Are we going to find out more about one of the north of England’s first great writers, the Venerable Bede who recorded the history of Anglo-Saxon England?
Although never actually canonised, he has always been seen as a potential patron for journalists, because he is said to have written his mighty work The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation without ever leaving his monastery in Jarrow.
Like pretty much everything else about him, however, that allegation is unproven and unprovable. But this might just change. A survey by ground-penetrating radar has revealed what may be an underground chamber below St Paul’s church in the Tyneside town, where the monastery stood.
The discovery came during research to bolster a joint application for World Heritage Site status by Jarrow and Wearmouth which was also a famous Anglo Saxon monastic centre. Any suggestion of archaeological riches would give this a major helping hand, although locals are being warned not to get too excited.
Dr Sam Turner, senior lecturer in archaeology at Newcastle University, tells the Shields Gazette:
"It could be a 19th-century burial vault, which is probably more likely, and the level of resolution in a 7th-century church chancel means we cannot be certain at this point. But the cavity may be earlier, which potentially could make it very important."
Mysterious chamber under church could hold clues to the Venerable Bede
Mysterious chamber under church could hold clues to the Venerable Bede
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Saturday, September 24, 2011 | News
Powered by Guardian.co.ukThis article titled “Mysterious chamber under church could hold clues to the Venerable Bede” was written by Martin Wainwright, for guardian.co.uk on Friday 23rd September 2011 07.00 UTC
Are we going to find out more about one of the north of England’s first great writers, the Venerable Bede who recorded the history of Anglo-Saxon England?
Although never actually canonised, he has always been seen as a potential patron for journalists, because he is said to have written his mighty work The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation without ever leaving his monastery in Jarrow.
Like pretty much everything else about him, however, that allegation is unproven and unprovable. But this might just change. A survey by ground-penetrating radar has revealed what may be an underground chamber below St Paul’s church in the Tyneside town, where the monastery stood.
The discovery came during research to bolster a joint application for World Heritage Site status by Jarrow and Wearmouth which was also a famous Anglo Saxon monastic centre. Any suggestion of archaeological riches would give this a major helping hand, although locals are being warned not to get too excited.
Dr Sam Turner, senior lecturer in archaeology at Newcastle University, tells the Shields Gazette:
It could be a 19th-century burial vault, which is probably more likely, and the level of resolution in a 7th-century church chancel means we cannot be certain at this point. But the cavity may be earlier, which potentially could make it very important.
On the optimistic side, the size and placing of the void is reminiscent of know crypts such as those below nearby Hexham abbey, Lastingham’s beautiful church in the North York Moors and Ripon cathedral. St Paul’s is a magnificent church which incorporates much Anglo Saxon stonework, as do the ruined walls of the Norman monastery which stand alongside.
Historians have also speculated about the possibility of a timber-framed crypt, whose remains could be found if money was raised for a careful excavation. In the meantime, the World Heritage Site project is hoping for further illumination via fibre-optic examination.
Lastingham is famous for another religious reason btw. One of its vicars was had upo by the church authorities in the 18th century for also running the local pub. He was exonerated because his stipend was so small and parishioners gave evidence that his fiddle-playing in the bar was both innocent and uplifting.
This article titled “Mysterious chamber under church could hold clues to the Venerable Bede” was written by Martin Wainwright, for guardian.co.uk on Friday 23rd September 2011 07.00 UTC
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References:
Past Horizons. 2011. "Mysterious Chamber under church could hold clues to the Venerable Bede". Past Horizons. Posted: September 23, 2011. Available online: http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/09/2011/mysterious-chamber-under-church-could-hold-clues-to-the-venerable-bede
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Calculating the Language of Babel
To an extraterrestrial, human language would be nonsensical. For starters, there are thousands of languages, many of which sound nothing like each other, and each language has thousands of words that appear to have no rhyme or reason. By creating "alien languages" and teaching them to volunteers, researchers are trying to better understand what about a language makes it learnable and how languages might have evolved.
Words don't necessarily sound like or look like the object they connote. For example, the word "microorganism" is long, although the creatures themselves are tiny, whereas the huge whale has to make do with a very short moniker. Despite this, many languages do have what Padraic Monaghan of Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, calls "pockets of systematicity." Many English words beginning with "sn," for instance, tend to have something to do with the nose: sneeze, snort, snot. In many languages, vowels made with the back of the tongue, such as "o" and "ah," tend to appear in words that describe something big (boulder), whereas vowels made at the front of the mouth, such as "ee," often denote something smaller (flea). It's unclear why these "pockets" exist: whether they're accidents or are somehow tied to language learning. "Maybe they get people going" when they're learning a new language, Monaghan speculates.
In a presentation given at the British Science Festival here last week, Monaghan talked about his efforts to answer this question. His group used computer algorithms to create "alien languages," which they taught to human volunteers using words paired with pictures. Some of these languages were very systematic in the way they sounded—big things were always described by long words, for example. Another language was completely arbitrary. The volunteers had a hard time learning either of these. Then the researchers switched up the sounds within the words, creating a language with words that were half-arbitrary and half-systematic, such as describing big things with short words, but long vowel sounds. The participants learned this language more easily, which Monaghan believes suggests that both features are needed. Language has to be arbitrary, he suggests, because if words denoting similar objects all sounded alike, we would be more likely to confuse those objects. When the researchers scoured through a list of 5000 of the most common nouns and verbs in English and French and mapped the sounds that make up each one, they found that, on the whole, these words have both systematic sounds and arbitrary ones within each word.
Linguist Simon Kirby of the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, who is also using computer-generated languages to study learnability, isn't surprised. "That's what's special about language as opposed to any other system of communication; you can understand it because it's made up of interchangeable parts," he says. He believes that our brains are designed to put these parts into categories.
Kirby, whose results were also presented at the meeting, explored how language evolves to become easier to learn. Kirby gave his volunteers long lists of random syllables and told them they were words that described pictures. The experience is not like learning a real language, Kirby says: because they're entirely random, those words are "incredibly hard" to remember.
But it got easier: By testing the volunteers on the new language and incorporating their answers into a slightly modified language for the next group, they found that words started to emerge that put the objects into categories. For example, the volunteers created words or sounds within words that indicated an objects' color or its shape: words ending in a "k" sound, for example, might be red. The human brain, Kirby concludes, prefers to categorize things and does this by making arbitrary language more systematic.
Kirby and Monaghan see this as evidence that learnability is selected for through a process much like natural selection. "You make mistakes, but those mistakes aren't random," Kirby says. They modify the language slightly, making it "easier for next person to learn."
________________
References:
Reardon, Sara. 2011. "Calculating the Language of Babel". Science Magazine. Posted: September 23, 2011. Available online: http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/09/calculating-the-language-of-babe.html
Words don't necessarily sound like or look like the object they connote. For example, the word "microorganism" is long, although the creatures themselves are tiny, whereas the huge whale has to make do with a very short moniker. Despite this, many languages do have what Padraic Monaghan of Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, calls "pockets of systematicity." Many English words beginning with "sn," for instance, tend to have something to do with the nose: sneeze, snort, snot. In many languages, vowels made with the back of the tongue, such as "o" and "ah," tend to appear in words that describe something big (boulder), whereas vowels made at the front of the mouth, such as "ee," often denote something smaller (flea). It's unclear why these "pockets" exist: whether they're accidents or are somehow tied to language learning. "Maybe they get people going" when they're learning a new language, Monaghan speculates.
In a presentation given at the British Science Festival here last week, Monaghan talked about his efforts to answer this question. His group used computer algorithms to create "alien languages," which they taught to human volunteers using words paired with pictures. Some of these languages were very systematic in the way they sounded—big things were always described by long words, for example. Another language was completely arbitrary. The volunteers had a hard time learning either of these. Then the researchers switched up the sounds within the words, creating a language with words that were half-arbitrary and half-systematic, such as describing big things with short words, but long vowel sounds. The participants learned this language more easily, which Monaghan believes suggests that both features are needed. Language has to be arbitrary, he suggests, because if words denoting similar objects all sounded alike, we would be more likely to confuse those objects. When the researchers scoured through a list of 5000 of the most common nouns and verbs in English and French and mapped the sounds that make up each one, they found that, on the whole, these words have both systematic sounds and arbitrary ones within each word.
Linguist Simon Kirby of the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, who is also using computer-generated languages to study learnability, isn't surprised. "That's what's special about language as opposed to any other system of communication; you can understand it because it's made up of interchangeable parts," he says. He believes that our brains are designed to put these parts into categories.
Kirby, whose results were also presented at the meeting, explored how language evolves to become easier to learn. Kirby gave his volunteers long lists of random syllables and told them they were words that described pictures. The experience is not like learning a real language, Kirby says: because they're entirely random, those words are "incredibly hard" to remember.
But it got easier: By testing the volunteers on the new language and incorporating their answers into a slightly modified language for the next group, they found that words started to emerge that put the objects into categories. For example, the volunteers created words or sounds within words that indicated an objects' color or its shape: words ending in a "k" sound, for example, might be red. The human brain, Kirby concludes, prefers to categorize things and does this by making arbitrary language more systematic.
Kirby and Monaghan see this as evidence that learnability is selected for through a process much like natural selection. "You make mistakes, but those mistakes aren't random," Kirby says. They modify the language slightly, making it "easier for next person to learn."
________________
References:
Reardon, Sara. 2011. "Calculating the Language of Babel". Science Magazine. Posted: September 23, 2011. Available online: http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/09/calculating-the-language-of-babe.html
Friday, October 7, 2011
DNA study suggests Asia was settled in multiple waves of migration
Analysis reveals archaic Denisovans lived from Siberia to Southeast Asia
An international team of researchers studying DNA patterns from modern and archaic humans has uncovered new clues about the movement and intermixing of populations more than 40,000 years ago in Asia.
Using state-of-the-art genome analysis methods, scientists from Harvard Medical School and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have found that Denisovans—a recently identified group of archaic humans whose DNA was extracted last year from a finger bone excavated in Siberia—contributed DNA not just to present-day New Guineans, but also to aboriginal Australian and Philippine populations.
The study demonstrates that contrary to the findings of the largest previous genetic studies, modern humans settled Asia in more than one migration. According to David Reich, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, "Denisova DNA is like a medical imaging dye that traces a person's blood vessels. It is so recognizable that you can detect even a little bit of it in one individual. In a similar way, we were able to trace Denisova DNA in the migrations of people. This shows the power of sequencing ancient DNA as a tool for understanding human history."
The patterns the researchers found can only be explained by at least two waves of human migration: the first giving rise to the aboriginal populations that currently live in Southeast Asia and Oceania, and later migrations giving rise to relatives of East Asians who now are the primary population of Southeast Asia.
The study also provides new insights about where the ancient Denisovans lived. According to Mark Stoneking, a professor at the Max Planck Institute who is senior author of the paper, Denisovans must have inhabited an extraordinarily large ecological and geographic range, from Siberia to tropical Southeast Asia. "The fact that Denisovan DNA is present in some aboriginal populations of Southeast Asia but not in others shows that there was a checkerboard of populations with and without Denisova material more than 44,000 years ago," he said. "The presence of Denisovan genetic material in some but not all the groups there can most easily be explained if Denisovans lived in Southeast Asia itself."
The findings appear on September 22 in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
This research builds on previous work by Reich and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute, in which they analyzed an ancient pinky bone uncovered by Russian archaeologists in the Siberian Denisova Cave in 2008. The Max Planck Institute team led by Svante Pääbo sequenced the bone's nuclear genome, and Reich led the population genetic analysis using algorithms that he and colleagues developed.
Reporting December 2010 in Nature, the team identified Denisovans as a distinct group of archaic humans (hominins) that lived more than 30,000 years ago and contributed genes to present-day New Guineans. They concluded that Denisovans were neither Neandertals nor early modern humans, though they shared a common ancestry.
This paper helped fill in some empty pieces in the evolutionary puzzle that began after early humans left Africa and reinforces the view that humans have intermixed throughout history.
Genetic footprints
The new study was initiated by Stoneking, an expert on genetic variation in Southeast Asia and Oceania who has assembled diverse samples from that region. The study takes a closer look at the Denisovans' genetic footprint. The researchers analyzed DNA from dozens of present-day populations in Southeast Asia and Oceania, including Borneo, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Polynesia. Some of the data already existed, and some were newly collected for the study.
Their analysis shows that, in addition to New Guineans, Denisovans contributed genetic material to Australian aborigines, a Philippine "Negrito" group called Mamanwa, and several other populations in eastern Southeast Asia and Oceania. However, groups in the west or northwest, including other Negrito groups such as the Onge in the Andaman Islands and the Jehai in Malaysia, as well as mainland East Asians, did not interbreed with Denisovans.
The researchers concluded that:
* Denisovans interbred with modern humans in Southeast Asia at least 44,000 years ago before the time of the separation of the Australians and New Guineans.
* Southeast Asia was first colonized by modern humans unrelated to present-day Chinese and Indonesians, and that these and other East Asians arrived in later migrations. This "southern route" hypothesis has previously been supported by archaeological evidence, but has never had strong genetic support.
___________________
References:
EurekAlert. 2011. "DNA study suggests Asia was settled in multiple waves of migration
". EurekAlert. Posted: September 22, 2011. Available online: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/hms-dk091611.php
An international team of researchers studying DNA patterns from modern and archaic humans has uncovered new clues about the movement and intermixing of populations more than 40,000 years ago in Asia.
Using state-of-the-art genome analysis methods, scientists from Harvard Medical School and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have found that Denisovans—a recently identified group of archaic humans whose DNA was extracted last year from a finger bone excavated in Siberia—contributed DNA not just to present-day New Guineans, but also to aboriginal Australian and Philippine populations.
The study demonstrates that contrary to the findings of the largest previous genetic studies, modern humans settled Asia in more than one migration. According to David Reich, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, "Denisova DNA is like a medical imaging dye that traces a person's blood vessels. It is so recognizable that you can detect even a little bit of it in one individual. In a similar way, we were able to trace Denisova DNA in the migrations of people. This shows the power of sequencing ancient DNA as a tool for understanding human history."
The patterns the researchers found can only be explained by at least two waves of human migration: the first giving rise to the aboriginal populations that currently live in Southeast Asia and Oceania, and later migrations giving rise to relatives of East Asians who now are the primary population of Southeast Asia.
The study also provides new insights about where the ancient Denisovans lived. According to Mark Stoneking, a professor at the Max Planck Institute who is senior author of the paper, Denisovans must have inhabited an extraordinarily large ecological and geographic range, from Siberia to tropical Southeast Asia. "The fact that Denisovan DNA is present in some aboriginal populations of Southeast Asia but not in others shows that there was a checkerboard of populations with and without Denisova material more than 44,000 years ago," he said. "The presence of Denisovan genetic material in some but not all the groups there can most easily be explained if Denisovans lived in Southeast Asia itself."
The findings appear on September 22 in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
This research builds on previous work by Reich and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute, in which they analyzed an ancient pinky bone uncovered by Russian archaeologists in the Siberian Denisova Cave in 2008. The Max Planck Institute team led by Svante Pääbo sequenced the bone's nuclear genome, and Reich led the population genetic analysis using algorithms that he and colleagues developed.
Reporting December 2010 in Nature, the team identified Denisovans as a distinct group of archaic humans (hominins) that lived more than 30,000 years ago and contributed genes to present-day New Guineans. They concluded that Denisovans were neither Neandertals nor early modern humans, though they shared a common ancestry.
This paper helped fill in some empty pieces in the evolutionary puzzle that began after early humans left Africa and reinforces the view that humans have intermixed throughout history.
Genetic footprints
The new study was initiated by Stoneking, an expert on genetic variation in Southeast Asia and Oceania who has assembled diverse samples from that region. The study takes a closer look at the Denisovans' genetic footprint. The researchers analyzed DNA from dozens of present-day populations in Southeast Asia and Oceania, including Borneo, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Polynesia. Some of the data already existed, and some were newly collected for the study.
Their analysis shows that, in addition to New Guineans, Denisovans contributed genetic material to Australian aborigines, a Philippine "Negrito" group called Mamanwa, and several other populations in eastern Southeast Asia and Oceania. However, groups in the west or northwest, including other Negrito groups such as the Onge in the Andaman Islands and the Jehai in Malaysia, as well as mainland East Asians, did not interbreed with Denisovans.
The researchers concluded that:
* Denisovans interbred with modern humans in Southeast Asia at least 44,000 years ago before the time of the separation of the Australians and New Guineans.
* Southeast Asia was first colonized by modern humans unrelated to present-day Chinese and Indonesians, and that these and other East Asians arrived in later migrations. This "southern route" hypothesis has previously been supported by archaeological evidence, but has never had strong genetic support.
___________________
References:
EurekAlert. 2011. "DNA study suggests Asia was settled in multiple waves of migration
". EurekAlert. Posted: September 22, 2011. Available online: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/hms-dk091611.php
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Using human genomes to illuminate the mysteries of early human history
Cornell University researchers are utilizing the complete genome sequences of people alive today to shed light on events at the dawn of human history, such as the times of divergence of early human populations and of the "out of Africa" migration of the ancestors of modern Europeans, Asians, and other non-African groups.
Researchers studied the genomes of people from East Asian, European, and western and southern African descent and discovered that the San, an indigenous group of hunter gatherers from southern Africa, diverged from other human populations earlier than previously thought — about 130,000 years ago. In comparison, the ancestors of modern Eurasian populations migrated from Africa only about 50,000 years ago. The study is published in the Sept. 18 issue of Nature Genetics.
Previous studies of human demography have primarily relied on mitochondrial DNA from the maternal line or Y-chromosomal DNA passed from fathers to their sons. The Cornell study uses the full genome of each individual, providing a richer, more complete picture of human evolution.
"The use of genome-wide data gives you much more confidence that you are getting the right answer," said Adam Siepel, Cornell associate professor of biological statistics and computational biology, and senior author of the paper. "With mitochondrial DNA, you are only looking at one family tree, with one pathway from each individual to its ancestors. We are sampling from all possible pathways."
"What's unusual about our methods is that, not only do they use complete genome sequences, but they consider several populations at once," said Ilan Gronau, the paper's lead author and a postdoctoral associate in Siepel's lab. "This is the first paper to put all of these pieces together."
Previous studies estimated that modern humans arose roughly 200,000 years ago in eastern or southern Africa; and that the indigenous hunting-and-gathering central and southern African San people — one of the most genetically divergent human populations — diverged from other Africans about 100,000 years ago.
But this study shows that the San people split from other African populations about 130,000 years ago (somewhere between 108,000 and 157,000 years ago). The estimate of an "out of Africa" migration of about 50,000 years ago is consistent with recent findings using other methods, the researchers said.
The study is available online at: http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/ng.937.html
___________________
References:
EurekAlert. 2011. "Using human genomes to illuminate the mysteries of early human history". EurekAlert. Posted: September 21, 2011. Available online: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/cu-uhg092111.php
Researchers studied the genomes of people from East Asian, European, and western and southern African descent and discovered that the San, an indigenous group of hunter gatherers from southern Africa, diverged from other human populations earlier than previously thought — about 130,000 years ago. In comparison, the ancestors of modern Eurasian populations migrated from Africa only about 50,000 years ago. The study is published in the Sept. 18 issue of Nature Genetics.
Previous studies of human demography have primarily relied on mitochondrial DNA from the maternal line or Y-chromosomal DNA passed from fathers to their sons. The Cornell study uses the full genome of each individual, providing a richer, more complete picture of human evolution.
"The use of genome-wide data gives you much more confidence that you are getting the right answer," said Adam Siepel, Cornell associate professor of biological statistics and computational biology, and senior author of the paper. "With mitochondrial DNA, you are only looking at one family tree, with one pathway from each individual to its ancestors. We are sampling from all possible pathways."
"What's unusual about our methods is that, not only do they use complete genome sequences, but they consider several populations at once," said Ilan Gronau, the paper's lead author and a postdoctoral associate in Siepel's lab. "This is the first paper to put all of these pieces together."
Previous studies estimated that modern humans arose roughly 200,000 years ago in eastern or southern Africa; and that the indigenous hunting-and-gathering central and southern African San people — one of the most genetically divergent human populations — diverged from other Africans about 100,000 years ago.
But this study shows that the San people split from other African populations about 130,000 years ago (somewhere between 108,000 and 157,000 years ago). The estimate of an "out of Africa" migration of about 50,000 years ago is consistent with recent findings using other methods, the researchers said.
The study is available online at: http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/ng.937.html
___________________
References:
EurekAlert. 2011. "Using human genomes to illuminate the mysteries of early human history". EurekAlert. Posted: September 21, 2011. Available online: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/cu-uhg092111.php
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Religion and ecology among China's Blang people
Fieldwork conducted by two Queen's researchers could help develop culturally appropriate conservation efforts and environmental education programs in a remote mountainous area of southwest China where deforestation is a major environmental issue.
James Miller, a professor in the School of Religion and the Cultural Studies program, and An Jing, a visiting research student in the School of Graduate Studies, found a distinct link between the strong religious culture of the indigenous Blang people and their region's economic and ecological development.
"Our research provides clear evidence of religion playing an influential role in managing the relationship between the Blang people and their local ecosystems," says. Dr. Miller. "Their religious life is not a matter of private belief or personal spirituality, but a cultural system that clearly intersects with ecological and economic systems."
Previously subsistence farmers, Blang villagers have now turned almost exclusively to producing tea leaves, which when processed becomes a highly valuable finished product. Since China began its economic and landholding reforms in the 1980s, the villagers have been steadily converting their lands to the production of tea, with tea bushes now dominating the steeply-terraced mountainsides.
Interestingly, the researchers observed that recent economic development from tea production in the village is contributing to a resurgence of religion, new temple construction and lavish religious activities. But while the economy is benefiting, deforestation is impacting biodiversity preservation and water management in the local area.
However, during a three-month annual Buddhist festival that marks the beginning of the rainy season, there is a prohibition on cutting down large trees. While in traditional times the trees might have been cut down for building houses, these days they are cut down to increase the land available for tea production. Observance of the tree-cutting injunction has a positive effect on the local ecology by slowing the tree removal. It also demonstrates how indigenous religion and culture can be an ally in promoting conservation efforts.
____________________
References:
EurekAlert. 2011. "Religion and ecology among China's Blang people". EurekAlert. Posted: September 20, 2011. Available online: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/qu-rae092011.php
James Miller, a professor in the School of Religion and the Cultural Studies program, and An Jing, a visiting research student in the School of Graduate Studies, found a distinct link between the strong religious culture of the indigenous Blang people and their region's economic and ecological development.
"Our research provides clear evidence of religion playing an influential role in managing the relationship between the Blang people and their local ecosystems," says. Dr. Miller. "Their religious life is not a matter of private belief or personal spirituality, but a cultural system that clearly intersects with ecological and economic systems."
Previously subsistence farmers, Blang villagers have now turned almost exclusively to producing tea leaves, which when processed becomes a highly valuable finished product. Since China began its economic and landholding reforms in the 1980s, the villagers have been steadily converting their lands to the production of tea, with tea bushes now dominating the steeply-terraced mountainsides.
Interestingly, the researchers observed that recent economic development from tea production in the village is contributing to a resurgence of religion, new temple construction and lavish religious activities. But while the economy is benefiting, deforestation is impacting biodiversity preservation and water management in the local area.
However, during a three-month annual Buddhist festival that marks the beginning of the rainy season, there is a prohibition on cutting down large trees. While in traditional times the trees might have been cut down for building houses, these days they are cut down to increase the land available for tea production. Observance of the tree-cutting injunction has a positive effect on the local ecology by slowing the tree removal. It also demonstrates how indigenous religion and culture can be an ally in promoting conservation efforts.
____________________
References:
EurekAlert. 2011. "Religion and ecology among China's Blang people". EurekAlert. Posted: September 20, 2011. Available online: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/qu-rae092011.php
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The Ice Mummy: Little-Known Facts
Exactly 20 years ago, on Sept. 19, 1991, German hikers Erika and Helmut Simon spotted something brown while walking near a melting glacier in the Ötztal Alps in South Tyrol.
As they got closer, they realized with horror that it wasn't just some sort of rubbish: a human corpse was lying with the chest against a flat rock.
Only the back of the head, the bare shoulders and part of the back emerged from the ice and meltwater.
The hikers thought the body belonged to an unfortunate victim of a mountaineering accident a few years back. In fact, they discovered one of the world's oldest and best preserved mummies.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of this sensational discovery, here are 20 known and lesser known facts about the Neothiltic frozen mummy.
1. An incredible chain of coincidences allowed the Iceman to remain intact: he was covered by snow shortly after his death and later by ice; the deep gully where the Iceman lay prevented the body from being ground up by the base of the glacier; the body was exposed to damaging sunlight and wind only for a short time in 1991 between the time the mummy thawed and the accidental discovery.
2. It was an Austrian reporter, Karl Wendl, who first named the mummy "Ötzi," referring to the Ötzal Alps where it was found. According to a resolution by the South Tyrol Provincial Government, the official name for the mummy is "Der Mann aus dem Eis" -- "L'Uomo venuto dal ghiaccio" (The man who came from ice).
3. Soon after the mummy was recovered, a harsh controversy arose on which soil -- Italian or Austrian -- it was found. A survey of the border carried out on Oct. 2, 1991 established that the mummy lay 303.67 feet from the border in South Tyrol, in Italy.
4. Radio carbon dating established that the Ötzi lived around 5,000 years ago, between 3350 and 3100 B.C.
5. Recent investigations established that he had brown eyes, not blue as previously thought.
6. Ötzi was probably a bearded, furrow faced man. He was about 5 foot, 3 inches tall and weighed 110 pounds.
7. He lacked a twelfth pair of ribs -- a rare anatomical anomaly.
8. The Iceman had a remarkable diastema, or natural gap, between his two upper incisors. He also lacked wisdom teeth. Even though he suffered from cavities, worn teeth and periodontal diseases, he still had all his teeth when he died at around 45.
9. Ötzi could have been a little better endowed. The man's natural mummification and dehydration in the Alpine glacier produced a "collapse of the genitalia," which left the Iceman with an almost invisible member.
10. The Iceman's last meal probably consisted of a porridge of einkorn, meat and vegetables. Researchers are still investigating the sampled material to determine the exact nature on the Iceman’s last meal.
11. Three gallbladder stones were recently found which, in combination with the previously identified atherosclerosis, show that Ötzi’s diet may have been richer in animal products than previously thought.
12. The Iceman's stomach also contained 30 different types of pollen, which ended up there with the food he ate, the water he drank and the air he breathed. The pollen showed that he died in the spring or early summer.
13. Analysis of the isotopic composition of Ötzi's tooth enamel and bones suggest that the man was born and lived in what is now South Tyrol. He probably spent his childhood in the upper Eisack Valley or the lower Puster Valley. He lived at least ten years in the Vinschgau prior to his death.
14. Among the clothing and items found with the mummy, one of the most important pieces is the copper-bladed axe. Archaeological experiments showed that the axe could fell a yew tree in 35 minutes without sharpening.
15. Ötzi's body is covered with over 50 tattoos made with fine incisions into which charcoal was rubbed. In the shape of lines and crosses, they were probably used as pain-relieving treatments. Indeed, the tattooed areas correspond to skin acupuncture lines, which predate acupunture in Asia by two thousand years.
16. Many theories have been proposed on Ötzi' social status. Among the various theories, the Iceman was identified with a shaman, a mineral prospector looking for ore deposits in the mountains, a hunter, a trader, a shepherd, and a man banished from his community.
17. The Iceman had been involved in a fight shortly before his death. He was shot with an arrow which pierced the subclavian artery and also suffered a violent blow to the head just before dying.
18. Ötzi's belonged to the European genetic haplogroup K. He was probably infertile.
19. Ötzi's constitution was athletic. He was more a wanderer than a manual worker. Recent research by Albert Zink at the EURAC Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, found signs of enthesopathy (an inflammatory disease of bone attachments) in the knees, which indicate that the Neolithic man spent many hours wandering in the mountains.
20. Claims of a Tutankhamen-style curse refer to seven strange deaths which occurred just a couple of years after German hiker Helmut Simon and his wife Erika discovered the frozen mummy. The seven dead people were either involved in the recovery of the mummy or in the scientific investigation. One of them was Helmut Simon, whose body was found trapped in ice in 2004, just like his famous find.
In reality, hundreds of individuals have worked on the Iceman project. Although sad, it's not so peculiar that some of those people have died since the mummy's discovery.
_______________
References:
Lorenzi, Rossella. 2011. "The Ice Mummy: Little-Known Facts". Discovery News. Posted: September 19, 2011. Available online: http://news.discovery.com/history/iceman-discovery-110919.html
As they got closer, they realized with horror that it wasn't just some sort of rubbish: a human corpse was lying with the chest against a flat rock.
Only the back of the head, the bare shoulders and part of the back emerged from the ice and meltwater.
The hikers thought the body belonged to an unfortunate victim of a mountaineering accident a few years back. In fact, they discovered one of the world's oldest and best preserved mummies.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of this sensational discovery, here are 20 known and lesser known facts about the Neothiltic frozen mummy.
1. An incredible chain of coincidences allowed the Iceman to remain intact: he was covered by snow shortly after his death and later by ice; the deep gully where the Iceman lay prevented the body from being ground up by the base of the glacier; the body was exposed to damaging sunlight and wind only for a short time in 1991 between the time the mummy thawed and the accidental discovery.
2. It was an Austrian reporter, Karl Wendl, who first named the mummy "Ötzi," referring to the Ötzal Alps where it was found. According to a resolution by the South Tyrol Provincial Government, the official name for the mummy is "Der Mann aus dem Eis" -- "L'Uomo venuto dal ghiaccio" (The man who came from ice).
3. Soon after the mummy was recovered, a harsh controversy arose on which soil -- Italian or Austrian -- it was found. A survey of the border carried out on Oct. 2, 1991 established that the mummy lay 303.67 feet from the border in South Tyrol, in Italy.
4. Radio carbon dating established that the Ötzi lived around 5,000 years ago, between 3350 and 3100 B.C.
5. Recent investigations established that he had brown eyes, not blue as previously thought.
6. Ötzi was probably a bearded, furrow faced man. He was about 5 foot, 3 inches tall and weighed 110 pounds.
7. He lacked a twelfth pair of ribs -- a rare anatomical anomaly.
8. The Iceman had a remarkable diastema, or natural gap, between his two upper incisors. He also lacked wisdom teeth. Even though he suffered from cavities, worn teeth and periodontal diseases, he still had all his teeth when he died at around 45.
9. Ötzi could have been a little better endowed. The man's natural mummification and dehydration in the Alpine glacier produced a "collapse of the genitalia," which left the Iceman with an almost invisible member.
10. The Iceman's last meal probably consisted of a porridge of einkorn, meat and vegetables. Researchers are still investigating the sampled material to determine the exact nature on the Iceman’s last meal.
11. Three gallbladder stones were recently found which, in combination with the previously identified atherosclerosis, show that Ötzi’s diet may have been richer in animal products than previously thought.
12. The Iceman's stomach also contained 30 different types of pollen, which ended up there with the food he ate, the water he drank and the air he breathed. The pollen showed that he died in the spring or early summer.
13. Analysis of the isotopic composition of Ötzi's tooth enamel and bones suggest that the man was born and lived in what is now South Tyrol. He probably spent his childhood in the upper Eisack Valley or the lower Puster Valley. He lived at least ten years in the Vinschgau prior to his death.
14. Among the clothing and items found with the mummy, one of the most important pieces is the copper-bladed axe. Archaeological experiments showed that the axe could fell a yew tree in 35 minutes without sharpening.
15. Ötzi's body is covered with over 50 tattoos made with fine incisions into which charcoal was rubbed. In the shape of lines and crosses, they were probably used as pain-relieving treatments. Indeed, the tattooed areas correspond to skin acupuncture lines, which predate acupunture in Asia by two thousand years.
16. Many theories have been proposed on Ötzi' social status. Among the various theories, the Iceman was identified with a shaman, a mineral prospector looking for ore deposits in the mountains, a hunter, a trader, a shepherd, and a man banished from his community.
17. The Iceman had been involved in a fight shortly before his death. He was shot with an arrow which pierced the subclavian artery and also suffered a violent blow to the head just before dying.
18. Ötzi's belonged to the European genetic haplogroup K. He was probably infertile.
19. Ötzi's constitution was athletic. He was more a wanderer than a manual worker. Recent research by Albert Zink at the EURAC Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, found signs of enthesopathy (an inflammatory disease of bone attachments) in the knees, which indicate that the Neolithic man spent many hours wandering in the mountains.
20. Claims of a Tutankhamen-style curse refer to seven strange deaths which occurred just a couple of years after German hiker Helmut Simon and his wife Erika discovered the frozen mummy. The seven dead people were either involved in the recovery of the mummy or in the scientific investigation. One of them was Helmut Simon, whose body was found trapped in ice in 2004, just like his famous find.
In reality, hundreds of individuals have worked on the Iceman project. Although sad, it's not so peculiar that some of those people have died since the mummy's discovery.
_______________
References:
Lorenzi, Rossella. 2011. "The Ice Mummy: Little-Known Facts". Discovery News. Posted: September 19, 2011. Available online: http://news.discovery.com/history/iceman-discovery-110919.html
Monday, October 3, 2011
Discovery of Boch and Pictish Chieftains Fort
A team from the Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot (SERF) project have uncovered near the village of Dunning an exquisitely preserved Iron Age broch filled with evidence of early contact between the Picts and the Roman Empire.
The massively fortified dwelling, the preferred residence of the elite during Roman times, is the first of its kind to be discovered in the Scottish Lowlands in around 100 years. Situated at the top of a hill to offer occupants 360-degree views of the surrounding countryside, the broch’s drystone walls stand in excess of two metres high and five metres thick.
The SERF team uncovered evidence that after the broch was destroyed by fire, the Picts built a palisaded fortress directly on top of the site which was likely occupied by a Pictish warlord.
Prof Stephen Driscoll, Professor of Historical Archaeology at the University of Glasgow and director of the SERF project, said: “There can be no doubt that we have located one of the major centres of Pictish power from the 1st and 2nd centuries. The scale of the architecture is colossal and the tower-like structure would have visually dominated its surroundings.
“It’s not unreasonable to see this as a seat of a Celtic chieftain, who collected a wide range of luxury objects from the Roman world perhaps through trading with the Romans or possibly even serving in the Roman army. The artefacts are of particular interest as they date to the time of the first contact with the Roman world and offer numerous clues to how the Picts might have begun their interactions with the Roman Empire.
“This is the best example of an Iron Age Roman site being reoccupied by the Picts. We have long suspected that this happened, but now we can examine the Picts’ relationships with the Romans in much more detail.”
The finds from the broch’s interior include a wide range of Roman trade goods in excellent condition, including a bronze patera, a glass vessel, an unusual lead bowl, bangles of coloured glass and bronze, beads of glass and amber as well numerous fragmented objects of bronze, iron and lead. The team also uncovered characteristic native artefacts including a decorated stone lamp, a spindle whorl and weaving comb.
Prof Driscoll added: “The majority of the known Lowland brochs were excavated poorly by antiquarians or were not as well preserved as the items we’ve uncovered. These items’ discovery is particularly valuable as it will allow this high-quality material to be examined in a disciplined manner in future years and play a role in developing out understanding of this area of Scottish history.”
The excavations were directed by Dr Heather James of Northlight Heritage, a SERF partner organisation. The SERF team, which is drawn from the Universities of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Chester and supported by students and volunteers from across Scotland, Europe and North America, is exploring the early origins of Scotland through intensive excavations in and around Strathearn and Royal Forteviot.
This year’s discovery is the most recent in a string of successes for the SERF team, the most notable of which was an early Bronze Age dagger burial which included the earliest floral tribute ever discovered in the UK.
Major sponsorship for the SERF project comes from the University of Glasgow, Historic Scotland, the British Academy and the Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust.
______________________
References:
Past Horizons. "Discovery of Boch and Pictish Chieftains Fort". Past Horizons. Posted: September 19, 2011. Available online: http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/09/2011/discovery-of-broch-and-pictish-chieftains-fort
The massively fortified dwelling, the preferred residence of the elite during Roman times, is the first of its kind to be discovered in the Scottish Lowlands in around 100 years. Situated at the top of a hill to offer occupants 360-degree views of the surrounding countryside, the broch’s drystone walls stand in excess of two metres high and five metres thick.
The SERF team uncovered evidence that after the broch was destroyed by fire, the Picts built a palisaded fortress directly on top of the site which was likely occupied by a Pictish warlord.
Prof Stephen Driscoll, Professor of Historical Archaeology at the University of Glasgow and director of the SERF project, said: “There can be no doubt that we have located one of the major centres of Pictish power from the 1st and 2nd centuries. The scale of the architecture is colossal and the tower-like structure would have visually dominated its surroundings.
“It’s not unreasonable to see this as a seat of a Celtic chieftain, who collected a wide range of luxury objects from the Roman world perhaps through trading with the Romans or possibly even serving in the Roman army. The artefacts are of particular interest as they date to the time of the first contact with the Roman world and offer numerous clues to how the Picts might have begun their interactions with the Roman Empire.
“This is the best example of an Iron Age Roman site being reoccupied by the Picts. We have long suspected that this happened, but now we can examine the Picts’ relationships with the Romans in much more detail.”
The finds from the broch’s interior include a wide range of Roman trade goods in excellent condition, including a bronze patera, a glass vessel, an unusual lead bowl, bangles of coloured glass and bronze, beads of glass and amber as well numerous fragmented objects of bronze, iron and lead. The team also uncovered characteristic native artefacts including a decorated stone lamp, a spindle whorl and weaving comb.
Prof Driscoll added: “The majority of the known Lowland brochs were excavated poorly by antiquarians or were not as well preserved as the items we’ve uncovered. These items’ discovery is particularly valuable as it will allow this high-quality material to be examined in a disciplined manner in future years and play a role in developing out understanding of this area of Scottish history.”
The excavations were directed by Dr Heather James of Northlight Heritage, a SERF partner organisation. The SERF team, which is drawn from the Universities of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Chester and supported by students and volunteers from across Scotland, Europe and North America, is exploring the early origins of Scotland through intensive excavations in and around Strathearn and Royal Forteviot.
This year’s discovery is the most recent in a string of successes for the SERF team, the most notable of which was an early Bronze Age dagger burial which included the earliest floral tribute ever discovered in the UK.
Major sponsorship for the SERF project comes from the University of Glasgow, Historic Scotland, the British Academy and the Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust.
______________________
References:
Past Horizons. "Discovery of Boch and Pictish Chieftains Fort". Past Horizons. Posted: September 19, 2011. Available online: http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/09/2011/discovery-of-broch-and-pictish-chieftains-fort
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