Trudy Myers's Blog, page 5
November 28, 2024
Saber-Toothed Kitten
In Siberia, Scientistshave recovered the mummy of a newborn saber-toothed cat from the permafrost.The kitten died at least 35,000 years ago, yet its whiskers and claws are stillattached. It is remarkable that the mummy still had sharp claws and whiskers.However, the eyelashes were not preserved.
An analysis of thekitten’s stunningly-preserved head and upper body shows it was 3 weeks old whenit died. The pelvic bones, a femur and shin bones were encased in a block ofice with the mummy. The cause of the kitten’s death is unknown.
It is extremely rare tofind well-preserved remains of saber-toothed cats. This one is of the species Homotheriumlatidens. Saber-toothed cats of the Homotherium genus lived acrossthe globe from 5.3 million to 11,700 years ago, but evidence suggests thisgroup became less widespread toward the end of the last ice age.
The latest recorded presenceof Homotherium in Eurasia was between 770,000 to 126,000 years ago. Butthe discovery of this kitten confirms its presence from 126,000 to 11,700 yearsago in Asia.
The frozen mummy showsit was well-adapted to ice age conditions. The kitten carcass was compared tothat of a modern 3-week-old lion. The saber-toothed kitten had wider paws andno carpal pads, which act as shock absorbers in today’s felines. Theseadaptations enabled walking with ease in snow, while thick, soft fur found onthe mummy shielded it against polar temperatures.
The comparison with thelion also revealed that saber-tooth cats had a larger mouth, smaller ears,longer forelimbs, darker hair and a thicker neck. Studies of adult Holotheriumskeletons had already shown that they had short bodies and elongated limbs, butthese features were already present at the age of 3 weeks.
Radiocarbon dating ofthe mummy’s fur suggested the kitten has been buried in permafrost at least35,000 years, and possibly as long as 37,000 years. The carcass was discoveredin 2020 and has enabled scientists to describe physical characteristics such asthe fur’s texture, the shape of their muzzle, and the distribution of theirmuscles.
November 23, 2024
Oldest Known Alphabet Discovered
In a groundbreakingdiscovery, researchers have found what may be the oldest known alphabeticwriting in human history. It’s dramatically older than any other alphabeticwriting, so these ancient artifacts are rewriting the history of communication.
Discovered in a tomb inwestern Syria, several delicate clay cylinders are challenging everythingscholars thought they knew about the origin of alphabetic communication. Fourfinger-length artifacts, extracted from Tell Umm-el Marra, have been dated to2400 BCE. This places them a stunning 500 years earlier than previoushistorical records.
“Alphabetsrevolutionized writing by making it accessible to people beyond royalty and thesocial elite,” said the lead archaeologist. According to him, “Alphabeticwriting changed the way people lived, how they thought, how they communicated.
The cylinders werefound among an archaeological treasure trove. Not only did the tomb contain sixskeletons, gold and silver jewelry, cookware, a spearhead, and intact pieces ofpottery. These clay cylinders appear to be labeled with what might be theearliest known alphabetic script.
It is speculated thatthese cylinders might have been used as labels, potentially identifying vesselcontents, origins, or ownership. But without a method to translate the writing,these are educated guesses.
Scholars previouslythought the alphabet was invented in Egypt sometime after 1900 BCE. But theseartifacts are older and from a different area, which suggests the alphabet mayhave a different origin story than thought.
The research team’smeticulous work included carbon-14 dating to confirm the age of the tombs,artifacts and mysterious writing, which provides scientific validation fortheir claims.
The meaning of theseancient markings is a mystery, but these artifacts offer a glimpse into how ourancestors first began to record and share information beyond spoken language.
November 18, 2024
Learning Patience While Healing
Oof! This has been abad year for me, health-wise. I had 2 stays in the hospital, one for 9 days inJuly, and the other for 7 days in September. Then I took a fall in a local mallparking lot at the end of October that resulted in 6 broken ribs. I’m lookingat 6 weeks while those heal.
Enough already! I amready to be well!
Of course, things don’twork like that. The body takes the time it needs to heal. And when the timecomes that your brain is ready to get back to doing things, but your body isn’tdone healing, guess which one wins the argument.
It wasn’t so bad when Iwas in the hospital. The first half of my stay, I was too sick to do much buteat when my meals arrived and sleep. When I did reach the point where I feltlike doing things, I never thought to have my hubby bring my laptop to mebecause I was sure I was going to be discharged any minute! And when it didn’thappen that day, I was sure it would happen the next, so I’d find somemind-numbing shows on the tv, and think about all I would do once I got home.
But cracked ribs are alittle different. You get to be at home; you just have to be careful not to aggravateyour damaged bones. And get plenty of rest. The ache of my ribs made me extratired. I found myself sleeping 9-10 hours at night and taking a nap in theafternoon. And maybe one in the morning. It left me little time to get anythingdone.
Each day, I would stareat my To Do List and cross off those things I did manage to do; take mymorning pills, check my blood sugar, check how my Amazon Ads are doing, openthe daily snail mail, brush my hair and teeth, take my evening pills… smallstuff that had to get done. And each day I would gather up all thethings I didn’t manage to do that day and shove them off until the next day.Things like write my family letter that usually gets sent out every 2ndmonth, write my weekly newsletter, write my weekly blog, format the nextmanuscript waiting to be published, ride my stationary bike for some exercise, andso on.
The first couple ofweeks after my fall, I had plenty of pain to remind me why I was sleeping somuch. “This isn’t forever,” I told myself, and so I wouldn’t beat myself upabout all that I wasn’t getting done. But as the pain subsided – and by now,it’s just a gentle ache in my ribs to remind me to take an afternoon nap – thenI find myself impatient to start doing all those things I’ve been putting off.To ignore the ache and keep working.
I could do that. Somedays I have done that. However, if I choose not to take a nap, then I am extratired extra early that evening, and I sleep even longer that night.
I have to learn to bepatient. It is no good beating myself up over my need for extra sleep. Thatjust makes me depressed, and I’m already fighting chronic depression, so Idon’t need any more of it. This won’t last forever. By mid-December, my ribswill be fully healed. That’s only a month away.
Thankfully, this pastweek has afforded me the opportunity to get some writing done; the familyletter, this week’s newsletter, this blog, and even a couple thousand words onmy current Work In Progress. Although that story has passed 10K words, so I’mnot sure it truly qualifies as a short story anymore, but we’ll see how long itgets. However, that time for writing is obtained by being away from our homefor the day, so I can’t get an afternoon nap. Here’s hoping that these daysgive me a little boost in stamina for getting through a day without a nap. Thatwould be nice.
In the meantime, I mustbe patient. Being impatient doesn’t get me anywhere.
October 24, 2024
Red Deer Cave People
The Red Deer CavePeople appear to have been some of the most unusual humans in the past 20,000years. They have been dated to have existed about 14,000 years ago, which isexceptionally recent in terms of human evolution. Yet, their fossils displaymany ‘archaic’ human features that are associated with more distant relativesin the family tree.
They might have been anancient relic of humanity that held on until the end of the last Ice Age. Orthey may have been a hybrid population, possibly related to Neanderthalsand Denisovans. Or perhaps they show that Homo sapiens wereextremely diverse throughout their history.
In 1989, human remainswere unearthed at a cave in Yunnan, southern Chine. It became known at the RedDeer Cave because of the discovery of giant red deer fossils at the site. It isbelieved the human inhabitants cooked and ate the animals.
In 2012, scientistsspeculated whether the people in the cave represented a new human species. Bystudying their jaws and teeth, it was noted they had thick skulls with flatfaces, broad noses, small chines, large molar teeth and prominent brow ridges,all features associated with older, long-extinct members of the human familytree.
The scientists haddiscovered a population of prehistoric humans whose skulls display an unusualmosaic of primitive features, like those seen in our ancestors thousands ofyears ago.
A 2015 study of a thighbone discovered at Red Deer Cave suggested that individual weighed about 110pounds (50 kilograms) and shared anatomical features with early Homo erectusor Homo habilis, both of which went extinct about 1.5 million years ago.
Since the femur wasdated at just 14,000 years old, this did not fit the widely accepted chronologyof human evolution. This femur was part of a living person a few thousand yearsbefore Homo sapiens developed agriculture, which sparked an evolution ofculture that ultimately gave rise to complex civilizations.
It suggests thatprimitive-looking humans might have survived until very late in our evolution.But it is just one bone. A pre-modern species may have overlapped in withmodern humans on mainland East Asia, but that case needs to be built with morebone discoveries.
By 2022, advancementsin ancient DNA allowed a study of Red Deer Cave hominins’ genetics. Itconfirmed that they were modern Homo sapiens. In fact, they had asignificant genetic connection to modern East Asians and Native Americans, whodescended from the same groups of people.
So the Red Deer CavePeople were not as unusual as first thought, even though the small populationdid have features not seen in any modern population of humans. With no clearexplanation why they appeared this way, it hints that humans living towards theend of the last Ice Age were more diverse than those living across the worldtoday.
October 19, 2024
Speedy Space Object
It’s always good toknow that our defense systems work.
On July 6th,(I believe it was in 2024, but I could be wrong), automated systems that studythe skies for potentially hazardous objects sent out a warning. Estimated atabout 164 ft (50 m) in diameter, the object was spotted hurtling towards Earth.Its path would take it uncomfortably close to the moon and our planet. However,it was not an asteroid.
As objects move throughthe sky, different observatories identify whether it’s a new object and if itmight pose a hazard to Earth. Follow-up observations determined that the objectwas actually the European Space Agency’s Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer)spacecraft. The probe was flying by Earth and the moon to exploit gravity as itslingshot through space.
But the Juicespacecraft isn’t 50 meters across. Its solar panel wings measure only 27 meters(88 feet), which is quite big for a deep space probe. Because it appeared verybright, owing to its reflective solar panels, the automated system initiallyestimated the object was a larger rock.
Scanning the skies formenacing objects is important. It gives us time to prepare and evacuate acertain area, if that’s necessary. Scientists agree that we need to know what’scoming, when it’s coming, and how hard it’s going to hit.
Space rocks do veerinto our area of the solar system from time to time. But there are no knownasteroids on course to collide with Earth for at least the next 100 years.
Even relatively smallrocks are still threatening, as proven by the 56-foot (17 meters) rock thatexploded over Russia and blew out people’s windows. Every year, on average, anautomobile-sized asteroid plummets through our sky and explodes. Objects about460 ft (140 m) in diameter occur every 10,000 to 20,000 years. And a‘dinosaur-killing’ impact from a rock a half-mile across or larger happens on100-million-year timescales.
Just to ease your mind,the dinosaurs went extinct about 66 million years ago.
October 4, 2024
Mysterious Monolith
On the Mediterraneanisland of Cyprus, archaeologists have unearthed a temple believed to be 4,000years old, which features a mysterious monolith. The remains of the sacredspace were identified at the archaeological site of Erimi.
The prehistoricsettlement of Erimi is located in south-central Cyprus more than 300 feet abovesea level, on a limestone terrace. Cyprus is located in the easternMediterranean Sea, and serves as a crossroads between Europe, Africa and Asia.
Around 2000-1600 BC, inwhat’s known as the Middle Bronze Age, a community settled on the Erimi hill.In this Bronze Age community, scientists discovered a room in which they founda monolith measuring more than 7 feet in height. The monolith is completelysmooth and features a motif in the center.
The monolith, which hadstood in the center of the room, had collapsed onto the floor and destroyed alarge amphora placed at its feet. An amphora is a type of container with apointed bottom. Its characteristic form dates back to prehistoric times.
Peculiarities of thisroom indicate it is a sacred space. It is believed that the activity thatsupported the community economically also involved its members ideologicallyand symbolically. This small sacred space in Erimi is the oldest example knownon the island.
I wish the article hadincluded a rendering of the motif on the monolith. It’s always exciting to geta glimpse of what was considered important and special to people from anotherage.
September 13, 2024
Hidden Secret Temple
Since 1830,archaeologist knew about the 120 tombs on a hill side in Tuscany, Italy. Thetombs dated to the 7th to 6th centuries BC. But onlyrecently did they discover in the same area an ancient temple of a cult.
The temple was part ofthe ancient Etruscan necropolis of Sasso Pinzuto. It includes plenty ofartifacts, such as clay tablets that give details about the funerary rituals ofthe time, some of which may have lasted for centuries.
Known as an oikos—a houseof the deity—the temple provides a window into the architecture of the ritualsites of the day. It includes a transverse atrium and 3 rooms orientednorth-northeast.
Since the 1830s, researchershave found about 120 chamber tombs. Three mounds contain the bulk of theburials. North of the largest mound, they found 9 small pits dug for additionalburials. It was near these pits that the temple was discovered. Experts believethe site was for Etruscan elites.
The architecture of theburial grounds shows the style of ancient tombs, with chambers dug into rock,divided into rooms that could be used for multiple generations of the samefamily.
Archaeologists alsofound information that helps depict what happened inside the temple. Decoratedclay slabs show ceremonies chronicling everything from the use of horsemen andchariots to the purpose of dancers and musicians during banquets.
They also found theremains of clay and metal furnishings in the temple that appear to have been inuse at the time.
Now, as I remember it,the Etruscans were around before the Romans appeared. But at the time I heardabout them (many long years ago), there wasn’t much known about them, so I wasexcited to see this article.
September 8, 2024
Atlantis?
Some scientists havefound some ancient islands deep underwater in the Atlantic Ocean. Some expertsbelieve the drowned landmasses may be the potential inspiration for thewell-known myth of Atlantis. They have even gone so far as to call the find “LostAtlantes”, after the fabled civilization that the gods drowned.
Some of these islandsstill have their beaches intact. They are located on an underwater mountainlocated around 1.4 miles (2.3 km) underwater off the coast of Lanzarote in theCanary Islands.
Researchers say that 56to 34 million years ago, Los Atlantes was a series of islands topped by 3 nowinactive volcanoes. When the volcanoes stopped erupting, the lava solidifiedand became denser, causing the islands to sink into the sea.
Despite the passing ofmillions of years, the islands have retained distinctive features, such asbeaches, cliffs and sand dunes at the flat summit of the mountain. The sandwhich now covered the volcanic rock would have been deposited as the islandsdescended into the water.
Some of the beaches lieonly 200 ft (60 meters) below the oceans’ surface. During the last ice age,when sea levels were far lower than today, the inactive volcanoes would havebecome islands again. These islands could have been colonized by wildlife, oreven early people. When the ice age ended and sea levels rose, the islands sankagain.
In my opinion, if therewere people living on these islands during the last ice age, and at least someof them escaped when the sea levels rose, I’m sure they couldn’t resist tellinganybody they met about their escape. Such a tale, handed down from generationto generation, could have easily become the myth we still know today.
August 31, 2024
American Stonehenge
Stonehenge remains agreat mystery, with experts divided over why the prehistoric monument wasbuilt. Somehow, prehistoric mankind managed to create this structure, whichseems to defy the engineering capabilities of the time.
It has been discoveredthat a similar enigmatic stone structure exists beneath the waters of LakeMichigan in the US. Furthermore, this underwater creation is believed to be5,000 years older than its British counterpart.
The site was discoveredin 2007 by a team of archaeologists conducting a survey of the lakebed. Justoff the coast of Traverse City, MI, they chanced upon a series of large stonesarranged in a circular pattern. At a depth of about 40 feet (12.1 m), the teamwas initially unsure what they’d found.
The pattern is of 2circles, one inside the other, with the inner circle 20 feet in diameter andthe outer circle 40 feet. Some of the stones weigh up to 3,000 lbs (1,360 kg),but analysis suggests that the stones had been deliberately arranged by humans.
The stones are allgranite, which is found in the area. The formation is estimated to be around10,000 years old, one of the oldest formations ever discovered in NorthAmerica.
While the Lake Michiganstones are similar in size and shape to the monoliths of Stonehenge, they aren’tstacked or connected in the same way.
There is evidence thatprehistoric tribes roamed the Great Lake area for thousands of years, verylittle is known about them.
The Anishinaabe wereamong the first to inhabit the region. This tribe’s prehistoric,hunter-gatherer forefathers settled in the area following the last Ice Age, andtheir descendants believe they placed the stones there for a sacred purpose.
The area was notunderwater 10,000 years ago, and people had settled on the exact spot where thestones were laid. However, 5,000 years later, the water levels rose, floodingthe Lake Michigan basin.
Thanks to advancedtechnology, scientists were able to stitch together photographs of the rocks tocreate accurate 3D pictures, which they could then analyze in detail. Thisrevealed carvings and engravings on some stones, including an image of aMastodon.
Mastodons wereancestors to elephants and woolly mammoths. They were up to 10 feet tall (3.1m), weighed upwards of six tons (5,440 kg), and lived from about 2.6 million to11,700 years ago. The carvings suggest that the humans at this site had someknowledge of these mammals, possibly even hunted them.
The formation’sconfiguration–which includes a long line of rocks leading directly toit–suggests it could have been an ancient hunting structure known as a drivelane. Humans have used drive lanes for thousands of years to herd groups ofanimals along a path toward a kill zone, where hunters lie in wait. In thiscase, the site challenges the belief that early humans weren’t capable ofcreating such sophisticated structures.
Nevertheless, theprecise purpose of the structure and the identity of its architects remain amystery. Like its younger cousin over in Salisbury.
August 16, 2024
Homestead on the Moon
Hooray! There are homesfor the taking on the moon!
Don’t start packing. They aren’t exactly built yet. It’s more like they’ve found empty lotswhere homes could be built. If you like living in caves.
Scientists have convincingevidence of a cave where astronauts could work and live in relative comfort.They suspect there may be hundreds of caves on the moon and want to use radarto find others.
Plans to build apermanent lunar base have been stymied over the conditions found on the moon’ssurface. During the moon’s day, the temperature can reach 250 degrees F, andduring the night, it dips to -200 degrees F. Solar and cosmic radiation is alsoa hazard that must be prepared for. Some plans for a lunar base called for thebase to be built, and then buried in at least 2.5 feet of moon dirt.
But caves can mean lesswork to build a lunar base, because you wouldn’t need to move all that moondirt around.
The data about thisfirst cave discovered indicates the cave is approximately 150 feet wide andpossibly 260 feet long, slightly smaller than an American football field. Thiscave sits in a deep pit which likely formed when a lava tube collapsed. Thereare no active volcanoes on the moon now, but billions of years ago, lava flowedthrough valleys, creating tubes across the lunar surface.
Over the ages, some ofthose tubes collapsed, creating pits. The scientists don’t have a clear ideawhat the cave looks like inside, but lava tubes like those in Hawaii have beenstudied. NASA has identified over 200 of these pits on the moon, suggesting thepresence of hundreds of caves also.
The cave’s thick rockceiling is ideal to protect people and infrastructure from the extreme hazardsof the moon’s surface. In a cave such as this, computer simulations suggestthat the cave’s temperature would remain at around 63 degrees F. Sounds likethe place to build, right?
However, reaching thesecaves could be another matter. The Mare Tranquilitatis cave is located over 400feet from the surface, near the bottom of a steep slope of loose debris.Traversing that slope would require technological ingenuity. That could be jetpacks to fly people in and out, a lunar elevator, or something else.
There’s also a chancethat moon cave could harbor water, in the form of ice. It’s long been knownthat there’s frozen water on the moon, particularly in its permanently shadowedcraters. Since caves are shielded from the merciless radiation of the sun, theyalso could have ice.
Such water would be acrucial resource for any future moon bases. It wouldn’t just be a beverage, itcould also be broken down to its elements–oxygen for breathing and hydrogen forrocket fuel. Thus an abundance of water on the moon could help launch astronautsto Mars.
But in the meantime,let’s all put on our thinking caps and start designing lunar cave bungalows,shall we?
