The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
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Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
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UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld Ontdek de Fascinerende Wereld van UFO's en UAP's: Jouw Bron voor Onthullende Informatie!
Ben jij ook gefascineerd door het onbekende? Wil je meer weten over UFO's en UAP's, niet alleen in België, maar over de hele wereld? Dan ben je op de juiste plek!
België: Het Kloppend Hart van UFO-onderzoek
In België is BUFON (Belgisch UFO-Netwerk) dé autoriteit op het gebied van UFO-onderzoek. Voor betrouwbare en objectieve informatie over deze intrigerende fenomenen, bezoek je zeker onze Facebook-pagina en deze blog. Maar dat is nog niet alles! Ontdek ook het Belgisch UFO-meldpunt en Caelestia, twee organisaties die diepgaand onderzoek verrichten, al zijn ze soms kritisch of sceptisch.
Nederland: Een Schat aan Informatie
Voor onze Nederlandse buren is er de schitterende website www.ufowijzer.nl, beheerd door Paul Harmans. Deze site biedt een schat aan informatie en artikelen die je niet wilt missen!
Internationaal: MUFON - De Wereldwijde Autoriteit
Neem ook een kijkje bij MUFON (Mutual UFO Network Inc.), een gerenommeerde Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in de VS en wereldwijd. MUFON is toegewijd aan de wetenschappelijke en analytische studie van het UFO-fenomeen, en hun maandelijkse tijdschrift, The MUFON UFO-Journal, is een must-read voor elke UFO-enthousiasteling. Bezoek hun website op www.mufon.com voor meer informatie.
Samenwerking en Toekomstvisie
Sinds 1 februari 2020 is Pieter niet alleen ex-president van BUFON, maar ook de voormalige nationale directeur van MUFON in Vlaanderen en Nederland. Dit creëert een sterke samenwerking met de Franse MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP, wat ons in staat stelt om nog meer waardevolle inzichten te delen.
Let op: Nepprofielen en Nieuwe Groeperingen
Pas op voor een nieuwe groepering die zich ook BUFON noemt, maar geen enkele connectie heeft met onze gevestigde organisatie. Hoewel zij de naam geregistreerd hebben, kunnen ze het rijke verleden en de expertise van onze groep niet evenaren. We wensen hen veel succes, maar we blijven de autoriteit in UFO-onderzoek!
Blijf Op De Hoogte!
Wil jij de laatste nieuwtjes over UFO's, ruimtevaart, archeologie, en meer? Volg ons dan en duik samen met ons in de fascinerende wereld van het onbekende! Sluit je aan bij de gemeenschap van nieuwsgierige geesten die net als jij verlangen naar antwoorden en avonturen in de sterren!
Heb je vragen of wil je meer weten? Aarzel dan niet om contact met ons op te nemen! Samen ontrafelen we het mysterie van de lucht en daarbuiten.
05-04-2019
Nearly 240,000-year-old ancient teeth could reveal previously unknown human ancestor from Southern China
Nearly 240,000-year-old ancient teeth could reveal previously unknown human ancestor from Southern China
Ancient teeth first discovered by scientists in a cave between 1972 and 1983
The four teeth are thought to date back as far as 240,000 years previously
Scientists believed they were linked to Homo erectus or the Neanderthals
However, new analysis shows they could possibly originate from a hybrid group
Scientists are taking a closer look at a set of ancient teeth, first discovered in the 1970s but thought to have originated more than 200,000 years ago, under the suspicion that they could reveal a previously unknown human relative.
The four teeth were first discovered in the Yanhui Cave, located in Southern China's Tongzi county, between 1972 and 1983.
At the time, they were classified as Homo erectus, a primitive human species that could walk upright and dates back 1.8 million years ago.
Now, a team of researchers from the Centro Nacional de Investigacion sobre la Evolucion Humana (CENIEH) believe the teeth could have originated from either Homo erectus or their more advanced counterpart, Neanderthals, or possibly some other mysterious, hybrid group.
Scientists are taking a closer look at a set of ancient teeth, first discovered in the 1970s, under the suspicion that they could reveal a previously unknown human relative
To come to this conclusion, the researchers used modern methods like geometric morphometrical analysis, which primarily examines the change of shape, and Micro-Computed Tomography, or x-ray imaging in 3D.
Researchers said the teeth can be dated back to approximately 172,000 to 240,000 years ago.
As part of their analysis, they compared the Tongzi teeth to hominims from the same chronological period - the later part of the Middle Pleistocene epoch - and the surrounding areas of East Asia, according to the study.
While they looked at many comparative samples, the researchers are unsure just who exactly the teeth belong to.
Scientists believe the teeth may be linked to Homo erectus (reconstruction, pictured) or the Neanderthals. However, without more fossilized evidence, they can't really be sure
The teeth were first discovered in the Yanhui Cave, located in Southern China's Tongzi county, between 1972 and 1983. Scientists are unsure just who exactly the teeth belong to
In an attempt to pinpoint their origin, researchers looked at the structures and patterns of the Tongzi teeth, according to National Geographic.
They also compared the teeth to modern-day tooth samples from East Asia, as well as other regions including West Asia, Africa and Europe.
It proved to be even more puzzling, when they discovered the dentine, or tissue below the enamel, didn't appear to have the same crinkles found in Homo erectus, National Geographic reported.
Pictured is Jose Maria Bermudez, one of the co-authors of the CENIEH research
Instead, the teeth had more simple features akin to those in Neanderthals, but they still weren't a perfect match.
One possible theory is that the teeth could originate from the Denisovan ancestry, a mysterious hominim population that split off from the Neanderthals about 400,000 years ago.
The teeth had some similarities to tooth fossils from the Denisovans, but they weren't located in the same place in the mouth, making it hard to reach a definite conclusion.
'An abundant amount of genetic information has been collected from the Denisovans but there are very few fossil remains,' CENIEH explained.
'Therefore, both their physical appearance and their identification in the fossil record remain a mystery.'
Another possibility could be that the teeth came from a hybrid of two different hominims.
The teeth are thought to have originated as far back as 172,000 to 240,000 years ago. They were found in the Yanhui Cave, in China's Tongzi country in Guizhou Province (pictured)
For example, if the Denisovans crossed paths with Homo erectus, they could have interbred to create the group that produced this particular teeth sample, National Geographic noted.
Until they can get their hands on more fossilized evidence, the origination of the teeth remains unclear, however.
'More genetic and fossil discoveries would be necessary to evaluate the taxonomy of the non-erectus populations of the Middle Pleistocene, such as the Tongzi hominids, which could be good candidates for the Denisovan ancestry,' said Maria Martinon-Torres, one of the co-authors of the study.
WHEN DID HUMAN ANCESTORS FIRST EMERGE?
The timeline of human evolution can be traced back millions of years. Experts estimate that the family tree goes as such:
55 million years ago - First primitive primates evolve
15 million years ago - Hominidae (great apes) evolve from the ancestors of the gibbon
7 million years ago - First gorillas evolve. Later, chimp and human lineages diverge
A recreation of a Neanderthal man is pictured
5.5 million years ago - Ardipithecus, early 'proto-human' shares traits with chimps and gorillas
4 million years ago - Ape like early humans, the Australopithecines appeared. They had brains no larger than a chimpanzee's but other more human like features
3.9-2.9 million years ago - Australoipithecus afarensis lived in Africa.
2.7 million years ago - Paranthropus, lived in woods and had massive jaws for chewing
2.6 million years ago - Hand axes become the first major technological innovation
2.3 million years ago - Homo habilis first thought to have appeared in Africa
1.85 million years ago - First 'modern' hand emerges
1.8 million years ago - Homo ergaster begins to appear in fossil record
800,000 years ago- Early humans control fire and create hearths. Brain size increases rapidly
400,000 years ago - Neanderthals first begin to appear and spread across Europe and Asia
300,000 to 200,000 years ago - Homo sapiens - modern humans - appear in Africa
50,000 to 40,000 years ago - Modern humans reach Europe
Four teeth that were found in a cave in the Tongzi county of southern Chinadon’t fit into the evolutionary family tree of humans. The teeth that are approximately 200,000-years-old were found on the Yanhui cave floor in 1972 and 1983. While they were originally labelled as belonging to Homo erectus, further testing indicated that the teeth didn’t exactly fit in with the ancient human ancestor. And that’s where the story ended, until now.
A new study published in the Journal of Human Evolutionexplains that modern technology was used to take a closer look at the ancient teeth. While the new research concluded that the teeth did not belong to Homo erectus or Neanderthals, the owner of the teeth remains unknown. “It’s strange. We don’t know where to put it,” said Song Xing from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, as well as one of the authors of the study.
The four teeth are just part of a larger number of discoveries found in China that don’t fit into the human evolutionary tree, suggesting that there may be more that’s still unknown about the evolution of humans and the ancient ancestors from that region.
María Martinón-Torres, who is the director of Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana in Spain, as well as another author of the study, said, “We always think of Africa as the ‘cradle of humankind.’ I would say it’s a cradle of probably one of the human kinds, which is Homo sapiens.” Since numerous species of humans walked the Earth at different times, the research being done in Asia is probably “crucial to understanding the whole picture.”
The research team compared the four teeth to both ancient and modern tooth samples from Africa, East and West Asia, and Europe. What they found was that the Tongzi teeth had both ancient and modern traits. More specifically, the dentine (tissue underneath the enamel) didn’t have the crinkles that were found in Homo erectus’ teeth, and were more similar to teeth from a Neanderthal. However, the features on the teeth didn’t fit them directly into either category. They could have possibly come from Denisovans, although more research needs to be conducted to know for sure.
It’s possible that the teeth may have come from a new species that was created when different evolutionary groups crossed paths. For example, last year, scientists discovered the remains of a teenager who had a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father. The possibility is very real that Denisovan ancestors who were in Asia could have met up with the Homo erectusspecies and created a new offspring that produced the Tongzi teeth.
The Tongzi teeth aren’t the only thing that’s baffling scientists. Numerous Chinese fossils (including advanced features in teeth) that are between 360,000 and 100,000 years old don’t exactly fit into any of our human ancestors either.
There is also a complete skull that was found in Harbin, China. It had a face that’s older than a Neanderthal’s, but it’s still unclear as to where it belongs on the evolutionary tree, so it hasn’t yet been labelled to any human ancestor as of yet.
For now it’s still a guessing game as to what mysterious species produced the Tongzi teeth. Since the story of where we all came from is so complex, perhaps there are many more ancient ancestors that we don’t yet know about and that’s very exciting when learning about the evolution of humans.
Ancient Egyptian Coffin With Two Mummies Inside Found In 5,000-Year-Old Cemetery
The Egyptian archaeological mission of the Antiquities Ministry found a limestone coffin in the shape of a human body during archaeological excavations in the northwestern part of the excavation site at Quesna quarry in Monufiya governorate.
Ancient Egyptian Coffin With Two Mummies Inside Found In 5,000-Year-Old Cemetery
Egyptian archaeologists uncovered anancient stone coffin located in a cemetery that’s 5,000-year-old. The discovery was made at Quesna Cemetery in the Nile Delta region which is north of Cairo. What’s so peculiar about the finding is that the two poorly conditioned mummies that were inside of the coffin were lying on top of each other and covered with gold chips. The limestone coffin measured 6.5 feet long by 23 inches wide.
Dr. Ayman Ashmawy, who is the head of the Egyptian Antiquities Department at the ministry, stated that the part of the Quesna Cemetery that was uncovered during the archaeological mission dates back to 3100 B.C. up to the Ptolemaic period.
The Ptolemaic period, which began not long after Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C., ended in 30 B.C. because of the Roman conquest as well as the death of Cleopatra.
Satellite image of the Nile Delta
There were other discoveries found in that area, including lanterns, pieces of ceramic, fragments of bronze nails, a bronze coin that dates back to the Ptolemaic period, and three heads of statues that represented Horus who was the Egyptian falcon god.
Mostafa Waziri, who is the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the coffin had been moved to the antiquities warehouse that’s located in Kafr al-Sheikh.
The Quesna Cemetery has been around since the reign of King Narmer who is said to have unified Upper and Lower Egypt, meaning that he was the first ever ruler of the unified country.
Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities has been attempting to make the archaeological work public in order to try to get more people to visit the country, as Egypt’s tourism has diminished since its 2011 revolution as well as their long period of instability.
Pyramids of Giza
Just last month, the Egyptian government announced that they had discovered an ancient village that dates back 2,500 years before the Pyramids of Giza were even built. In fact, the Neolithic village that was uncovered in the Nile Delta area of Tell el-Samara is one of the oldest settlements that have ever been excavated in Egypt. The archaeological team uncovered the remains of plants and animal bones, as well as stone tools and pottery which indicate that humans lived there.
Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri said that the discovered coffin is about two meters long and about 60 cm wide. Inside it the mission found two mummies in poor condition covered by gold chips.
He elaborated that the coffin was moved to the antiquities warehouse in Kafr al-Sheikh. The Tourism and Antiquities Police coordinated and secured the transport process so that the restoration team could begin restoration work on the coffin and the mummies, to be completed in a restoration laboratory attached to the warehouse.
Head of the Central Department of Restoration and Maintenance of Antiquities Ghareeb Sonbol said that the restoration team gently prepared the coffin for its new environment.
He added that the team partially uncovered the coffin lid and found two mummies, one on top of the other, inside. The stone coffin was in stable condition. Care was taken to prevent any damage to the important discovery.
Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Department in the Antiquities Ministry Ayman Ashmawy said that the mission also uncovered part of the ancient Quesna cemetery, which dates back to the era of the Old Kingdom.
He added that the ancient Quesna cemetery was used continually throughout several ages from the Late Period of ancient Egypt until the Ptolemaic era.
The head of the Central Department of Lower Egypt Antiquities Nadia Khadr said that the mission also found a gold chip in the form of scarab that was promptly handed to the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, as well as three symbolic limestone statue heads representing the three sons of Horus.
How the pyramids in ancient Egypt were built thousands of years ago has always been a question for many scientists. However, an American author revealed a compelling theory that could cast light on why the Egyptians were motivated to embark on one of the most ambitious building projects in human history. In Amazon Prime’s 2007 documentary, “Egypt: Quest for the Lord of the Nile”, presenter Richard Bangs said: “One of the reasons may be the crocodiles."
During the annual floods, the River Nile would tear down the Egyptian valley bringing “fertile soil and lots of crocodiles”.
According to historical reports, the Nile flooded every year between June and September, in a season the Egyptians called Akhet– the inundation.
Melting snow and heavy summer rain in the Ethiopian mountains sent a torrent of water causing the banks of the Nile in Egypt to overflow on the flat desert land
The documentary explains that many of the Egyptians “equated the presence of the crocodiles with the rebirth of the dead soil”.
Is this the REAL reason ancient society built the pyramids?
(Image: Getty)
Mr Bangs suggests the pyramids were built as a place to keep precious objects in the hope that they could "carry them to the afterlife".
He said: “It gave them faith that there may, in fact, be an afterlife.
"They would build these monuments and fill then with precious objects and everyday items in hope that they could carry them alongside them to the afterlife."
The Egyptians both respected and feared the power of the crocodile as they were a real danger to them.
From the Byzantine period, the men and crocodile depict the blessing of the overflowing Nile
(Image: Getty)
The Nile, which was full of crocodiles, was important to the livelihood of the ancient society.
Crocodiles were represented by the god Sobek.
Possessing the strength and nature of a crocodile, he was a symbol of the Pharaoh's power.
Mummified crocodiles were placed in tombs to protect the dead and bring power and fertility to the hereafter.
Archaeologists have discovered stunning evidence of an ancient society in Bolivia that worshiped religious deities and made ritual offerings hundreds of years before the Incas arrived.
A dive near the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca unearthed a trove of artifacts dating as far back as the year 500 A.D., including puma-shaped incense burners, gold, shell, and stone ornaments, and sacrificed juvenile llamas.
The discovery indicates the Tiwanaku people who lived in the region practiced an organized religion that long-predates the Incas, and may have been the first in the area to do so.
Archaeologists have discovered stunning evidence of an ancient society in Bolivia that worshiped religious deities and made ritual offerings hundreds of years before the Incas arrived
WHO WERE THE TIWANAKU PEOPLE?
The Tiwanaku people lived in western Bolivia near Lake Titicaca between 500 and 1,100 AD.
New research indicates they had an organized religion and made offerings to the deities well before the Incas arrived to the area.
Experts estimate they reached their peak around 800 A.D, with a population that blossomed to as many as 20,000 people.
The puma was an important symbol of their religion, and is often found with Tiwanaku artifacts.
In a new paper published in proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers conducted underwater excavations in the Khoa Reef using 3D photogrammetry to map the site.
Despite its Inca associations, the researchers say it was the Tiwanaku who first chose this location as a place of worship.
‘People often associate the Island of the Sun with the Incas because it was an important pilgrimage location for them and because they left behind numerous ceremonial buildings and offerings on and around this island,’ said Jose Capriles, assistant professor of anthropology, Penn State.
‘Our research shows that the Tiwanaku people, who developed in Lake Titicaca between 500 and 1,100 AD, were the first people to offer items of value to religious deities in the area.’
Using a water-dredge, they recovered a slew of Tiwanaku offerings, including ceramic incense burners modeled after pumas, sacrificed juvenile llamas, and ornaments.
According to the researchers, the puma was an important religious symbol.
‘The findings, and especially the ceramic puma-shaped incense burners, are significant because they help us gain a broader understanding of the ritual behavior and religion of the Tiwanaku state – a society that preceded the Incas by several hundred years,’ said Christophe Delaere, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology and research associate at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
It’s also likely that the items were sunk on purpose, the team says.
A dive near the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca unearthed a trove of artifacts dating as far back as the year 500 A.D., including puma-shaped incense burners, gold, shell, and stone ornaments, and sacrificed juvenile llamas
In a new paper published in proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers conducted underwater excavations in the Khoa Reef using 3D photogrammetry to map the site. Using a water-dredge, they recovered a slew of Tiwanaku offerings
‘The presence of anchor near the offerings suggests that officiating authorities may have deposited the offerings during rituals held from boats,’ Capriles said.
And, the location at the center of the Andes Mountains would have been key in the ceremonies.
‘It was a strategic and ritually charged place,’ Capriles said.
‘At the Island of the Sun and the Khoa Reef, religious specialists could come together for sacred ceremonies.
‘The ritual offerings they made here demonstrate the transitioning of societies from more local-based religious systems to something that had a more ambitious geopolitical and spiritual appeal.’
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Archaeologists discover ancient religious offerings at Lake Titicaca
Findings, such as this bowl, allowed the researchers to reconstruct the structure and significance of repeated state rituals by the Tiwanaku people. Credit: Teddy Seguin
An ancient group of people made ritual offerings to supernatural deities near the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, about 500 years earlier than the Incas, according to an international team of researchers. The team's findings suggest that organized religion emerged much earlier in the region than previously thought.
"People often associate the Island of the Sun with the Incas because it was an important pilgrimage location for them and because they left behind numerous ceremonial buildings and offerings on and around this island," said Jose Capriles, assistant professor of anthropology, Penn State. "Our research shows that the Tiwanaku people, who developed in Lake Titicaca between 500 and 1,100 AD, were the first people to offer items of value to religious deities in the area."
The Incas, Capriles noted, did not arrive in the Lake Titicaca region until around the 15th century AD.
A team lead by Christophe Delaere, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology and research associate at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, conducted underwater archaeological excavations in the Khoa Reef near the Island of the Sun. The archaeologists used sonar and underwater three-dimensional photogrammetry to scan and map the reef. They used a water-dredge to excavate the sediment and measured and weighed all the archaeological materials they uncovered. Their results appear today (April 1) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In particular, the team found ritual offerings consisting of ceramic feline incense burners; sacrificed juvenile llamas; and gold, shell and stone ornaments.
"The findings, and especially the ceramic puma-shaped incense burners, are significant because they help us gain a broader understanding of the ritual behavior and religion of the Tiwanaku state—a society that preceded the Incas by several hundred years," said Delaere.
The team found ritual offerings consisting of ceramic feline incense burners; sacrificed juvenile llamas; and gold, shell and stone ornaments Credit: Teddy Seguin
The puma was an important religious symbol to the Tiwanaku, Delaere added.
Another observation made by the team was that the religious offerings appear to have been made intentionally to be submerged underwater.
"The presence of anchors near the offerings suggests that officiating authorities may have deposited the offerings during rituals held from boats," said Capriles.
According to Capriles, the Island of the Sun was likely important to the Tiwanaku people because of its natural beauty, but also because of its location at the center of the Andes Mountains.
"It was a strategic and ritually charged place," said Capriles. "At the Island of the Sun and the Khoa Reef, religious specialists could come together for sacred ceremonies. The ritual offerings they made here demonstrate the transitioning of societies from more local-based religious systems to something that had a more ambitious geopolitical and spiritual appeal."
In turn, he added, this emergence of organized religion likely led to consolidation of the groups of people living around the lake and the emergence of the Tiwanaku state, characterized by political hierarchy.
A reef in the middle of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia was the location where many people’s valuable items were placed approximately 1,200 years ago. Underwater archaeologists discovered the ancient items in 2013 and now they believe that they finally know what they represented many years ago – a mysterious religion that is believed to have aided the Tiwanaku state grow into a powerful force in that part of the world.
The Tiwanaku state was in existence between 500 A.D. and 1000 A.D. and at its height it was extended all the way to Chile and Peru. The state was also thought to have had a lot of influence because of trade and religion. While a lot of evidence has been recovered in regards to their religious beliefs, archaeologists are still trying to figure out the deeper meaning behind their religion as well as how it may have helped the expansion of the state.
Lake Titicaca
Khoa reef, which is located close to the Island of the Sun, is believed to have been used as a ritualistic site as gold objects, semiprecious stones, metal ornaments, and incense burners have been found there. Other artifacts include two gold medallions that show Tiwanaku’s ray-faced deity, as well as metal plaques that have a mythical puma-llama hybrid on them. The divers even found the remains of several animals, including the bones of at least three young llamas that appear to have been sacrificed.
Five of the items that were discovered were made from Spondylus shells (and one complete shell) which surprised the team, as they’re only found in the Pacific Ocean – more than 1,200 miles away from Lake Titicaca. The discovery indicates that the shells were quite valuable and that the Tiwanaku people had a prominent trading relationship with others.
There’s still the question of why such valuable items were placed into the lake. José M. Capriles, who is an anthropologist and assistant professor of anthropology at Penn State University, believes that the sacrifices are proof of a religious tradition that helped the Tiwanaku state. Since the worshipers sacrificed their valuable objects, it showed how committed they were to the new religion. “These deities that people are creating are becoming institutions that govern behavior,” Capriles stated.
Lake Titicaca
Behaviours and morality were very important with this new religion. “If you behave well, you are immortal,” explained Capriles, “But if you’re bad, you are going to get punished by the chief’s deity.” And with the religious followers moving to different places, they could share their beliefs with others and that’s what helped expand the Tiwanaku state.
The society once had political, economic and cultural power before collapsing in 1000 A.D. Paul Goldstein, who is an archaeologist in the Department of Anthropology at UC San Diego, said, “The Tiwanaku is the greatest Native American empire that many Americans have never heard of.” He continued on by stating, “Every time we find something that reflects the complexity of the society, it adds to our deeper knowledge of the origins of complex societies worldwide.”
Although the Tiwanaku state no longer exists, the discovery of these ancient artifacts allows us to learn more about them and their religious beliefs. Capriles said it best by stating, “They were grateful, they made offerings. They were just people like you and me.”
A Mysterious Cavern in Africa and its Giant Snake Guardian
A Mysterious Cavern in Africa and its Giant Snake Guardian
Located within the country of South Africa, near an inhospitable, scrub land matted place called Richtersveld, is a deep cave and cavern system that meanders down into the murk beyond where light reaches and which is as mysterious as the surface of some forsaken unknown planet. Often called the the “Wonder Hole” or the “Bottomless Pit,” the cave and cavern system supposedly connects to the ocean, and has long been thought to harbor within it a trove of diamonds and other treasures. It is also according to legend prowled by an ancient, spiritual guardian long feared by locals and explorers alike, which jealously protects its glittering treasure and by some accounts seems to be more than mere myth.
The monster in question is known popularly as the Grootslang, or sometimes the Grote Slang, meaning “big snake” in Afrikaans and Dutch, as well as a variety of other regional names, and it has its origins deep in regional mythology. The Grootslang is said to measure about 40 to 50 feet long, sometimes even more, with scales as black as night, an elephantine body, and a long, serpent neck and tail, although it is often described as being merely a colossal serpent. It was apparently created by the gods with the features of both elephants and snakes, but proved to be so powerful and fearsome that it was torn apart into two different animals; elephants and snakes. However, one of these abominations was said to have escaped and remained whole, going on to hide in the cave to spawn more of its kind and devouring whatever it could lure into its dank pit. According to the legends, it is not an unreasonable beast, and values gems over killing, offering to bargain for people’s lives in exchange for these treasures. Woe be to anyone who tried to take these gems, though, as the Grootslang will tear them to shreds. It is also known to leave its cave lair from time to time and prowl the rivers and lakes of the area as well, in particular the Orange and Vaal Rivers of South Africa.
The Richtersveld region, South Africa
While it seems to be nothing more than mere myth on the surface, there are a few sightings of this beast over the centuries that have cast wonder on whether it may actually exist or not. In 1867 explorer Hans Sauer spotted an enormous black snake nearly a hundred feet long making its way through the Orange River near Aliwal North, Eastern Cape Province. There was another account from 1899, in which a merchant named G. A. Kinnear was crossing the Orange River near Upington, Northern Cape Province, when 8-10 feet of the head and neck of a gigantic black serpent crashed up from under the waves near his boat.
Some very interesting sightings were made by the South African adventurer and prospector Lt. Fred C. Cornell, who had his first brush with the monster in 1910 during an expedition near Augrabiesvalle, Northern Cape Province. On this occasion an American expedition member named Kammerer came back to their camp in a terrified panic, claiming to have seen a serpent lift itself 12 feet out of the water as he had been bathing in a nearby pool. The second sighting would happen in 1920, and Cornell would write of it in his unwieldy titled book, The Glamour of Prospecting: Wanderings of a South African Prospector in search of copper, gold, emeralds, and diamonds, in which he would write:
It was dark when we floundered out of it, and we steered straight for a wide thicket of willows, made a big fire, and were only too glad to turn in. It seemed an excellent camp, with wood, water, and shelter from the cold wind, but it was plain that the “boys” were uneasy, and they crouched close to our fire instead of building one apart as they usually did. After some food Ezaak suggested that we might perhaps trek on a little farther, and this, coming after a most arduous day, was decidedly strange. We asked him why, and after beating around the bush for a bit he told me that in the middle of the river, and exactly opposite where we were camped, was a big rock in which the huge snake (the “Groot Slang”, in which every Richtersfeldt Hottentot firmly believes) had his home, and that it was not safe for us or for our horses.
We had long heard of this snake; many reputable Hottentots and a few white men claim to have seen it, many more have seen its huge spoor in the sand or mud – a foot and a half wide. It is believed to take cattle from the banks, and the natives fear it mightily. There are no crocodiles in the Orange, and besides, there are never any traces of feet with the spoor, but it is a remarkable fact that the Hottentot name for this huge python – or whatever it may be – is “Ki-man” which is very like the Eastern name for an alligator. Anyhow, we were far too tired to care for snakes, and of course stayed where we were, the only thing to annoy us being the huge long-legged tarantulas that kept running with incredible swiftness into the fire, where they sizzled, squirmed, and smelt unpleasantly.
In the morning we found that the river here was a long, wide, still, and apparently very deep stretch of water, and that a big rock rose from the centre, as the guides had said. It appeared to be of granite, and was riven in half by a big cleft. The steep mud banks of the river should have shown a trace of anything coming up from the water, but we found no spoor. So we made up some dynamite cartridges with fuse and detonator, and flung them out as far as we could, and stood by with the “arsenal” handy in case the “Groot Slang” was at home and objected. The dynamite made a big upheaval, but no snake materialised; only a few small springers and barbel flapped round in the muddy water.
Then I saw something moving in the crack in the rock, and let drive with my rifle. I was in a hurry, and I heard my bullet hit the landscape somewhere in German territory; but Ransson had seen that movement too, and was emptying his magazine into the crack without undue loss of time. When we’d finished a very flustered and indignant old wild-duck squatted out of that crack and went away unhurt and quacking most derisively. No luck again with our “big game” shooting.
Cornell would apparently actually attempt to go on and use dynamite to try and kill the creature, without success, unless by success you mean tearing a new hole in the river. Interestingly, in 1917 there is the story of a prospector who launched an expedition to the cave by the name of Peter Grayson in search of diamonds, famously stating “I am determined to return to England as a very rich man or a dead man.” Apparently his team did not have a good time of it, many of them dying or turning back before they even got to the cave, but Grayson went on ahead. It is said that he walked off toward the cave and went it to never come out, and local lore has it he was killed by the Grootslang.
In later years there was an interesting claim in a book by journalist Lawrence G. Green in his 1945 book Where Men Still Dream, in which he recounts how the local tribes of the area refused to go any where near the pit where the Grootslang is said to dwell. All that is except one unnamed prospector who apparently made many forays into the cave looking for the riches said to be down there. Green would write of this enigmatic man and the Grootslang in general:
The cavern, they say, is connected with the sea forty miles away. If you lean over the edge of the pit and listen carefully, there comes at intervals a deep boom like surf on a distant shore. I know one tough prospector who took a winch and cable to the spot and explored a little of the “Wonder Hole”. He is, I believe, the only man to attempt this feat. It was dark and extremely hot when his feet touched a ledge far down. The ragged circle of daylight seemed small. Bats flew in his face, and he dropped his electric torch. Before they hauled him to the surface he observed tunnels leading out of the shaft. There was a smell of sulphur in the air. He never descended again.
The “Great Snake” of the Orange River is something more than a legend. Cornell described it in his books. Scores of other men living near the river have sent letters to the newspapers declaring they had seen the monster. Native stories that the snake has enormous diamonds in the eye-sockets, and that a strange and evil influence is felt by all who behold it, may be politely dismissed. White eyewitnesses state that the snake is forty feet long, leaving a track on the muddy river banks about three feet wide. This spoor was followed by one party of prospectors for many miles before it disappeared into the river. The truth probably is that exceptionally large pythons have been seen in the river from time to time, and their sizes exaggerated. Pythons up to twenty-five feet in length have been shot; their powers of swallowing a buck whole are well known. But in the native mind there remains only one Great Snake, greatly feared.
Sightings and accounts went on, when in 1947 there was a report from a John Clift, who saw a black crocodile near an abandoned mine crater, and such sightings have continued on into even more modern times, with strange footprints often found near the water. There are numerous stories of people being chased off by some large reptilian monster down in the caves, and locals claim that many people have gone missing, the pit swallowing them up to never return. It certainly makes one wonder what might be behind all of the stories, and there are plenty of ideas, including that it is just outsized pythons or monitor lizard, a new species of reptile, a surviving dinosaur, some sort of long-necked seal, or just pure folklore. The generally harrowing terrain of the remote area itself, as well as the dangerous, unexplored nature of the cavern system, would probably go far to explaining why people may go missing. In the end we are left with another creature anchored in folklore which may or may not have some basis in reality, although as to what that reality might be we have no idea, and likely never will.
Archaeologists from New York discovered an Egyptian palace at the same site as the adjoining Temple of Ramesses II. The palace and temple are located at the ancient site of Abydos, Egypt, where numerous kings are also buried.
Archaeologists were excavating in and around the temple when they discovered the palace. They first found a walkway made from stones at the southwest entrance to the temple and they ended up finding a new entrance to a different building that had the markings of Ramesses II.
Ramesses II
When the researchers excavated the cornerstones of the temple, they noticed very similar royal symbols. The newly found symbols and the discovery of the palace give archaeologists more information regarding temples from that period of time. In fact, for the first time in around 160 years, the floor plan of the temple will have to be changed because of these new discoveries.
Ramesses II was also known as Ramesses the Great, and is considered to be one of the most important rulers in Egypt’s ancient times. It is believed that he ruled from 1279 B.C. to 1213 B.C. He is said to have built huge temples and put cartouches (an oval engraving that represents the name and title of a monarch) on several of the monuments.
Professor Joann Fletcher from the University of York informed Newsweek that King Ramesses III’s Luxor funerary temple also included a palace.
The ancient city of Abydos is located about 300 miles south of Cairo and is where pharaohs from the dynasties of the earliest times are believed to be lying in tombs. These early dynasties include Qaa from the first one ever, as well as Peribsen from the second dynasty.
Ramesses II
The city also includes temples that are dedicated to the god Osiris and the Pharaoh Seti I. In fact, around the years 2025 B.C. to 1700 B.C. (also known as the Middle Kingdom), many people went to the city to worship Osiris.
Fletcher stated, “The new discovery will certainly emphasize the way Ramesses II, like his father Seti, saw Abydos as the origin of royal power,” adding, “The fact Ramesses II required a palace at Abydos also reveals that he didn’t just order a new temple at the site but was spending enough time there to warrant such accommodation.” She went on to explain that the discovery “begins to balance out Abydos’ role as purely a cemetery and temple site. To have a building in which people lived their lives is always a fascinating thing to find.”
Special hieroglyphic symbols denote the name of Ramesses II at a temple at the ancient site of Abydos. Ruins of the ancient Egyptian city of Abydos lie roughly 300 miles south of Cairo, in low desert to the west of the Nile.
EGYPTIAN MINISTRY OF ANTIQUITIES
Archaeologists discovered evidence of a structure to the southwest of a temple dedicated to Ramesses II in the ancient city of Abydos, in Egypt.
Bizarre Secret Files Released on Lost Ancient Human Civilizations
Bizarre Secret Files Released on Lost Ancient Human Civilizations
A recently declassified document discussed the topic of lost ancient human civilizations, and cataclysms that occurred on earth thousands of years ago – causing them to vanish from the earth and without explanation.
Thus answering the question of why there is so much mystery and unanswered questions involving our true ancient past. The creator of this document also states that the Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt, Easter Island, Tiahuanaco, and Baalbek are ancient Enigmas.
The lost city of Atlantis is also mentioned in the declassified files.
Archaeologists have discovered over 100 ancient inscriptions that were carved into the rock at Wadi el-Hudi, which is where the Egyptians mined amethysts in ancient times. They also found 14 stele (which are inscriptions that are carved on a slab of stone or pillar) and 45 ostraca (which are inscriptions that are written on pottery pieces).
While tests are currently being conducted on the findings, archaeologists have already concluded that several of the inscriptions were from approximately 3,900 years ago (a time period known as the “Middle Kingdom”), and several of the ostraca were from around 2,000 years ago (approximately the same time that Egypt was taken over by Rome).
Egypt
During the Middle Kingdom time period in Egypt, the pharaohs discovered that Wadi el-Hudi was an excellent source for amethysts and started mining it. “They were bringing it back and making it into jewelry and doling it out to their elite and their princesses,” Kate Liszka, who is the director of the Wadi el-Hudi expedition, told Live Science.
Although other scholars previously surveyed Wadi el-Hudi, many of the inscriptions were overlooked. “The site is just so full of inscriptions behind every boulder and around every wall that they missed a lot of them,” Liszka stated. In order to find new inscriptions, the team is using 3D modeling, photogrammetry, and reflectance transformation imaging (RTI).
The team hopes that the inscriptions will answer many of the mysteries surrounding Wadi el-Hudi, such as whether or not the miners were being forced to work against their free will. “I don’t know if I’m excavating a legitimate settlement where people were treated well or if I’m excavating a prison camp,” explained Liszka.
Amethyst
Some of the inscriptions indicate that there were groups of soldiers who were staring down at the miners while they worked, which makes researchers wonder whether the soldiers were keeping a watchful eye on the miners to make sure they were working hard, or if they were just protecting them.
Dating back around 3,900 years, this site at Wadi el-Hudi houses a settlement in a valley between two hills and an amethyst mine.
Credit: Photo courtesy Wadi el-Hudi Expedition
One of more than 100 inscriptions that were recently discovered by researchers at Wadi el-Hudi.
Credit: Photo courtesy Wadi el-Hudi Expedition
Another unanswered question is how the miners got access to water since the closest well was 1.9 miles away from them. And since it’s very possible that the well wasn’t even in use at that time, the Nile River was around 18.6 miles away.
Researchers also found a 3,400-year-old stela which had the name Usersatet written on it, who was viceroy of Kush in southern Egypt. What’s so mysterious about the finding is that no mining was being conducted at Wadi el-Hudi during that time, leaving it completely abandoned, so why did someone bring it 18.6 miles throughout the desert in order to leave it there? Hopefully with more research being done there, some of these questions may eventually be answered.
Archaeologists are discovering that the Amazon region was not a pristine place before European contact. In fact, a new study suggests that there was quite a large population living there. What evidence can we see for their villages today? The outlines of their settlements and a few hardy artifacts.
Just over a year ago, large geometric earthworks (geoglyphs) in the southwestern Amazon made international headlines as both an unexpected discovery and for the resemblance of some sites to the famed Stonehenge. They are estimated to be at least 2,000 years old.
Called the Geoglyphs of Acre because most of them are located in the Brazilian State of Acre, nearly 500 locations were identified. They come in various shapes: squares, circles, U-forms, ellipses, and octagons; but researchers believe that they all enhanced the connection between humans and nature. Their very existence shows that humans were in the Amazon much earlier than once believed – although the impact they had certainly is nothing compared to the levels of destruction seen today.
Examples of geoglyphs and mounded ring villages in the Amazon: a. LiDAR digital terrain model of the Jacó Sá site. b. Aerial photo of one of the structures at Jacó Sá site. c. Aerial photo of Fonte Boa site. (CNPq research group Geoglyphs of Western Amazonia/ Denise Schaan )
Now there is mounting evidence that humans ventured into other parts of the Amazon as well. The Chicago Tribune reports that 81 geoglyphs have been found in the upper Tapajós Basin, a “transitional zone” where Brazil borders Bolivia. This area receives less rainfall than lower regions and is also called terra firme. It is a place that rarely floods and a location which archaeologists have largely ignored in favor of more fertile regions closer to large rivers.
Jonas De Souza of the University of Exeter, UK collaborated with other scientists Britain and Brazil to explore a terra firme region which has been forgotten, despite being bordered on the east and west with archaeological sites. According to The Guardian , the new sites were first noted in deforested areas by satellite imagery.
The newly identified earthworks show signs of ditch enclosures, sunken roadways, and earth platforms and vary from small 30 meter (98.43 ft.) wide villages to immense 19-hectare settlements.
The possibility was too exciting to leave at satellite image analysis, so researchers set off to explore 24 of the sites on the ground. De Souza told The Guardian, “Everything that we identified on satellite imagery that we tested was an archeological site.” The results published in Nature Communications shows that the trip was worthwhile. The authors write :
“The results of our predictive model of ditched enclosures show that, despite the enormous distances covered, earthworks are found across areas of notable environmental similarity, with pronounced seasonality in rainfall and temperature […] The seasonal drought of the transitional forests of this region probably facilitated clearance for the construction of earthworks. The easy-to-clear vegetation and the more fertile/less weathered soils of seasonally-dry forests are factors that made them attractive to Pre-Columbian farmers.”
De Souza said that the team found artifacts such as ceramics and polished stone axes, and also dark fertile earth which comes with extended human habitation. No buildings have been detected, but that’s not surprising because they were probably made of wood. Charcoal found near the ceramics at the sites has been carbon dated to 1410 - 1460 AD, in line with sites in the southern part of the Amazon, which were most active between 1250 and 1500.
One of the most startling results of the research is the claim based on models that 500,000 to a million people were living in that part of the Amazon and they may have built some 1,000 to 1,500 enclosures! De Souza clarified , “It's probably the case that some areas of the Amazon were sustaining large populations and others were not. Because there is so little research, we are slowly discovering what was happening in each.”
That large of a population would have certainly meant modification to the rainforest, but de Souza pointed out ,
“The forest is an artifact of modification. It has nothing to do with the kind of practice we are seeing nowadays - large-scale, clearing monoculture. These people were combining small-scale agriculture with management of useful tree species. So it was more a sustainable kind of land use.”
Amazon Rainforest, Brazil. (Ben Sutherland/Darren and Sandy Van Soye/ CC BY NC SA 2.0 )
Although the numbers may appear high at first, they seem to fit with accounts given by the first Europeans who entered the Amazon. Those reports were mostly discredited by historians as fantasy. Now archaeological evidence is giving the early travelers some support.
But the European arrival meant devastation for many of the settlements, as de Souza said , “We know that diseases travelled much faster than people and probably this population was already weakened by diseases brought by Europeans even before the Europeans set foot on the area.”
Top Image: Archaeologists used satellite imagery to find archaeological sites in the Amazon’s upper Tapajós Basin. Source: University of Exeter/PA
Lost for Over 10,000 Years, but This Man Found It!
Lost for Over 10,000 Years, but This Man Found It!
They said it didn’t exist. Lost For Over 10,000 Years, But This Man Found It! Was it worth it?
Today modern archaeology often works with digital technology. Geophysics has allowed thousands of ancient sites to be located – a huge gain for science.
Namaste Matrix Wisdom. One of the best video-docu’s I’ve seen on this subject especially w/Edgar Cayce aka The Sleeping Prophet. How you tied him & all the others into a phenomenal stream was brilliant. Thank you so much for your time, efforts & loving sistah’s n brutha’s all over the world…wanting them to know the True Truths….be Set Free & above all…Be Empowered…! 5 Star Rating on a 5 Star Rating System….Bravo…!!! HigherWaysWoman
Archaeologist debunks alien influence, other conspiracy theories in archaeology
Archaeologist debunks alien influence, other conspiracy theories in archaeology
Credit: Pixabay
Have you heard the one about the aliens and the pyramids? Or what about the technologically advanced but tragically lost city of Atlantis?
Chances are that most of us have encountered at least one such story—a tale that tries to explain the past in a way that can sound scientific, but in doing so ignores the evidence and methods of science.
Why is this alternative archaeology so popular? And how do we tell fact from fiction?
Assistant Professor Matthew Peeples, co-director of the School of Human Evolution and Social Change's Center for Archaeology and Society and an archaeologist of the Southwest U.S., is no stranger to the weirder side of his field. He has investigated false claims and has even been accused of covering up the truth.
For Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month, he sat down to discuss the background on these conspiracy theories, including one surrounding a petroglyph at the nearby Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve.
Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Question: What are some examples of outrageous archaeological narratives in pop culture?
Answer: Probably the biggest out there involves the notion that intelligent alien life visited human populations in the ancient past and either influenced or directed the development of human cultures. This idea is pervasive in science fiction going back to early 20th-century authors like H.P. Lovecraft, but has gained popularity in more recent years through a deluge of books and TV shows like "Ancient Aliens."
These ideas are not supported by scientific evidence, but they've become so prevalent that many people believe there must be something to them. To use the Great Pyramids in Egypt as an example, archeologists have clearly shown how these structures fit in a broader tradition of smaller stone structures and earlier attempts at pyramid construction. The building technology is impressive, but we don't need to invoke aliens to explain it.
Another popular notion is that professional archaeologists themselves are actively hiding the truth about the past. I've personally had people accuse me of being part of a widespread cover-up or conspiracy. This trope shows up again and again in pop culture through shows like "The X-Files" or "Stargate." In reality, archaeologists love to test and retest each others' ideas about the past using new data and discoveries, which is what pushes the science forward.
Peeples and his students photographed the petroglyph in question during the analysis of the supposed European-boat image. Credit: Matthew Peeples
Q: What are the myths surrounding the Deer Valley petroglyphs?
A: I wasn't aware of this until visitors at the preserve asked about it, but there was a mention of Deer Valley in a book published in the 1970s claiming to show evidence of Europeans visiting North America prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus or the Viking colonization of Newfoundland.
The book featured drawings of rock art from throughout North America supposedly depicting boats from various places in ancient Europe and the Near East. One, from the Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve, was said to depict a Punic sailing vessel along with the words "the ship" in Iberian Punic.
I worked with a group of honors students in my "Frauds, Myths and Mysteries" class to track down this claim and assess it. It took us quite a while to locate the petroglyph in question, largely because the drawing bore little resemblance to the actual petroglyph. We took high-resolution photos and made a 3-D model of the petroglyph, and we were able to show that the features that made both the supposed inscription and ship "convincing" were either exaggerated or were absent in the actual petroglyph (which archaeologists had previously suggested may have been a butterfly).
Q: When did conspiracy theories like these first come about? And why are they still popular today?
A: False archaeological claims like these have a really long history. There are accounts of a supposed discovery of the tomb of King Arthur and Guinevere by monks at Glastonbury Abbey in 1191, shortly after the abbey was burned in a massive fire. The story attracted a lot of pilgrims who funded the reconstruction of the church, but more recent archaeological work has shown that the pre-Christian cemetery dated many centuries later than would be expected were there truth to this story. Most historians now chalk this up to a publicity stunt by the abbey. There are even similar references to such claims going back to at least the second century A.D.
I think these claims are still popular today for a number of reasons. First, there is a lot of money to be made from selling pseudoscientific ideas to the public, as is evidenced by the numerous books and TV shows that keep popping up. A lot of these ideas are also tied to nationalism and various other kinds of group identities. People have a desire to claim that their ancestors were the first to arrive in a new land or develop some advanced technology, claims that have even been used to justify war and invasion.
Q: How do archaeologists separate plausible arguments from pseudoscience? What are the challenges in that?
A: Archaeology is all about the systematic and scientific study of human societies based on the stuff they leave behind in context. A lot of pseudoscientific ideas attempt to put on the trappings of science by using the jargon but completely ignore the scientific process of formal observation and evaluation. Plausible arguments need to be supported by evidence rather than simply asserted, and the methods and data used should be made available for scrutiny.
Be suspicious if someone is making conspiratorial claims that scientists' lack of acceptance for their ideas is about suppression of the truth. Relying on high-quality, peer-reviewed sources will also ensure that people with the relevant expertise have had a chance to vet the work. I'm a fan of a set of tools Carl Sagan published as a "baloney detection kit," which are a series of questions you can ask yourself about a given claim to help you fortify yourself against falling for pseudoscientific claims.
Q: Where can the public look for accurate archaeological information?
A: If you're interested in archaeology here in Arizona, there are a lot of excellent groups and organizations you could get involved with. The Arizona Archaeological Society has chapters throughout the state that offer talks, tours and even opportunities to work on archaeological projects. There are also nonprofits like Archaeology Southwest in Tucson that provide high-quality information for non-specialists on the archaeology of the region.
Evidence of Ancient Stone Cutting Technology? Where is this coming from?
Evidence of Ancient Stone Cutting Technology? Where is this coming from?
It is not surprising that the occasional eyebrow was raised in the past concerning the extent of the Egyptian masonry skills. Not only were the structures superior in a visionary capacity, but also in precision, design and execution.
The impressive cutting-in-stone technique reveals our ancestors were familiar with an extremely advanced technology we have long been unable to use. Large-sized holes found in ancient stone demanded engineering skills and proper cutting equipment. All kind of stones (even the hardest ones) were drilled for architectural, ritualistic or symbolic functions.
The methods employed by the Egyptians in cutting the hard stones which they so frequently worked, have long remained undetermined.
Various suggestions have been made, some very impractical; but no actual proofs of the tools employed, or the manner of using them, have been obtained.
Looking at these impressive cutting-in-stones technique one wonders if not plenty of our technologies which are thought to be modern have ancient roots or in some cases may have been lost and then reinvented.
JAPAN’S YONAGUNI RUINS MAY HOLD THE KEY TO A SUNKEN CIVILIZATION
JAPAN’S YONAGUNI RUINS MAY HOLD THE KEY TO A SUNKEN CIVILIZATION
The mystery of the lost continent of Atlantis has puzzled researchers for centuries, as growing evidence supports the theory that an advanced civilization may have been destroyed and gone unnoticed by mainstream archeology. This antediluvian civilization is assumed to have been located somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean and is thought to have been the progenitor of ancient civilizations like those in Egypt and India. But could there have been another sunken continent from that era that predates Atlantis? The Yonaguni ruins might provide an answer.
THE YONAGUNI MONUMENT
In 1985, a Japanese diver named Kihachiro Aratake was exploring the seafloor off the southern shore of Yonaguni-Jima island, the western-most island in the Ryukyu archipelago of Japan. Aratake came across what appeared to be the sunken ruins of an ancient, megalithic, stepped pyramid, similar to the ziggurats built in ancient Sumer. Since his discovery, the provenance of the ruins has been debated as to whether they are man-made or naturally occurring, due to the possibility of natural geological terracing.
Dr. Masaaki Kimura from the University of Ryukyu is the biggest proponent for the theory supporting the artificiality of the ruins. Surprisingly, Dr. Robert Schoch is one archeologist who has contended Kimura’s theory, despite his support for the Sphinx water erosion hypothesis.Although, Schoch has conceded that he doesn’t perceive Yonaguni to be a closed case and that he hasn’t spent as much time diving there, compared to Kimura’s 15 years.
According to Kimura, the Yonaguni monument appears to depict carvings of animals and people as well as the remnants of a carved face, which he compares to the Moai heads on Easter Island.At the end of the last ice age, Yonaguni would have been connected to what is now mainland China. It is likely that the fate of the civilization that built the Yonaguni pyramid, was sealed by a massive tectonic event that triggered a tsunami and subsequent sea level rise.
Since the end of the last Ice Age, sea levels have risen some 40 meters, causing drastic changes in topography and lending credibility to the theory that there may have been cities or even continents that disappeared into the sea. Based on stalactite found in caves near the ruins, Kimura has calculated the Yonaguni pyramid to be at least 6,000 years old when it sank, with the potential to be up to 10,000 years old including the time prior to flooding. The oldest recorded flooding event at Yonaguni occurred in the late 1700s, during which a tsunami ravaged the island with 130 foot waves. This combination of sea level rise and catastrophic climatic events were likely the cause of this ancient city’s demise.
Courtesy of www.yonaguni.ws
An interesting discovery has been made when looking at the orientation of the angles in the Yonaguni ruins. One researcher believes that the radial lines, when extended out from the ruins, might potentially outline a territory in the Pacific. This theory employs geoglyphology, or the study of coded maps and messaging in ancient geoglyphs, and has drawn out the radial lines of the Yonaguni ruins. The Faram Research Foundation’s work shows lines that depict a map very similar to the territory sought after by Japan during WWII.
The area extends from Yonaguni and the South China Sea, up to the tip of Alaska’s archipelago, down to Hawaii and back over encompassing Indonesia and Burma (Myanmar). This territory, some believe, could be that which was occupied by the lost continent of Mu, a lost civilization larger and older than Atlantis.
THE LOST CONTINENT OF MU
The lost civilization of Mu, is thought to have spanned a large swath of the Pacific Ocean. Reaching from the Philippines Sea all the way to Easter Island, Mu would have encompassed most of the small islands in the mid-Pacific, including Guam, Fiji, Christmas Island, Midway and Hawaii. The conception of Mu was first proposed by Augustus LePlongeon in the 19th century who was the first explorer to photographically document the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza. It was there that he supposedly learned of the lost continent of Mu through his translation of the ancient Mayan Troano Codex.
LePlongeon’s translation showed that the Mayan civilization was aware of and predated the ancient Egyptian and Greek civilizations, while also mentioning another civilization that was lost in a cataclysmic event. But LePlongeon’s account is thought to be spurious due his use of a false translation of the ancient Mayan language.
But a later account of the ancient continent from a book published in 1926, by James Churchward, is thought to possibly carry more veracity. Churchward was an English occultist who spent several decades living and studying with a group of mystic priests in India. There he was shown esoteric tablets that detailed the erstwhile civilization and its supposed 64 million inhabitants called the Nacaal, who lived roughly 50,000 years ago. The tablets contained a multitude of vignettes, or a series of pictographs that supposedly told the story of Mu. In order to properly transcribe the vignettes, Churchward had to study an ancient language called Naga-Maya, known to only a handful of people in the world.
Although it is difficult to conceive of a continent this size to have just disappeared underwater, some believe that the Yonaguni monument may be a key to the explanation. Though Churchward’s translation didn’t garner as much notoriety as the search for Atlantis, some believe his interpretation of Mu to be one in the same with the lost city of Lemuria, popularized by Russian theosophist, Helena Blavatsky. Blavatsky’s depiction of the Lemurian people shares many similarities with Churchward’s account, that she also claims to have learned from an esoteric text given to her by Indian mahatmas.
Were Lemuria and Mu one in the same, or two disparate, ancient civilizations that fostered the mysteriously advanced ancient cultures we’re aware of today. While we have been obsessed with the search for Atlantis, it appears that there could be evidence of an older society that may hold clues to the knowledge of our ancient ancestors. Could the Yonaguni ruins be the key to uncovering these antediluvian people?
“It wasn’t until we discovered this wreck that we realised Herodotus was right”
Damian Robinson
Ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote extensively about the boat during his travels to Egypt in 450BC.
In his magnum-opus – Historia – he described how the barge used sails made of papyrus, had a mast made of acacia wood and used a rudder that passed through a hole in the keel.
Until recently, however, modern-day historians were unsure whether the boat even existed.
That belief was shattered when the ship was discovered in the now-sunken port city of Thonis-Hercaleion, located off the Egyptian coast.
MYSTERIOUS: The barge once sailed along the River Nile thousands of years ago (Pic: GETTY/ HILTI FOUNDATION )RELATED ARTICLES
FOUND: The ancient ship was located thousands of years after it was mentioned in texts (Pic: HILTI FOUNDATION )
While the boats were found in 2000, it wasn’t until recently it was discovered they matched Herodotus’s descriptions.
Damian Robinson, director of Oxford University’s centre for maritime archaeology, told The Guardian: “It wasn’t until we discovered this wreck that we realised Herodotus was right. What Herodotus described was what we were looking at.”
The barges were used to transport goods and soldiers along the Nile river.
Mr Robinson continued: “The one from Thonis–Heracleion was also likely involved in moving goods to and from the emporium.
EGYPT: Herodotus journeyed to the African country in 450BC (Pic: GETTY)
HERODOTUS: The historian documented the vessel during his travels (Pic: GETTY)RELATED ARTICLES
ADVANCED: Some people believe ancient Egyptian monuments were made by aliens (Pic: GETTY)
“Herodotus describes the boats as having long internal ribs. Nobody really knew what that meant.
“That structure has never been seen archaeologically before. Then, we discovered this form of construction on this particular boat and it absolutely is what Herodotus has been saying.”
During its golden age, ancient Egypt was one of the most advanced civilisations on Earth.
Herodotus, the man referred to by the Roman orator Cicero as “The Father of History”(and who are we to argue with Cicero?), wrote in 440 BCE what is considered to be the founding work of history in Western literature — The Histories. In that book, Herodotus mentions a strange and mysterious river boat he saw in Egypt called a “baris” – strange because the extremely long boat had one rudder that passed through a hole in the keel, and mysterious because no one else in recorded history has ever seen one since … until now. Underwater archeologists excavating the sunken city of Thonis-Heracleion in Abu Qir Bay near Alexandria have discovered the wreck of a long boat that meets the description by Herodotus, restoring faith in the writings of the historian and the endorsement by Cicero.
“(The builders) cut planks two cubits long [100 cm or 40 inches] and arrange them like bricks. On the strong and long tenons [pieces of wood] they insert two-cubit planks. When they have built their ship in this way, they stretch beams over them… They obturate the seams from within with papyrus. There is one rudder, passing through a hole in the keel. The mast is of acacia and the sails of papyrus…”
Title page of Herodotus’ The Histories
With that excellent account of the building of one of these 92 foot (28 meters) barges, archaeologists have long known what to look for … they just never found an Egyptian baris, whole or wrecked. Their luck changed in 2000 with the discovery by French archaeologist Franck Goddio of the sunken city of Thonis-Heracleion (the former is its Egyptian name, the latter Roman) in the bay of the Canopic Mouth of the Nile, 2.5 miles off the coast. Since then, over 70 ships have been found in the area and given numbers. Archeologists noticed that Ship 17, with over 70 % of its original hull intact, had an unusual arrangement of planks that no one had ever seen before.
“Herodotus describes the boats as having long internal ribs. Nobody really knew what that meant. … That structure’s never been seen archaeologically before. Then, we discovered this form of construction on this particular boat and it absolutely is what Herodotus has been saying.”
Damian Robinson, the director of Oxford University’s Centre for Maritime Archaeology, said this in an interview with The Guardian about the recent release of a paper by Alexander Belov, an archaeologist and shipwreck specialist who worked with Franck Goddio, entitled “Ship 17: A Baris From Thonis-Heracleion.” Robinson believes the baris was used on the Nile to move imports from Greece and Persia and Egyptian exports of grain and salt.
Even though his writings have generally been proven to be historically accurate, Herodotus has often been criticized as being just an entertaining but not always factual historian. This discovery helps his reputation and also gives a little vindication to his promoter Cicero, who was killed, beheaded, mutilated and disparaged for his opposition to Mark Antony.
Anjouan is a remote tropical island in the Indian Ocean that’s making headlines for being the location of one of the biggest geological mysteries of all time. The small island, which is located between Madagascar and the east coast of Africa, is 163 square miles, has lots of vegetation and has a population of approximately 277,000 people. Anjouan, which is one of the Comoro Islands, was created 4 million years ago from undersea volcanoes and has steep, mountainous terrain as well as beaches containing black sand.
Since the island was formed by volcanoes, it consists of a lava-derived rock called basalt, but that’s not all. There are sedimentary rocks which are lighter in color that are found all over the island and should not be there as they aren’t part of the volcanic rock that formed this island millions of years ago. The rocks are made from a type of sandstone called quartzite.
Cornelia Class, who is a geochemist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, said, “It doesn’t look like anything that could have formed on an island like that,” adding, “There is nothing there that could form a quartzite.”
Quartzite
Class led an expedition to the island in order to further research the rocks and found that there was much more quartzite than expected as it made up nearly half of a mountain. The scientists searched around the town of Tsembehou and found large boulders of quartzite. Then they climbed up a ridge called Habakari N’gani and found that the top was made almost entirely of the substance. Some locals use the quartzite to sharpen knives, as pieces of it have made their way to the villages by travelling down rivers and stream beds.
Sometimes crust ends up in the ocean after breaking off of a continent, and since quartzite comes from continental crust, it somehow must have made its way into the ocean basin and was lifted up with the volcanic rock to form the island.
There is still much more research that needs to be done in order to explain how the quartzite ended up on a volcanically made island. First, the researchers need to find out how old the quartzite is and find out where exactly it originated from. While Class thinks that it originated from Madagascar or East Africa, the substance needs to be studied much more thoroughly to find out for sure. She also said that additional geochemical measurements of the volcanic rocks need to be conducted in hopes of figuring out the geological history of the island.
Anjouan Island
This is definitely an interesting and mysterious find, “This is what nature presents, sometimes,” Class stated, “It’s something we consider impossible, but then we find it, and once we find it, we have to explain it.”
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Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 74 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Ufologie en andere esoterische onderwerpen.
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