A geoglyph of Titicaca - As seen by Google Maps
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Horse and dog - Tang Dinasty - China
An animal sits on a pad behind the saddle.
Hunters can have a dog or a cheetah with them.
China
Museo Arte Orientale, Torino
Tiny antennas for radio telescopes
"Tiny antennas form vast radio telescope array.
A grassroots telescope array is taking aim at a wide range of astronomy questions, with projects in geophysics and agriculture piggybacking on its infrastructure.
Dipole antennas dotting the Netherlands and several nearby countries together form a radio telescope that is sensitive in the relatively unexplored wavelength range of 1–10 m (roughly 10–250 MHz) and has an enormous field of view. About three-fourths of the telescope’s 44 stations are functioning, and the rest are set to be completed by the end of the year."
Dipole antennas dotting the Netherlands and several nearby countries together form a radio telescope that is sensitive in the relatively unexplored wavelength range of 1–10 m (roughly 10–250 MHz) and has an enormous field of view. About three-fourths of the telescope’s 44 stations are functioning, and the rest are set to be completed by the end of the year."
by Toni Feder, Physics Today March 2011
Tiny antennas form vast radio telescope array - Physics Today March 2011
It is the International LOFAR Telescope
http://www.lofar.org/about-lofar/image-gallery/latest-lofar-images
It is a radio interferometric array, consisting of many low-cost antennas. There are two distinct antenna types: the Low Band Antenna (LBA) between 10 and 90 MHz and the High Band Antenna (HBA) between 110 and 250 MHz. These "sensors" are organised many stations, distributed over an area about one hundred kilometres in diameter, located in the North-East of the Netherlands. This infrastructure will give rise to new resources for non-radio astronomers. In the geosciences field, it should be possible, for example, to extend the understanding of natural and induced seismicity, subsidence, and water management. The agricultural application of LOFAR is in the measurement of the micro-climate.
Tiny antennas form vast radio telescope array - Physics Today March 2011
It is the International LOFAR Telescope
http://www.lofar.org/about-lofar/image-gallery/latest-lofar-images
It is a radio interferometric array, consisting of many low-cost antennas. There are two distinct antenna types: the Low Band Antenna (LBA) between 10 and 90 MHz and the High Band Antenna (HBA) between 110 and 250 MHz. These "sensors" are organised many stations, distributed over an area about one hundred kilometres in diameter, located in the North-East of the Netherlands. This infrastructure will give rise to new resources for non-radio astronomers. In the geosciences field, it should be possible, for example, to extend the understanding of natural and induced seismicity, subsidence, and water management. The agricultural application of LOFAR is in the measurement of the micro-climate.
Acoustics of free-reed instruments
Documents dating back to before 1000 BC describe a wind instrument whose reed vibrates back and forth across the frame that houses it. Nowadays, free-reed instruments inspire both scholarly study and musical innovation. James Cottingham , Acoustic of free-reed instruments, Physics Today, March 2011, Vol.63, pp. 44-48.
A free reed? What is it? More http://www.patmissin.com/history/whatis.html
A free reed? What is it? More http://www.patmissin.com/history/whatis.html
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Nazca
"The Nasca culture was the archaeological culture that flourished from 100 to 800 AD beside the dry southern coast of Peru in the river valleys of the Rio Grande de Nazca drainage and the Ica Valley (Silverman and Proulx, 2002). Having been heavily influenced by the preceding Paracas culture, which was known for extremely complex textiles, the Nasca produced an array of beautiful crafts and technologies such as ceramics, textiles, and geoglyphs (most commonly known as the Nazca lines)."
More Wiki
Cahuachi - pyramids
"Hablar de Cahuachi es hablar de una ciudad perdida en la noche de los tiempos. Cahuachi fue la capital teocrática de la Cultura Nasca gobernada por sacerdotes". More http://www.peruecologico.com.pe/esp_cahuachinasca_1.htm
Cahuachi was the major ceremonial center of the Nazca culture from 1 CE to about 500 CE. The "ciudad perdida" contains over 40 mounds topped with adobe structures. The permanent population was quite small. The town was apparently a pilgrimage center that grew its population during the ceremonial events. These events probably involved the Nazca lines.
"Cahuachi's most famous monument is the Great Pyramid, which hogs the skyline and casts an eye over the Nazca Lines, the geoglyphs which have made the culture so famous. As with most buildings in the city, the pyramid looks like a giant maze thanks to the winding ceremonial staircases which lead to its summit.... Many ceramics and other ceremonial items, such as fabrics and paintings, have been found in Cahuachi. ... Like many pre-Columbian American cities, Cahuachi was mysteriously abandoned, around 500 AD."
Cahuachi was the major ceremonial center of the Nazca culture from 1 CE to about 500 CE. The "ciudad perdida" contains over 40 mounds topped with adobe structures. The permanent population was quite small. The town was apparently a pilgrimage center that grew its population during the ceremonial events. These events probably involved the Nazca lines.
"Cahuachi's most famous monument is the Great Pyramid, which hogs the skyline and casts an eye over the Nazca Lines, the geoglyphs which have made the culture so famous. As with most buildings in the city, the pyramid looks like a giant maze thanks to the winding ceremonial staircases which lead to its summit.... Many ceramics and other ceremonial items, such as fabrics and paintings, have been found in Cahuachi. ... Like many pre-Columbian American cities, Cahuachi was mysteriously abandoned, around 500 AD."
Thanks to Wikipedia and Ed88!
Flying on Andes
"Birds were precious resources in the economy of Andean societies. Merchants traded brilliantly colored parrot and macaw feathers in long-distance networks connecting the Amazonian rainforest, the Cordillera, and the remote Pacific coast, where they adorned the sumptuous garments of rulers and kings. Coastal agriculturalists used guano to enrich their fields. Sailors collected the valuable fertilizer offshore on sacred islands, where they left prestigious offerings. On the coast, domesticated muscovy ducks may have been part of the subsistence."
Birds of the Andes, by Hélène Bernier, Source: Birds of the Andes | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Birds of the Andes, by Hélène Bernier, Source: Birds of the Andes | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Amazon Earthworks
Ancient Amazon Earthworks Seen by Satellite
"Amazonia is not the “wilderness” many assume it to be. For thousands of years human beings have been residing in and cultivating lowland and upland areas across the Amazon basin and beyond.
A recent article in National Geographic News provides a glimpse of earthworks built long before Columbus. Rediscoveries of the ancient croplands and city sites force us to re-evaluate notions of wilderness and to consider the long-standing, organized, cultural interactions and influences of humanity upon western landscapes."
"Amazonia is not the “wilderness” many assume it to be. For thousands of years human beings have been residing in and cultivating lowland and upland areas across the Amazon basin and beyond.
A recent article in National Geographic News provides a glimpse of earthworks built long before Columbus. Rediscoveries of the ancient croplands and city sites force us to re-evaluate notions of wilderness and to consider the long-standing, organized, cultural interactions and influences of humanity upon western landscapes."
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/01/100104-amazon-lost-civilization-circles.html
http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2010/11/amazonian-geoglyphs.html
http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2010/11/amazonian-geoglyphs.html
