Secret HistoryS


Pyramid

Use of cosmic rays, space particles, reveal two 'secret chambers' in Egypt's Great Pyramid

Rachel Bishop
Mirror
Tue, 18 Oct 2016 08:25 UTC
pyramid cut-away
© ScanPyramids
Two secret chambers have been discovered in Egypt's 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza. Researchers confirmed they had found the mysterious cavities after scanning the centuries old tomb using revolutionary radiography equipment.

The Scan Pyramids project made the latest discovery after being able to demonstrate the efficiency of non-evasive Muons technology at the Bent Pyramid in Dahshour this May. Last year thermal scanning identified a major anomaly in the Great Pyramid, sparking a debate over whether there was a long-running network of tunnels hidden away inside.

But now the mystery has been answered as the Ministry of Antiquities announced on Thursday that 'two anomalies' were found in the pyramid built under King Khufu. They are now looking to conduct further tests on the 146m-high monument to determine their function, nature and size.

The pyramid, also known as the Pyramid of Khufu, named after the son of Phara oh Snefru, is considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It has three known chambers, and like other pyramids in Egypt was intended as a pharaoh's tomb.
pyramid workers muons
© ScanPyramidsMuons emulsion plate setup in Khufus lower chamber.
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Galaxy

Extinction event: Evidence of supernova blast found in fossils

Jelor Gallego
Futurism
Fri, 19 Aug 2016 02:23 UTC
Fossil Ash
© Brocken Inaglory
German scientists have found remnants of a supernova, in the form of iron-60, in fossils left by magnetotactic bacteria. The scientists are also looking at the timing of the supernova, which coincides with an extinction event that effected mollusks.

Fossils are one of the major ways scientists can have windows to what happened in the past. The biology and chemistry of ancient Earth is locked up in these primitive time capsules, giving great insight into what was going on millions of years ago.

Still, no one expected a case of ancient astronomy with the use of fossils. German scientists have found remnants of a supernova encased in the fossilized chains of "magnetofossils," extracted from two Pacific Ocean sediment cores.
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Bug

100-million-year-old 'Frankenstein' wasp unlike any other on Earth

Michael D'Estries
Mother Nature Network
Mon, 17 Oct 2016 15:30 UTC
A. burmanicus
© George Poinar, Jr./Oregon State University
About 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, Mother Nature was apparently channeling her inner Frankenstein.

Researchers at Oregon State University have unveiled the preserved remains of an ancient parasitic wasp named Aptenoperissus burmanicus, which has the legs of a grasshopper, the abdomen of a cockroach and the antenna of an ant.

"When I first looked at this insect, I had no idea what it was," professor George Poinar Jr., one of the world's leading experts on life forms found preserved in amber, said in a statement. "You could see it's tough and robust, and could give a painful sting."

As detailed in a paper published in the journal Cretaceous Research , the unusual insect was discovered encased in amber retrieved from China's Hukawng Valley in Myanmar.

Researchers studying the female wasp believe it crawled along the forest floor hunting for insects hidden in crevices and other concealed habitats. When it encountered prey, it would paralyze its victims and lay its eggs. The eggs would then hatch and consume their host alive, much like modern day parasitic wasps do.
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Question

The enduring mystery of Oak Island

Goldco Precious Metals
Value Walk
Sun, 16 Oct 2016 01:12 UTC
Oak Island
© Oak Island Money Pit
There's no shortage of stories when it comes to buried pirate treasure, and at least a few of those tales have turned out to be true. Pirates raided the seas for nearly two centuries, many with tremendous success. Victorious pirates collected a lot of loot and such thievery was how the crew got paid. The problem: Where to store all that treasure? It's not like newly wealthy buccaneers could take their liberated gold and jewels down to the First Pirate Bank & Trust. Just the name Pirate Bank is kind of an oxymoron. One possible solution may be what's today known as the Oak Island Money Pit.

To hide their booty, which was sometimes sizable, victorious pirates would bury it in small caches in lonely spots in the world's oceans. Really successful pirates had so much treasure buried that they needed to mark the locations on cryptic maps or leave signs in those remote places. It seems crazy now, but the world was a very different place in the 1700s. Of course, many times the owners would never return to claim their buried gold, silver and jewels. It's a tough gig, piracy.

Comment: For further reading:

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Info

14,500-year-old cave art hailed as 'Iberia's most spectacular'


BBC News
Fri, 14 Oct 2016 19:02 UTC
Iberian Cave Art
© Agence France-Presse This undated handout picture released by Diputacion Foral de Bizkaia on 13 October 2016 shows cave engravings representing horses and goats, in the Armintxe cave in the Basque village of Lekeitio.
Cave art as much as 14,500 years old has been pronounced "the most spectacular and impressive" ever discovered on the Iberian peninsula. About 50 etchings were found in the Basque town of Lekeitio.

They include horses, bison, goats and - in a radical departure from previously discovered Palaeolithic art in the Biscay province - two lions.

Some depictions are also much bigger than those found previously - with one horse about 150cm (4ft 11in) long.

"It is a wonder, a treasure of humanity," senior Biscay official Unai Rementeria said.

He was announcing the discovery, which was made in the Armintxe cave in May and has since been investigated by Biscay experts.

The cave was well-known to locals, said reports, but no-one had until then ventured the 50m inside where this latest 15m-long panel of etchings was found.

Together with two side panels, the depictions comprise some 30 animals along with forms comprising semi-circles and lines - including some "identical" to forms found in the French Pyrenees.

Other similar shared features - including the depictions of lions and the etching technique used - have suggested there could have been links between groups of hunter-gatherers in both areas.The etchings are thought to date from between 12,000 and 14,500 years ago.

The cave will not be opened to the public, both due to its inaccessibility and because of the need to preserve the paintings - but authorities say they will use technology to give the public as good a view of the new finds as possible.

Experts will discuss the finds at a special congress at the end of the month.
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Info

Ancient Greeks may have designed China's Terracotta Army


RT
Thu, 13 Oct 2016 05:03 UTC
Terracotta Army
© Philippe Wojazer/Reuters The new evidence is to be shown in a documentary.
Marco Polo may have been beaten to China by 1,500 years according to new evidence. Not only did the travelers get to China earlier than previously believed, but they played a key role in the county's iconic Terracotta Army according to researchers.

"By systematically examining the First Emperor's main tomb and subsidiary burials we have discovered something more important even than the Terracotta Army," Professor Zhang Weixing, lead archaeologist at the tomb site, told BBC documentary makers.

The revised timeline of the West's presence in China emerged after new pieces of evidence including DNA was discovered in China's Xinjiang province dating back to the Third Century BC. Tests on the DNA show it to be of European origin.

Researchers also believe the sudden appearance of life-sized statues in China around this time point to a presence of Greek artists, who would have brought their sculpting techniques to the East following Alexander the Great's reign. Prior to this, Chinese statues were typically no taller than 20cm.

"I imagine that a Greek sculptor may have been at the site to train the locals," Professor Lukas Nickel, chair of Asian art history at Vienna University said when speaking about China's famous Terracotta Army, consisting of life-sized models of the soldiers of the First Emperor of China.
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Info

Ancient site in Australia could rival Stonehenge as world's oldest observatory

Hamish Fitzsimmons
ABC News, Australia
Thu, 13 Oct 2016 04:31 UTC
Ancient Observatory
© Computer image of Stonehenge Site by Richard Patterson 2015Artist's rendition of the site outside of Mullimbimby, based on old, diary descriptions from a '30s archaeologist.
An ancient Aboriginal site at a secret location in the Victorian bush could be the oldest astronomical observatory in the world, pre-dating Stonehenge and even the Great Pyramids of Giza.

Scientists studying the Wurdi Yuangstone arrangement say it could date back more than 11,000 years and provide clues into the origins of agriculture.

Duane Hamacher, a leader in the study of Indigenous astronomy, has been working with Aboriginal elders at the site to reconstruct their knowledge of the stars and planets.

"Some academics have referred to this stone arrangement here as Australia's version of Stonehenge," Dr Hamacher said.

"I think the question we might have to ask is: is Stonehenge Britain's version of Wurdi Yuang? Because this could be much, much older."

If the site is more than 7,000 years old, it will rewrite history and further disprove the notion that first Australians were uniformly nomadic hunter-gatherers.
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Black Magic

Mowing the backyard: Ten most lethal CIA interventions in Latin America

Dr. Gary G. Kohls
Global Research
Tue, 11 Oct 2016 00:35 UTC
CIA logo
Note: In its 200 year history, the USA has intervened in, invaded or militarily occupied the following Western Hemisphere nations: Canada, Confederate States of America, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, Surinam, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Grenada.

While the dates most associated with the Central Intelligence Agency are the 1953 coup against Iran's Mohammed Mossadeq and the following year against Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz, the world's most notorious - and possibly ignoble - spy agency actually was chartered on this day, 18 September, in 1947.

Since then, the CIA has played a role in hundreds of assassinations, military coups, and rebellions around the globe, from Argentina to Zaire.

Despite its championing of freedom, the CIA's true objective has always been imperialist in nature. Whether oil in Iran or bananas in Guatemala, the U.S. has a material interest in every country in whose affairs it has meddled.
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Sherlock

Salafism vs. Wahhabism: Are they the same?

Mohamed Bin Ali and Muhammad Saiful Alam Shah Bin Sudiman
Eurasia Review
Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:58 UTC
Muslims praying
© Antonio Melina/Agência Brasil, Wikipedia CommonsMuslims praying
The terms Salafi and Wahhabi are often used interchangeably. Many confuse the two while others refer to them as one. What are the differences between the two?

The study of modern Salafism will not be complete without looking into Wahhabism - a reference to the teachings of Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab and its relation to Salafism. In the current discourse on Islam, the term "Salafi" and "Wahhabi" are often used interchangeably. Many confuse the two while others refer to them as one.

Wahhabi is a label given to those who follow the teachings of Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The Wahhabis are always referred to as Salafis, and in fact they prefer to be called as such. As a rule, all Wahhabis are Salafis but not all Salafis are Wahhabis. The term Salafism did not become associated with the Wahhabi creed until the 1970s. It was in the early 20th century that the Wahhabis referred to themselves as Salafis.

Who is a Salafi?

The usage of the term Salafi today refers to those who embrace Salafism (Arabic: Salafiyyah). Salafiyyah is known to be the manhaj or way of the Salafis. The Salafis are Muslims who advocate literal and to some degree binary interpretation of Islamic teachings as enjoined by Prophet Muhammad and subsequently practised by the early pious predecessors known as the salaf al-salih. Following the salaf is the reason for their self-designation as Salafis.
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Microscope 2

Europe: DNA discovery reveals an unknown chapter in human history 15,000 years ago

Doug Bolton
Independent
Fri, 05 Feb 2016 00:00 UTC
Skull and hand
© MAHMOUD ZAYAT/AFP/Getty Images
A major and unexplained population shift occurred in Europe around 15,000 years ago when local hunter-gatherers were almost completely replaced by a group from another area, scientists researching our ancestors' genetics have discovered. The findings were made after the extensive study of DNA evidence obtained from the bones and teeth of ancient people who lived in Europe during from the Late Pleistocene to the early Holocene, a period of roughly 30,000 years.

While attempting to find more genetic data from this time period, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany made an unexpected discovery. The Institute's Johannes Krause said: "We uncovered a completely unknown chapter of human history: a major population turnover at the end of the last Ice Age."

To try and piece together the facts of this 'lost period' the team analysed the mitochondrial genomes of 35 hunter-gatherers who lived in Italy, Germany, Belgium, France, the Czech Republic and Romania, from around 35,000 to 7,000 years ago. Three of these 35 people had DNA that belonged to 'haplogroup M', meaning they all were part of a single line of descent. This haplogroup is almost completely absent in modern Europeans, but it's very common among modern Asian, Australasian and Native American populations.

The absence of this haplogroup in places other than these led scientists to believe that non-African people dispersed gradually throughout history to colonise other parts of the world. However, the discovery that this haplogroup existed in Europe relatively recently instead suggests that all non-Africans quickly dispered from a single group at a specific time, which scientists believe occurred around 50,000 years ago.

This is a major discovery in itself, but the researchers' biggest surprise came when they found evidence that there was a major population turnover in Europe around 14,500 years ago, as the last Ice Age ended and the world began to warm.
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