that is, ideas and information on Science and Technology, Archaeology, Arts and Literatures. Physics at http://physics-sparavigna.blogspot.com/
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Sunday, July 17, 2011
Volcanoes under Antarctic waters
More http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/press/press_releases/press_release.php?id=1541
Saturday, July 16, 2011
The Lady of Introd
Trovato in Valle d'Aosta scheletro donna di 5.000 anni fa. Contemporanea di Oetzi, l'uomo del Similaun, ritrovato nel '91 l confine tra l'Italia e il Tirolo austriaco. E' ora chiamata la Signora di Introd, 16 luglio, 2011.
Found in Valle d'Aosta the skeleton of a woman, lived 5,000 years ago. She was contemporary of Oetzi the Iceman, discovered in '91 at the Italian border with Austria. She is called the "Lady of Introd", July 16, 2011.
"La Stampa"
http://multimedia.lastampa.it/multimedia/in-italia/lstp/65668/
E' stata soprannominata la "Signora di Introd" e dopo 5000 anni la sua sepoltura è ancora perfetta. Lo scheletro di questa donna ancora misteriosa e ancora senza età, è stata ritrovato all’interno di una tomba ad Introd, paese alpino di poco più di 600 abitanti, non lontano da Aosta. Rannicchiata sul fianco destro e con il capo rivolto a nord ovest, non ha attorno nessun oggetto di corredo funebre. I resti della signora sono già stati trasferiti in laboratorio, dove nei prossimi giorni saranno oggetto di analisi approfondite per determinarne l'età, le abitudini alimentari e la causa di morte. L’Assessore all’Istruzione e Cultura Laurent Viérin esprime“grande soddisfazione per questo importante ritrovamento, unico nel suo genere, che testimonia la ricchezza e la qualità del patrimonio archeologico valdostano e della nostra storia.”
She is the "Lady of Introd" and 5000 years after the burial her skeleton is still perfect. This woman is a mystery and her age has yet to be determined. She was found in a tomb, at Introd, a mountain village with 600 inhabitants, not far from Aosta. Huddled on her right side and with the head facing west, no objects had accompanied her burial place. The remains of the woman have already been transferred in a laboratory, where, over the next few days, it will be determined the age, habits and cause of death. The Head of the Education and Culture Council, Laurent Vierin, told that there is a great satisfaction for this important and unique discovery, demonstrating the abundance and quality of the archaeological heritage of the Aosta Valley.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Fotografías de Hiram Bingham en Machu Picchu
santuario arqueológico de Pachacamac
Las invasiones a los sitios arqueológicos son un delito contra el Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación y son sancionadas con pena de cárcel, de acuerdo a lo estipulado en el Título VIII del Código Penal. "
Desert kites and stone circles
Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
We usually imagine our ancestors, before they settle down, as people simply hunting and gathering for food, but this is not true. The "desert kites" are the remains of an ancient hunting technique based on stone-walled traps, the construction of which surely involved several people for long times. The desert kites were used to push large herds of animals into some enclosures, or, in the worse case, to fall off from steep cliff edges [4]. The simplest structure of a desert kite has a triangular shape, consisting of two long, low walls built of stones and arranged in a V-shape, like a funnel, ending as a corral. Hunters pushed the game between the walls, trapping then the animals into the end of the structure. It is usually considered that the animals were there slaughtered "en masse" [4-7]. The fauna remains found in these sites are including gazelles, Arabian oryxes and other species that are now rare or driven to extinction in the Levant [4]. A research at the Mesopotamian site of Tell Kuran, found what seems to be a deposit from a mass kill. According to [6], it was the overuse of desert kites a possible cause of extinction of several species.
Fig.2: A landscape with desert kites and other stone structures (Jordan). This is an image adapted from the Google Maps. The visibility of marked areas has been adjusted with image processing software.
Typically, a desert kite possesses two, three or more small circular enclosures on the edge of its corral (in Fig.1 a wonderful structure as it can be observed with Google Maps, other examples in Fig.2 and 3). Some ancient rock art images show these hunting traps [8], depicting the role of the 'walls' of the kites. ...
The report in [12] is continuing with a suggestion by Julian Siggers, of the Royal Ontario Museum. Remembering that agriculture spread from the Near East to Europe, he is proposing the possibility that the stone landscapes, that is the creation of stone circles, had travelled with agriculture. On the other hand, Banning is replying that stone structures are found throughout the world and that people in Western Europe could have developed the stone landscapes independently of the people in Middle East. According to Edward Banning, the site studied by Mason is not unique [12,13]. "Archaeologists have detected, via satellite photos, what appear to be cairns and stone circles in other areas, including the deserts of Jordan and Israel. However, he admits that most of these things have not received a lot of archaeological investigation."
....
References
1. In Arabic, the lava fields are the harraat, sing. harrah; before a name, harrat.
2. Jabal al-Druze Volcanic Field in Southern Syria – May 16th, 2010, http://www.eosnap.com/image-of-the-day/jabal-al-druze-volcanic-field-in-southern-syria-may-16th-2010/
3. Global Volcanic Program, Es-Safa, http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0300-05-
4. Mysterious desert lines were animal traps, Larry O'Hanlon, Apr 20, 2010, http://news.discovery.com/history/desert-lines-hunting-tool-kites.html
5. Desert Kites, Ancient Hunting Technique Desert Kites, K. Kris Hirst, About.com Guide, http://archaeology.about.com/od/dathroughdeterms/qt/Desert-Kites.htm
6. Role of mass-kill hunting strategies in the extirpation of Persian gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) in the northern Levant, Guy Bar-Oz, Melinda Zeder, Frank Hole, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Early Edition, May 3, 2011, vol. 108, no. 18, 7345-7350, doi:10.1073/pnas.1017647108,
7. Gazelles caught in ancient Syrian 'killing zones', Jonathan Amos, BBC News, 19 April 2011.
8. Khaybar Desert Kites, Vanja Janežic, alsahra.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/khaybar-desert-kites.pdf, see also http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146412866
9. The function of "Desert Kites" - Uniting or livestock husbandry? B. Rosen, A. Perevolotsky, Paléorient, Vol.24, Pag. 107-111, 1998.
10. The Desert "Kites" of the Badiyat Esh-Sham and North Arabia, A.V.G. Betts, S. Helms, Paléorient, Vol.13, Pag. 41-67, 1987.
11. Arabia: from craters to stone circles, Amelia Carolina Sparavigna, Archaeogate, 19-11-2010, and also, http://arxiv.org/abs/1011.2111
12. Syria's Stonehenge: Neolithic stone circles, alignments and possible tombs discovered, Owen Jarus, Monday, 1 March 2010, The Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/history/syrias-stonehenge-neolithic-stone-circles-alignments-and-possible-tombs-discovered-1914047.html
13. A web-site, 27 March 2011, http://www.stonepages.com, published the news of a 11,000-year-old settlement unearthed in Syria. A Syrian-French archaeological mission unearthed a small village in the archaeological site of Tel Qarasa in the west of Swaida province dating back to around 11,000 years. The search conducted at the site over the last two years allowed the archaeologists to discover a tiny village of 8 round houses whose inhabitants depended on fishing and growing cereal crops and wild fruits for their living. The Syrian-French mission said the excavations have revealed 522 archaeological sites in al-Lajat region from the ancient historical periods of the 7th millennium BCE, among which was Tel Qarasa.
14. More images at https://sites.google.com/site/syriandesertsatelliteimagery/
15. According to Wikipedia, desert kites and stone circles can be considered as Petroforms.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Abusir - from Pliny the Elder to Google Maps
"Abusir, the House of Osiris, is the name given to an Egyptian necropolis of the Old Kingdom period. This site is a part of a huge area, from Giza to Dahshur, rich of archaeological remains and covered by many pyramids. The paper is reporting concisely some archaeological studies on Abusir. We start from the description given by Pliny the Elder and end proposing the use of Google Maps."
Read more
An acoustic superlens from a few cans of cola
Wearable Sensors for Remote Healthcare
Using Wearable Sensors for Remote Healthcare Monitoring System |
A. P. Abidoye, N. A. Azeez, A. O Adesina, K. K Agbele, H. O. Nyongesa |
KEYWORDS: Wireless Sensor Networks, Wireless Body Area Networks, ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4, PDA, 3G, Medical Server |
Recent technological advances in wireless communications and wireless sensor networks have enabled the design of low-cost, intelligent, tiny, and lightweight medical sensor nodes that can be strategically placed on human body, create a wireless body area network (WBAN) to monitor various physiological vital signs for a long period of time and providing real-time feedback to the user and medical staff. WBANs promise to revolutionize health monitoring. In this paper, medical sensors were used to collect physiological data from patients and transmit it to Intelligent Personal digital Assistant (IPDA) using ZigBee/IEEE802.15.4 standard and to medical server using 3G communications. We introduced priority scheduling and data compression into the system to increase transmission rate of physiological critical signals which improve the bandwidth utilization. It also extends the life time of hand-held personal server by reducing power consumption during transmission. On the journal Journal of Sensor Technology |
ISSN Online: 2161-1238
Website: http://www.scirp.org/journal/jst
South Sudan, the newest country
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sudan
Newest country and football team too...
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/football/07/14/football.sudan.nation.south/
Caligae
Caligula's statue will come back home
http://www.newnotizie.it/2011/07/13/ritrovata-la-statua-di-caligola-in-trono/
Emperor Caligula's statue is coming back home to Nemi. It was the provincial team of the Guardia di Finanza in Rome, led by General Ignacio Gibilaro, to retrieve it, during an police action to protect the national artistic heritage. According to Giuseppina Ghini, head of the Museum at Nemi, this staue is a piece of extraordinary beauty, discovered in a previously unknown archaeological site. The statue, after restoration, will be soon bach home in the Museum of Nemi.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Locations of archaeological sites
http://www.ancientlocations.net/
For instance, the egyptian pyramids
http://www.ancientlocations.net/index.php?sp=-1&in=0&rep=0&sort=0&f=22#section_22_Pyramids
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Earliest Roman basilica found outside Alexandria - Ahram Online
During excavations, archaeologists uncovered the earliest Roman civil basilica yet found on top of a Ptolemaic temple dedicated to the three Alexandria deities (Isis, Serapis, Harpocrates) along with a collection of terracotta statues."
Earliest ever civil Roman basilica found outside Alexandria - Greco-Roman - Heritage - Ahram Online
Monday, July 11, 2011
DNA transistor
Solid-state nanopores are a core element of next-generation single molecule tools in the field of nanobiotechnology, most prominently in the area of DNA-sequencing technology. Researchers at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center have recently introduced a nanopore-based DNA sequencing platform, which they call a DNA transistor. Thin-film electrodes are integrated into the nanopore device for electrically interacting with translocating DNA. They have now shown that TiN electrodes inside a nanopore can be passivated and completely shielded against electrochemical deterioration even when extreme voltages are applied."
electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
Rapid, sensitive, accurate, miniaturized and inexpensive biosensors are highly desirable for assisting clinical medical diagnosis. Researchers based at National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan, have developed such a portable bio-sensing platform to detect intermolecular interactions using nanogold-enhanced electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)."
Friday, July 8, 2011
Objeto en llamas sobre Alemania
"Un objeto volador no identificado cayó en llamas sobre la ciudad de Berlín, Alemania. Una cámara captó el momento preciso en el que se observa al extraño objeto cayendo de manera lenta paro totalmente incendiada."
Sandstorm on Phoenix
More http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/us/07dust.html
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
A giant mirage on a Chinese river
"It looks like any other city skyline with skyscrapers, a few mountains and trees -- except it isn't real.
The giant mirage appeared across the skyline in East China earlier this month after heavy rainfall and humid conditions covered the Xin’an River. As mist settled over the river at dusk, tall buildings appeared to rise from nowhere, leading residents in nearby Huanshan City to speculate that the vision may be a "vortex" to a lost civilization."
http://egypt.online-resourcen.de/
Royal scenes dated back to Dynasty Zero
“Dr. Maria Carmela Gatto (Director of Aswan-Kom Ombo Archarological Project) made a discovery at Nag el-Hamdulab site (North west of Aswan) of the oldest graffiti shows a King wearing the Upper Egypt headgear(crown) with a group of royal scenes dated back to dynasty zero.” Said Dr. Zahi Hawass. “The find shows many hieroglyphic graffiti and the first drawings shows a complete royal celebration looks exactly like what was known in the different Pharanoic eras, showing the Pharaoh wearing his white crown accompanied by Horus followers or the royal court.”Hawass added."
More on the Dinasty Zero (Naqada III) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naqada_III
More on the Dynasty Zero
Monday, July 4, 2011
Ice Age Art
L’arte più antica d’America trovata su un osso di mammut, LUGLIO 4, 2011. di Aezio
"I ricercatori dello Smithsonian Institution e dell’Università della Florida hanno confermato la veridicità di un misterioso manufatto scoperto in Florida nel 2006: un frammento osseo, di circa 13.000 anni fa, con incisa l’immagine di un mammut o un mastodonte. Questa incisione è l’esempio più antico e l’unico conosciuto di arte dell’era glaciale a raffigurare un Proboscidato nelle Americhe. La ricerca del team è stato pubblicata sul Journal of Archaeological Science."
Friday, July 1, 2011
Women on the Nile
A far quasar
The brilliant beacon, named ULAS J1120+0641, is powered by a black hole with a mass two billion times that of the Sun. Located at a redshift – a term relating to astronomical distances – of 7.1, its light has taken 12.9 billion years to reach us. The next most distant quasar is seen at 870 million years after the big bang, or a redshift of 6.4, although gamma ray bursts have been detected at greater distances of 8.6 and 8.2 redshifts."
List of Egyptian sites
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Plant a New Language in Your Garden
Who and where
"The principal mission of the Ministry of State for Antiquities, previously known as the Supreme Council of Antiquities, is to protect and promote the cultural heritage of Egypt, both independently and in cooperation with national and international organizations. To achieve its goals, it formulates and implements all policies concerned with antiquities; issues guidelines and permits for the excavation, restoration, conservation, documentation, and study of sites and monuments; and manages a country-wide system of antiquities museums."
Enborne crop circle
http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=10089
Being a red blood cell
Aircrafts make clouds rain
Dakhla Oasis
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/470508 and also
An ancient Egyptian federation
An ancient Egyptian federation
As reported by Aristide Malnati, federalism had been developed for the first time in the ancient Egypt. This is a conclusion after analysis of archaeological and historical elements, lasted for 30 years during the systematic excavations on the site of Balat, Dakhla Oasis (200 km due west of Luxor). The period was that of the Sixth Dynasty (2300-2200 BC). The excavation is lead by the French archaeologist Georges Soukiassian.
Balat is considered the oldest Egyptian village. It was the most powerful center in one of the richest regions in Egypt, particularly during the Sixth Dynasty. Here lived the Governors of Oasis, having wide autonomy from the king and a real possibility to influence the decisions of the national policy.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
New Pharaonic artefacts discovered in North Egypt - Ahram Online
A collection of painted blocks used in the construction of king Osorkon II’s temple have been unearthed in San El-Hagar in the Delta city of Sharqia"
New Pharaonic artefacts discovered in North Egypt's site of San El-Hagar - Ancient Egypt - Heritage - Ahram Online
Monday, June 27, 2011
A "Mobius" graphene
How small can these shapes be? In December 2003, German chemists made a molecular Mobius strip out of a benzene-like ring modified with a belt-like carbon structure. Since then, various groups have produced increasingly bizarre Mobius-type molecules, including one that can switch back and forth from a Mobius to an ordinary strip when zapped with light.
Of course, the obvious choice of material with which to make Mobius molecules is graphene. But this particular trick has eluded chemists, an omission that clearly irks. Now Douglas Galvao from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and buddies have decided to grip the bull by the horns and calculated the properties that Mobius carbon might have."New form of "Mobius" carbon predicted - Technology Review
Farewell Lieutenant Columbo
Friday, June 24, 2011
Hot quarks break free
"Physicists in the US, India and China have calculated that quarks and gluons can break free from their confinement inside protons and neutrons at a temperature of around two trillion degrees Kelvin – the temperature of the universe a fraction of a second after the Big Bang. The researchers arrived at this figure by combining the results of supercomputer calculations and heavy-ion collision experiments. They say that it puts our knowledge of quark matter on a firmer footing."
Quarks break free at two trillion degrees - physicsworld.com
Wrinklons
"A new quasiparticle called the "wrinklon" could help explain why materials as diverse as graphene and household curtains wrinkle in much the same way – despite their very different length scales. The particle has been introduced by researchers in Belgium, France and the US as a result of measurements on a wide range of materials on length scales from micrometres to metres. While the work may not lead to more attractive curtains, wrinkles do turn out to affect the electronic properties of graphene and the analysis could therefore influence the development of graphene-based devices."
Voyager mission at the edge of the solar system
"Recent data from the spacecraft have shown a gentle decrease in the velocity of the solar wind at the heliopause – the outer boundary of the heliosheath – not the abrupt discontinuity predicted by current theories. Also, scientists looking at other data from both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have found that the magnetic field in the heliosheath is a tumultuous foam of magnetic bubbles, as compared to the graceful arcs of magnetic field lines they had expected."
More surprises for the Voyager mission at the edge of the solar system - physicsworld.com
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Khufu’s second solar boat revealed
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Documentos de Antonio Raimondi serán restaurados y digitalizados
Gracias al convenio firmado entre el Archivo General de la Nación (AGN) y la Asociación Educacional ‘Antonio Raimondi’ será posible restaurar y digitalizar la colección del sabio italiano, que data de los años 1852 a 1869, anunció el ministro de Cultura, Dr. Juan Ossio Acuña. "