Secret HistoryS


Sherlock

Mesolithic "rest stop" found at UK supermarket site

Alice Baghdjian
Reuters
Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:24 UTC
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© UnknownIllustration only
An early prehistoric hearth has been discovered on the planned construction site for a branch of major British supermarket chain Sainsbury's

The charcoal remains, excavated from the site in Nairn, a town in the Scottish Highlands, date back to the Mesolithic period (10,000 to 4000 BC). They are believed to have been a temporary travelling stop rather than a settlement, due to the absence of any further Mesolithic findings at the site.

"An extremely large quantity of wood charcoal fragments was recovered from the hearth. The size of the fragments suggests either deliberate deposition or in-situ burning," said Headland Archaeology, who carried out the excavation, in a report.

Archaeologists used carbon-dating of the charcoal to determine the age of the hearth. However, dating a site from this particular substance is problematic, due the potential time lag between the felling of the tree and the burning of the material, the report said.
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Snowman

UK: Urge to binge on fatty food 'dates back to the Ice Age'

David Derbyshire
The Daily Mail
Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:41 UTC
Our frozen ancestors of the Ice Age needed plenty of fat in their diets to keep warm - and it seems we might still be carrying their genetic torch.

For British scientists have discovered a DNA switch in the brain that they believe makes Europeans far more likely to binge on fatty food than those living in the East.

The researchers from Aberdeen University made their discovery after comparing the DNA of people with the genetic code of birds and mice.

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© AlamyFrozen food: Scientists think our love of fatty meals can be traced to the Ice Age

Comment: It seems like our ancestors knew a thing or two about proper nourishment. And we are not talking about a mere survival and preservation of body's heat during harsh periods. It appears that fat is the preferred fuel of human metabolism and has been for most of human evolution. It not only decreases inflammation and significantly increases energy levels, but improved and healthier brain activity facilitates creativity and human evolution.

Read the following articles to understand how currently promoted low-fat diets lead to slow degradation and danger, especially prior to the possible onset of the next Ice Age.

You've Been Living A Lie: The Story Of Saturated Fat And Cholesterol
A Metabolic Paradigm Shift, or Why Fat is the Preferred Fuel for Human Metabolism
Your Brain On Ketones: How a High-fat Diet Can Help the Brain Work Better

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Sherlock

Scotland: Stone Age relics may be hidden in Western Isles' seas


BBC
Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:25 UTC
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© National Museum ScotlandWestern Isles' rich archaeology includes the Lewis Chessmen
Submerged sites of ancient communities could be hidden in the seas around the Western Isles, according to experts.

Dr Jonathan Benjamin and Dr Andrew Bicket believe the islands' long and sheltered lochs have protected 9,000-year-old Mesolithic relics.

Rising sea levels may have covered up to 6.2 miles (10km) of land on the west coast of the Outer Hebrides.

The archaeologists are to give a presentation in Comhairle nan Eilean Siar's council chambers on Monday.

During the Mesolithic period, also known as the Middle Stone Age, Britain was transformed from a peninsula to an island.
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Sun

Ethiopian lake reveals history of African droughts

Tann
Archaeology News Network
Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:01 UTC
A new survey of Lake Tana in Ethiopia - the source of the Blue Nile - suggests that drought may have contributed to the demise of the Egyptian Old Kingdom, around 4200 years ago.

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© Planet EarthLake Tana, Ethiopia
A team led by the University of Aberystwyth used seismic surveys and sediment cores to work out how the lake's water levels has varied over the past 17,000 years and linked this to evidence for global climate change.

Understanding how and why rainfall patterns change is particularly important for sub-Saharan Africa, where prolonged droughts have such serious social and economic consequences.

The climate here is dominated by the African-Asian monsoon and the movements of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). This is an area of erratic weather patterns, where winds from the northern and southern hemispheres meet close to the equator: sailors know it as the Doldrums.
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Sherlock

UK: "Fantastic results" at Roman Dig in Maryport


BBC News
Sat, 16 Jul 2011 20:19 UTC
The excavation of a Roman site at Maryport, in Cumbria, has produced "fascinating results", experts say.

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© Senhouse MuseumOne of the altars unearthed in Maryport.
The project at the remains of a Roman fort at Camp Farm, which started last year, is due to be completed on 22 July.

The team said it had found many features not recorded by a previous excavation in 1870.

Among them are fragments of altars, traces of timber buildings, pottery and coins.

A team of 28 volunteers has worked alongside the archaeologists on the project, which was commissioned by the Senhouse Museum Trust.

It was led by Professor Ian Haynes, from Newcastle University, and field archaeologist Tony Wilmott.
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Sherlock

UK: Archaeologists Uncover the Remains of Ancient Body in Caithness

Angus Howarth
The Scotsman
Sat, 16 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
The remains of what could be an Iron Age Highlander, who lived around 2,000 years ago, have been found during an archaeological dig in Caithness.

The human remains, which include a skull and bones, were found this week in the ruins of a broch - a massive stone wall Iron Age roundhouse - at Thrumster, near Wick.

They were buried in a chamber in the wall of the historic building.

Dr Andy Heald, of AOC Archaeology, which leads the dig, said that it was probably the remains of an adult man, though further research was needed to determine that.

Radiocarbon dating is also needed to determine how old the bones are.

"At the moment we have no idea on a date. They could be 200 years old, or 2,000 years old," he said.
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Sherlock

Louisiana, US: Oil Spill Clean-Up Turns Up Trove of Native American Relics

Cain Burdeau
San Francisco Chronicle
Sat, 16 Jul 2011 22:26 UTC
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© Gerald Herbert/AP PhotoForrest Travirca III, walks along Port Fourchon Beach as he searches for artifacts from Pre-historic American-Indian settlements in Caminada Headland, La., Tuesday, June 28, 2011.
Cleanup after the BP oil spill has turned up dozens of sites where archaeologists are finding human and animal bones, pottery and primitive weapons left behind by pre-historic Indian settlements.

It's a trove of new clues about the Gulf Coast's mound dwellers more than 1,300 years ago, but scientists also fear the remains could be damaged by oil or lost to erosion before they can be fully studied.

So far, teams of archaeologists hired by the oil giant have visited more than 100 sites and sent back a growing list of finds to labs for radiocarbon dating and other tests, though extensive excavations haven't been done. Scholars have also accompanied cleanup crews to make sure they don't unwittingly throw away relics.

Larry Murphy is lead archeologist for a council of government agencies and trustees overseeing the oil cleanup. He says neither the discovery of the sites - nor the money to study them - would have come as quickly without the spill.
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Cow Skull

Taiwan: Three sarcophagi found in Taitung


Taipei Times
Sun, 17 Jul 2011 05:12 UTC
A cluster of three ancient sarcophagi recently discovered in Taitung could give archeologists new insights into a nearby prehistoric site, a researcher from the National Museum of Prehistory said on Thursday.

Parts of the sarcophagi, or stone coffins, have already been unearthed, showing them to be 60cm high and 50cm wide, although their lengths have yet to be determined because the excavation is still underway.

Weathered remains and mortuary objects, such as jade adzes, have been found in the sarcophagi, located on a hill more than 200m above sea level and about 3km from the Peinan archeological site. The prehistoric site, where more than 20,000 ancient objects have been unearthed, is one of the largest archeological sites in Taiwan.
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Eye 2

Fossil find suggests dinosaurs became extinct in a single blow


The Hindu
Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
dinosaur
© The Associated PressIt’s been believed that dinosaurs were killed when a huge asteroid smashed into the Earth off the coast of Mexico some 65 million years ago.
Palaeontologists have found a piece of dinosaur horn which they say is pointing to a catastrophic end for the "Age of Dinosaurs", not a gradual end, as some experts have suggested.

It's been believed that dinosaurs were killed when a huge asteroid smashed into the Earth off the coast of Mexico some 65 million years ago.

Although it is now accepted that a cosmic impact took place at that time, known as the Cretaceous - Tertiary, or K - T boundary, it was unclear if the mass extinctions started gradually before the hit due to volcanoes or other factors.

The reason behind this controversy was a 10 - feet zone in the earth right below the K - T boundary that purportedly lacked dinosaur fossils.

Some experts have claimed this gap, seen in the western interior of North America, was evidence that dinosaurs might have died well before any impact.

Now, researchers have found a fossil in this zone - a dinosaur horn no more than five inches below the impact layer, making it the specimen closest to the end of the Age of Dinosaurs found yet.
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Magnify

US: Ancient, moss-covered canoe found in Alaska forest

Yereth Rosen
Reuters
Sat, 16 Jul 2011 13:49 UTC
unfinished Indian canoe
© ReutersAn unfinished Indian canoe, apparently abandoned 500 years ago, has been discovered in a remote section of an Alaska rain forest, according to officials.
An unfinished Indian canoe, apparently abandoned 500 years ago, has been discovered in a remote section of an Alaska rain forest, according to officials.

The canoe, carved from cedar, was discovered under a thick layer of moss and is surrounded by trees that are several hundred years old, Sealaska Corp., the Alaska Native corporation that owns the land, said in a statement.

The artifact was first spotted last winter by a surveyor checking potential timber-harvest sites, but the discovery was kept confidential until now, the company said.

Its exact site - near the Haida and Tlingit village of Kasaan on Alaska's Prince of Wales Island - was also being kept confidential, Sealaska said.

Preliminary examination shows that ancient hand tools, not modern saws introduced by Europeans, were used to cut the wood and hollow out the canoe, Sealaska officials said.

Based on that, and on the age of the cedar trees that have grown up around the site, experts believe the canoe is roughly 500 years old.

Rosita Worl, an anthropologist and president of the Sealaska Heritage Institute, said she knows of only one other canoe found in the rain forest of southeast Alaska. This is a special find, she said on Wednesday.
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