New Historian

Asteroid Impact Could Have Coincided with Clovis Demise

Post author By Daryl.Worthington
Post date March 12, 2017

Scientific Reports, suggests an extraterrestrial cause. The University of Carolina archaeologists found that platinum was most abundant in soil layers which coincided with the ‘Younger Dryas’, a period of extreme climatic cooling which started around 12,800 years ago and lasted around 1,400 years. The return to ice age conditions during the Younger-Dryas is well documented, but its causes have remained shrouded in mystery. The platinum discovery could change all that. “Platinum is very rare in the Earth’s crust, but it is common in asteroids and comets,” explained lead author of the study Christopher Moore in a University of Carolina press release. He stressed that the platinum found at archaeological sites in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina was most definitely an anomaly. “The presence of elevated platinum in archaeological sites is a confirmation of data previously reported for the Younger-Dryas onset several years ago in a Greenland ice-core. The authors for that study concluded that the most likely source of such platinum enrichment was from the impact of an extraterrestrial object,” Moore said. “Our data show that this anomaly is present in sediments from U.S. archaeological sites that date to the start of the Younger-Dryas event. It is continental in scale – possibly global – and it’s consistent with the hypothesis that an extraterrestrial impact took place.” In the study, the authors point out that the platinum anomaly is similar to the discovery of iridium in rock layers dated to 65 million years ago, a time that coincided with the cosmic collision which wiped out the dinosaurs. Like platinum, iridium is another element typically associated with cosmic objects. “In both cases, the anomalies represent the atmospheric fallout of rare elements resulting from an extraterrestrial impact,” Moore says. While the dinosaur extinction was the result of a large meteor impact, the Younger-Dryas onset was the likely the consequence of being hit by the fragments of a smaller comet or asteroid. The question now, of course, is where did this impact take place? Until an impact crater is found, the Younger-Dryas impact hypothesis is likely to be met with a certain level of skepticism. “… the Younger-Dryas impact event is not yet associated with any known impact crater,” Moore says. “This may be because the fragments of the large object struck the glacial ice-sheet or exploded in the atmosphere. Several candidate craters are under investigation but have not been confirmed.” Image courtesy of South Carolina Institute for Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina ]]>

Tags asteroid, Clovis, mammoth, mega fauna, younger-dryas

Breaking News

Neanderthals Used Plant-Based Medicine, Says New DNA Study

Post author By David.DeMar
Post date March 11, 2017

dental-plaque-dna-shows-neanderthals-used-aspirin-2

Nature, can be found here Image courtesy of Paleoanthropology Group MNCN-CSIC]]>

Tags dental plaque, DNA evidence, Neanderthals, plant-based medicine

Breaking News

Jack the Ripper's Final Victim Still Shrouded in Mystery

Post author By Daryl.Worthington
Post date March 10, 2017

Tags final victim, Jack the Ripper, mary jane kelly, patricia cornwell, Richard III, wynne weston-davie

Breaking News

More Orichalcum Ingots Discovered on Shipwreck Near Sicily

Post author By Ginger.Perales
Post date March 10, 2017

Seeker. “It was likely caught in a sudden storm and sunk just when it was about to enter the port.” Long considered a mystery, orichalcum has, until now, never been found in any significant quantity, and its origin and composition have been widely debated. In Greek mythology, it was invented by the Phoenician founder Cadmus, who was also the first king of Thebes. Although orichalcum is mentioned in a number of ancient texts that go back to Hesiod, a Greek poet believed to have been active between 750 BCE and 650 BCE, it was the Greek philosopher Plato, from the fourth century BCE, who made it a legend. Plato’s Critias dialogue tells the story of the island kingdom of Atlantis and its failed effort to conquer Athens. In the dialogue, Critias, an Athenian figure, claims orichalcum was mined in Atlantis and used to cover the interior walls, floors and columns of Poseidon’s temple. Critias describes the metal as shiny and more precious than any other metal except gold. According to the story, the metal was so revered that inside the temple was an orichalcum pillar that had been inscribed with Poseidon’s laws. Plato wrote, “The outermost wall was coated with brass, the second with tin, and the third, which was the wall of the citadel, flashed with the red light of orichalcum.” Today, most scholars agree that while orichalcum is rare, it’s much less precious than described in Plato’s writing. It’s actually a brass-like alloy, produced in antiquity through a cementation process using zinc ore, copper metal and charcoal. X-ray fluorescence analysis indicates the recovered ingots are indeed an alloy produced using between 75 and 80 percent copper, and 15 and 20 percent zinc, along with small percentages of iron, nickel, and lead. The archeological work to fully excavate the sunken ship and retrieve its cargo is ongoing. ]]>

Tags Atlantis, atlantis alloy, orichalcum, shipwreck, sicily

Breaking News

New Theory on Origin of Scythians Put Forward

Post author By David.DeMar
Post date March 9, 2017

According to a university press release, anthropologists conducted comparative analysis of non-metric cranial trait frequencies in the remains of Scythians found in the northern Black Sea region. These non-metric traits were then compared to those gathered from Central Asian and Eastern European remains dating to the Bronze Age to look for commonalities. These so-called “cranial series” are groups of skulls found from either one burial or several burials spaced closely together, and from either one archaeological culture or one ethnic group. Non-metric, varying cranial traits can reflect minor anatomical variations in the human skull. These variations take the form of irregular skull sutures and processes or additional and irregular holes, and are consistent among those with similar genetics. When compared to data gathered from molecular genetic markers, these non-metric cranial traits tell a similar tale in determining the genetic distances between populations. Many researchers have begun to use these cranial trait comparisons as an alternative to direct DNA research, which can be much more expensive and not necessarily always appropriate. There are two major hypotheses regarding the origin of the Scythians. One claims the Scythians came from Central Asia as invaders, resulting in local Indo-European populations being assimilated by them. The other claims that the ancient people were descended from the “Timber-Grave culture” of the Srubnaya people who lived between the Dneiper and Ural Mountains during the Late Bronze Age. According to lead author Alla Movesyan, the results of the study provide evidence for both of these theories. In other words, both hypotheses are partly correct: the Scythian gene pool was formed from descendants of the Srubnaya from the Late Bronze Age, but these descendants migrated from Central Asia and mingled with the Indo-Europeans living in the northern Black Sea region. This revelation could be a blow to Eurasian mythmakers who have enjoyed claiming the Scythians were predecessors of the Slavs. While there was undoubtedly some genetic intermingling thanks to geographic proximity, Movsesyan claims that the idea of Slavs being direct descendants of the Scythians is simply no longer supported by any scientific data. The new research study, published in The American Journal of Physical Anthropology, can be found here]]>

Tags bronze age, genetics, human evolution, Scythians

Breaking News

Ichthyosaur Mystery Finally Solved As Two Become One

Post author By Daryl.Worthington
Post date March 9, 2017

dean-lomax-and-judy-massare-examining-ichythyosaurs-at-london-natoinal-history-museum

Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, published by Taylor & Francis. In the early nineteenth century the fossils of massive, mysterious sea creatures started to be unearthed around the coast of the United Kingdom. By 1821, scientists realised they had discovered a new, extinct group of sea dwelling reptiles and described the first ichthyosaur species: Ichthyosaurus communis. First appearing in the Triassic period, ichthyosaurs lived through the Jurassic and Cretaceous, ultimately dying out some 25 million years before the mass extinction event which wiped out the dinosaurs. Physically, ichthyosaurs were shaped like modern dolphins or sharks, yet the creatures were reptiles – evolved from an as yet unidentified land creature. Following the initial description of Ichthyosaurus communis in 1821, three more ichthyosaur species were quickly described – supposedly distinguished by the shape and structure of their teeth. Two of these species have since been designated as belonging to other types of ichthyosaur. The other, Ichthyosaurus intermedius, continued to be regarded as a relative of I.communis. For years confusion reigned as eminent scientists studied Ichthyosaur fossils unearthed on the coasts of Yorkshire, Dorset and Somerset. Ambiguity over the differences between I.communis and I.intermedius meant many fossils were identified on a possibly shaky basis. Lomax explained in a press release from the Taylor and Francis Group: “The early accounts of ichthyosaurs were based on very scrappy, often isolated, remains. This resulted in a very poor understanding of the differences between species and thus how to identify them. To complicate matters further, the original specimen of Ichthyosaurus communis is lost and was never illustrated. Similarly, the original specimen of I. intermedius is also lost, but an illustration does exist. This has caused a big headache for palaeontologists trying to understand the differences between the species”. Paleontologist Dr Chris McGowan was the first to suggest I. communis and I. intermedius could be the same species, in the 1970s. Since then, various studies have argued back and forth over whether the species should or should not be separated. Lomax and Massare’s study is the most comprehensive ever published comparing the species of ichthyosaur. The authors conclude that the two species are the same, and that characteristics of Ichthyosaurus intermedius can be found in other ichthyosaur species, including I. communis. The two authors have made countless other vital contributions to the study of ichthyosaurs over the years, including describing three new species and reassessing historical species. Their work is providing groundbreaking new insights into the spectacular reptiles that once dominated the earth’s seas. To read the full article please visit: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2017.1291116 Image courtesy of London Natural History Museum]]>

Tags dinosaur, Ichthyosaur, mystery, reptiles, solved

Breaking News

Wreck of WWI Hospital Ship Given War Grave Status

Post author By David.DeMar
Post date March 8, 2017

HMHS Anglia, a hospital ship sunk during the First World War, was recently given war grave status, recognizing the remains of the more than 160 soldiers and sailors who lost their lives aboard her. The ship sunk in November of 1915 off the coast of Chepway after hitting a German mine. Other sunken warships, including the MHS Hogue, HMS Cressy, and HMS Aboukir, all of which sunk in September of 1914 in a German U-boat attack, have been declared war graves as well with the stroke of the same pen. The new “war grave” designation provides legal protection to the wreck of the HMHS Anglia and the other Royal Navy ships, barring them from casual visits from divers or scavengers. Maritime historians spearheaded the campaign to get the ships listed and protected. According to an article on Kent Online, campaigner Christopher Conn said he was glad to see the Anglia given the protection she deserved. Conn hails from Folkestone, just a few miles from the final resting place for HMHS Anglia in Folkestone Harbour on the English Channel. The campaigner said he had been fearful that “spot divers” were visiting the ship to take souvenirs back up to the surface, and was keen to see legal protections put in place for the sunken hospital ship. There were nearly 400 injured aboard HMHS Anglia when it struck the mine that sealed its fate on November 17th. A team of medical staff were also onboard, tending to the wounds of the injured soldiers. While nearby ships did their best to rescue victims of the attack, it’s thought that around 167 people went down with the ship that day. Meanwhile, the sinking of the Aboukir, Cressy, and Hogue has long been recognized as one of the British Royal Navy’s darkest hours, even if their wrecks were not protected by law until recently. The incident that led to their destruction – and the deaths of 1,459 sailors serving aboard them – earned them the moniker of the “Livebait Squadron”, an epithet that expressed how severely demoralized the British people had become as a result of the massive loss of life. The three cruisers, left behind after their destroyer escort had turned around due to bad weather, fell prey to German submarine U9 on September 22nd, 1914. The older cruisers, sporting highly visible smokestacks from their steam engines, stood out starkly once the weather cleared, making them an easy target for the U-boat. The three ships were subjected to a salvo of eight torpedoes that crippled them, sending them to the deep. In total, there are 13 wartime vessels that have been added to the lists of protected military vessels this month, including HMHS Anglia, HMS Aboukir, HMS Cressy and HMS Hogue. This brings the grand total of ships and submarines protected as war graves to 79. The majority of these are ships dating from the First World War, though there are five German submarines and Second World War-era Allied cargo vessels on the list as well. ]]>