Archive for May, 2007
The Emergence of the Israelites: an Archaeological Perspective
In a previous post, I discussed the Exodus myth and the archaeological evidences (and lack thereof) associated with the period. I recall a comment on the post on another blog somewhere that noted my use of the phrase “[t]he same progenitor peoples of the modern day Israelites and Palestinians” with regard to the Canaanites. The [...]
Playing God? Life Created in the Laboratory
Newsweek’s Cover story is about abiogenesis and synthesis of self-replicating organisms. I just finished reading this article online [NewsWeek at MSNBC.Com] and noticed that PZ Myers has a post on it already. Before I read his, I thought I’d post a quick review of the article with a few quotes and encourage others to check [...]
I Sailing a Raft of Reeds Across the Atlantic Experimental Archaeology?
Not a chance. It’s more like pseudo-experimental, pseudo-archaeology. But, either way, a German man plans to sail his Bolivian made raft across the Atlantic as “proof” that this is the way it was done throughout antiquity. More below the fold.Forty year-old Dominique Gorlitz thinks that people crossed the Atlantic regularly at around 14,000 years ago [...]
Gilgamesh and Mesopotamian Mythology Part II
In my last post, I discussed both the Old Babylonian and the Akkadian versions of the Gilgamesh Epic and some of their similarities and differences. I find the Akkadian acceptance and fascination of Sumerian gods and mythology to be fascinating itself. I often wonder if, perhaps, their fascination with the earlier Sumerian culture could be [...]
The Gilgamesh Epic and its Relationship to other Mesopotamian Myths
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a story of heroism and adventure that still has an appeal to the reader today, suggesting that the human need for fictional identification with heroes and adventure is one that has possibly always existed. Keeping this in mind can help when the epic as a whole is examined and its [...]
New Egyptian Tomb Find May Be Best Preserved
Belgian archaeologists of the Leuven Catholic University discovered a tomb of Henu, a high-ranking estate manager and Egyptian courtier. The tomb dates to about 4,000 years ago and is located in the necropolis of Deir al-Barsha in Minya, Egypt.
Hieroglyphic texts on the sarcophagus of Henu’s linen-wrapped mummy mention the gods Anubis and Osiris and [...]
Loch Ness to become World Heritage Site
Nessie Fans take notice! The Loch Ness, about 37 km from Inverness, Scotland may be destined to become a World Heritage Site.
the UK’s largest body of fresh water and one of the deepest at 754ft, which makes it a vital site for scientists, as well as monster hunters and tourists. Its largely undisturbed mud-beds are [...]
Hot Cup of Joe’s "Hot Cup"
ScienceBlogger Dave at The World’s Fair is asking SciBloggers about their mugs. I might not be his “SciBling” but with a blog title like mine, how could I resist?
The questions are: 1. Can you show us your coffee cup?2. Can you comment on it? Do you think it reflects on your personality?3. Do you have [...]
Colony Collapse Disorder… is it the bee rapture?
Probably not. But honeybees everywhere are disappearing. They aren’t dying in their hives. They’re leaving and not returning, absconding the hive only to leave it with a queen and a small brood. I’ve recently listened to a few podcasts that discussed the matter with various experts in the field and read a few articles on [...]
