborea.

(© Marie-Lan Nguyen / Public domain )

Before ending his discussion about Hyperborea, Herodotus mentions in passing a figure called Abaris. As the historian says that he was not going to repeat the story of Abaris, it may be assumed that Herodotus’ readers were familiar with this tale. In any case, we learn from Herodotus that this Abaris was believed to be a Hyperborean, and that he “carried an arrow all the way around the world without eating anything.” Herodotus ends this section with a playful suggestion about people living beyond the South Wind, “But if there are Hyperboreans, there should also be Hyperenotians, people living beyond the south wind.”

Pliny The Elder and Hyperborea

Although Herodotus provides several stories related to the Hyperboreans, he does not talk much about Hyperborea itself, apart from its general location. Therefore, one has to rely on other ancient sources to fill in the gaps left by Herodotus. One such source is Natural History , written by Pliny the Elder, the Roman naturalist and natural philosopher. Pliny mentions the Hyperboreans in Book IV of his work, and begins with the general location of Hyperborea:

“Along the [Black Sea] coast [of Europe], as far as the river Tanais [known today as the Don], are the Mæotæ, from whom the lake derives its name, and the last of all, in the rear of them, the Arimaspi. We then come to the Riphæan mountains, and the region known by the name of Pterophoros, because of the perpetual fall of snow there, the flakes of which resemble feathers; a part of the world which has been condemned by the decree of nature to lie immersed in thick darkness; suited for nothing but the generation of cold, and to be the asylum of the chilling blasts of the northern winds.

Behind these mountains, and beyond the region of the northern winds, there dwells, if we choose to believe it, a happy race, known as the Hyperborei.”

Pliny the Elder of Rome who also wrote a lot about Hyperborea

(Wolfgang Sauber / CC BY-SA 3.0 )

Like Herodotus before him, Pliny seems to express his doubts about the existence of the Hyperboreans. Unlike the Greek historian, however, Pliny does not go straight into Delian-related Hyperborean stories. (Incidentally, the story about the Hyperboreans sending sacred objects to Delos via neighboring tribes can be found at the end of Pliny’s account of Hyperborea.) Instead, Pliny provides his readers with more details about Hyperborea itself:

“At this spot are supposed to be the hinges upon which the world revolves, and the extreme limits of the revolutions of the stars. Here we find light for six months together, given by the Sun in one continuous day, who does not, however, as some ignorant persons have asserted, conceal himself from the vernal equinox to autumn. On the contrary, to these people there is but one rising of the sun for the year, and that at the summer solstice, and but one setting, at the winter solstice. This region, warmed by the rays of the sun, is of a most delightful temperature, and exempt from every noxious blast.”

Pliny continues his account with information about the Hyperboreans themselves. Apart from referring to the Hyperboreans “a race that lives to an extreme old age,” earlier on, Pliny also wrote the following:

“The abodes of the natives are the woods and groves; the gods receive their worship singly and in groups, while all discord and every kind of sickness are things utterly unknown. Death comes upon them only when satiated with life; after a career of feasting, in an old age sated with every luxury, they leap from a certain rock there into the sea; and this they deem the most desirable mode of ending existence.”

• Eight Legendary Creatures from Greek Mythology That You Might Not Know About
• Thucydides Versus Herodotus: Who Was the Real Father of History?
• What Did Ancient Civilizations Believe Lay at The Edges of the Earth?

From Pliny’s work, it is clear that even in ancient times the exact location of Hyperborea was a puzzle. Several competing hypotheses about Hyperborea’s actual whereabouts are mentioned by the Roman writer. For instance, Pliny mentions some ancient writers claimed that Hyperborea is located on the edge of the shores of Asia. These writers argued that a people called the Attacori, who resemble the Hyperboreans, lived in that region, which has very similar conditions to Hyperborea. Other writers argued that the region lies “midway between the two suns, at the spot where it sets to the Antipodes and rises to us.” Pliny discounts this hypothesis, considering the “vast tract of sea which there intervenes” A third hypothesis states that Hyperborea is located “nowhere but under a day which lasts for six months,” and that the Hyperboreans sow in the morning, reap at mid-day, gather the fruits of the trees at sunset, and conceal themselves in caves at night.

Bust of the lyric Roman poet Pindar whose poems mention Hyperborea

(Stas Kozlovsky / CC BY-SA 3.0 )

Other Talk of Hyperborea

Hyperborea is also mentioned in works by ancient poets. These poetic works provide us with more information about this mythical land. The Hyperboreans, for instance, appear in Pindar’s Olympian Ode III . In his poem, Pindar claims that Heracles had travelled to Hyperborea to obtain an olive tree from its inhabitants. The hero begged for the tree “to make shade for all men to share, and for brave deeds of valorous spirits, a crown.” In another poem, Pythian Ode X , Pindar places the slaying of Medusa by Perseus in Hyperborea, and paints the region as a place of great happiness:

“The Muse is not absent from their customs; all around swirl the dances of girls, the lyre’s loud chords and the cries of flutes. They wreathe their hair with golden laurel branches and revel joyfully. No sickness or ruinous old age is mixed into that sacred race.”

Herodotus, Pliny the Elder, and Pindar were not the only ancient authors who wrote about Hyperborea. Other well known figures who mention this mythical region include Pausanias, Diodorus Siculus, Ovid, and Strabo.

The large amount of work written about Hyperborea by these ancient authors shows that there was a great fascination with this land. As a matter of fact, this fascination has survived till this day, as some have sought to identify the location of Hyperborea, which may help to prove its existence. Nevertheless, there is still no consensus to the location of Hyperborea, assuming this paradise even exists in the first place.

• Top image: Boreas, Greek God of the North Wind, who is strongly connected with the mythical land of Hyperborea, abducting Oreithyia.   Source: Giovanni Francesco Romanelli / Public domain .

By Wu Mingren

RELATED VIDEOS, selected and posted by peter2011

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

01-07-2021 om 22:05 geschreven door peter  

Beetles are everywhere—and new members of Earth’s most diverse group of organisms are being discovered nearly every day. Now, for the first time, scientists have found a new species in an unusual place: the fossilized poop of a dinosaur ancestor. Found whole and remarkably intact, the 230-million-year-old beetle, named Triamyxa coprolithica, is the first insect to be scientifically described from fossilized feces, also known as coprolites.

“This is very exciting research,” says Spencer Lucas, a paleontologist at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, who was not involved in the work. “This study is cutting edge and explores a whole new area of paleontology that has only been understood in the last decade.”

Coprolites are abundant in museum and research collections around the world. But until recently, Lucas says, few scientists examined these “little capsules of incredible fossil record” for their content, largely because researchers did not think small insects could successfully pass through a digestive system and end up in a recognizable form. Instead, paleontologists got most of their information about insect evolution from unlucky ones trapped in amber, or fossilized tree resin. But these fossils aren’t very old, geologically speaking: The most ancient ones date back to about 140 million years ago.

To discover whether coprolites could indeed preserve insect remains, Uppsala University paleontologist Martin Qvarnström and colleagues examined fossilized droppings from Poland that has previously been associated with the Triassic period, some 230 million years ago. They selected a coprolite fragment nearly 2 centimeters long that, based on its broken ends, suggested it was part of a much larger piece that might be more likely to contain things inside it. Then, they subjected the whole specimen to an intense x-ray beam at a synchrotron. By rotating the coprolite in the beam, they created 3D reconstructions of the coprolite’s contents. What they saw astounded them: incredibly preserved, nearly complete insects just 1.4 millimeters long, as well as fragments like heads, antennae, and legs, they report today in Current Biology.

The new species came from dung presumed to have been excreted by Silesaurus opolensis, a beaked dinosaur ancestor about 2.3 meters in length. The beetles were well preserved because coprolites act as microenvironments that can preserve organic material, including soft tissues, without any of the flattening that comes with other fossil types.

This extinct beetle likely belonged to a group known as Myxophaga, small beetles that thrive on algae in wet habitats, says study co-author Martin Fikáček, an entomologist at National Sun Yat-sen University. The team categorized it taxonomically by noting shared characteristics, like the number of abdomen segments or the position of the antennae, to modern Myxophaga, of which four lineages still survive today. The find is remarkable, Qvarnström says. “We have found bits and pieces [of insects in fossilized feces] before, but not enough to describe a new species, genus, and family,” like this.

These reconstructed images and models (see video above) not only reveal the new beetle species, but also offer information about the diets and environments of the animals that ate them, Qvarnström says. Such analyses can help scientists understand ancient food webs and how the dinosaur ancestors lived and interacted in this ancient ecosystem. By scanning coprolites from earlier and later in the Triassic period, the team also hopes to learn about insect evolution. 

As for T. coprolithica, researchers say there is no way of knowing why it went extinct while its cousins survived into the modern era. Fikáček says it is likely to have been a combination of random events and sheer bad luck. “Extinction is always the trickiest part out of all these things to understand,” he says.

Related information about fossil discovery is shown on Blast World Mysteries' YouTube video below:

{ https://science.sciencemag.org/ }

01-07-2021 om 21:02 geschreven door peter  

The violent birth of modern man: The incredible ancient stone carvings that reveal how a devastating comet impact 13,000 years ago killed thousands, altered the climate and triggered the rise of the first civilisations

• Scientists were analysing symbols carved on pillars at Gobekli Tepe in Turkey

• Using memorial carvings they pinpointed a comet impact to around 11,000BC

• The comet triggered a mini ice age that lasted 1,000 years

• This ice age forced humans to develop farming techniques to grow their crops

By HARRY PETTIT FOR MAILONLINE 

Ancient symbols carved into stone at an archaeological site in Turkey tell the story of a devastating comet impact that triggered a mini ice age more than 13,000 years ago, scientists believe.

Evidence from the carvings, made on a pillar known as the Vulture Stone, suggests that a swarm of comet fragments hit the Earth in around 11000 BC.

One image of a headless man is thought to symbolise human disaster and extensive loss of life. 

The devastating event, which wiped out creatures such as woolly mammoths, also helped spark the rise of civilisation.

Scroll down for video 

Ancient stone carvings confirm that a swarm of comets hit Earth 13,000 years ago sparking the rise of civilisations and wiping out the woolly mammoth. Pictured are the stone carvings used in the team's research, found on pillar 43 or 'the Vulture Stone' at Gobekli Tepe in Turkey

Scientists have speculated for decades that a comet could have caused the sharp drop in temperature during a period known as the Younger Dryas.

The Younger Dryas is seen as a crucial period in humanity's history as it coincides with the beginnings of agriculture and the first Neolithic civilisations.

Scientists were analysing the mysterious symbols carved onto stone pillars at Gobekli Tepe in southern Turkey to find out if they could be linked to constellations. 

Engineers from the University of Edinburgh studied animal carvings made on a pillar – known as the vulture stone – at the site.

By interpreting the animals as astronomical symbols, and using computer software to match their positions to patterns of stars, researchers dated the event to 10,950BC.

It probably resulted from the break-up of a giant comet in the inner solar system. 

This is around the time the Younger Dryas period began according to ice core data from Greenland, which pinpoints the event to 10,890BC.

Before the comet strike, large fields of barley and wheat had allowed roaming hunters in the Middle East to set up permanent base camps.

Evidence from the carvings, made on a pillar known as the Vulture Stone, suggests that a swarm of comet fragments hit the Earth in around 11000 BC. The different symbols, said to tell the story, are labeled in the graphic above

But the ice-cold conditions created by the impact forced these hunters to band together and find new ways to grow crops.

They developed watering and selective breeding to help their crops last against the harsh climate, forming modern farming practices.

The carvings appear to have remained important to the people of Gobekli Tepe for millennia, the Edinburgh researchers said. 

This suggests that the event and cold climate that followed likely had a serious impact.

The comet's impact killed thousands of people and triggered a mini ice age that lasted more than 1,000 years. Pictured is a replica of the Vulture Stone at Sanliurfa Museum in Turkey

By interpreting the animals as astronomical symbols, and using computer software to match their positions to patterns of stars, researchers dated the event to 10,950BC. This image shows the position of the sun and stars on the summer solstice of 10,950BC

The team suggest the images were intended as a record of the cataclysmic event.

A further carving showing a headless man may indicate human disaster and extensive loss of life, they said.

Furthermore, symbolism on the pillars indicates that the long-term changes in Earth's rotational axis was recorded at this time using an early form of writing.  

The symbolism suggests that Gȍbekli Tepe was an observatory for meteors and comets.

The find supports a theory that Earth is likely to experience periods when comet strikes are more likely, owing to Earth's orbit intersecting orbiting rings of comet fragments in space.

Stone pillars at Gobleki Tepe, thought to be the world's oldest temple site. Scientists have speculated for decades that a comet could have caused the sharp drop in temperature during a period known as the Younger Dryas around 11,000BC

More stone pillars found at the Gobleki Tepe temple site. The Younger Dryas is seen as a crucial period in humanity's history as it coincides with the beginnings of agriculture and the first Neolithic civilisations

Dr Martin Sweatman, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Engineering, who led the research, said: 'I think this research, along with the recent finding of a widespread platinum anomaly across the North American continent, virtually seal the case in favour of (a Younger Dryas comet impact).

'Our work serves to reinforce that physical evidence. What is happening here is the process of paradigm change.

'It appears Göbekli Tepe was, among other things, an observatory for monitoring the night sky.

'One of its pillars seems to have served as a memorial to this devastating event – probably the worst day in history since the end of the ice age.'

Scientists were analysing the mysterious symbols carved onto stone pillars at Gobekli Tepe in southern Turkey to find out if they could be linked to constellations

The find supports a theory that Earth is likely to experience periods when comet strikes are more likely, owing to Earth's orbit intersecting orbiting rings of comet fragments in space (stock image)

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{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

01-07-2021 om 18:32 geschreven door peter  

Catastrophic Comet Impact 13,000 Years Ago Likely Sparked the Rise of Civilization

Humans suddenly changed around 13,000 years ago. Hunter-gatherer societies began to rapidly change their way of life. They began to build permanent settlements and focused their efforts on farming. The oldest man-made megalithic structures around were also built around this period. Was a comet impact the reason behind this rapid development of human civilization?

 Vladislav Tchakarov 

01-07-2021 om 18:16 geschreven door peter  

Translation of 5,500-Year-Old Babel Text from China Reveals Oldest Known Map of Inner Solar System

It is obvious to any astronomer that some of the brightest objects in the night sky are the planets. It is thus mysterious that there are so few references to the planets in ancient literature.

Prior to decoding the Babel Text , which is an archaic geometric text that is based on astronomy, the oldest representation of the planets orbiting around the sun was ancient Greek philosophers Hicetas and Philolaus’ discussion on the planets orbiting a hot ball of metal, but there is little to indicate that they knew the relative orbital distances.

Identifying Astronomical Details with the Babel Text

However, with Dr. Derek Cunningham’s recent discovery of the Babel Text, a 5,300 to 5,600-Year-Old text from Lingjiatan, China, our understanding of the ancient past has changed dramatically. Now it is possible to read the enigmatic geometrical symbols on ancient artifacts and to identify subtle astronomical details that prior historians have missed.

In China, one of the most intriguing sites is Lingjiatan. The Lingjiatan culture existed from 5,500 to 4,000 years ago; and at around the same time as Stonehenge was constructed, the Chinese also created astronomical observatories and stone circles. Remarkably, the larger stones used to create the Chinese stone circles were not local to the area, which is the exact same trend seen later at Stonehenge.

• Stone Age Text Links Australia to Europe: Initial Evidence for Worldwide Travel by an Ancient Stone Age Civilization
• Did Humans Speak Through Cave Art? Ancient Drawings and Language's Origins
• Religious statues from Cyprus show evidence of astronomical writing

A tomb full of grave goods at Lingjiatan in China.

( Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology )

Amongst the thousands of artifacts recovered at site 87M4:30, two items have caught the attention of Chinese archaeologists and historians.

A Depiction of Heaven and Earth

The first is an engraved geometric plaque that was found in 1987 between two jade tortoise shells that draws the ancient Chinese description of Heaven and Earth. This is a geometric drawing with lines radiating through two concentric circles, with four arrow-type symbols placed on the outer circle.

At the center of this complex drawing is an eight pointed star that is still used as a pattern in local tribal clothing. For example, the Yi describe (note: the linked text is in Chinese) the eight pointed star as the "the heaven and earth gossip pattern."

A representation (not the actual image) of the Jade Heaven and Earth plaque from Lingjiatan.

Credit: Derek Cunningham

This symbol is also mentioned in the Chinese document called the “Book of Changes”, where it is said the universe began in a state of chaos called Taiji and it was centered on the rotation of the North Pole. Then order developed from this chaos and Taiji created two Yis. One Yi was called Earth (Yin). The other Yi was called Heaven (Yiang).

In the book “Chinese Jade”, the author Ming Yu then states that Yin created what was called the four Xiangs, which is represented by four arrow-type images. These are argued by Chinese historians to be the same symbols drawn on this jade plaque. Then Yin developed into the shape of a square (perhaps reflecting a rectangular Mercator Map of Earth), and the heavens then circled three (or four) times around Earth. The jade plaque is dated differently by various researchers, but it is normally considered to be between 5,600 to 5,300 years old (see work by Li Liu, and Xingcan Chen.)

Variant of the Taijitu ("supreme ultimate diagram"). A number of similar such diagrams are known from the Ming-era Daoist canon. The origin of this particular design is unknown (but it likely predates the 18th century). ( Public Domain ) A more detailed explanation surrounding this ancient description of a square-shaped Earth is provided in “ The Map that Talked ”; which looks at the creation of an intriguing Stone Age map, which uses the stars to create a relatively accurate map of Earth.

This archaic map can also explain the various aquatic descriptions that the Greeks gave to the constellations; where it is found that, when an expanded map of the stars is wrapped three times around Earth the Greek water constellations intriguingly mark the oceans and the constellations that describe heroes that did not drown mark the continents. The same book also describes the initial discovery of the original Babel Text.

“Aquarius, Piscis Australis & Ballon Aerostatique”, plate 26 in Urania's Mirror, a set of celestial cards accompanied by A familiar treatise on astronomy ... by Jehoshaphat Aspin. London. Astronomical chart, 1 print on layered paper board: etching, hand-colored.

( Public Domain )

Language in the Babel Text

Though many dedicated Ancient Origin readers will know of Derek Cunningham’s prior work, where he analyzed many geometric symbols around the world and noted the archaic patterns were apparently used as a very simple code, in which the angles of the lines were set to reflect the key astronomical values that astronomers used to calculate time and predict eclipses, few will have heard the phrase, “The Babel Texts”.

The reason for now referring to these lines as being the original written and spoken world language comes from a preliminary analysis that has recovered a phonetic code that can be attached to the lines. This means the lines are both mathematical values (that reflect astronomical terms) and a type of alphabet, where each line can be given a consonant that depends on the angle of the line.

To this pictorial text a vowel can also be attached, where the vowel depends on whether the offset is to above or below the horizontal, or to the right or left of the vertical.

This idea is discussed in much more detail in the author’s latest book “The Babel Texts”, where the basic conclusion is that the same astronomical code was used worldwide, including in Australia and in North and South America, during the Stone Age.

Part of the Wurdi Youang stone arrangement in Victoria, Australia.

(Ray Norris/ CC BY SA 2.5 )

Intriguingly, though the original world “spoken” language rapidly diverged over time, it appears the written text was far more resistant to change, and that permits more modern texts, such as proto-cuneiform and other angular-based texts such as Irish Ogham , to be used to recover phonetic clues; which now brings us back to the Chinese Neolithic Lingjiatan astronomical site and a second intriguing pattern that was found on a jade eagle.

The Jade Eagle

The Babel Text also appears on this jade artifact, but what is important about this archaic text is the pattern apparently names six planets and the moon and the sun. From its layout it is possible to extract the names of the celestial bodies.

The most important point to note is the inverted triangles on this jade eagle are almost all symmetrical. The exception is just one pairing, which is created using the -18.6, -5.1 degree pairing. These astronomical values are linked to the angle of the moon’s orbital plane relative to Earth, and the moon’s 18.6 year long orbital cycle around Earth. As this is the only inverted triangle that uses the 5.1 degree value, this inverted triangle is believed to represent the moon.

Using various ancient texts to try to determine phonetic values for these lines then produces a relatively simple text that matches later Ogham phonetic values. In this case it appears the names for the celestial bodies are GeGo (Earth); ShyiShyu (Mercury); Ish(o)?Ishe (Venus); NuNi (Mars); IsheIsh(o)? (Jupiter); NiNu (Saturn); Ish(o)?Hes (The Moon) and ShyuShyi (The Sun).  

Intriguingly, this jade eagle also provides the earliest known drawing of the inner solar system.

The jade eagle also appears to draw the inner solar system. Credit: Derek Cunningham

By using the holes that create the eyes and the nose of the various animals to draw circles, it is found that the image draws the orbital distances for the first four planets.

It is also intriguing that this jade eagle is considered to be circa 5,300 years old, which makes it marginally older than the earthwork found at Stonehenge.

In this image, which is a representation (and not the actual image of the jade eagle) it is found that the angles drawn by the lines that create the central star pattern are aligned to the astronomical values that astronomers use to measure time and predict eclipses. For example, the 27.32 degree value is the sidereal month, which is central in determining where the Earth is in its orbit around the sun.

Credit: Derek Cunningham

Both the jade eagle and the layout of Stonehenge are described in more detail in the author’s book “The Babel Text”, but what is now becoming clear is the same astronomical knowledge was present in both Britain and China at around the same time period.

The Case of Stonehenge

In the case of Stonehenge, I could find no prior work by any other author that mentions the size of the Stonehenge earthwork relative to the central stone circle appears to show the relative diameters of the moon and planet Earth.

The width of the stone circle at Stonehenge also appears to reflect the apparent change in the size of the moon at apogee and perigee.

This drawing of Stonehenge is based on recent LIDAR data, which shows the outer earthwork that surrounds Stonehenge is actually a reasonable representation of the size of Earth if the inner stone circle is considered to the moon. (See here)

It thus seems likely that circa 5,300 years ago the Mesopotamians, the people who settled in the Orkney Isles , and the Stone Circle Builders of Lingjiatan were in contact.

However, this is not the only time the world was in contact.

• Are There Hidden Depths to the Golden Lozenge of Stonehenge?
• Ten Mysterious Examples of Rock Art from the Ancient World
• The Origins of Human Language: One of the Hardest Problems in Science

A Connection Since the Appearance of the Fist Homo sapiens

For this archaic text to be the original Babel Text, it must be old enough to explain the appearance of the same geometric text in Australia and in California and Nevada in North America; and with the original text to guide us, it is actually possible to follow this text through time. Amazingly, the journey does takes us all the way back to the appearance of the first Homo sapiens.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to discuss all the results here, but it is now clear that the Bible was correct. There was a time when the whole earth was of one language , and of one speech . The only surprise is we didn’t realize that the phrase “One Language” was referring to an archaic written text.

‘The Confusion of Tongues’ (1620) by Karel van Mander I. 

Source: Public Domain

• Top Image: Early man looking up at the stars ( Kovalenko I / Adobe Stock)

By Derek Cunningham

More information on this topic can be found in The Babel Texts by Derek and Robert Cunningham.

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

01-07-2021 om 17:19 geschreven door peter  

“Interstellar vehicles” visited Earth: ancient manuscripts confirm it

The history of mankind keeps many secrets hidden for millennia. It is possible that the Earth was visited by interstellar vehicles from other worlds.

There are ancient manuscripts , possibly written for some purpose . The truth is that humanity will always be oriented to discover its true origin. And the story tells of interstellar vehicles , beings from other worlds, and many other events that orthodox historians wish to eliminate.

In these ancient texts mention is made of exotic technologies, such as antigravity . Whose control came from the human mind.

For many, civilizations such as the Sumerian or Egyptian are considered those that would have the greatest relevance in terms of the evolution of the Earth .

However, ancient India keeps ancient texts with a unique and surprising knowledge.

The oldest history of mankind?

One of the broadest histories of society is found in ancient India, and its texts known as the Vedas considered the greatest ancient manuscripts of mankind.

Among some of the particularities found in these texts is the mention of flying ships that traveled the Earth 6000 years ago .

These Vedic Sanskrit texts constitute the oldest link in Hinduism in terms of Sanskrit literature and writing.

In the book, Vaimanika Shastra or “Science of Aeronautics” are descriptions of interstellar vehicles , whose control was the mind through. A technology of ancient cultures, now defunct.

Mention is also made of antigravity or levitation as technologies used in the past.

Interstellar vehicles in ancient times

For some scholars the sacred text Vaimanika Shastra can be considered as a guide for space, interstellar and space travel

V. Raghavam, writer of more than 120 books and  1,200 articles , which credited him with the Sahitya Akademi Prize for Sanskrit in 1966, was commissioned to interpret those spoken by Vaimanika Shastra.

Dr. V. Raghavam interpreted that thousands of years ago alien beings visited our ancestors. In the same way, human beings inhabited other planets .

Other scholars and authors agree with Raghavan, that evidence of various types of written technologies can be found in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

For the professor of aeronautics at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, Dr. AV Krishna Murty, what has been said is totally true.

Stating that “ancient Indian Vedas and other texts describe aeronautics, flying machines, spaceships and ancient astronauts.”

It is worth mentioning that, although the Hindu Vedas is not the only text that makes mention of flying ships, it is the most explicit and graphic. So can we say that the Earth was visited by the Ancient Astronauts?

{ https://mysteriousthing.com/ }

01-07-2021 om 00:14 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

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{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

30-06-2021 om 01:01 geschreven door peter  

‘Dragon Man’ Skull Found in China May Be ANOTHER New Human Species

In the latest edition of the journal The Innovation , a team of evolutionary scientists led by Professor Qiang Ji from Hebei GEO University in Shijiazhuang, China have announced the discovery of a new human species. Their startling conclusion is based on the results of a sophisticated computer analysis of a strange human-like skull that emerged three years ago from a source in northern China.

The scientists say the Harbin skull belonged to a 50-year-old man who lived sometime between 146,000 and 296,000 years ago. This dates him to the Middle Pleistocene, or Middle Stone Age .

The skull (cranium) was intact and was most notable for its extraordinarily large size. The skull´s combination of features had never been seen before, the scientists claim, and seems to represent some type of hybrid between archaic humans and modern humans ( Homo sapiens ).

“The discovery of the Harbin cranium and our analyses suggest that there is a third lineage of archaic human [that] once lived in Asia, and this lineage has [a] closer relationship with  H. sapiens  than the Neanderthals,” said  Xijun Ni , a Hebei GEO University paleoanthropologist and co-author of this new study.

Based on its huge head, the team have named their new species Homo longi , which means ‘Dragon Man’ in Chinese.

• DNA Study Reveals We Have a Mystery Human Ancestor
• Ancient Anomalous Human Skeletons: Humanity Could be Much Older Than We Think

A portrait showing what the so-called Dragon Man could have looked like. 

(Chuang Zhao / The Innovation )

The Largest Hominin Skull Ever Found

Amazingly, the large cranium was discovered more than 80 years ago, near Harbin City in China’s Heilongjiang province. A workman found it embedded in river mud, while laboring on a construction crew building a bridge over the Songhua River in the early 1930s.

For reasons unknown, the man who discovered the skull kept its existence hidden until 2018. Only then, when he was dying, did he reveal that he had the skull and had dropped it into a well for safekeeping. After his death, his family agreed to donate the cranium to the Geoscience Museum of Hebei GEO University, where the evolutionary scientists launched their three-year investigation into its likely origins.

The cranium nicknamed Dragon Man, which could be a new species of ancient human.

( NHM)

The standout characteristic of the skull is it size. It is the largest hominin skull ever discovered.

“This is biggest human skull I’ve seen – and I’ve seen a few,” said Chris Stringer, a paleoanthropologist from London’s Natural History Museum and human evolution expert who participated in this research project.

In comparison to a modern human cranium, there are similarities and differences. The Harbin skull has thick brow ridges and square eye sockets, like an archaic man . The cranium is also longer than that of Homo sapiens . But overall, the shape and contours of its face resemble that of an impossibly large human being. The skull’s brain cavity is also similar in size to that of a modern human.

“It’s got such an interesting combination of features,” Stringer noted. “The morphology shows that this is definitely a distinct lineage in eastern Asia. It’s not Neanderthal and it’s not  Homo sapiens, it’s something quite distinctive.”

Evolutionary Analysis Reveals Surprising Results

One thing that was clear to the scientists was that the Harbin skull wouldn’t fit neatly into an already discovered species. Many of its features were familiar, but their combination was perplexing and unusual.

To find out where the Dragon Man skull belonged on the hominin evolutionary chart, the researchers used information obtained from 95 fossil crania, jawbones, and teeth, representing different hominin groups. In total they had more than 600 skull and facial features to use as points of comparison.

With this information as a baseline, they programmed a supercomputer to construct billions of theoretical evolutionary trees. When the results were in, the researchers were quite surprised to find that the computer had placed the Harbin skull on its own separate evolutionary branch. It had identified the skull as belonging to a whole new hominin species, a type of archaic man that was closely related to Homo sapiens but not identical to anything else.

Here the phylogenetic analysis puts the skull in the context of human development.

(The Innovation / Cell)

“I was surprised to see this,” Stringer said. He had anticipated that the skull would be labeled as an offshoot of the Neanderthals, not as a close relative of modern humans.

To place the skull in the Middle Pleistocene, the scientists relied on results obtained from two types of advanced dating technology, X-ray fluorescence and direct uranium-series dating. These tests showed that the Dragon Man skull had to have been at least 146,000 years old.

Alternate Theories: Was the Dragon Man a Denisovan?

The announcement of the Dragon Man skull research team is being met with some degree of skepticism. It is rare to discover a new species of archaic man, and some scientists are wondering if evidence from one cranium is enough to prove the existence of Homo longi .

“Whether or not this skull is a valid species is certainly up for debate,” anthropologist  Michael Petraglia , from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, told Smithsonian Magazine .

The Harbin skull is only one of many unique hominin fossils recovered from China that date to the Middle Pleistocene. The rarity of such finds raises questions about possible hidden connections.

“How do they fit in terms of their evolutionary relationships, to what degree are they interbreeding with the populations across Eurasia, and to what degree do they become isolated resulting in their distinctive features?” Petraglia asked rhetorically. “This brings up a lot of interesting questions and in human evolution China is still really a great unknown.”

Surprisingly, study participant Chris Stringer also doubts that his team has discovered a new and distinct species of ancient man. He notes some intriguing similarities between the Harbin cranium and the Dali skull , a 250,000-year-old-fossilized cranium discovered in China’s Shaanxi province. At present, Stringer believes these two skulls should be grouped together and labeled as a different species known as Homo daliensis .

One of the more fascinating suggestions is that the Harbin skull may actually belong to the mysterious Denisovans. This ancient hominin species was well-established in Asia during the Middle Pleistocene. The Denisovans were closely related to the Neanderthals and are known to have interbred with Homo sapiens (modern humans carry traces of Denisovan DNA ).

Only a few Denisovan fossils have been found, none of which were intact craniums. But one recovered Denisovan jawbone had very large teeth—just like the Harbin skull.

Is this a clue that the Harbin skull may be giving scientists their first-ever look at the true face of the Denisovans? As of now, that is not the official conclusion. But as the number of fossilized remains recovered in China increases, new relationships between archaic human species may be observed and theories may change dramatically as a result.

• Top image: A full-length artist's impression of what the human species ‘Dragon Man’ could have looked like. (Chuang Zhao/ The Innovation )

By Nathan Falde

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

29-06-2021 om 23:49 geschreven door peter  

Massive "Dragon Man" skull found in China might be a new human evolutionary branch

29-06-2021 om 18:05 geschreven door peter  

400,000 Year Old Giant Skull Humanoid Species, Dubbed Dragon Man Found

A photo of the Harbin cranium.

QIANG JI

400,000 Year Old Giant Skull Humanoid Species, Dubbed Dragon Man Found

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Check back daily for new content as we thrive to bring you the cutting edge in news, current events, on scene video footage, interviews and information.

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29-06-2021 om 17:55 geschreven door peter  

Scientific Evidence for the Many Myths of the Great Flood

Have you ever heard about Noah's Ark story? This story of the great flood is one of the most popular stories from the Bible. But it is far from the only great flood story to be found in history. Christians are quite familiar with Noah's story when God destroyed all of creation through the great flood owing to the wickedness of men. While many people perceive all this as the great flood myth, scientists have found evidence of the great deluge. Before going to the scientific evidence, let's take a look at the known mythologies that relate to the flood myth.

The Great Flood: Myths in the Bible, Hindu Texts and More

Noah's story in the  Hebrew Bible  is probably the most well-known myth relating to the great flood. However, a number of other myths related to this event also exist.

According to the  Gilgamesh flood myth, Enlil, the highest god, decided to completely destroy the whole world by means of a great flood as the humans had increasingly become noisy. Ea, the god who created human beings of divine blood and clay, warned Utnapishtim secretly about the flood and gave him instructions to build a boat and be saved.

• Does ‘New Evidence’ Prove Noah’s Ark Is Buried on a Turkish Mountain?
• Evidence that Noah’s Ark Landed on a Mountain 17 Miles South of Ararat

In the Bible’s  Book of Genesis , it is written that Yahweh (the name of the monotheistic god of the Israelites), who created man from dust, decided to bring the great flood to Earth because of mankind’s increasing corruption.

Yahweh was, however, pleased with Noah and instructed him to create an ark for saving humans and animals. On completion of the ark, Noah, his entire family, and two of every type of animal on earth entered the ark. Once the door of the ark was closed, the destructive flood started and cleared all other living beings from the face of the earth. After the flood ended, everyone inside the ark came out, and Yahweh promised never to subject humans to something like the great flood again. The rainbow is known as the symbol of Yahweh's promise.

A 3D illustration of Noah’s Ark in a storm during the Great Flood. Reality or myth?

( fergregory / Adobe Stock)

According to Hindu mythology there is a story about "manvantara-sandhya," a great flood. In the story, Vishnu's Matsya Avatar warned Manu, the first man, about the impending flood and instructed him to construct a giant boat. 

According to Zoroastrian Mazdaism, Ahriman tried to destroy the whole world by means of a drought. It is believed that Mithra shot an arrow at a rock, and the flood poured out. Only one man, along with his cattle, survived the flood in an ark.

As per Plato,  Timaeus describes a flood myth that is quite similar to the other versions of the great flood. In the Timaeus version, the Bronze race of humans made Zeus angry with constant warring. Zeus decided to cause a flood to punish humanity. The  Titan Prometheus , who created humans with clay, shared the plan with Deucalion and advised him to build an ark. It took nine days and nights for the water to recede, and the ark landed on a mountain.

Researchers study a ship graveyard discovered in the Black Sea that may be linked to the Great Flood.

( Paul Vinten  / Adobe Stock)

Scientific Evidence of the Occurrence of the Great Flood

While there are a number of stories or myths relating to the great flood, scientists have recently found evidence of the flood. The scientists believe that the great flood did take place around 7,000 years ago in the Black Sea region. 

In a book named  "Noah's Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries about the Event that Changed History,"  two marine biologists Walter Pitman and William Ryan, describe a flood that took place several thousand years ago, before the  Biblical story was written by the ancient Hebrews .

According to the two  marine biologists , nearly 12,000 years ago, after the last Ice Age, the Black Sea was a partially dried freshwater lake. It was separated from the Mediterranean Sea by the  Bosporus Strait , which is a land strip.

The shore of the Black Sea was fertile and was used by the people to start large farming societies. When the ice sheets that covered the Northern Hemisphere started melting, the levels of the sea began rising. It is believed that the  Mediterranean Sea  broke through the Bosporus Strait about 7,600 years ago.

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With a force about 200 times that of Niagara Falls, the seawater had started rushing in. The level of the Black Sea was increasing by 6 inches (15 cm) every day. Within one year, about 60,000 square miles (15,539,929 hectares) was engulfed and disappeared beneath the rising waters. The settlers of the land moved to different high grounds and never returned.

Pitman and Ryan hypothesize that this trauma story was handed down for about 3,000 years and has been recorded in the form of myths and songs. One of the versions is believed to be the story of Noah's Ark found in the Bible.

The hypothesis of the two marine biologists is mainly based on the sediment cores of the Black Sea as well as seismic profiles. The cores did tell a strange and unique story. Pitman and Ryan discovered a single mud layer that was typically left after the great flood.

It lay over sediment layers that were at one time land surface. The surface contained mud cracks, plant root fossils, and freshwater mollusks that were similar to the dried-out lakeshore. The ancient shoreline was submerged about 460 feet (140 meters) below the Black Sea. 

The marine biologists have also pointed out that according to the study of ancient civilizations made by archaeologists, during the flood several peoples with new customs appeared at different places. They were even found in Egypt, as well in the foothills of the Himalayas, and around Paris and Prague. The majority of these “new” people were Indo-European speakers. According to Ryan and Pitman, these peoples might be the Black Sea farmers who had to leave their homes due to the great flood.

The Great Flood (Die Sintflut, Suendflut), a painting by Lesser-Ury (1861-1931), depicts the “horror” of what the deluge of the Bible might have looked like.

(Center for Jewish History, NYC /  Wikimedia Commons )

Archaeological Evidence of the Great Flood

In addition to the evidence offered by Pitman and Ryan, there are also other pieces of evidence that support the occurrence of the great flood. One such significant piece of evidence was provided by the world-famous underwater archaeologist Robert Ballard. He is especially known for locating and exploring the Titanic wreck. 

Ballard found evidence of people who had perished in the great flood that took place in the Black Sea and linked it with Noah's Ark story.

Ballard and his team made use of advanced robotic technology to find evidence that might support the Noah story. They were able to unearth an ancient coastline that was about 550 feet (168 meters) under the water surface. It was considered significant proof of the catastrophic event. Ballard took some samples including saltwater and freshwater mollusks from the ancient beach for testing. 

When radiocarbon dating of the samples was done, it was revealed that the freshwater mollusks were relatively older in comparison to the saltwater ones. All the freshwater mollusks that were taken for sample testing were of the same age.

It could be assumed that all the mollusks died due to the occurrence of a sudden flood. This is because if they had died due to the slowly rising water, the ages would have differed. It was found that the mollusks died somewhere around 5,600 BC. It is approximately the same time when the great flood during Noah's time is believed to have occurred. 

About 310 feet (94 meters) below in the Black Sea, Ballard and his team were also able to find an ancient house that had collapsed. In addition to the house, they also unearthed a number of stone tools, storage vessels made of ceramic, and ancient mud. The archaeologists believe that the culture found at the bottom of the sea was thousands of years old.

The evidence collected by Robert Ballard and his team suggests that the traumatic great flood story was handed down from generation to generation. This eventually inspired Noah's Ark story that is mentioned in the Bible.

"The Deluge" drawing was used as the frontispiece to Gustave Doré's illustrated edition of the Bible. Based on the story of Noah's Ark, the drawing shows humans and a tiger doomed by the flood futilely attempting to save their children and cubs.

(Gustave Doré /  Public domain )

Scientific Evidence Against the Great Flood

While there is scientific evidence that supports the occurrence of the great flood, there is also scientific evidence that argues against it. Some believe that the great flood may have occurred during Noah's time, but that it happened over the entire Earth rather than some regional parts.

As per the Bible, the rain during the great flood lasted for 30 days, and the Earth was flooded for 150 days. Only after one year, two months, and twenty-seven days, did the Earth dry and thus Noah, his entire family, and all the animals were able to move out of the ark.

The great flood was intended to completely destroy all life on Earth. As the sedimentary rocks over all the continents do contain fossils, the great flood could represent the destruction of all living beings. Thus, the story of the global flood mentioned in the Bible might have been true.

However, the sedimentary rocks have interlayers of gypsum, evaporite rock salt, anhydrite, and magnesium and potash salts. All these are related to red beds that contain fossilized mud cracks. The red beds and mineral compounds have a measurable combined thickness on various continents.

The red color of the red beds is mainly due to the presence of  hematite, an iron oxide that is formed from oxidized magnetite grains when the mud gets exposed to oxygen present in the open air. Mud cracks can only occur under severe drying conditions that result in the shrinking of mud and the formation of polygonal cracks.

The evaporite deposits are believed to occur when a marine sea that existed disappears and becomes completely dry. In such a case, the evaporites are expected to be found at the top of the flood deposits of the great flood. However, the evaporites were found in different layers and not on the top of the flood deposit. This makes certain scientists believe that the great flood never took place.

Moreover, it is written in the Bible that at some time the flood waters started receding and left the ground completely dry. There were no repeated cycles of floods of this size. According to this, it is quite logical that the red beds and evaporite deposits in different levels of the flood deposit could only be formed in local climates having desert drying conditions.

However, it is not possible this was formed at the same time the great flood covered the surface of the whole Earth. On this basis, it can be said that a massive regional flood could have occurred but not a whole-Earth flood.

The Matsya Avatar of Vishnu Uttar Pradesh, India. Matsya is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is said to have rescued the first man Manu from a great deluge. The Matsya Avatar is often depicted as a giant fish.

(Victoria and Albert Museum /  Public domain )

Conclusion

While much debate surrounds the “truth” of the great flood, it is quite hard to say whether it actually occurred or not. As per the Bible, Noah used to live in the  Mesopotamian desert , but the coastline of the Black Sea was forested and lush back then.

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More and more geologists are coming up with different revised theories and trying to build solid proof for an event that occurred during ancient times.  Geological expeditions  continue to search the Black Sea. These very expensive geological expeditions are also getting funded by people who are interested in knowing the truth of the Noah's Ark story mentioned in the Bible. 

Scientists and archaeologists are still trying to locate ancient villages beneath the surface of the seas. It will be very interesting to see what additional evidence for the great flood is revealed in the coming years. 

• Top image: The Deluge (1840), a painting by Francis Danby, part of the Tate Gallery collection, which shows how horrible the Great Flood must have been, if, and when, it happened.            
• Source: Francis Danby /  Public domain

By Bipin Dimri

RELATED VIDEOS, selected and posted by peter2011

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

29-06-2021 om 01:46 geschreven door peter  

AI Finds New Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA Mutations in Human Genome

Scientists affiliated with the GLOBE Institute’s GeoGenetics Centre at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark have created an Artificial Intelligence program that is helping them identify ancient mutations in the human genome. As they explain in an article in the online journal eLife, they are using this program to find out more about the genetic materials modern humans inherited from archaic hominin species, particularly noting the DNA inherited from our long-extinct cousins the Neanderthals and the Denisovans.

The scientists use the term “adaptive introgression” to describe this type of cross-species inheritance. Introgression refers to the process by which outside genetic material is absorbed into the human genome, while adaptive refers to the evolutionary advantage humans gain from possessing such material.

This new AI program is uniquely suited for identifying instances of adaptive introgression. In the years ahead, it may dramatically expand our knowledge about the relationships that were formed between ancient Homo sapiens (modern humans) and their nearest living relatives.

Early human migrations from Africa and onwards across planet Earth, measured in thousands of years ago (kya), included Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans. And now we know the modern human genome, as a result of hominin species interbreeding, has a lot of genetic material from Neanderthals.

( designua / Adobe Stock)

The Human Genome: Early Human Migrations and Interbreeding

When humans migrated from Africa to Europe, Asia, and beyond more than 60,000 years ago, they met the Neanderthals, who were already living in those areas. Moving eastward they eventually encountered the mysterious Denisovans, who resided in what is now southern and eastern Asia and in Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, and the nearby islands of Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia).

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While these were separate species, they were closely related to Homo sapiens , close enough to make interbreeding possible. Neanderthals and Denisovans went extinct tens of thousands of years ago, but at least some of their genetic material has survived inside human DNA because of the interactions that took place in prehistoric times.

Only a few traces of Denisovan DNA are likely to be found in the collective human gene pool. But scientists believe that up to 40 percent of Neanderthal DNA may have survived inside the genomes of humans. It is widely spread out, meaning that Neanderthal DNA makes up no more than two percent of any individual’s total genetic material.

An image of the DNA helix that hints at the powers of AI or deep learning methods in learning more about the evolution of the human genome.

( Siarhei / Adobe Stock)

Deep Learning AI Insights Into the Human Genome

Those 40 percent and two percent figures are estimates, not precise measurements. Scientists don’t know for certain exactly how much Neanderthal or Denisovan DNA human beings have inherited, or how it might be distributed ethnically or geographically. They also aren’t sure where all of it is located inside the human genome. Most importantly, they still aren’t sure which functions it performs. These are the issues the GLOBE Institute scientists are trying to remedy.

"We developed a deep learning method called 'genomatnn' that jointly models introgression, which is the transfer of genetic information between species, and natural selection,” Fernando Racimo, a GeoGenetics Centre geneticist and the co-author of the eLife paper, told the author of a University of Copenhagen article about this new study. “The model was developed in order to identify regions in the human genome where this introgression could have happened."

“Deep learning” is a general form of artificial intelligence (AI). The specific form of AI applied in this case is known as a convolutional neural network (CNN), which is a type of deep learning program used for image recognition .

In this experiment, the researchers ran hundreds of thousands of simulations as a way to teach the CNN to identify patterns in genomes that would be created by adaptive introgression. The AI network was specially trained to spot mutations traceable to interactions with Neanderthals or Denisovans.

“Our method is highly accurate and outcompetes previous approaches in power,” Racimo said. “We applied it to various human genomic datasets and found several candidate beneficial gene variants that were introduced into the human gene pool.”

DNA sequences in colored letters on a black background containing the word "mutation." Based on the recent AI study of the human genome at the University of Copenhagen, researchers are now focusing on mutations more and more to understand the evolution of the modern human genome.

( Catalin / Adobe Stock)

Twists and Turns in Our Genetic Roadmap

So far, some of what the scientists have discovered confirms existing theories about where Neanderthal DNA could be found. But in the process they uncovered some new and surprising information as well.

“We recovered previously identified candidates for adaptive introgression in modern humans, as well as several candidates which have not previously been described,” said GeoGenetics Centre researcher Graham Gower, the lead author of the eLife article.

Some of the newly discovered candidates involve mutations that impact human metabolism and immunity system functioning.

“In European genomes, we found two strong candidates for adaptive introgression from Neanderthals in regions of the genome that affect phenotypes related to blood, including blood cell counts,” Gower explained. “In Melanesian genomes, we found candidate variants introgressed from Denisovans that potentially affected a wide range of traits, such as blood-related diseases, tumor suppression, skin development, metabolism, and various neurological diseases.”

Gower is quick to point out that these are preliminary findings. As of now, the scientists aren’t completely sure what impact these mutations might have on those who carry them. They might cause positive responses, negative outcomes, or have no significant effect at all.

In general, scientists assume that when mutations last for tens of thousands of years, they will do so because they are in some way beneficial. Humans who interbred with their archaic cousins likely improved the gene pool overall, adding new genetic material from species that had been surviving in environments that were relatively new to African-born Homo sapiens .

A Neanderthal skull (left) next to a Homo sapiens skull. Though the skulls are very different, it turns out that the modern human genome is almost 40% related to interbreeding and mutations related to Neanderthals.

( procy_ab / Adobe Stock)

Finding Prehistoric Facts with Future Technologies

As their study continues, the University of Copenhagen researchers hope to learn more about the actual effects of the mutations they’ve found (and those they’ve yet to find, but soon will) in the human genome.

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Also, they plan to work backward from the mutations to trace the histories of the ancient people who introduced them into the gene pool. By studying which mutations developed in which population groups, they may be able to determine where Neanderthal, Denisovan, and Homo sapiens interactions occurred in the distant past, and where they were the most extensive.

This type of knowledge will give anthropologists, evolutionary biologists, and archaeologists a better idea about where fossilized remains of various species might be found, along with any artifacts they might have created and left behind. 

• Top image: A drawing of a Neanderthal man looking to the horizon and wondering if he will meet another "human" and, if so a human woman. The human genome it turns out has a lot of Neanderthal genes and now a Danish AI program is proving it.               
• Source: ginettigino / Adobe Stock

By Nathan Falde

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/ }

29-06-2021 om 00:27 geschreven door peter