Are these Mexican pyramid the largest one in the World?

Pyramid of Giza is often a topic of conversation, but it does not mean it was the largest in the world. The Great Pyramid of Cholula which has the title as the world's largest pyramid. The pyramid is a temple relic of the ancient Aztec in Puepla, Mexico.

Locals knew it as the 'Tlachihualtepetl' (or 'man-made mountains'). It stood as tall as 66 meters (216 feet) wide 450 meters (1,475 feet). the Great Pyramid of Cholula has a size four times larger base of Giza and the volume is twice as large. The archaeologists still do not know who built the mysterious complex, but it is believed the pyramid was built at some point around 300 BC.

The Great Pyramid of Cholula starts at these walls and finished at the tip of the hill. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1dWn9P)

As reported by Zaria Gorvett for the BBC, the pyramid was probably built with adobe (kind of bricks made of burned slurry) for six feature layers above it.

The ancient Aztecs most likely use the Great Pyramid of Cholula as a place of worship about 1,000 years before moving to a smaller nearby new location. Before it was replaced by a newer structure, the pyramid painstakingly decorated with insects red, black, and yellow.

Tourists climbing the steps at the base of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, give an insight into its scale. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1dWn9P)

"The pyramid began to be abandoned around 7th or 8th century AD," said David Carballo, an archaeologist from Boston University. And the pyramid was not discovered until the early 1900s, when the locals started to build a nearby psychiatric hospital. 

Until about the 1930s, the archaeologists began to uncover the pyramid, creating a series of tunnels that stretches 8 kilometers (5 miles) in length to give them access. Now, more than 2,300 years after the initial construction, the site has become a tourist destination

Then, why the largest pyramid in the world is often overlooked? It could be because the giant structure is actually hidden under layers of trees, making it look more like a natural mountain than as a place of worship. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | IFLSCIENCE]

Note: This blog  can be accessed via your smart phone

What was the oldest pyramid in the World?

The discovery of the tomb in the pyramid-shaped in the region of Sary-Arka, near the city of Karaganda, Kazakhstan was viral in various online media some time ago. Rumors said that this pyramid is the oldest pyramid in the world, but archeologists denied it.

Pyramid of Djoser, the first Egyptian pyramids were built about 4,700 years ago in Saqqara, Egypt. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1dXpgY)

"The age precisely was uncertain, but most likely this pyramid was built in the late Bronze Age, over 3,000 years ago, or 1,000 years after the ancient Egyptians built their first pyramids, ie Pyramid of Djoser about 4,700 years ago," said Viktor Novozhenov, an archaeologist of Karaganda University who involved in the excavation of the tomb, as quoted by LiveScience.

The newly discovered pyramid is relatively small, with a height of 2 meters and a length of 14 meters. "The pyramid is made of rock, soil and slabs on the outside," said Novozhenov. If judging from the form of construction, the archaeologists estimate that the pyramid built for the ancient king or clan leader.

The ruins of a 3,000-year-old mausoleum were discovered in Kazakhstan. The mausoleum's burial chamber had been robbed. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1dXprd)

In addition, the structure is also unique. In contrast to most of the Egyptian pyramids that have taper peak, the peak of these new pyramid is actually flat, like the Pyramid of Djoser.

So far, the results of excavations conducted by the archaeologist team showed that the pyramid was created with similar goals with the Egyptian pyramids, the tomb structure in it. Novozhenov was uploaded the picture of the pyramid ruins in his Facebook account.

Unfortunately, the burial chamber in the pyramid has been looted, even though there are still remnants of pottery, knives and another bronze objects. It is uncertain whether or not the human remains are buried there.

Until now, the process of excavation is still ongoing. Archaeologists hope the discovery could provide new information about Begazy-Dandybai civilization that lived in the middle Kazakhstan at the era. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | LIVESCIENCE]

Note: This blog  can be accessed via your smart phone

Is this the real face of Jesus?

Do you recognize the face of the man below? At first glance you may be wondering who actually man's beard and black hair. You may also be surprised if there are claims that this is the real face of Jesus Christ, a key figure in the Christian faith.

Forensic Anthropologist Richard Neave, this is what
Jesus Christ may have looked like. Using information
from skulls found at Israeliachaeological sites, this is
his rendition. What do you think? (Picture from: 
 http://adf.ly/1fgSUs)

The man's face was vastly different from the depictions of Jesus in a wide range of modern Christian literature that exists today. During this time, Jesus was described by the figure of a white man has blond hair and long beard. While the image of the man above is based on data forensics of a skull Jewish men in the first century AD. The author is a British anatomical artist.

The artist Richard Neave, a former professor at Manchester University, made a face image after examining three skulls of Jews around the region of Galilee, Israel. About ten years ago, Neave borrowed the methods used by forensic experts to identify victims of crime to draw a face which he claims to be Jesus.

Indeed, the drawing of the man who claimed to be the real face of Jesus is not new. Having had circulated some time ago, that image is now back busy discussed in social media.

Dr Neave, formerly from the University of Manchester, used techniques typically used to solve crimes, to create the portrait as well as fragments of information, such as a Biblical account saying Jesus closely resembled his disciples. A side view of 'Jesus' is shown. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1fgSUs)

Professor Neave who is a forensic anthropology expert, by using computerized tomography to create slices of the skull. By evaluating the skull thickness in certain parts, he makes the skin and muscles of the face.

Dr Neave (pictured) and his team X-rayed three Semite skulls from the time, previously found by Israeli archaeologists. They used computer technology to work out how the muscles and skin should look, upon which they based a 3D model (seen on the computer screen) and a clay bust of Christ (right). (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1fgSUs)

Not only that. Neave also researching on the images of ancient archaeological sites to determine the color of the hair of Jesus. He also studied the Bible to estimate how long Jesus's hair.

Italian police 'reveal' what Jesus looked like based on computer forensics and the world’s most famous relic. Using the Turin Shroud, the supposed burial cloth of Jesus, police investigators have generated a photo-fit image from the negative facial image on the material. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1fgUeS)

There is still no definitive answer to questions such as whether the real face of Jesus Christ. Earlier this year, some Italian police investigators also try to reconstruct the face of Jesus with the help of the Shroud of Turin, the supposed burial cloth of Jesus..

However, the results of the reconstruction made by the Italian police were very different from the results of facial reconstruction made by Professor Neave. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | DAILYMAIL | INDEPENDENT]

Note: This blog can be accessed via your smart phone.

Scientists claim to have found the largest dinosaur footprints in Bolivia

A tourist guide in Bolivia found footprints that claimed belong to dinosaurs. The footprints have a size of 1.2 meters and a 80 million year-old relic.

The footprints belonged to a giant prehistoric animals were thought to belong to abelisaurus. The size of the current findings is one of the largest of the prior findings.

Paleontologist Sebastian Apesteguia (R) measures a footprint measuring over a meter made by a meat-eating predator some 80 million years ago, one of the largest of its kind ever found, in Kinsa Saruska, Bolivia. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1cioDq)

As reported by The Guardian on Wednesday, July 27, 2016, the discovery of dinosaur footprints are located around 64 kilometers outside the capital city of Bolivia, Sucre, in early July.

An Argentine paleontologists, Sebastian Apesteguia, who studied the findings said the footprints were thought to belong abelisaurus (two-legged dinosaur that exploring South America).

Fact and picture of Abelisaurus. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1cioWR)

"The footprints were bigger than we've ever found in the region. It is a record related to the discovery of carnivorous dinosaurs in the late Cretaceous period in South America," said Apesteguia.

For info, Abelisaurus is a dinosaur which lived approximately 85 million years ago during the late Cretaceous Period. It was first discovered by Roberto Abel in Argentina and was later named in 1985 by Argentine paleontologists Fernando Novas and Jose Bonaparte. The name of this dinosaur means “Abel’s Lizard”, a tribute to Roberto Abel.

The discovery was not the first time in the region, given the soft clay around Sucre known as dinosaur's footprints. Some previous abelisaurus skeleton has also been found in the area.

Abelisaurus is a group of meat-eating dinosaurs. They have the characteristic of hand rather short, long and narrow head and did not have horns, also the hind legs longer and slimmer. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | THE GUARDIAN]

Note: This blog  can be accessed via your smart phone

The prehistoric tombs may have been used as 'telescope'

An ancient tomb discovered in Portugal has surprised the scientists because it not only functioned for the cemetery but also telescope. Seven Stone Antas, thus the name of the ancient tomb which has been crowned as the world's oldest telescope, the first device that allows people to see stars without a lens.

The orientation of the tombs named Seven Stone Antas in Portugal suggests that they are aligned to offer a view of Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation of Taurus. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1cAgta)

The tomb of Neolithic era has a unique construction. Its "gate" consists of seven large rock debris that forms a long hallway. The hallway was able to block ambient light so as to allow the stone age "astronomers" to focus their view on specific areas of the sky.

The passageway’s long corridor acts like a telescope without a lens, says Dr Fabio Silva. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1cAgta)

Fabio Silva, a scientist from the University of Wales Tronity Saint David, England, said the tomb was built with full planning. The tomb passageway’s long corridor is directed in a way that leads to the Aldebaran star, one of the brightest stars in the constellation of Taurus as seen from the Earth.

The researchers suggest that there may have been a ritual significance to viewing the night sky from the tombs. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1cAgta)

"When the Aldebaran rising time each year is the end of April until the beginning of May at 6,000 years ago," Silva said as quoted by The Guardian on June 30, 2016. And the Aldebaran rising time coincides with the beginning of summer and a right time to farm. "That would be nice, right time marker for the population at that time to move to higher ground," he added.

Daniel Brown, an astronomer from the University of Nottingham Trent, England, said the residents of the past were being used to visit the tomb and overnight as part of the ritual and simultaneously observe the stars. And Brown also revealed that the tomb hall capable of creating a low-light environment that can not be obtained outside the tomb area.

"The hallways make some sort of camera viewfinder hole at an angle of 10 degrees. If someone observed with the naked eye, it was very limited," said Brown.

The present discovery also reveals a culture of ancient peoples related to cosmology as well as providing knowledge on how they interpret it.

"It gives the view that astronomy is a part of the experience of life, the environment, and the sky," added Brown, as quoted by LiveScience, June 30, 2016.

The findings were presented on June 29, 2016 in the annual meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society in Nottingham, England. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | LIVESCIENCE | THE GUARDIAN ]

Note: This blog  can be accessed via your smart phone

Mystery of the Pharaoh's treasure protector machinery was revealed

In order to protect the tomb of the pharaoh from the invasion the robbers, the ancient Egyptians created a system of blocks and grooves in the Great Pyramid of Giza. More recently, an Egyptologists named Mark Lehner tries to reconstruct the machine in question with the help of computer animation.

Great Pyramid of Giza. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1cGu75)

As quoted from Live Science on Thursday, July 14, 2016, Lehner who is also Chairman Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA), a team of researchers who have been working for 30 years on the Giza excavation process.

Many experts argue that the King's chamber contains the remains of Pharaoh Khufu who ruled in between 2551 to 2528 BC. He allegedly ordered the establishment of the Great Pyramid of Giza which became the highest pyramid in Egypt. The authors of the past even call it a "wonder of the world".

In addition to the presence of the King's chamber, the Great Pyramid of Giza also has two other large room which is now referred to as the Queen's chamber and Subsurface chamber. The purpose of these two chambers remain a mystery until now.

To protect the pharaohs chamber, the ancient Egyptians build a series of grooves and blocks of stone that are hidden inside the walls of the pyramid. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1cGt87)

To protect the pharaohs chamber, the ancient Egyptians build a series of grooves and blocks of stone that are hidden inside the walls of the pyramid. The existence of grooves and blocks had already been known at least since the 19th century, but only now sought the help of the computer animation to illustrate the preparation and the way it works.

In the animation seen how the stone blocks were dropped into the grooves near King's chamber after the completion of the funeral of the pharaoh. According to Lehner, the system is very sophisticated in his time.

The system was clogging the entrance to the King's chamber using the giant stone blocks that make it difficult breakthrough by the tomb looters. However, it seems that the machine fails to protect the tomb of Khufu.

Now, all that remains in the tomb is simply a red granite coffin. The room was probably already looted between the end of the reign of Khufu and the collapse of the Old Kingdom (around 2134 BC)," as wrote by Lehner in his book, "The Complete Pyramids", published by Thames and Hudson (1997).

Some Egyptian experts argued that Khufu may have been suckered the looters in other ways. In addition to the security system, the pyramid also had four small tunnel. Two tunnels coming from King's chamber and two more came from the Queen's chamber. Browsing using a robot revealed the possibility of three doors with the copper handles.

Zahi Hawass, an Ancient Egypt expert and also the former minister of Egyptian archeology, told Live Science in 2013 about allegations that the tunnels eventually leading real Khufu's burial chamber.

"I am very confident that the chamber of Cheops (another name for Khufu) have not been found, and the third room was just deceiver for the looters and Khufu's treasure is still hidden in the Great Pyramid," said Hawass.

Wanna see the animation of how the machinery of the pharaoh's tomb protector works as follow: 
Now, a project to scan the Great Pyramid as a whole by using various technologies still on progress. The researchers hope the project will be revealed the existence of secret burial chamber, if it is still there. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | LIVESCIENCE | SCIENCE ALERTS]

Note: This blog  can be accessed via your smart phone

Thousand of bird fossils of Cretaceous period found intact

Two new fossil shows a specimen of a small bird wings trapped in amber - the fossilized tree resin - which had been outstanding for more than 100 million years. These findings carried by the international team of researchers, including Professor Mike Benton from Bristol University, published in the journal Nature Communications.

Scientists have unearthed the remains of thousands of prehistoric animals frozen for millions of years in amber. The remarkable fossils include birds from the time of the dinosaurs, whose perfectly preserved feathers show little change in the blueprint used by birds today. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1bkBR9)

Benton said, the specimen was obtained from well-known amber deposits in northeast Myanmar, which has been producing thousands of specimens of insects of all shapes and sizes, as well as spiders, scorpions, lizards, and bird feathers. However, the invention becomes the first of the bird parts was found intact.

As quoted of the Daily Mail on Wednesday, June 29, 2016, the fossil of wings have two to three centimeters long and has a wing frame, including claws and feathers preserved very detailed in amber.

Two of the specimens include the tiny preserved wings of birds, whose bodies were caught in the sticky sap of a tree almost 100 million years ago. Pictured is one of the specimens under UV, showing the flow lines of the sap and the structure of he wing. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1bkBR9)

Anatomy of the claw fossil shows that it is an enantiornithine bird that became a large group in the Cretaceous period. But the species was extinct along with the dinosaurs at 66 million years ago.

"The fossil of wings shows incredible detail," said Benton.

"Each strand of fur shows each filament, there is even a trace of color - in the form of spots and stripes," he explained.

The researcher leader, Dr Xing Lida of the China University of Geosciences, also commented on the discovery of fossils of the bird's wing.

"The fact that the birds are climbing in the trees show they have advanced development, which means they are ready to move as soon as they hatch," said Xing.

"(After hatching) This bird is not just waiting in the nest to be fed, but they look for their own food and die, perhaps because of its small size and lack of experience," he explained.

The amber deposits of Myanmar produced a treasure trove of fossils from prehistoric times. The fossils also document the evolution of terrestrial life in the Cretaceous period. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | DAILY MAIL]

Note: This blog  can be accessed via your smart phone

The mammoth fossils were found buried near Mexico City

The Mexican archaeologists excavating carefully the mammoth fossils of Pleistocene era, which was found by chance near Mexico City in December 2015 when installing the drain pipe in the village of Tultepec and they are already working at the site since April, and expected to finalize its work in the coming days.

Mammoth is an extinct species of the genus Mammuthus generally have long and curved tush as well as being covered with long hair. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1bg7w1)

As quoted of TechTimes, the places which in prehistoric times there is a shallow salt water lake where the ancient animals often get stuck. The lake is also very good for preserving fossils.

Luis Cordoba, an archaeologist from the National Institute of Anthropology and History, said The most current find, which is the Tultepec mammoth, was found buried 2 meters underneath a village street. When the mammoth was discovered, the tusks were still attached to its skull, and the skeleton was nearly complete and well-preserved. Cordoba estimated that the mammoth died between the ages of 20 and 25. 

Archaeologists unearth the remains of a 14,000-year-old Columbian mammoth in the Tultepec village in Mexico City. The fossilized remains were discovered during a drain installation, lying two meters underneath a village street. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1bg7XG)

There are mammoth elephant fossils found in the Tultepec area, "but this is the first time they can be studied considering that generally the citizens do not report the discovery in a timely manner," said Cordoba.

The mammoth has a height of 3.5 meters, five meters long, weighing about five tons when alive, and aged 20-25 years. Tultepec Mammoth, which is already three quarters complete and well preserved, still has tush attached to the skull.

However, other fossil remains had not in accordance with the order of the anatomy, said Cordoba, it indicates that the mammoths had been cut by humans for their meat and skins. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | TECHTIMES]

Note: This blog  can be accessed via your smart phone

Naval base remnants of the Battle of Salami were found

A team of archaeologists found the remains of ancient naval base on the coast of Athens, Greece, which has an estimated age of 2,500 years.

In collaboration with a team of Greek, a Danish marine archaeologists, Bjorn Loven of the University of Copenhagen discovered the remains of six ship sheds. These ship sheds are used to protect ships from wood-eating marine mollusk (shipworm). These sheds also protect the vessels from drought while not sailing at sea. The sheds are found in Zea Harbour Project, which lasted from 2001 to 2012.

A diver at the site of the discovery. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1bWGMm)

At the website of University of Copenhagen, Loven said his team analyzed the relics of glassware and did the carbon-14 tests on the pieces of wood. As a result, the ship sheds are estimated to stand at around 520 to 480 BC.

Not only that. The sheds are also believed to have used to stop by the ships that used the Greek army to fight against the Persians in the Battle of Salami, circa 480 BC. The war between the combined forces of the cities of Greece, led by Themistocles, and the Persian Empire led by King Xerxes.

Depiction of how it would have looked. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1bWGMm)

Although outnumbered, the Greeks won, the war that took place in the strait between mainland Greece and the Salami islands. Their struggles have been adapted into a colosal movie titled, "300: Rise of an Empire".

"This Naval Base is an important milestone in the history of Greece; difficult to predict what will happen if the Greek fleet defeated at the Battle of Salami, but it was obvious that the Persian victory would have profound consequences on the cultural and social development in Europe," said Loven. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | NEWS.COM.AU]

Note: This blog  can be accessed via your smart phone

The findings of new fossil may ended the Flores Hobbit debates

The fossils found on Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, may be able to resolve one of the mysteries in the science of anthropology, the descent of the superb short human species called "the Hobbits."

Archaeological excavations on Flores, where the discovery of fossils of Homo floresiensis. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1b2oOk)

The scientists on Wednesday, June 8, 2016, describes the bone fragments and teeth about 700,000 years old found in an ancient riverbed known as the Soa basin (Cekungan Soa) in Mata Menge, which apparently belonged to an extinct Hobbit species.

This species was previously known only from fossils and stone tools from Liang Bua cave with the ages ranging from 190,000 to 50,000 years. The species, called Homo floresiensis, has a height of about 106 centimeters, with a small brain such as chimpanzees.

The skull, left, of a newly discovered 18,000-year-old species, known as Homo floresiensis, is displayed next to a normal human's skull, right, at a news conference in Yogyakarta, Indonesia Friday, Nov. 5, 2004. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1b2nI3)

These new fossils "strongly indicates" that the Hobbit evolved from the human species Homo erectus-bodied and big-brained that lives in Asia and has become extinct, said Yousuke Kaifu of a paleontropolog of the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo.

Homo erectus, which first appeared in Africa about 1.9 million years ago, is known from a number of old fossils 1.5 million to 150,000 years old from Java, and the new fossils from Flores it has in common with them, said Gerrit van den Bergh, a paleontologist from the University of Wollongong, Australia.

Human jawbone fossils that found in Mata Menge. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1b2o5w)

Fossils including teeth four adults and two baby teeth, a jaw bone and a skull fragment from two children and one or two adults who may be killed in a volcanic eruption. They were found in an excavation in the meadows around 70 kilometers from the caves where the bones of the Hobbit was first discovered in 2003.

Human dental bone fossils that found in Mata Menge. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1b2o5w)

The size of the jaw bones indicate that the individual was even slightly lower than that found in the cave.

Stone tools that were previously found to indicate that the large man of Hobbit ancestors reached Flores million years ago, indicating that species to shrink over 300,000 years of evolution.

"Now it seems to be seen that the 'hobbit' Homo erectus Flores was shortened," said Adam Brumm, an archaeologist of Griffith University, Australia. The research published in the journal Nature.

Size reduction that occurs in many species generation of larger mammals, such as elephants, which somehow reached new island habitat called "the island rule," driven by the limited food resources in the islands.

Brumm said the 700,000 years old fossils were erased the claims of some scientists that the Hobbit is a member of our species with a medical condition that makes them small. Homo sapiens first appeared in Africa about 200,000 years ago.

Characteristics of these fossils do not support the idea that the hobbit evolved from a more ancient humans such as Homo habilis or Australopithecus, according to the researchers. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | VOA NEWS]

Note: This blog  can be accessed via your smart phone