Mexico
It’s not particularly ‘news’ when it’s declared that the Maya were interested and tracked the planet Venus, but this finding proves categorically that one of their observatories was specifically designed to track the 584-day path of the planet. In modern terms it’s a bit like sending a probe to Mars that has a specific purpose, for example to find levels of a certain element that may be present on the surface. I say that because building an observatory specifically to track the planet Venus is a very exact form of scientific undertaking and architecturally not as easy as one may think – you don’t just build a platform and then stand on it to have a look at the sky.
The observatory, discovered at Acanceh in the Yucatán Peninsula, was first built around 300 AD and was used during the early Classic Period (300 – 600). Doors in the observatory align with the equinoxes and a domed structure is built so accurately that no shadow is seen during the midday sun. The southern edge of the observatory pinpoints Venus’ northernmost point in the sky.
Now, you try building a “semi-circular structure” so that no shadow is seen during the midday sun and see how difficult that is!
The Maya were undoubtedly the most advanced astronomers in the world for around a thousand years.
Peru
Another site I have been fortunate to have visited, Huaca Pucllana in Lima, Peru, was home to the Wari Empire which rose to prominence in the 7th Century. Five hundred years later the empire had disappeared, but it seems the Wari did not alter the genetic uniformity of the local population.
Genetic studies of 34 individuals covering a large time span show the Wari did not replace the local population. This is an extremely interesting finding as the Inca also did not, for the most part, invade and murder local populations, but rather slowly incorporated them into their own empire by what could be seen as a relatively silent occupation of territory. The city of Chan Chan in Trujillo is an excellent example, where the Inca were camped outside the walls for years. This method would also explain why certain empires expanded so rapidly.
Although the genetic study is not wide enough to be definitive, it suggests this method of conquering other cultures was a widespread and oft used tactic by Peruvian empires. If this is true it’s possible that the rise of the Inca Empire could be explained by the continued amalgamation of different cultures over many centuries.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-06/p-awe052716.php
India
Hooray!
Finally some of my own “theories” are becoming fact!
I have said all along the Indus Valley civilisation is much older than the 5,000 years given to it thus far, and I have suggested it is probably at least 10,000 years old, and most likely the oldest civilisation in the world… I also believe human “civilisation” most likely started in India.
New scientific evidence now puts the Indus Valley civilisation back to 8,000 years, and that is older than ancient Egypt.
Am I feeling smug?
Hell yes.
Jordan
An absolutely remarkable discovery in Petra has unveiled a hitherto unknown and very large structure using satellite imagery.
It’s one of those cases of something hiding in plain sight of everyone, and it is situated less than half a mile from the well-known World Heritage structures at Petra.
The structure was most likely a “ceremonial platform”, whatever that means in this case. In other words, more guesswork on the part of the researchers. Always common names are given to unknown finds, just to give an answer and to make sure the archaeologists don’t look stupid. But an in-depth study of the structure is required to understand its purpose. Why can’t archaeologists just say, “We haven’t got a clue what it is yet”?
India
It’s not very often I get to combine my two favourite things, but it appears that curry is much older than was previously thought, and in fact was first “invented” by the Indus Valley Civilisation.
New research has found that the base ingredients for “kari” were prevalent in two sites in the Indus Valley – Farmana and Harappa – suggesting that the versatile dish was first consumed in these locations.
This brief article contains two links – one an article and the other the scientific research carried out.
https://www.harappa.com/blog/origins-curry-indus-civilization
India
The world’s first tsunami defences, thought to be 6,000 years old (4000 BC), have been discovered in the Dholavira archaeology site in Kutch, Gujurat state.
The defensive wall was first thought to be exactly that – a defensive wall against invaders, but recent exploration of the site determined that the defences were far too expansive and deep to be merely defensive.
Archaeologist now believe the builders were aware of previous tsunamis in the area, one specifically around 8,000 years ago (6000 BC), and they built a tsunami defence to combat the regular occurrence. India is prone to tsunamis, as we all know from the 2004 Sumatra tsunami which hit the south eastern and south western Indian coasts around two hours after the original earthquake. India suffered the third highest casualty count from the tsunami, with 12,000 people confirmed dead and another 6,000 still missing.
This discovery shows the ingenuity of the ancient Indians, and I am still convinced that India holds some of the oldest civilised structures in the world, and maybe the oldest. This site at Kutch was in the territory of the Indus Valley civilisation and, if the data is correct, could well go back to at least 6000 BC if one looks solely at the tsunami data. The Indus Valley civilisation itself was thought to have started around 3300 BC, but I have said on here many times that I believe it is much older. The site at Kutch, and the new tsunami defence evidence, could well prove the Indus Valley civilisation is much older than previously thought.