Secret HistoryS


Question

Why is there 1000-year-old dogs buried under the Lima zoo?

dog remains
© Luckez OlmosArchaeological excavations in Lima’s zoo have revealed more than 100 well-preserved dogs.
Karina Venegas Gutiérrez was digging between the zebra and the hippo pens at the Parque de las Leyendas zoo here when she uncovered something strange. Like much of Peru's capital city, the zoo is built atop layers of settlements that stretch back millennia. Venegas Gutiérrez and her colleagues in the Division of Archaeology at the Parque de las Leyendas are charged with excavating that history. She has found scores of buildings and artifacts, and even a few human mummies. But in 2012, she unearthed something she still can't quite explain: the remains of more than 100 dogs, resting alongside a similar number of humans. The unusual discovery may help archaeologists understand the roles of dogs in pre-Columbian Peru—including their potentially important role as sacrificial victims.

During the World Congress on Mummy Studies here last week, Venegas Gutiérrez led a tour of the site for several scientists (and one curious journalist). As a particularly angry-sounding zebra bellowed nearby, she discussed her still puzzling find. Over the course of their excavation, she and her team unearthed the skulls of 126 humans and 128 dogs. They found small dogs, large dogs, and everything in between. Most belonged to three types of street dogs that still roam Peru's towns and cities today. One skeleton showed a distinct underbite reminiscent of a tiny bulldog. Some of the dogs still had skin and hair; a few were so well-preserved that they still had noses and ears. All of them had been arranged in peaceful postures, as if they had fallen asleep, and were wrapped in textiles for burial, just as most humans were at that time. Nearby ceramics and other artifacts suggest both dogs and humans were buried around 1000 C.E. Venegas Gutiérrez plans to radiocarbon date the remains next year.

Info

Etruscan goddess name found inscribed on stele

Stele found at Poggio Colla
© Mugello Valley ProjectA close-up of a stele found at Poggio Colla, a site of religious ritual for the ancient Etruscans.
An ancient tablet recently unearthed in Tuscany has revealed its first secret: the engraved name of a goddess linked to fertility.

The 500-pound (227 kilograms) stone slab, or stele, was unearthed earlier this year at Poggio Colla, a sixth century B.C. site built by the Etruscans. The stele bears a long inscription in a language that has not been used for 2,500 years, project archaeologist Gregory Warden, a professor emeritus at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, told Live Science in April.

Now, translation is underway and archaeologists have discovered that the tablet references the goddess Uni.

"We can at this point affirm that this discovery is one of the most important Etruscan discoveries of the last few decades," Warden said in a statement. "It's a discovery that will provide not only valuable information about the nature of sacred practices at Poggio Colla, but also fundamental data for understanding the concepts and rituals of the Etruscans, as well as their writing and perhaps their language."

Music

Listen to the Illiad in ancient Greek

The Illiad
© Lexicon of Greek Personal NamesIliad VIII 245-253 in codex F205 (Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana), late 5th or early 6th c. AD.
The classic Greek epic poem The Illiad attributed to Homer regales the listener with tales of the siege of ancient Troy. "The World According to Sound" podcast reads the poem how it was intended — aloud and in ancient Greek.


Archaeology

Mysterious 5,000 old structure discovered near Scotland's famous Ring of Brodgar stone circle

Ring of Brodgar orkney scotland
© Stevekeiretsu/CC BY SA 3.0 / James RobertsonRing of Brodgar, a Neolithic stone circle and henge monument, with the Loch of Harray in the background. Detail: Aerial view of the newly-uncovered structure.
A mysterious Stone Age building has been unearthed at the Ness of Brodgar in Orkney, Scotland. Researchers discovered it while excavating a Neolithic midden (rubbish dump.) It is located near one of Scotland's most famous rings of standing stones - the Ring of Brodgar.

According to The Herald Scotland , the site contains a Stone Age temple, and the discovery of the structure helped to re-date the location.

While digging at the Ring of Brodgar on Orkney, the researchers found the layout of a series of slabs which are unlike anything previously found on the island. The structure is 4 meters (13 ft.) long and it was unearthed amongst the remains of Neolithic rubbish.

Comment: More about the vast temple complex at the Ness of Brodgar:


Network

The shifts from UK-USA alliance and Echelon to Five Eyes and TICKETWINDOW

NSA logo
© plusultratech.blogspot.com
Although only a small portion of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's purloined National Security Agency data files have seen the light of day, thanks mostly to the redaction deal journalist/lawyer Glenn Greenwald worked out with high-tech billionaire Pierre Omidyar, the recent trickle of documents has yielded some important information about the NSA's pre-9/11 surveillance operations.

After the media disclosures of ECHELON in the late 1990s, NSA's initial intercept-sharing operation with its UK-USA signals intelligence alliance partners—the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—was modernized. What was known as ECHELON was renamed TICKETWINDOW. According to an article in an NSA internal newsletter called SID Today, cumbersome security access restrictions imposed by TICKETWINDOW's predecessor were eliminated. Instead, NSA permitted the "sharing of sensitive-source collection with partners." The "partners" were renamed the "Five Eyes," which included the above-mentioned UK-USA alliance nations plus the United States. TICKETWINDOW also permitted "the exchange of sensitive source data that had not been shared with Partners under normal circumstances."

Comment: Fourteen Eyes of the NWO
5 Eyes: Australia - Canada - New Zealand - United Kingdom - United States
9 Eyes: add Denmark - France - the Netherlands - Norway
14 Eyes: add Germany - Belgium - Italy - Spain - Sweden


Snakes in Suits

This week 45 years ago, a single memo kicked off the corporate takeover of the US government

Lewis Powell
© wikipedia.orgJustice Lewis Powell changed the world with one memo
Forty-five years ago this week, a single memo written by Lewis Powell kicked off the corporate takeover of the US government and inspired a generation of think tanks, lobbyists, and dirty money.

The conservative corporate lawyer, who would later be appointed to the US Supreme Court by Republican President Richard Nixon, wrote a memo to the US Chamber of Commerce's Eugene Sydnor, putting forth a plan to tackle the environmental and civil rights movements which were pushing for more health and safety regulations.

Powell was addressing concerns held by conservatives surrounding the New Deal and the Great Society, which included Social Security, the Labor Relations Act, Medicare, Medicaid, and anti-discrimination laws.

In his memo, he said it was time to fight back against the "Attack of the American Free Enterprise System" from "perfectly respectable elements of society" like the "college campus, the pulpit, the media, the intellectual and literary journals, the arts and sciences and from politicians."

Jet3

Secret docs reveal Israel armed Argentina during Falklands War with Britain

Brits Falklands
© www.cnn.comBritish troops arriving in the Falklands during the 1982 conflict.
Britain's supposedly close ally, Israel, armed Argentina as the South American nation was bombing Royal Navy ships and killing UK troops in the vicious 1982 war to reclaim the Falkland Islands, secret files indicate. The supply of arms and military equipment may have been fueled by an old hatred of the British harbored by then Israeli Prime Minister Menachim Begin - himself a former Irgun terrorist who fought against British troops in Palestine.

Israeli exports included Skyhawk jets that were responsible for bombing and sinking the RFA Sir Galahad, a troop ship, leaving 48 dead and numerous horrific injuries. The sale of Israeli arms to the right-wing Galtieri regime of the day was first exposed in a 2001 book on the authoritarian junta. Further evidence has now come to light in the documents, which show that arms deals were being made throughout the war until 1984.

Israel's logic was apparently simple: even though Britain was an ally, it also armed regimes hostile to Israel. The exports were also seen as key to Israel's economy.


Snowflake Cold

1816: A year without Summer that changed the world

climate change eruption Mount Tambora
© UW Library Freshwater & Marine Image Bank
If you think the recent weather has been strange lately, listen to this tale of a year without a summer. In 1815 a volcanic eruption caused the following year's weather patterns to be drastically different. People across the world experienced unusual weather and increased hardships, but they did not associate the volcano with the conditions at the time. This strange phenomenon deeply affected the Eastern U.S. and the Appalachian Mountains, but hit the whole world, causing odd rain events and weather that could not be explained, and altering the course of human history.

Tambora

The eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia (then known as the Dutch East Indies) in April of 1815 was the result of a highly pressurized volcanic environment. The initial stages of eruption were reported to have sounded like an army attack with guns and cannons. As flames shot up from the top, hot pumice and volcanic rock were forced into the air. The geological event caused tons of ash and sulphur-dioxide into the air over the course of five days, enough to cover a 100 mile radius with a foot of ash! This event and the resulting cloud, some scientists proffer, is the cause of the the weather extremes and global cooling the following year. Many experts do believe that this is the only reasonable explanation for the year without a summer, though there is not total agreement on the matter. This volcano is still active today, though volcanic activity is closely monitored to ensure minimal losses if the pressure does build up again.

Comment: See also: The year without a summer: 1816


Info

50,000-years-old Sewing needle made by Denisovan discovered in Siberian cave

'Sensational' discovery in Denisova Cave is at least 50,000 years old BUT it wasn't made by Homo sapiens.
Denisovan Needle
© VestiThe needle is seen as providing proof that the long-gone Denisovans - named after the cave - were more sophisticated than previously believed.
The 7 centimetre (2 3/4 inch) needle was made and used by our long extinct Denisovan ancestors, a recently-discovered hominin species or subspecies.

Scientists found the sewing implement - complete with a hole for thread - during the annual summer archeological dig at an Altai Mountains cave widely believed to hold the secrets of man's origins. It appears to be still useable after 50,000 years.

Professor Mikhail Shunkov, head of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in Novosibirsk, said: 'It is the most unique find of this season, which can even be called sensational.
Denisovan Needle_1
© VestiIt appears to be still useable after 50,000 years.
'It is a needle made of bone. As of today it is the most ancient needle in the word. It is about 50,000 years old.'

Info

2,300-year-old secret tunnel found in ancient Hittite capital

Secret Tunnel
© Anadolu Agency
Archaeological works in Alacahöyük, one of the most important centers of the Hittite Empire and considered Turkey's first "national excavation field," have unearthed a 2,300-year-old secret tunnel known as a potern.

"This tunnel is a big discovery in terms of Hittite architecture. This is my 55th year in professional life. I never thought I would find a potern but I did," said Ankara University Professor Aykut Çınaroğlu, the head of the excavations.

Çınaroğlu said they opened the season one month ago with a team of 24 people, including eight archaeologists, and were set to continue until the end of September.

While focusing on a sanctuary that was unearthed in 2014, they discovered a secret tunnel, he said.

Stating that more than one secret tunnel existed in the capital of the Hittites, Hattuşa, Çınaroğlu said:
"This new potern proves the existence of other poterns in Alacahöyük. We are carrying out excavations right now; we have not finished yet. We started from the gate opening to the sanctuary, trying to open it. This is a potern from nearly 2,300 years ago. We have dug 23 meters so far but think that it is longer. Cleaning work is continuing, too. We will see what we will find in the end. Poterns were placed under the castle, extending into the city. We have previously found a cuneiform tablet here, featuring a king who explains to priests what to do during ceremonies. This secret tunnel might have had a sacred function."