The End Of Archaeology As A Science (Or, Possibly, It's Beginning)
Ancient Mysteries: The World's Earliest Cities
The Fragmentation of Knowledge Part 1 [Or, The case against over-specialization in theory based academics i.e. Archeology is an outdated field)] {Proof the archaeology is an outdated field as far as theory based academics (PH.Ds) goes. Almost all of a PhD's work in archaeology can be done by undergrad students or sherpas.}
BBC NEWS: Nasa's Curiosity rover has found strong evidence that Mars was once habitable. Results of the most detailed analysis of the Martian atmosphere suggests that more than four billion years ago it was quite similar to Earth.
Based on a non-transparent analysis it has been decided that Mars was habitable about four billion years ago.
Now consider this piece of evidence:
The most illustrious meteorite in history continues to inspire heated debate. Does it carry microbial fossils from Mars or are its strange features just the product of some unique geochemistry? After almost 20 years, dueling papers are still coming out, and the opposing parties are no closer to a resolution.
Most scientists agree that the meteorite ALH84001 is the oldest meteorite ever found to have come from Mars.
"The meteorite is so old that if Martian life existed back then, it probably floated by the rock at some point," says Timothy Swindle of the University of Arizona. "But did it leave any record?" \
{Note: Rocks are estimated to be old by the layers of sediment/stone... there is NO way to measure how long a rock has been in space as it's like a deep freeze with no air for deterioration}
In 1996, one research group claimed yes, sending shock waves through the scientific community and beyond. President Bill Clinton made a special address on the apparent discovery, and the media widely broadcasted the scientists' images of what appeared to be dead "bug" remains from the rock. Had we finally met our neighbors?
The iconic meteorite became the grist for many imaginations. The TV show The X-files depicted an ALH84001 look-a-like with live bugs in it, and a Dan Brown novel imagined a conspiracy to cover-up extraterrestrial evidence from a space rock.
The meteorite made its debut in 1984, when it was picked up by a geologist team riding snowmobiles through the Allan Hills region of Antarctica. It took 10 years for researchers to realize this 4-pound specimen likely came from Mars.
The general consensus now is that the original rock formed 4 billion years ago on Mars. It was eventually catapulted into space by an impact and wandered the solar system for millions of years before landing on Earth 13,000 years ago. {How can anyone possibly make this assumption without evidence? How do they know that rock was floating in space for a billion years when the technology for that sort of calculation doesn't exist?}
Over 50 other meteorites have been identified as coming from Mars, but ALH84001 is by far the oldest, with the next in age being just 1.3 billion years old.
"That alone makes ALH84001 a very important sample," says Allan Treiman of the Lunar and Planetary Institute. "It's our only hope to understand what Mars was like at this time period."
The first thing that struck researchers examining the meteorite was the presence of 300-micron-wide carbonate globules that make up 1% of the rock. Dave McKay from NASA's Johnson Space Center and his colleagues determined that the carbonate most likely formed in the presence of water.
Although evidence for a wet ancient Mars has accumulated in the subsequent years, the claim that ALH84001 once sat in water was pretty revolutionary at the time, says Kathie Thomas-Keprta, also from the Johnson Space Center.
So let me get this straight. This rock jumped off of Mars and roamed around the universe for a billion years before finally landing on earth... EXACTLY WHEN ALL THE ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS SEEM TO HAVE DISAPPEARED? How is assuming that rock roamed the solar system for a billion years "Occam's razor" more like 'the dumbest theory on earth by people in a serious state of denial' or worse. Simple reality is hiding this stuff will be more damaging to dealing with humanities future that revealing it & since only the GOP-Republicans like to lie their asses off & like to cause harm to society & Americans it only makes sense that this cover-up is their doing and Bill Clinton is/was just one of their pawns.
Now lets look at the evidence...
The Colbert Report
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Here is an abstract of a Japanese Study; Title;Research for submarine ruins off Yonaguni, Japan. Journal Title;Bulletin of the College of Science, University of the Ryukyus
Abstract;Submarine research surveys using SCUBA and sonic surveys reveal detailed topography similar to submarine, pyramidal features looking like a stepped pyramid off Yonaguni in Okinawa, Japan. The site is called Iseki Point(ruins site) as a leisure diving spot. Yonaguni Submarine Pyramid(YSP) is the major structure that stands under approximately 25 meters of ocean. Essentially, it has a cliff face like the side of a stepped pyramid, and dimensions of about 290m(length) by 120m(width) by 26m(height). Flat terraces, straight walls and its surface structure of walls with scars of tool marks driven in by a wedge on the structure are identified to be artificially fabricated. Appearance and size of YSP are similar to the biggest, ancient castles such as Shuri and Nakagusuku Castles in Okinawa Island, where they are called 'gusuku'. Roads associated with drainage canals were recognized, surrounding YSP, and that a retaining wall was found along a road. The southern point of the wall is composed of huge rock fragments. Stone tools and other artifacts were discovered from the sea bottom. Those evidence strongly shows that the YSP has not been manufactured by nature. It is identifie to be man-made. The formation age is estimated to be about 10,000 years ago based on 14C and 10Be age determinations. (author abst.)
Nazca Lines
Pattern Match? The following image is from a site where stone monuments were carved and then covered up with sand 11,000 years ago. No villages nearby. Why? A sign that 'we were here' to a future generation many millennia later who could understand the scope of their engineering talent & enormity of what they had done?
Moment Of Zen: Cover-Up
"For example, Kimura said, he has identified quarry marks in the stone, rudimentary characters etched onto carved faces, and rocks sculpted into the likenesses of animals.
"The characters and animal monuments in the water, which I have been able to partially recover in my laboratory, suggest the culture comes from the Asian continent," he said.
"One example I have described as an underwater sphinx resembles a Chinese or ancient Okinawan king." Whoever created the city, most of it apparently sank in one of the huge seismic events that this part of the Pacific Rim is famous for, Kimura said.
The world's largest recorded tsunami struck Yonaguni Jima in April 1771 with an estimated height of more than 131 feet (40 meters), he noted, so such a fate might also have befallen the ancient civilization.
Kimura said he has identified ten structures off Yonaguni and a further five related structures off the main island of Okinawa. In total the ruins cover an area spanning 984 feet by 492 feet (300 meters by 150 meters).
The structures include the ruins of a castle, a triumphal arch, five temples, and at least one large stadium, all of which are connected by roads and water channels and are partly shielded by what could be huge retaining walls.
Kimura believes the ruins date back to at least 5,000 years, based on the dates of stalactites found inside underwater caves that he says sank with the city.
And structures similar to the ruins sitting on the nearby coast have yielded charcoal dated to 1,600 years ago-a possible indication of ancient human inhabitants, Kimura added.
The only difference between the Japanese scientific investigation (first images above) and the one printed in National Geographic is the date ascribed to these structures. In National geographic the structures are 2000 years old and in the Japanese Scientific Study it has been dated to the last ice age (10,000 years ago).
The world's last undersea laboratory faces closure due to budget cuts. aquariusreefbase.org/ (00:25)
From CNN:
At first glance, team leader and commercial diver Peter Lindberg joked that his crew had just discovered an unidentified flying object, or UFO.
"I have been doing this for nearly 20 years so I have a seen a few objects on the bottom, but nothing like this," said Lindberg.