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SupernaturalMagic, Myths & MiraclesAncient Sands
John Anthony WestAyahuayra

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May 7 2008

World’s oldest living tree discovered in Sweden


The world’s oldest recorded tree is a 9,550 year old spruce in the Dalarna province of Sweden. The spruce tree has shown to be a tenacious survivor that has endured by growing between erect trees and smaller bushes in pace with the dramatic climate changes over time.

For many years the spruce tree has been regarded as a relative newcomer in the Swedish mountain region. ”Our results have shown the complete opposite, that the spruce is one of the oldest known trees in the mountain range,” says Leif Kullman, Professor of Physical Geography at Umeå University.

A fascinating discovery was made under the crown of a spruce in Fulu Mountain in Dalarna. Scientists found four “generations” of spruce remains in the form of cones and wood produced from the highest grounds.

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May 6 2008

Neanderthals were separate species, says new human family tree


PARIS (AFP) - A new, simplified family tree of humanity has dealt a blow to those who contend that the enigmatic hominids known as Neanderthals intermingled with our forebears.

Neanderthals were a separate species to Homo sapiens, as anatomically modern humans are known, rather than offshoots of the same species, the new organigram published Sunday by the journal Nature declares.

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May 6 2008

Vikings: from ram-raiders to fishmongers




Archaeologists and scientists have revealed that 1,000 years ago cod was traded extraordinary distances across Europe, from the Norwegian Arctic to England and the Baltic.

The research may force yet another revision of the image of the Vikings, from longship ram-raiders, to mainly traders and colonising farmers, to the fishmongers of Europe. Vikings in York were eating cod caught off the Norwegian coast.

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May 6 2008

UN: Buddha statue at World Heritage Site in Afghanistan remains OK after blast




KABUL, Afghanistan: A controlled explosion of old ordnance found near remains of the famed Bamiyan Buddha statues did not cause damage to the 1,500-year old ruins, the United Nations said.

The blast carried out Thursday by NATO-led troops near the smaller of two towering Buddha statues — destroyed by the Taliban seven years ago — had prompted an angry reaction from a provincial official who said it threatened Afghanistan's heritage.

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May 6 2008

Carpet of stone: medieval mosaic pavement revealed




The wraps have come off one of Westminster Abbey's least known treasures, a medieval marble pavement foretelling the end of the world, while conservation experts consider how to preserve the ancient stones for the next 740 years.

Few modern visitors have ever seen it, although since 1268 kings and princes, queens and cardinals have walked across a symbol laden mosaic as intricate as a piece of jewellery.

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May 6 2008

New look at turquoise treasures of the Aztecs




Many visitors to the American South West come back with turquoise jewellery: the Native American people of Arizona and New Mexico exploited local sources, and modern craftsmen have developed a prosperous industry. Thirty years ago the archaeological scientists Garman Harbottle and Edward Sayre used neutron activation analysis to show that turquoise mosaics from Mexico, found as far away as the great Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Yucatan and dating back to around AD900, used raw material originating in the Cerrillos mines between Albuquerque and Santa Fe in New Mexico, an overland distance of some 3,200 km (2,000 miles). It was assumed that the Cerrillos mines had also supplied more local demand, for instance from the Chaco Canyon communities west of Santa Fe. A new technique of source characterisation, using hydrogen and copper isotope ratios established by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), shows that this picture was altogether too simple.

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May 6 2008

Persepolis under modern tech excavation




Iranian archeologists joined by French colleagues are to detect the remains of Persepolis, using georadars and electrostatic methods.

Iran's cultural heritage organization, the country's archeological research center, France's National Center for Scientific Research, Lumiere University of Lyon and University of Paris will join together to excavate the site.

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May 6 2008

Big temple inscriptions damaged




THANJAVUR: Granite pillars containing inscriptions at the 11th century Brahadeeswara Temple in Thanjavur have suffered serious damage during restoration and maintenance work by the Archaeological Survey of India.

A visit to the 'Big temple', as it is popularly known, revealed that five stone pillars, brought down and laid in the open prahara as part of the restoration work, were found chipped and cracked, and in the case of at least one pillar, broken.

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May 6 2008

Stonehenge mystery hinges on unusual stones




AMESBURY, ENGLAND -- The mysterious circle of stones that rises on Salisbury Plain near here has stood as an archaeological marvel for thousands of years, its origins and purpose shrouded in the mists of history.

But a just-completed excavation of Stonehenge, the first within the ancient circle in more than 40 years, could provide some of the first reliable explanations for one of the greatest wonders of the prehistoric world.

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May 6 2008

Unwrapping secret of Bolton Museum's Mummy


WHEN a Bolton "mummy" went to hospital for an x-ray, radiologists made a startling discovery... the mummy was 700 years old and its hands and feet were missing.

As part of research into two Peruvian mummies, Bolton Museum had the bodies scanned at the Royal Bolton Hospital to find out more about how the ancient civilisation may have lived.

The startling results are revealed in a new exhibition at the museum which opens today.

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May 6 2008

Japanese balloon bombs: A forgotten history


In 1944 and 1945, the Japanese military launched bomb-carrying balloons to strike the American homeland. Many balloons landed in Oregon, including one that killed six people in Klamath County.

On May 5, 1945, a group of Sunday school students encountered a balloon bomb snagged in a tree near Bly in Klamath County. Thirteen-year-old Joan Patzke attempted to pull the balloon from the tree when the attached bomb exploded, killing five children and a woman, Elsie Mitchell.

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Corporate jollies to oust 'cultural fuddy-duddies' from Pompeii ruins




It is perhaps the most remarkable archaeological site in the world and more than 3 million visitors stampede through it every year. But if the new tourism councillor for Campania has his way, the numbers visiting Pompeii will be drastically cut, and the site will be thrown open to multinationals for private events to rake in the money needed to maintain the ruins.

"If we cap the number of visitors it will be easier to allow businessmen within the ruins to make money and hold events without being hampered by cultural fuddy-duddies," Claudio Velardi told a press briefing.

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Matters to Contemplate: Numaga: A Paiute warrior who spoke for peace with pioneer settlers




When Euro-Americans settled in Lyon County during the 1850s, they weren't the first humans to call the area home. Archeological evidence indicates Native American's shared a primitive culture for at least 8,000 years before Caucasians encroached on their territory.

A favorite 19th Century local story is of Numaga, a Paiute Indian war chief with the northern Pyramid Lake tribe. Most historians believe he was the son of Paiute leader Chief Winnemucca, and grandson of Chief "Captain" Truckee. While many Paiutes opposed smoking a peace pipe with settlers, these chiefs disagreed. Numaga took an active stand for peace before the Indian War of 1860.

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Is this the rice super-gene?


PARIS (AFP) - Researchers in China have pinpointed an elusive gene that plays a linchpin role in determining the harvest potential of rice, according to a study released on Sunday by the journal Nature Genetics.

The productivity of a rice plant is determined by several traits -- the number and size of its grains; the height of the plant; and its flowering time, which reflects its response to the prevailing climate.

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Malaysian palm oil struggles to promote 'green' image


KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (AFP) - Malaysia is promoting its controversial palm oil industry as a model of eco-friendliness, but activists warn forests are still being destroyed to make way for vast plantations.

As palm oil prices boom, Malaysia has mounted a campaign to counter allegations that the crop is responsible for habitat destruction, air pollution from slash-and-burn farming, and pushing orangutans towards extinction.

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Africa's biggest oil producer goes green


LAGOS (AFP) - In his office in Lagos, Alain Salleras, a Frenchman of about 50 for whom biofuels are something of a crusade, is working away at his pet project -- producing ethanol from sweet sorghum in Nigeria.

Salleras, executive director of Global Biofuels Ltd, which has partnered with India's Praj Industries and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for its project, is at pains to pre-empt any questions on the growing controversy over the alleged impact of biofuels on agriculture.

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Smarter electric grid could be key to saving power


MILTON, Ontario - The glowing amber dot on a light switch in the entryway of George Tsapoitis' house offers a clue about the future of electricity.

A few times this summer, when millions of air conditioners strain the Toronto region's power grid, that pencil-tip-sized amber dot will blink. It will be asking Tsapoitis to turn the switch off — unless he's already programmed his house to make that move for him.

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Study links child's autism, parents' mental illness


CHICAGO (Reuters) - In another sign pointing to an inherited component to autism, a study released on Monday found that having a schizophrenic parent or a mother with psychiatric problems roughly doubled a child's risk of being autistic.

"Our research shows that mothers and fathers diagnosed with schizophrenia were about twice as likely to have a child diagnosed with autism," said Julie Daniels of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who worked on the study.

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Shuttle tank delays push back Hubble mission


HOUSTON (Reuters) - Delays in producing space shuttle fuel tanks, which were substantially redesigned after the 2003 Columbia disaster, will postpone NASA's final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope by a month or longer, officials at the U.S. space agency said on Thursday.

Originally due to launch on August 28, the space shuttle flight to the telescope will be postponed four to five weeks, shuttle program manager John Shannon said.

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Earth 'noise' could attract alien invaders


No matter how quiet we try to be now it's too late to prevent alien invaders. So says Alexander Zaitsev of the Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics in Moscow, Russia, who points the finger at astronomers.

For 40 years, astronomers have fired microwaves off objects to chart near-Earth space and track the movement of close asteroids - and these signals are traceable back to us.

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