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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 37: Jan-Feb 1985 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A DISASTER-DRIVEN EARLY CIVILIZATION Archeologists had long recognized the existence of a highly sophisticated early civilization in the Cauca Valley region stretching 550 miles from southern Ecuador into Columbia. This civilization produced a distinctive pottery and spectacular gold artifacts. It was obviously a highly advanced culture, technologically and socially. But it was dated at 400-800 AD; and for this period in South ... history these accomplishments did not seem out of line. Recently, though, additional evidence of this civilization was discovered beneath a datable volcanic ash. The new dates for this civilization are 600-1 ,500 BC, putting it about 1,000 years ahead of Maya and Inca achievements. The "digs" show further that this culture was frequently beset by devastating outbursts of volcanic activity, which often rendered large areas of land uninhabitable. Rather than suppressing this remarkable culture, Donald Lathrap, a University of Illinois archeologist, says ... "Those disasters pushed people from the region and led to upward leaps in social evolution..." (Anonymous; "Key to a Vanished Empire," San Francisco Chronicle, June 14, 1984. Cr. J. Covey.) Comment. The reaction of this early society of advanced organisms to environmental stress seems a perfect introduction to several items that follow on how cells and other species respond to stresses from without. From Science Frontiers #37, JAN-FEB 1985 . 1985-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... 5,000 and 3,500 years ago-- -roughly the same period when the great pyramids were built in Egypt and the Sumerian citystates reached their zenith in Mesopotania." Among these edifices are great stepped pyramids, U-shaped temples over ten stories high, and broad plazas with adjacent residential areas. Scores of such sites built by an ancient Peruvian civilization are nestled deep in narrow valleys leading from the Andes down to the Pacific. Archeologists date this civilization as thousands of years older than those that arose in Central America. The age and size of the Peruvian remains impelled Yale archeologist R. Burger to remark: "This idea of the Old World being ahead of the New World has to be put on hold." Of course, this Andean culture is not as old ... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 67: Jan-Feb 1990 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects New World Culture Old "Archeologists working in Peru have unearthed stunning evidence that monumental architecture, complex societies and planned developments first appeared and flowered in the New World between 5,000 and 3,500 years ago-- -roughly the same period when the great pyramids were built in Egypt and the Sumerian citystates reached their zenith in Mesopotania." Among these edifices are great stepped pyramids, U-shaped temples over ten stories high, and broad plazas with adjacent residential areas. Scores of such sites built by an ancient Peruvian civilization are nestled deep in narrow valleys leading from the Andes down to the Pacific. Archeologists date this civilization as ...
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... Nature, Scientific American, etc Archaeology Astronomy Biology Geology Geophysics Mathematics Psychology Physics Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online Science Frontiers: The Book Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Photocopied Classic Books These important old books from the anomaly literature used to be available, photocopied and bound in heavy, printed covers. Format: 8.5 " x 11. They are no longer available. Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley View Cart Buy online via PayPal with MC/Visa/Amex E.G . Squier and E.H . Davis. 376 pp., 1848, $29.95p One of the most remarkable archeological books ever published in America! Its appearance in 1848 created a great sensation. For, as America moved west, the remnants of the great civilization of the Moundbuilders raised much speculation ... photocopied edition of Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, from 1848. Fergusson has filled his book with 233 line drawings of artifacts from the megalithic period. The emphasis is on the massive monuments, but you'll also see some sketches of pottery and inscribed stones. Naturally, there are long chapters on the British Isles, Ireland, and Europe; but the author also demonstrates how the megalithic culture extended into North Africa, the Middle East, and India. It is a pleasure to page through this old classic and read how our parents' parents interpreted these edifices. Aboriginal Monuments of the State of New York View Cart Buy online via PayPal with MC/Visa/Amex E.G . Squier. 1849, 193 pp., $19.95p With the help of 72 ...
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... seemingly extends from along the Atlantic coast of Europe to America and in America from the high latitudes of Labrador down into New York state. "The dates are mind-boggling: 7,000 years ago both in Europe and America. That is 2,000 years earlier than the Great Pyramids of Egypt. It is at least 4,000 years earlier than the Mound Builders of the Ohio Valley. The evidence is cummulative, varied in nature, and most probably highly reliable." (Carter, George F.; "Before Columbus," Ellsworth American, November 23, 1990. Cr. R. Strong.) Sketch from Kadath showing how the setting sun, at the summer solstice, lines up with two ancient standing stones and a cairn in western Massachusetts. The New ... least we hope so. The Red Paint People. Public TV recently aired a program on North America's Red Paint People, so-called because they added brilliant red iron oxide to their graves. It also seems they knew how to sail the deep ocean, as G.F . Carter now relates. "Decades ago, Gutorn Gjessing pointed out that the identical [Red Paint] culture was found in Norway. No one paid much attention to that, but more recent carbon-14 dating has shown that the identical cultures had identical dates, and people began to pay more attention. It is now admitted that this is a high latitude culture that obviously sailed the stormy north Atlantic and stretched from northwest Europe over to America. It seemingly extends from along the Atlantic coast of ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 53: Sep-Oct 1987 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A Tsunami And A Peruvian Cultural Glitch We quote from the abstract of a paper by R.M . Bird from American Antiquity. "While investigating the archaeological background of early maize on the coast of Peru, I realized that several factors affect interpretation. The estimated date for the start of common use of maize there is close to the apparent dates of a large tsunami, the abandonment of many coastal sites, and the start of occupation at Chavin de Huantar in the highlands. While investigating the possible relations between the principal pretsunami coastal culture and Chavin, I discovered that depictions of a monstrous head link the two cultures." The "monstrous head" is thought by the Bird to be a stylized representation of a tsunami wave. Not mentioned at all in the abstract are the physical evidences of tsunami damage along the Peruvian coast. This article portrays the possible effects on the ancient manmade structures in the region as well as the widespread deposits of sand, cobblestones, and other sediments. (Bird, Robert McK.; "A Postulated Tsunami and Its Effects on Cultural Development in the Peruvian Early Horizon," American Antiquity, 52:285, 1987.) Profile of a north-south site trench at a a site on the Peruvian coast, showing thick strata that may have been deposited by a tsunami. From Science Frontiers #53, SEP-OCT 1987 . 1987-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 109: Jan-Feb 1997 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Wind-driven Ice Sheets In Death Valley Scientists generally scoff at Forteana as beneath their dignity to investigate. But the mysterious moving rocks on Racetrack Playa in Death Valley have lured them out of their ivied halls. We quote from the abstract of a report seen in the mainstream journal Geology . "Sharply angular boulders as large as 320 kg [700 pounds] sit on the Racetrack Playa, Death Valley, California; trails leading to them indicate that the rocks have moved large distances. The process has never been witnessed. Although high winds and a wetted surface seem necessary, controversy persists about the need for other conditions, especially ice sheets. On the basis of experiments with a wetted Racetrack surface (soft mud about 3 cm deep), we find the effective coefficient of friction to be surprisingly high, about 0.8 . Movement by wind alone of moderate-sized (20 kg) rocks with cubic shape requires sustained winds close to the ground of about 80 m/s (about 180 mph). Larger flat-lying rocks require much higher winds." The authors of this paper, J.B . Reid, Jr., et al, precisely mapped a large number of the enigmatic tracks. Their maps revealed many "mated pairs" of rocks, whose curving tracks matched near their origins to within a few centimeters, even though the tracks were separated by up to 830 meters (over 0. ...
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... Diffusion of Coconut, Bottle Gourd, Sweet Potato Diffusion MG GRAPHIC ARTIFACTS MGC COINS IN UNEXPECTED PLACES Egyptian in Australia Egyptian in Martinique Roman in North America Roman in Iceland Chinese in North America Carthaginian in United Kingdom Hebrew in North America Coins in Coal Deposits Phoenician in Bahamas MGG GEOFORMS Effigy Mounds, Emblematic Mounds Boulder Mosaics Serpent Mounds, Wide Distribution Blythe Ground Figures British Hill Figures Nazca Lines Gravel Effigies Santa Valley Geoglyphs Georgia Eagle Mound Australian Ground Figures Panamint Valley Ground Figures [MSH6 Stone Meanders] Candelabra of the Andes South American Ceques U.S . Giant Circles [MSE8 Geographical Zodiacs] MGK CALENDARS AND ZODIACS Calendar Mosaics Lozenge Calendars Lunar and Solar Notation on Bones and Stones Karanouo Zodiac Mayan and Western Zodiacs Are Alike [MSE Geographical Zodiacs] MGM MAPS Turin Papyrus Vineland Map Stick Maps of Oceania Piri ... in the New World South American Fossils in New Zealand Babirusa Bones in Canada Humans and Domesticated Ground Sloths Trepanation Yuha Burial Problem Human Hair at the Orogrande Site Pygmy Skeletons Chinese Fossils in Australia Giant Skeletons [BHE] Neanderthal Fossils and Speech Santa Barbara Fossils Taber Skeleton (Canada) Eskimo Fossils in France Blond Mummies in Peru Red-Haired Mummies in Nevada [MAA] Santa Rosa Mammoths and Hearths MAK CULTURE Precocious Number Systems and Mathematics Agriculture and Culture Decline Navigational Techniques Ancient Cosmologies and Astronomy Music, Arts, Literature Measurement Systems Paper-Making Diffusion Olmec Origin (Cultural Evidence) Origin of Culture Human Migration Phenomena Polynesian Origins Early Caucasians in New World Extinctions and Rapid Declines (Mohenjo-Daro, Maya, Minoans, Moundbuilders, etc.) Chinese in the New World Polynesians in New World and Australia ...
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... Caral was "officially" discovered in 1905, but it was neglected by both archeologists and grave robbers because there were no artifacts to collect and nothing worth stealing. No one recognized its great age until recently. Today Caral is recognized as the work of the first complex society in the New World. (Solis, Ruth Shady, et al; "Dating Cara a Preceramic Site in the Supe Valley on the Central Coast of Peru," Science, 292:723, 2001. Maugh, Thomas M., II; "Scientists Say Peruvian Ruins Are Old est City in Americas," Houston Chronicle, April 27, 2001. Cr. D. Phelps. Ritter, Jim; "Pyramids as Old as Egypt's ," Chicago Sun-Times, April 27, 2001 ... Cr. J. Cieciel.) Comment. Could Caral (built about 2600 BC) have been the progenitor of a wave of pyramid-building cultures that swept northward and manifested itself in the Mayan pyramids (Tikal, circa 700 AD), the Aztec pyramids (Teotihuacan, 150-750 AD), and the works of the Moundbuilders (Cahokia, 1300 AD)? South-to-north would be just the opposite direction for a cultural wave originating at the Bering Land Bridge! And there is more to this story. See below. From Science Frontiers #136, JUL-AUG 2001 . 2001 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest SIS . Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history, mythology and astronomy. Lobster . The journal of intelligence and political conspiracy (CIA, ...
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... around the Black Sea. Scientists estimate that 50 cubic kilometers of water surged through the Bosporus each -- 200 Niagaras in one colossal waterfall. Falling some 150 meters, the thunder of falling water might have been heard 500 kilometers away! The Black Sea rose quickly, driving the shoreline and humans back a kilometer or two every day. The fleeing Neolithic farmers were forced up into the rich river valleys of Europe, carrying tales of the catastrophe as well as their culture and agricultural know-how into these areas. The Middle East was affected, too. The traumatic experiences of the survivors may have been the basis for the Sumerian and Biblical flood stories. (Mestel, Rosie; "Noah's Flood," New Scientist, p. 24, October 4, 1997. Also ... Kerr, Richard A.; "Black Sea Deluge May Have Helped Spread Farming," Science, 279:1132, 1998.) Scenario #2 . The Eltanin asteroid hits. About 2.2 million years ago, a chunk of space debris about a kilometer in diameter splashed down in the Bellingshausen Sea between Antarctica and South America. It was some splash! The splash zone was about 20 kilometers across, waves 4 kilometers high raced away from Ground Zero, and a column of salt water ascended miles high into the upper atmosphere. The TNT equivalent is estimated at 12 billion tons. Ice clouds formed and shaded the planet, causing severe climate changes. On the floor of the Bellingshausen Sea, 5 kilometers deep, lies the Eltanin Impact Structure. Today, we can still see ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 82: Jul-Aug 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects DID THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS SAIL UP THE MISSISSIPPI?No one has found chariot wheels or pyramids attributable to the ancient Egyptians in the Lower Mississippi Valley, nor are their hieroglyphics carved on the rocks in that area. However, there are striking correspondences between the languages of ancient Egypt and those of the Indians that inhabited the areas around Louisiana about the time of Christ! B. Fell, the main pillar of the Epigraphic Society, has stated that the language of the Atakapas, and to a lesser extent those of the Tunica and Chitimacha tribes, are unique in the sense that they seem to be related to no known languages. But there ... would be expected, most archeologists will have none of this. "Where are the coins, the buildings, the piers?" they ask. Countering such criticism, W. Rudersdorf notes that no artifacts have ever been found from Coronado's expedition, only 450 years ago, when thousands of Spanish soldiers marched across the South. (Anonymous; "Professor Believes Egyptians Sailed Mississippi, Left Culture," Northwest Florida Daily News, December 27, 1991. Cr. R. Reid via L. Farish. Also see: Fell, Barry; Epigraphic Society Occasional Papers , 19:35, 1990.) From Science Frontiers #82, JUL-AUG 1992 . 1992-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... , hardcover, $17.95, 84 illustrations, 5 indexes 1988, 682 references, LC 87-63408, ISBN 915554-22-4 , 7x10 format. Anomalies in Geology: Physical, Chemical, Biological; A Catalog of Geological Anomalies Sorry: Out of Print. No longer available. Journey here into ice caves, exhume Siberian mammoths, see animals perish in gas-filled valleys -- a little media hype is justified here. But more serious questions involve the origins of oil, coal, and natural gas. Typical subjects covered: Biological extinction events * Musical sands, ringing rocks * Anomalies of oil's origin * Ice caves, frozen wells * Natural fission reactors * Marine organisms and fossils found far inland * Siberia's frozen mammoths * Radiometric dating problems ... ; Micro-work -- The magnificent conundrum; Artifacts fashioned from very hard materials -- the tool conundrum; Ancient music instruments; Potentially anomalous toys and models; Ancient scientific instruments; Claims of ancient knowledge of electricity; Ancient calculating devices; Speculation about ancient flying machines. Wooden artifacts: Wooden artifacts in unexpected places; Advanced wooden weapons; Remarkable ancient wooden tools; Wooden artifacts suggesting unexpected cultural diffusion; Wooden artifacts of apparent great age. 319 pages, $24.95 hardcover, 3 indexes, 2003 ISBN 0-915554-46-1 , 7 x 10-in Archaeological Anomalies: Graphic Artifacts I Sorry: Out of Print. No longer available. Anomalous coins: Coins of Precolumbian mintage found in the New World; Ancient Egyptian coins found in Australia; Deeply buried ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 77: Sep-Oct 1991 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Valleys Of Death And Elephant Graveyards Legend has it that elephants near death separate from their companions and trek alone to ancestral graveyards, dying only when they reach these special places. The truth is that accumulations of elephant bones have indeed been discovered, but no one seems to have followed expiring elephants to these boneyards. We hope someone will tell us otherwise, but the tale seems apocrythal. The piles of elephant bones could, in fact, be the work of mazukus. (Mazuku means "evil wind" in Swahili.) It seems that there are places on this earth where CO2 and other deadly gases emitted from volcanic vents accumulate. J. Lockwood and M. Tuttle investigated three mazukus known to natives in East Africa. In these low-lying areas, they came upon the remains of small mammals and birds that has been asphyxiated by concentrations of CO2 dense enough to snuff out burning kerosene-soaked rags. Unfortunately for the elephantgraveyard legend, they found no elephant bones. (Anonymous; "Elephant Graveyards," Discover, 12:10, May 1991.) Comment. It would be interesting to know if other species of animals are found in the elephant graveyards. So-called "valleys of death" are found elsewhere in the world, including Yellowstone. Reference. Other "valleys of death" are cataloged in ESC5 in Anomalies in Geo logy, described here . From Science Frontiers #77, SEP- ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 63: May-Jun 1989 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Peruvian Geoglyphs By now, just about everyone has seen the very impressive aerial photographs of the famous Nazca lines in Peru. It is not as well known that many other "geoglyphs" are to be found elsewhere in South America. Plan view of some Santa Valley geoglyphs from Peru. The scale at the lower left represents 10 meters. The vertical double line is not a geoglyph but rather the azimuth heading 280-degrees. It is hard to imagine how such underground drawings could be used for rituals. "For example, several areas that contain crosscrossing lines and figures similar to those of Nazca have recently been studied on the central coast [of Peru] between the FortalezaPativilca and Rimac valleys. Additional lines have been reported for Viru Valley, on the north coast, and for the Zana Valley, over 1,000 km to the north of Nazca. Interestingly, most coastal ground drawings that can be dated tentatively, either by associated ceramic remains and sites or by their similarity to diagnostic pottery motifs, fall in the earlier part of the Early Intermediate period (ca. 350 B.C . to A.D . 650) - i.e ., to a time following the establishment of irrigation agriculture as the primary subsistence focus, but prior to the rise of state societies. .. .. . "As is well known, several studies have been conducted that involved mapping and computer analysis of the Nazca ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 48: Nov-Dec 1986 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Life As A Cosmic Phenomenon "The arguments in support of life as a cosmic phenomenon are not readily accepted by a culture in which a geocentric theory of biology is seen as the norm." The quotation above heads a revealing discussion by F. Hoyle and N.C . Wickramasinghe as to why their conclusions about cosmic life have not been accepted by the scientific community. Stimulating this article was a statement by J. Maddox, Editor of Nature, to the effect that the labors of Hoyle and Wickramasinghe were not convincing very many scientists because they ". .. had become caught up in the eccentric doctrine of panspermiology, a doctrine for which there was said to be little or no evidence." Hoyle and Wickramasinghe deny their eccentricity and affirm that their ideas have been acquired through observation and the generally accepted methods of deductive science. Basically, Hoyle and Wickramasinghe maintain that evidence supports the concept of life originating, evolving, and being transported from place to place in outer space. We have published many of their results in past issues of SF and see no need to cover the same ground again. Rather, we wish to dwell on the scientific reception of their work. We do this with two quotations from their Nature article. These quotations are embedded in their review of the infrared evidence for biological material in outer space: "Still persuing the infrared problem, we eventually found that among organic materials polysaccharides gave the best ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 16: Summer 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Hooray, another "dangerous" book!The May 22, 1981, issue of Science devotes three entire pages to a discussion of the issues raised in the book Genes, Minds, and Culture, written by Edward Wilson and Charles Lumsden. The subject of this book is "gene-culture coevolution," which infers that human culture is controlled not so much by "free will" as by rapidly changing human genes. The authors propose that as few as 1000 years are sufficient for important genetic shifts. Such shifts might, for example, impel humans to break out of the Middle Ages and bring on the Industrial Revolution. The most controversial facets of the theory are: (1 ) The tight genetic control over human culture with little room for free will; and (2 ) The rapid blossoming of many cultures as genes shift about. As one scientist remarked, this book is "dangerous." Others describe it as marvelous. The Science article deals not so much with the book as with the reactions to it -- and the reactions have been powerful, both pro and con. (Lewin, Roger; "Cultural Diversity Tied to Genetic Differences," Science, 212:908, 1981.) Comment. The impression one gets from the synopsis of the book is that humankind is diversifying rapidly into new cultural configurations not through human volition but because of those imperious "selfish genes" we all carry. From Science ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 115: Jan-Feb 1998 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Genes vs. memes Vital to the concept of "gene wars" (mentioned in SF#114) is the assumption that our destiny is controlled by "selfish genes" (or "selfish DNA"). The idea that evolution works only at the gene level has been championed by R. Dawkins, and today it dominates much evolution philosophy. However, this "genetic imperialism" is now being challenged by some scientists who insist that culture also affects an organism's evolution, be it a human or an insect. In fact, it was Dawkins himself who first proposed the term "meme" for the cultural counterpart of the gene. A meme, in other words, is an "element" of culture that can be passed along to progeny by imitation and/or cultural pressures. In reductionist thinking, environmental challenges are met by gene mutations plus natural selection. In meme theory, the same challenges are confronted by cultural changes (meme "mutation") plus natural selection. The meme approach is holistic rather than reductionist and is appealing because it allows us some control over our destiny. There are several phenomena in which some scientists profess to see memes overpowering the genes: Generations of female infanticide have led to more male births than female births. In dairy-farming societies, 90% of the population has the enzyme lactase that allows individuals to digest cows' milk. In other societies, 80% ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 15: Spring 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Basques in the susquehanna valley 2,500 years ago?Back in the 1940s, Dr. W.W . Strong assembled about 400 inscribed stones from Pennsylvania's Susquehanna Valley. Called the Mechanicsburg Stones, they seemed to bear Phoenician characters -- at least Strong interpreted them as such. Naturally, Strong was ridiculed, for the Columbus-first dogma was dominant then. More recently, however, B. Fell claimed that the Mechanicsburg Stones are the work of Basque settlers circa 600 BC. The Basque theory has fared no better than the Phoenician. Now, a noted authority on the Basque language, Imanol Agire, has strongly supported Fell's conclusion that ancient Basques carved the stones. (Anonymous; "Noted Basque Scholar Supports Claim That Mechanicsburg Stones Were Cut by Ancient Basques," NEARA Journal, 15:67, 1981.) Reference. For other enigmatic inscriptions, see our Handbook Ancient Man. This volume is described here . Inscription on one of the Mechanicsberg Stones From Science Frontiers #15, Spring 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 120: Nov-Dec 1998 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Where Did They Come From?It appears more and more likely that South America was colonized earlier and separately from North America. Reason #1 is that the oldest recognized sites in North America are only 11,200 years old, while the Monte Verde site in southern Chile is now generally admitted to be 12,500 years old. Reason #2 is the distance gap of about 5,000 miles between the two sites. So far, there is no evidence of cultural continuity. The time gap is likely to enlarge in a huge quantum jump because of excavations at an intriguing green knoll at Monte Verde. Some 6 feet below its surface is a sedimentary layer containing charcoal in clay-lined pits and humanfractured pebbles. This sedimentary layer is carbon-dated at 33,000 years ago -- some 20,000 years before the ancestors of North America's Clovis people are said to have trekked across the Bering land bridge. (Wilford, John Noble; "Chilean Field Yields New Clues to Peopling of Americas," New York Times, August 25, 1998. Cr. M. Colpitts) New Clues. Just to the north of Monte Verde, on the coast of southern Peru, traces of a hitherto unknown, 11,000-year-old maritime culture have emerged. For short, the new site is called QJ-280 (for Quebrada Jaguay 280). QJ-280 is now ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 132: NOV-DEC 2000 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Earthmovers of the Amazon In South America, most archeologists gravitate to the highlands of the Andes to study the grand cities, roads, and geoforms constructed by the Inca, the Nazca, the Tiahuanacans, and other ancient cultures. Many coffee-table-type volumes are filled with glorious color photos resulting from such research. Much-too-neglected is the Amazon Basin. The belief is widespread that there is nothing of great archeological importance there -- just oppressive jungle, biting bugs, and primitive tribes. That there is much of scientific significance hidden under the lush greenery is just now being realized. For example, A.C . Roosevelt has already proven that surpringly advanced cultures did inhabit the Amazon Basin for thousands of years. ( SF#71 ) We are now learning that some of these Amazon peoples were extraordinary earthmovers. Having little stone to work with, they matched the achievements of the Inca in the mountains just to the west with many miles of earthen causeways. Canals just as long were dedicated to fish-farming. Huge mounds rising above the flood plains supported villages. Even the mounds hold mysteries. One of them, named Ibibate, has been described by anthropologist W. Balee as being: .. .as close to a Mayan pyramid as you'll see in South America.... Beneath the forest cover is a 60-foot [18-meter] human-made artifact ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 67: Jan-Feb 1990 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Solar Activity And Bursts Of Human Creativity Abstract "In a previous paper, evidence has been reported suggesting a link between historical oscillations of scientific creativity and solar cyclic variation. Eddy's discovery of abnormal secular periods of solar inactivity (' Maunder minimum' type) offered the opportunity to put the present hypothesis to a crucial test. Using time series of flourish years of creators in science, literature, and painting (AD600-AD1800), it was found that, as expected: Cultural flourish curves show marked discontinuities (bursts) after the onset of secular solar excursions, synchronously in Europe and China; During periods of extended solar excursions, bursts of creativity in painting, literature, and science succeeded one another with lags of about 10-15 years; The reported regularities of cultural output are prominent throughout with eminent creators. They decrease with ordinary professionals. "The hypothesized extraterrestrial connection of human cultural history has thus been considerably strengthened." (Ertel, Suitbert; "Synchronous Bursts of Creativity in Independent Cultures; Evidence for an Extraterrestrial Connec tion," The Explorer, 5:12, Fall 1989.) Comment. With apologies to the author, a few minor changes in punctuation have been made above. From Science Frontiers #67, JAN-FEB 1990 . 1990-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 112: Jul-Aug 1997 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects We've Known It All Along!An archeologist really risks his or her reputation if he or she suggests that the Americas were peopled before 12,000 years ago. At least that's the way it was until early 1997, when a select "jury" of a dozen skeptical archeologists visited the Monte Verde site in southern Chile. There, T. Dillehay, made his case for a culture that preceded North America's Clovis culture by at least 1,000 years. Monte Verde artifacts go back at least to 12,500 years before the present. The Monte Verde tour, backed by two very detailed reports, convinced some of the most obstinate skeptics. The "jury" was "in," and the Clovis culture was "out," at least as being the first New World culture. Naturally, some still-skeptical archeologists bristled at the suggestion that a "jury" could decide for them. [But isn't that the way science always works?] Regardless, the once formidable 12,000year barrier now seems to have been officially breached. The Monte Verde dates imply either: The Bering land bridge, thousands of miles to the north, was crossed a few millennia before 12,500 BP, or The Monte Verde people arrived by some other route, perhaps by ship! (Wilford, John Noble; "Human Presence in Americas Is Pushed Back a Millennium, ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 19: Jan-Feb 1982 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A PREHISTORIC TVA?The Hohokam Indians lived along the Salt River Valley, in Arizona, about 300 BC to 1450 AD. They constructed a network of irrigation canals that is certainly one of the wonders of the Ancient New World. Early investigators recorded more than 500 kilometers of major canals and 1,600 kilometers of smaller ones. (Less than 10 kilometers of these remain intact today.) One of the main canals was 3 meters deep, 11 meters wide at ground level, and 14 kilometers long. Old and recent aerial photos show traces of an incredibly complex irrigation network. W.B . Masse, the author of this article, is very impressed by the earth-moving task but even more so by the degree of social coordination and control that must have been exerted all along the Salt River Valley in building and regulating the use of this remarkable canal system. (Masse, W. Bruce; "Prehistoric Irrigation Systems in the Salt River Valley, Arizona," Science, 214:408, 1981.) Reference. Many other ancient canal projects are described in our Handbook: Ancient Man. Ordering information here . Composite map of canals near Tempe constructed from aerial photographs. From Science Frontiers #19, JAN-FEB 1982 . 1982-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 122: Mar-Apr 1999 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects El Nino -- Bueno?Despite our recent experience, El Ninos have not been all bad. All around the Pacific Basin, scientists have been collecting evidence that, between 12,000 and 5,000 years ago, El Nino was virtually nonexistent and that its reappearance coincided with great cultural changes. To illustrate, coral records from the western Pacific and sediments in the Great Lakes indicate that El Nino was going strong before 12,000 BP, but then there was an unexplained, 7,000-year lull. This lull is also seen clearly in sediments in Laguna Pallcacocha, a lake in the Andes of southern Ecuador, so is El Nino's sudden resurgence around 5,000 BP. This resurgence and the associated worldwide climatic turmoil also marks the emergence of complex societies all over the planet. The Egyptians built pyramids, the Peruvians constructed temple mounds, civilizations rose and collapsed in the Middle East, and settled agrarian societies developed in many locations. Although not all cultures responded well to the climate changes, El Nino seems to have sparked the rise of modern civilizations. We are assuming that this was good! (Kerr, Richard A.; "El Nino Grew Strong As Cultures Were Born," Science, 283:467, 1999. Sandweiss, Daniel H., et al; "Transitions in the Mid-Holocene," Science, 283:499, 1999.) Comment. Wasn ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 133: JAN-FEB 2001 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Ubiquitous Bird-and-fish Motif Pre-Columbiana, a new journal, promote the popular but "out-on-the-fringe" theory that all our planet's oceans were crossed repeatedly before Columbus (an the Vikings, too). One type of evidence adduced to prove such Precolumbian cultural diffusion is the widespread appearance of motifs that are so specific and unusual that one is forced to admit that independent invention seems very unlikely. In the latest issue of Pre-Columbiana, G. Farley has collected examples of the singular "bird-and-fish" motif from Asia, Africa, both Americas, and the Middle East. As you can see from the illustrations, the similarities are striking, and the bird-fish "contact" highly specific. Bird-and-fish motifs. Clockwise from upper left: Mimbres culture, New Mexico; ancient Egyptian hieroglyph; Chimu culture, Peru; ancient China. (Farley, Gloria; "World-Wide Occurrence of a Bird-and-Fish Motif," Pre-Columbiana, 1:187, 1999.) Comment. Yes, we do know that the birds involved are all fish-eaters, but the "kisses" seem more symbolic than pre-consumption. Also, the fish portrayed are often too big to swallow. From Science Frontiers #133, JAN-FEB 2001 . 2001 William R. Corliss Other Sites of ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 138: NOV-DEC 2001 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A Down Side To Moundbuilding?The thousands of earthen mounds and walls piled up basketful-by-basketful by Native Americans throughout the Midwest and, especially, Ohio, suggest only simple cultures that raised rude edifices and monuments to their chiefs and gods. But now some anomalies have arisen from below the Midwestern soil. Archeologists got a shock in 1998, when drillers installing a drainage system at huge, terraced Monk's Mound in Illinois discovered that the mound was not all dirt after all. Some 40 feet below one of the terraces they ran into a 32foot-thick layer of stones. Hidden for centuries, no one knows the extent or purpose of this huge mass of stones. (SF#117) Now, just 3 years later, scientists using magnetic and other noninvasive equipment have discerned a buried circle of "something" measuring 90 feet across. Like the stones in Monk's Mound, the find was entirely serendipitous. The locale is Paint Creek Prairie, Ross County, in Southern Ohio. There are run-of-the-mill mounds at the site but no one supposed there was anything of significance beneath the surface. (Sloat, Bill; "Mysterious Circle Found Buried beside Mounds," Cleveland Plain Dealer web site, September 6, 2001. Cr. P. Huyghe) Comment. The Hopewell Culture flourished in this region from about 400 BC to 400 AD. In fact, they ...
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... 11,500-year-old human skull found in Brazil possesses features of South Sea Islanders rather than Asians. Stone artifacts. Scrapers and other simple stone artifacts from Los Toldos Cave in Patagonia, dated as 12,000 years old, are suspiciously similar to late-Pleistocene tools in Australia. (Ref. 1) Cave paintings. At Los Toldos and especially another Patagonian site called Estancia La Maria, there is distinctive artwork virtually identical to some from Australia. Specifically, this artwork consists of "hand negatives" (silhouettes of the artists' hands) and spiral and circular drawings composed of little spots. (Ref. 1) Additionally, a remarkable and entirely distinct form of Australian art -- the famous Bradshaw paintings -- are strangely echoed in the artwork of the Paracus Culture of Peru. (Ref. 2) Two curiously adorned flowing figures from a Bradshaw gallery, Australia It is relevant in the above context that one of the Bradshaw paintings depicts a boat with upright prow and stern and which is manned by many paddlers. The Bradshaw people obviously were familiar with the sea. No one seems to know when the Brad shaw Culture flourished in Australia or where it came from. It disappeared suddenly, leaving behind perhaps 100,000 Bradshaw "art galleries" decorating rock overhangs along Australian rivers. (Ref. 2) References Ref. 1. Cardich, Augusto; "The First Americans: Were They Australians?" The Mammoth Trumpet, 16:4 , March 2001. Cr. C. Davant. Ref. 2. Coukell, Allan; " ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 98: Mar-Apr 1995 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects An Unknown Atmospheric Light Phenomenon Between 1981 and 1985, hundreds of strange lights have appeared in a small valley in central Norway. Named after the valley, the lights have been named: The Hessdalen Phenomenon. A research station was set up in the valley in 1983. During January-February 1984, eight different kinds of instruments were in use, with the following results: Camera with grating : Three pictures showed a continuous spectrum. No spectral lines were seen on any picture. IR-viewer: This instrument was used too little to drawn any conclu sion. Spectrum-analyzer: Sometimes there were electromagnetic signals with harmonics of about 80 MHz. Seismograph : No local seismographic activity was measured. Magnetograph : The magnetic field did sometimes change when the lights showed up. There also seemed to be a correlation with the mag netic pulsation. Radar : The lights could be seen on radar. The speed varied all the way from 0 to 30,000 km/hour. Sometimes the radar saw something moving at a low speed, but no lights were seen by eye. Clearly, there was something there, but only the radar showed it. Laser : A laser-beam was directed toward the light, and the behavior of the light changed. Geiger-counter : No radioactive radi ation was detected. But the source was 1 km away when this instrument was used. (Strand, Erling; "Project Hessdalen - ...
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... from an article in which archeologists (some of them at least) were trying to roll forward the date at which humans entered the Americas from 12,000 to 11,500 years ago. In just a few months, we have collected four new items from the general scientific literature (not the U.S archeological literature!) that seem to be swimming against the current. The Meadowcroft Rockshelter . J.M . Adovasio and R.C . Carlisle, in a letter to Science, argue that better dating techniques have consistently pushed the date at which humans arrived in the New World. Using their own work at the Meadowcroft Rockshelter, in Pennsylvania, they cite many radiometric dates earlier than 12,000 years. At this Pennsylvania site, the six deepest dates definitely associated with cultural material indicate that humans were here 13,955 to 14,555 years ago. (Adovasio, J.M ., and Carlisle, Ronald C.; "The Meadowcroft Rockshelter," Science, 239:713, 1988.) Kansas River skeletal remains . Using electron-spin resonance to date a piece of a human skull, W. Dort and L.D . Martin affirm a date of 15,400 years before the present. (Bower, B.; "Skeletal Aging of New World Settlers," Science News, 133: 215, 1988.) A Review of the Paleoindian Debate . W. Bray recounts in Nature what happened at a meeting at the Smithsonian last September. Various controversial sites were discussed, such as Calico Hills (200,000 ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 76: Jul-Aug 1991 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Psi Effects In The Sacrifice Of Marine Algae It is safe to say that mainstream science will categorically reject the results of the experiments reported below. The reason is simple: no known mechanism exists for ESP -- in this instance, the anomalous transfer of information between isolated life forms. Experimental setup for measuring the activity of marine algae. Two scientists at the University of Delaware have designed an experiment that measures the activity of marine algae in a seawater culture. By passing a laser beam through the culture and thence to a photomultiplier tube, they can, utilizing the Doppler shift, measure the collective activity of the cells. (See figure.) Various experiments were run by the Delaware researchers, but their second series in particular seems worth reporting. "A second series of experiments used the sacrifice of clones as a distant stimulus. The data appear to show that the marine alga Tetraselmis suecica reacts dramatically to the sacrifice of cells in a physically isolated aliquot of the same culture if the experimenters are aware of the moment of sacrifice, and excited by the novelty of the experiment. In sharp contrast, only marginally significant results were obtained when the same experiment was run entirely automatically, with the time of the sacrifice defined by random number selection, and the experiment activated by computer command in an empty laboratory." (Pleass, C.M ., and Dey, N. Dean; "Conditions That Appear to Favor Extrasensory ...
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... Science Frontiers The Book Strange reports * Bizarre biology * Anomalous archaeology From New Scientist, Nature, Scientific American, etc Archaeology Astronomy Biology Geology Geophysics Mathematics Psychology Physics Science Frontiers The Book Contents Science Frontiers is an indexed compilation of the first 86 issues of our Science Frontiers newsletter . Chapter 1. Archeology: Ancient Engineering Works * Small Artifacts * Epigraphy and Art * Bones and Footprints * Diffusion and Culture. Chapter 2. Astronomy: Planets and Moons * Solar System Debris * Stars * Galaxies and Quasars * Cosmology. Chapter 3. Biology: Humans .* Other Mammals * Birds * Reptiles and Amphibians * Fish * Arthropods * Invertebrates * Plants and Fungi * Microorganisms * Genetics * Origin of Life * Evolution. Chapter 4. Geology: Topography * Geological Anomalies * Stratigraphy * Inner Earth. Chapter 5. Geophysics: Luminous Phenomena* Weather Phenomena * Hydrological Phenomena * Earthquakes * Anomalous Sounds * Atmospheric Optics. Chapter 6. Psychology: Dissociation Phenomena * Hallucinations * Mind - Body Phenomena * Hidden Knowledge * Reincarnation * Information Processing * Psychokinesis. Chapter 7. Chemistry, Physics, Math, Esoterica: Chemistry * Physics * Mathematics. Comments from reviews: "This fun-to-read book may lead some to new scientific solutions through questioning the phenomena presented", Science Books and Films Publishing details: 356 pages, paperback, $18.95, 417 illus., subject index, 1994. 1500+ references, LC 93-92800 ISBN 0-915554-28-3 , 8.5 x 11. Order From:The Sourcebook Project P.O . Box ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 52: Jul-Aug 1987 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Costa rica's neglected stone spheres Books and articles on Stonehenge, the Easter Island statues, and the Egyptian pyramids are legion. Granted that these structures are important and intriguing, we still ask why Costa Rica's meticulously wrought stone spheres are languishing in the wings of science. They epitomize exquisite workmanship. Such geometric perfection rendered in granite is remarkable-- -for any ancient culture. Lastly, the stones' purpose completely escapes us. Why strew such masterpieces of stoneworking around and even buried under the dark jungle floors? M.T . Shoemaker also wonders about these things in a nice recapitulation of the stone-sphere mystery. His compilation of facts and figures only impels us to learn more about the spheres and what their shapers had in mind. The spheres are found on the Diquis River delta, near the Pacific coast of southern Costa Rica. Stone-sphere sizes range from an inch to 8 feet in diameter. At least 186 spheres have been recorded in the literature. Surely many more were destroyed and other remain undiscovered. No local source exists for the granite; and no stone-working tools have been found near the spheres. "The best spheres are perhaps the finest examples of precision stonecarving in the ancient world." The maximum circumference error in a 6-foot, 7-inch diametre sphere in only 0.5 inch, or 0.2 %. The spheres are often grouped ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 137: SEP-OCT 2001 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Alaska's "Mummy People," Were They Ainus?When The Russians First Arrived In The Aleutian Islands In The Mid-eighteenth Century, They Encountered The Remnants Of A Mysterious Ethnic Group Now Called The "Mummy People." Although These People Did Mummify Their Dead -- like Several Other Ancient Cultures -- they Were Far From Being Cadavers When They Drove The Russians Off The Beach Of Kodiak Island With A Rain Of Sharp Darts, Spears, And Lances. According To A Recent Article In Ancient American, They Also Launched Large Stones At The Russians Using Catapults! Protected By Body Shields Made Of Wood Covered With Rawhide, The Mummy People -- what Was Left Of Them -- were Formidable Warriors. But Who Were They? Actually, The Russians Were Not The First To Meet The Mummy People In Mortal Combat. The Eskimos Had Faced Them In Their Island-by-island Conquest Of The Aleutians Begun Several Centuries Earlier. Today'S Aleuts Carry A Mixture Of Eskimo And Mummy-people Genes. It Is The Uncertain Origin Of The Mummy People That Intrigues The Most. They Are Thought To Have Arrived In The Aleutians Some 7,000 Years Ago -- but From Where? Helping To Answer This Question Are Thousands Of Their Mummies Unearthed Over The Last 300 Years. Their Bones Resemble Those Of The Ainus Still Surviving In Northern Japan. Like The Ainus, The Mummy People Possessed Some Caucasian Features ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 122: Mar-Apr 1999 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Black Pyramids Spain's Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa hardly seem a place for pyramids, but there seem to be six of them on Tenerife, near Guimar. The inhabitants of this island have generally ignored these dilapidated piles of black volcanic stones. However, one perceptive native described them in a letter to T. Heyerdahl of Kon Tiki fame and a leading proponent of ancient cultural diffusion across all oceans. Quick to respond, Heyerdahl perceived amid the debris six stepped pyramids of black stone. He persuaded a Norwegian businessman to buy the site, clean up the debris of centuries, and found a museum. One of the "black" pyramids has now been restored, but some experts are still unconvinced. However, recent excavations under one pyramid have yielded artifacts identified with the pre-Spanish inhabitants of Tenerife. Meanwhile, Heyerdahl has been checking out a rumored pyramid on Sicily. Could Heyerdahl be right when he claims there were age-old cultural links between Mesopotamia, Egypt, Mexico, the Canaries, and even the Pacific Islands? (Mead, Robin; "Riddle of the Black Pyramids," London Times, December 19, 1998. Cr. A.C .A . Silk) Comment. The pre-Spanish inhabitants of the Canaries were the Guanches, who are noted for two other interesting things: (1 ) A very high frequency of the olecranon perforation of the upper arm bone ...
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... Subjects The cup-and-ring motif in america Typical cup-and-rings from Ireland. Drawing from Ancient Man. The 1988 volume of the Occasional Papers of the Epigraphic Society is at hand. As usual, it is chock full of ancient symbols, motifs, and writings, many of which come from anomalous times and/or places. R.W .B . Morris, an authority on prehistoric rock art, has contributed an article comparing the cup-and-ring motif, as found in Great Britain, with that found in North America. Since this stereotype motif decorates the rocks of all continents, save Antarctica, and since the hey-day of cup-and-ring engraving was 3-5 millennia ago, this unique design suggests the worldwide diffusion of culture thousands of years ago. A cup-and-ring engraving consists of a hollow or cup anywhere from 4 to 30 inches in diameter, surrounded by 1 to 9 rings. The rings may be gapped, with a narrow groove running through the gaps from the outside. (See the illustration,) Cups-and-rings have been found at over 700 sites in Great Britain. Most date between 2200 and 1600 B.C . The cup-and-ring is much rarer in the States. A few are known from Alabama, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Texas, and doubtless other states. In contrast to the British cups-and-rings, the American ones are upgapped, though otherwise indistinguishable. What is the significance of the motif? Of course, ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 122: Mar-Apr 1999 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Mosier Mounds In past issues (SF#38 and SF#115) we introduced the still-mysterious East Bay walls that stretch for some 50 miles along the foothills bordering San Francisco Bay. The strange, meandering stone lines of the Panamint Valley near Death Valley appeared in AR#3 . In fact, the western states are festooned with curious stone structures. Now we add the Mosier Mounds to this file. On the south bank of the Columbia, near Mosier, Oregon, archeologists have mapped a 30-acre complex of rock walls, cairns, pits, and troughs -- a vertiable maze of lithic structures. (See map.) The most impressive features are alignments of stacked rocks that hug the contours of the slopes. Although their configuration suggests a battlement, the stone formations weave so sinuously that they cannot be defensive in nature. Some anthropologists suggest that these various lithic structures were used for burials, vision quests, and even the physical conditioning of the young men who were given the job of piling up all the stones! No precise dates are available, but the Mosier Mounds probably predate European contact. (Connolly, Thomas J., et al; "Mapping the Mosier Mounds: The Significance of Rock Feature Complexes on the Southern Columbia Plateau," Journal of Archaeo logical Science, 24:289, 1997.) Maps of the main concentrations of Mosier Mounds. The heavier lines represent the ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 95: Sep-Oct 1994 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Blondes In Ancient China Authorities on ancient Chinese civilization have usually considered it to have been completely isolated from European influences for millennia -- a homegrown culture characterized by unique cultural and technological innovations. This classical picture of ancient China will have to be modified after the recent unearthing of mummified Caucasians up to 4,000 years old in China's northwestern province of Xinjiang. These dried corpses have the long noses, deep-set eyes, and long skulls typical of Caucasians. Some even have blonde hair! Some 113 such corpses have already been excavated at Qizilchoqa, one of four sites discovered so far. It is clear that we are dealing with permanent settlements and not merely a few lost Europeans. "Besides the riddle of their identity, there is also the question of what these fair-haired people were doing in a remote desert oasis. Probably never wealthy enough to own chariots, they nevertheless had wagons and well-tailored clothes. Were they mere goat and sheep farmers? Or did they profit from or even control prehistoric trade along the route that later became the Silk Road? If so, they probably helped spread the first wheels and certain metal-working skills into China." V. Mair, a professor of Chinese at the University of Pennsylvania, has been spearheading the research on these mummies for the U.S . He asserts that, contrary to the general belief, there was a substantial two- ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 37: Jan-Feb 1985 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects When Mars Had Lakes Rhythmic layered deposits can be seen in the Valles Marineris, a large Martian valley. The strata are erosional remnants up to 5 kilometers high, with individual layers 170-220 meters thick. They can be traced on spacecraft photographs for some 50 kilometers. The material making up the strata is clearly different from that of the valley walls. After the layers were deposited, they were deeply eroded by some event in Martian history that seems related to the formation of the great outflow channels associated with Valles Marineris. The author of this American Geophysical Union paper concludes: "The morphology and history of the sediments are consistent with deposition in standing bodies of water early in Martian history." (Nedell, Susan S., and Squyers, Steven W.; "Geology of the Layered Deposits in the Valles Marineris, Mars," Eos, 65:979, 1984.) Comment. The "event" that deeply eroded the Martian deposits may have been similar to the catastrophic emptying of Lake Missoula, which carved out the Channelled Scablands of eastern Washington state as the Ice Ages waned. From Science Frontiers #37, JAN-FEB 1985 . 1985-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 29: Sep-Oct 1993 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Nitrate Deposits Defy Rational Explanation "The nitrate deposits in the extremely arid Atacama Desert of northern Chile are among the most unusual of all mineral deposits. In fact, they are so extraordinary that, were it not for their existence, geologists could easily conclude that such deposits could not form in nature. The nitrate deposits consist of water-soluble saline minerals that occur as cement in unconsolidated surficial material -- alluvial fill in valleys, loose rocky debris on hillsides, and windblown silt and sand -- and as impregnations and veins in porous and fractured bedrock. They are found chiefly along the eastern side of the Coastal Range, but also within the Coastal Range, in the Central Valley to the East, and along the lower Andean front. Features of the deposits that appear to defy rational explanation are their restricted distribution in a desert characterized throughout by saline soil and salt-encrusted playas; the wide variety of topography where they occur; the abundance of nitrate minerals, which are scarce in other saline complexes; and the presence of other, less abundant minerals containing the ions of perchlorate, iodate, chromate, and dichromate which do not exist in any other saline complexes. Iodate,, chromate, and dichromate are known to form under such conditions, but no chemical process acting at temperatures and pressures found at the earth's surface is known to produce perchlorate." (Ericksen, George E.; "The Chilean ...
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... Bachrach found 134 visions; that is, experiences that had no objective reality. We call such experiences hallucinations today; and their contents were the same then as they are now. What the authors are after in this study are the perceptions of the visionary experiences by the community. The survey demonstrated immediately that the visions of the Middle Ages appeared to all types of people, not just saints and seers; and, further, that most of the 134 experiences were unrelated to physical and mental health. It was also obvious that the various communities readily accepted these visions as bona fide spiritual and parapsychological experiences. In other words, they were taken as messages from God, predictions of future events, marks of spiritual favor, etc. Kroll and Bachrach concluded that in the Middle Ages visions were culturally supported phenomena and not evidences of psychological illness, as they are today. (Kroll, Jerome, and Bachrach, Bernard; "Visions and Psychopathology in the Middle Ages," Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 170:41, 1982.) Comment. Superficially there is little that is surprising in these results. The people of the Middle Ages had wider spiritual horizons, while we build mental hospitals and consider UFO contactees as nuts. Regardless of the cultural environment, visions keep on occurring. They virtually never have any practical import. Why, then, do we keep on seeing them? Waxing speculative again, the false-head butterflies mentioned on p.000 probably have no inkling about the real value of their markings; is there some yet uncomprehended purpose behind these strange ...
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... by ancient miners of Michigan copper ore. (S . Braker) For some 1800 years, beginning abruptly about 3000 BC, some industrious peoples mined ore equivalent to 500,000 tons of copper from Michigan's Isle Royale and Keweenaw Peninsula. Who were these mysterious miners, and what happened to all all that copper? It certainly hasn't been found in the relics of North American Indians. And where was the ore smelted? About all the unidentified miners left behind are some of the crude tools they used to pound out chunks of ore from their pit mines (5000 pit mines on Isle Royale alone). Outside of some cairns and slabrock ruins, there is little to help pin down these miners. Mainstream archeologists attribute all these immense labors to a North American "Copper Culture" -- certainly not to copper-hungry visitors from foreign shores. Admittedly, many copper artifacts have been dug up from North American mounds, but only a tiny fraction of the metal the Michigan mines must have yielded. Curiously, North American Indian mounds have contained copper sheets made in the shape of an animal hide. Called "reels," their function, if any, is unknown. The reels do, however, resemble oddly shaped copper ingots common in European Bronze Age com merce. Their peculiar shape earned these ingots the name "oxhydes." They have been found in Bronze Age shipwrecks, and are even said to be portrayed in wall paintings in Egyptian tombs. The standardized hide-like shape, with its four convenient handles, was useful in carrying and stacking ...
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... near Grand Lake Stream. After careful study of the site and its artifacts, he has prepared a preliminary report. Petersen's report is accompanied by many photos and sketches made during his excavations. On p. 000 we reproduce a photo of the amulet with its strange epigraphy. Now, we add a sketch of the "elongated hafted ground biface, with human figure." Over 13 inches long, this artifact depicts a trousered, bearded man of European countenance, who is missing one arm and a foot. Petersen asserts that the artifacts have no affinities with American Indian artifacts: rather they have a European flavor. What can one make out of all this? Petersen is only able to state: "Although the site is undoubtedly human-made, its function, antiquity and cultural attribution cannot be precisely specified on the basis of the unique characteristics of both the artifacts and the cist. Tentative interpretations allow suggestion that it is attributable to some portion of the historical period, a European cultural tradition, and probably is contemporaneous with or postdates local stone working at the site." In other words, we could have anything from a pre-Columbian European contact to rock doodling by Colonial stoneworkers. (Petersen, James B.; "Grand Lake Stream, The Elliott II Site: An Archaeologist's Preliminary Report," NEARA Journal, 25:3 , Summer/Fall, 1990.) From Science Frontiers #75, MAY-JUN 1991 . 1991-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... one place to another. In Britain, for example, there are the grand processional avenues at Avebury and the longer, wider Icknield Way. In South America, the famed Inca roads were preceded by thoroughfares 100feet wide that had no obvious practical purpose. The hundreds of miles of unnecessarily straight roads leading to Chaco Canyon in New Mexico seem to have been primarily for pilgrims making ritual treks to the great ceremonial complex in the canyon. Did the Indians east of the Rockies construct special roads for ritual processions? We do know of the Mohawk Trail, the Virginia Warriors Trail, and other utilitarian roads through the wilderness. And before the settlers plowed them up, there were travel-worn trails six feet deep in the earth of Iowa. Now, we learn that, indeed, the Hopewell Culture may have built a long road mainly for ritual processions. It is called the Great Hopewell Road, and it is thought to connect the Hopewell centers at Newark and Chillicothe -- a distance of 60 miles through the heart of Ohio. In 1862, the first 6 miles of this controversial road, marked by parallel earthen banks, were surveyed by two brothers, C. and J. Salisbury. They noted that the road extended much farther in the direction of Chillicothe. B. Lepper, a present-day champion of the Great Hopewell Road, claims that there are still traces of the road remaining at four additional places along the 60-mile line connecting Newark and Chillicothe. Skeptics do not question that the sophisticated Hopewell Culture (circa 200 B.C . to 400 A ...
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... system plastered mainly on one side with debris and craters? You guessed it: Mars! What possible connection could there be between this purported cataclysm and the "face on Mars"? The connecting thread is very weak but so beguiling that we must mention it. T. Van Flandern has proposed eight tests for the artificiality of the "face" and its associated "pyramids," "city," etc. One is the three-dimensionality of the "face." Another is the "fractal" test, which is useful in distinguishing between artificiality and naturalness. The "face" readily passes four of the eight tests. A fifth test (bilateral symmetry) cannot be decided until we get more pictures. But failure looms on the last three tests (location, orientation, cultural purpose), unless Mars is sent back to the time when it was a satellite of the as-yet-unexploded planet. Then -- a couple billion years ago -- the "face" would have been smack on the equator of Mars-to-be, gazing downward perpetually upon the doomed planet. The "face" thus had a cultural purpose, a sort of cosmic "Big Brother." Carrying these thoughts to their logical conclusion, the inhabitants of the planet had colonized their "moon" and built those controversial "structures." (Van Flandern, Tom; "New Evidence of Artificiality at Cydonia on Mars," Meta Research Bulletin, 6:1 , 1997. Journal address: P.O . Box 15186, Chevy Chase, MD 20815 ...
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... Europe. The upper figure was painted on a wall in Schleswig Cathedral about 1280. The lower sketch is reputed to be from the Bayeux Tapestry, which dates back to 1066-1077. (Anonymous; "Talking Turkey," Fortean Times, no. 61, p. 27, February-March 1992.) Comment. The Bayeux Tapestry turkey, in particular, questionable. In fact, a careful search has not found it! See: SF#103. An archeological hot potato! Mangaia is a small volcanic island in the Cook Island group. During the excavation of a rock shelter on this island, large fragments of sweet potato were discovered. These were subsequently carbondated at about 1000 AD. "The prehistoric transferral of this South American domesticate into Polynesia obviously raises issues of cultural contact between the coast of South America and the Polynesian Islands. In our view, the most likely transferrors would have been the seafaring Polynesians, on a voyage of exploration to South America and return." (Hather, Jon, and Kirch, P.V .; "Prehistoric Sweet Potato ( Ipomoea batatas ) from Mangaia Island, Central Polynesia," Antiquity, 65:887, 1991.) Comment. What cultural imperatives would impel the Vikings and the Polynesians to reach out to the New World at almost the same time in history but from opposite sides of the world? From Science Frontiers #81, MAY-JUN 1992 . 1992-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... significance of these facts after you hear her theory. "Cetaceans use the total geomagnetic field of the Earth as a map. A timer, also based on this field, allows them to monitor their position and progress on the map. They are not using the directional information of the Earth's field, as we do with our compasses, but small relative differences in the total local field. I arrived at this explanation after a detailed analysis of the records of strandings in Britain, but it has so far been confirmed by two groups working in the U.S . Similar work is in progress in other parts of the world. "The total magnetic field of the Earth is not uniform. It is distorted by the underlying geology, forming a topography of magnetic 'hills and valleys.' My analysis shows that the animals move along the contours of these magnetic slopes, and that in certain circumstances this can lead them to strand themselves. In the oceans, sea-floor spreading has produced a set of almost parallel hills and valleys. Whales could use these as undersea motorways, but might swim into problems when they came near the shore, because the magnetic contours do not stop at the beach. They continue onto the land, and sometimes so do the whales." In addition to stranding because of land-intersecting contours, unpredictable changes in the earth's magnetic field can upset the whales' timing mechanism, causing them to lose their true position on their magnetic dead-reckoning maps. Magnetically speaking, they become lost. (Klinowska, Margaret; ...
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... The ice was "very hard" and "snow-colored." "The witness estimated the weight of the ice block at 7-8 kg and the piece he was able to recuperate at 6-7 kg. Unfortunately, he did not think of conserving the block in the freezer, and let it melt near his house after having shown it to his neighbor, who had also heard the noise." Swiss aviation officials claimed they could not identify any aircraft that might have been responsible "because of incertitude over the time of the incident"! (Mancusi, Bruno; "A Block of Ice Falls on Rue, Switzerland," WGN, the Journal of the IMO, 27:2 , 1999. WGN = Werkgroepnieuws.) April 9, 1999. Salt Lake Valley, Utah. "Maybe it's a bird, maybe it's a plane. But it is certainly sewage. "And it's no joke in the Salt Lake Valley, where gobs of thick, raw sewage falling from the sky a dozen times since April 9 have soiled up to seven houses at once." The smell in the area was "terrible" according to the mayor of Taylorsville. Sheriff's deputies were studying the "splatter pattern" and firemen were hosing down the houses. One house required 500 gallons of water and 30 gallons of bleach. Aircraft landing at the Salt Lake City airport sometimes pass over the afflicted area, but the Federal Aviation Administration stated -- as they always do -- that jet toilet tanks can only be flushed ...
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... Even Dillehay's monumental work at Monte Verde, Chile, does not survive the review unscathed. In fact, the claimed pre-Clovis sites, according to Roosevelt, do not yield sound, consistent radiocarbon dates earlier than 11,500 B.P . She will, however, entertain Bering Strait crossings as early as 12,000 B.P ., but not a microsecond earlier. (Roosevelt, Anna Curtenius; "Who's on First?" Natural History, 109:76, July-August 2000.) Continuing the assault on pre-Clovis thought is L.G . Strauss, an anthropologist from the University of New Mexico. His target is the theory that the Solutrean people of southern France and the Iberian Peninsula reached eastern North America before the Clovis culture took hold on the continent. (SF#127) His ammunition comes in four calibers: The Solutrean culture in Europe ended circa 16,500-18,000 B.P ., some 5,000+ years before Clovis. Too early. Iberia and North America are separated by 5,000 kilometers of ocean. Too wide. Genuine Solutrean artifacts differ markedly from those at claimed pre-Clovis sites. Too disparate. There is no evidence that the Soluteans possessed adequate marine technology and experience. Too unreasonable. (Strauss, Lawrence Guy; "Solutrean Settlement of North America? A Review of Reality," American Antiquity, 65:219, 2000.) From Science Frontiers #131, SEP-OCT 2000 . 2000 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest ...
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... Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A RELUCTANT, LONG-OVERDUE PARADIGM SHIFT How many times in SF have you read items about that 12,000-year barrier before which American archeologists would not permit serious consideration of human habitation in the Americas? Well, see SF#65, 59, and 57 for starters. In SF#55, written scarcely two years ago, establishment archeologist P.S . Martin wrote: "If humans lived in the New World more than 12,000 years ago, there'd be no secret about it." But, in late March, 1990, at a conference in Boulder, Colorado, D. Stanford lef off with: "It's time to acknowledge that we do have a pre-Clovis culture in the New World." (Pre-Clovis -before 12,000 years ago.) It's all true! A long-standing consensus has collapsed: the 12,000-year barrier, like the Berlin Wall, has disintegrated. The two most important demolition charges were the widely-accepted dates of 16,000 B.P . from the Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Pennsylvania, and 13,000 B.P . from the Monte Verde site in Chile. The Monte Verde date probably represents an American entry date of at least 20,000 years ago, if one accepts that the first Americans trekked all the way down from the Bering Strait to Chile. Will there be a "domino effect" in American archeology? Radiocarbon dates of 33,000 B ...
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... hydrothermal vent systems as the likely habitat for the earliest organisms and ecosystems, while stimulating considerable discussion, hypotheses and experiments related to chemical and biochemical evolution. Some of the key questions regarding the origins of life at submarine hydrothermal vent environments are focussed on the effects of temperature on synthesis and stability of organic compounds and the characteristics of the earliest organisms on earth. There is strong molecular and physiological evidence from present-day mircoorganisms that the earliest organisms on earth were capable of growing at high temperatures (about 90 C) and under conditions found in volcanic environments. These 'Archaea', the living ancestors of all life forms, display a variety of strategies for growth and survival at high temperatures, including thermostable enzymes active at temperatures about 140 C. Further molecular and biochemical characterization of the presently cultured thermophiles, as well as future work with the many species, particularly from subsurface crustal environments, not yet isolated in culture, may help resolve some of the important questions regarding the nature of the first organisms that evolved on earth." (Baross, J.A .; "Hyperthermophilic Archaea: Implications for the Origin and Early Evolution of Life at Submarine Hydrothermal Vents," Eos, 72:59, 1991.) From Science Frontiers #80, MAR-APR 1992 . 1992-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 92: Mar-Apr 1994 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Back to siberia: the biggest flood?14,000 BP. Deep in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia. About this date, a wall of water 1,500 feet high surged down the Chuja River valley at 90 miles per hour. How does one deduce such a hydrological cataclysm? A. Rudoy, a geologist at Tomsky State Pedagogical Institute, points to giant gravel bars along the Chuja River valley. These are not the inch-sized ripples we seen on the floors of today's rivers; these are giants measuring tens of yards from crest to crest. Only a catastrophic flood could have piled up these ridges of debris. Rudoy postulates that, during the Ice Ages, a huge ice dam upstream held back a lake 3,000 feet deep, containing 200 cubic miles of water. When the ice dam suddenly ruptured, all life and land downstream was devastated. (Folger, Tim; "The Biggest Flood," Discover, 15:36, January 1994.) Comment. The breaking of Pleistocene ice dams also carved up parts of North America. There was the famous Cincinnati ice dam and, of course, the Spokane Flood that gouged out the Channelled Scablands of the Pacific Northwest, when Lake Missoula catastrophically emptied into the Pacific. See ETM5 in our catalog: Carolina Bays, Mima Mounds. It is described here . But other thoughts intrude: Were the heaps of mammoth carcasses, the ...
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