Oldest ‘Writing’ Found On 60,000-Year-Old Eggshells
What do they say? (Image: Pierre-Jean Texier/Diepkloof Project)
By Kate Ravilious for New Scientist:
Could these lines etched into 60,000-year-old ostrich eggshells (see photo) be the earliest signs of humans using graphic art to communicate?
Until recently, the first consistent evidence of symbolic communication came from the geometric shapes that appear alongside rock art all over the world, which date to 40,000 years ago (New Scientist, 20 February, p 30). Older finds, like the 75,000-year-old engraved ochre chunks from the Blombos cave in South Africa, have mostly been one-offs and difficult to tell apart from meaningless doodles.
The engraved ostrich eggshells may change that. Since 1999, Pierre-Jean Texier of the University of Bordeaux, France, and his colleagues have uncovered 270 fragments of shell at the Diepkloof Rock Shelter in the Western Cape, South Africa.
They…
Michael Cremo Discusses Forbidden Archaeology & Devolution On Coast to Coast AM
Dissident intellectual Michael Cremo discussed his continuing work in forbidden archaeology – artifacts and discoveries that don’t fit into the conventional timelines and theories in academic and scientific communities. He also spoke about his theory of ‘Human Devolution,’ and his study of Vedic scriptures…
Researchers Uncover 30,000-Year-Old Written Language
The Globe and Mail reports on the discovery of what might be the earliest written language, comprised of lines and geometric shapes:
A graphic code uncovered by researchers at the University of Victoria suggests that written communication may have started 30,000 years ago.
Compiling the cave signs of nearly 150 sites across Ice Age France, researchers found striking similarities that suggest human beings may have used a graphic language made up of simple lines and geometric shapes to communicate shortly after the first African civilizations arrived in Europe…suggesting that the “creative explosion” occurred tens of thousands of years earlier than previously thought.
26 signs illustrated in a consistent style were found across the sites using images from a digital archive. While the illustrations may be rudimentary – composed of circles, straight lines and triangles…
An Archaeological Dig in Turkey is Reshaping Human History
Patrick Symmes writes on Newsweek:
A temple complex in Turkey that predates even the pyramids is rewriting the story of human evolution.
They call it potbelly hill, after the soft, round contour of this final lookout in southeastern Turkey. To the north are forested mountains. East of the hill lies the biblical plain of Harran, and to the south is the Syrian border, visible 20 miles away, pointing toward the ancient lands of Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent, the region that gave rise to human civilization. And under our feet, according to archeologist Klaus Schmidt, are the stones that mark the spot — the exact spot — where humans began that ascent.
Now We Know What Killed King Tutankhamun. Or Do We?
I’ve just returned from the International Conference on Ancient Studies in Dubai. By the time I left I was almost deliriously tired, enough perhaps to find a passionate and fiery exchange between two wonderful speakers from the conference, Ahmed Osman and Andrew Collins, debating who or what killed Egypt’s King Tut as we drove to the airport, highly comical. I can already hear in my mind Mr. Osman’s contempt for this report in the New York Times (he firmly believes that the boy king was murdered):
King Tutankhamun, the boy pharaoh, was frail, crippled and suffered “multiple disorders” when he died at age 19 in about 1324 B.C., but scientists have now determined the most likely agents of death: a severe bout of malaria combined with a degenerative bone condition.
The mummified feet of King…
Thousands Of Dinosaur Footprints Uncovered In China
From PhysOrg.com:
A mound strewn with dinosaur bones is seen October 2009 in Zhucheng, in northeast China’s Shandong province. Paleontologists in China have uncovered more than 3,000 dinosaur footprints, state media reported, in an area said to be the world’s largest grouping of fossilised bones belonging to the ancient animals.
Archaeologists in China have uncovered more than 3,000 dinosaur footprints, state media reported, in an area said to be the world’s largest grouping of fossilised bones belonging to the ancient animals.
The footprints, believed to be more than 100 million years old, were discovered after a three-month excavation at a gully in Zhucheng in the eastern province of Shandong, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The prints range from 10 to 80 centimetres (four to 32 inches) in length, and belonged to at least six…
Buddha’s Date – The Need To Take A Fresh Look At World History
One of the most important calculations of Indian history has been done on the basis of the lifetime of a certain Indian emperor called Ashoka, considered to be one of the greatest emperors of world history. Renowned British Historian HG Wells wrote about Ashoka:
“In the history of the world there have been thousands of kings and emperors who called themselves ‘their highnesses,’ ‘their majesties,’ and ‘their exalted majesties’ and so on. They shone for a brief moment, and as quickly disappeared. But Ashoka shines and shines brightly like a bright star, even unto this day.”
Ashoka was a Buddhist emperor who was responsible for the spread of Buddhism, to distant corners of India and the neighboring countries, by sending large number of Buddhist missionaries to these places. He built thousands of…
The Roman Army Knife Predates the Swiss Army One by 1,800 Years
Via the Daily Mail:
The world’s first Swiss Army knife’ has been revealed — made 1,800 years before its modern counterpart. An intricately designed Roman implement, which dates back to 200 AD, it is made from silver but has an iron blade. It features a spoon, fork as well as a retractable spike, spatula and small tooth-pick.
Experts believe the spike may have been used by the Romans to extract meat from snails. The Roman army pen knife It is thought the spatula would have offered a means of poking cooking sauce out of narrow-necked bottles.
The 3 in x 6 in (8 cm x 15 cm) knife was excavated from the Mediterranean area more than 20 years ago and was obtained by the museum in 1991. The unique item is among dozens…
Egypt Announces Find of Ancient Cat Goddess Temple
HAMZA HENDAWI writes in the AP via Yahoo News:
CAIRO — Archaeologists have unearthed a 2,000-year-old temple that may have been dedicated to the ancient Egyptian cat goddess, Bastet, the Supreme Council of Antiquities said Tuesday. The ruins of the Ptolemaic-era temple were discovered by Egyptian archaeologists in the heart of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C.
The city was the seat of the Greek-speaking Ptolemaic Dynasty, which ruled over Egypt for 300 years until the suicide of Queen Cleopatra. The statement said the temple was thought to belong to Queen Berenice, wife of King Ptolemy III who ruled Egypt in the 3rd century B.C.
Mohammed Abdel-Maqsood, the Egyptian archaeologist who led the excavation team, said the discovery may be the first trace of…
Pakistan’s Turmoil Endangers Its Archaeological Treasures
Christopher Allbritton reports for Time:
In the mountains and valleys of Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province, palace ruins and crumbling Buddhist monasteries dot the hills above war-torn locations such as Mingora, Peshawar and the Swat Valley. These magnificent ruins are all that’s left of the Gandhara kingdom, which flourished from the 6th century B.C. to the 11th century A.D. It vanished under the pressure of war and conquest, re-emerging only in 1848 when relics and ruins were re-discovered by the British archaeologist, Sir Alexander Cunningham.
Now, Gandhara is in danger of vanishing a second time from the same old threats. Just as the Afghan Taliban destroyed the 1,500-year-old statues of the Buddha in Bamiyan, Afghanistan in 2001, militants in Pakistan have attacked the Buddhist heritage in Pakistan, driving away foreign research teams and…
Happy Saturnalia To All!
A celebration dear to the hearts of the Disinformation team at this time of year is Saturnalia, one of the most popular Roman festivals. It was marked by tomfoolery and reversal of social roles, in which slaves and masters ostensibly switched places, with expectedly humorous results. Saturnalia was introduced around 217 BC to raise citizen morale after a crushing military defeat. Originally celebrated for a day, on December 17th, its popularity saw it grow until it became a weeklong extravaganza, ending on the 23rd.
Our favorite exposition of Saturnalia has long been the Electric Sheep comic strip, no longer easily available on the web, but we dug in the crates and are pleased to bring it to you. We did find it here and in a video created from the original website posted to Funny or Die:
Sumerians Look On In Confusion As God Creates World
Via The Onion:
Members of the earth’s earliest known civilization, the Sumerians, looked on in shock and confusion some 6,000 years ago as God, the Lord Almighty, created Heaven and Earth.
According to recently excavated clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform script, thousands of Sumerians—the first humans to establish systems of writing, agriculture, and government—were working on their sophisticated irrigation systems when the Father of All Creation reached down from the ether and blew the divine spirit of life into their thriving civilization.
“I do not understand,” reads an ancient line of pictographs depicting the sun, the moon, water, and a Sumerian who appears to be scratching his head. “A booming voice is saying, ‘Let there be light,’ but there is already light. It is saying, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass,’ but I…
America’s Stonehenge: A Classic Whodunit and Whydunit
Jay Atkinson visits America’s Stonehenge for the New York Times:
Salem, N.H. — At this leafless and gloomy time of year I traveled, in the spirit of the symbologist Robert Langdon of “The Da Vinci Code,” to America’s Stonehenge, in this town five miles from the Massachusetts border. Scholars have debated whether the stone cairns and chambers here were built by early American Indians, enterprising colonial settlers or, more controversially, a migrant European culture that visited these woods nearly 4,000 years ago.
Determined to plumb these mysteries, I arrived at a rustic information center and gift shop on a cold and gray Sunday morning. Inside I was greeted by the aptly named Dennis Stone, 55, a commercial airline pilot who along with his wife, Pat, 59, owns this unusual roadside attraction. (Dennis’s…
Dubai: ‘Something Darker Is Going On…’
In November 2008 I went to Dubai for the inaugural International Conference on Ancient Studies (ICAS). It was an opportunity to reconnect with Disinformation authors and contributors like Michael Cremo, Robert Bauval and John Major Jenkins as well as to meet other luminaries in the world of ancient mysteries. It also enabled me to visit the Middle East and to see just how vibrant a city Dubai has become.
In February 2010 I’ll be returning for the second ICAS, which again features a stellar lineup including another Disinformation author, Graham Hancock. Needless to say, I’m greatly looking forward to it and this time I’ll actually have an official role as MC (but don’t let that put you off). I asked a friend of mine who lives there if the recent news about Dubai World would have any impact on ICAS and this was the somewhat surprising response I received, essentially assuring me that the Dubai World debt problem is a smokescreen for something far more serious:
“I doubt it. Not much has changed here and people here just wonder what all the trouble is about. The fuss is about one single company (called Dubai World) who simply said it would delay (not default) its first installment repayment to a couple of international banks by 6 months. The amount is about 4 billion dollars which is a drop in the ocean considering banks in the US and Europe will have to actually write off about 2.8 trillion by 2010. Does it make sense that this rather common occurrence sends world markets crashing down? I mean, in the US alone hundreds of banks and companies actually defaulted since 2007 and hundreds everyday are probably requesting to delay payments in their quest to remain afloat. Even the actual international banks who lent the money to Dubai World are not very worried and are also wondering what the fuss is all about. So why all the fuss? It is a diversion. Something darker is going on and the perpetrators were just waiting for an excuse like this one to play their cards once again…
Vanished Persian Army Finally Found?
From Rossella Lorenzi at MSNBC:
“The remains of a mighty Persian army said to have drowned in the sands of the western Egyptian desert 2,500 years ago might have been finally located, solving one of archaeology’s biggest outstanding mysteries, according to Italian researchers.”
