Saqqara the Pottery 2005

The pottery studied in the season of 2005 came from squares 1903-1904-1905, where burials of the Upper Necropolis were discovered in the upper layers, superimposed on the late Old Kingdom necropolis and the sloping passage, i.e., Corridor 3 (squares 2002-2102) combined with the area of the mud-brick platform (squares 2001-2101), both investigated in 2004.

The surface layer in squares 1903-1904-1905 consisted of sand mixed with limestone chips in considerable quantities. The layer was evidently disturbed, as indicated by the chronological spread of the sherds found in it, from severely damaged Late Old Kingdom beer jars to vessels from the Late Period.

Myth Understanding

… some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge…

— Galadriel, from the Walsh, Boyens, and Jackson screenplay of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Last week, I discussed the rift that exists in Western society between our culture and our dominant religions. The rift mat­ters, because it means the those religions can’t perform the functions in our society that a religion historically performed. This has given rise to a misunderstanding of the purpose of reli­gion, and a misuse of religion within our national conversation.

Calendarul maya

Maya a fost o civilizaţie mezoamericata deosebit de sofisticată ale cărei teritorii au inclus zonele în care se afla astăzi Gutatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador şi statele mexicane sud-estice Tabasco, Yucatan şi Quintana Roo. 

Perioada clasică a culturii maya se plasează între anii 250 şi 900 d.Hr., când realizările artistice şi intelectuale au echivalat orice cultură precolumbiană din Americi. Mayasii au fost primii oameni din Americi care au păstrat informaţii istorice, majoritatea sub forma unor stele imbodobide (monumente din piatră) şi au ţinut arhive ale evenimentelor civile, ale calendarului maya şi ale cunoştinţelor astronomice.

New Moon for Pluto: Hubble Telescope Spots a 5th Plutonian Satellite

As humankind's first robotic visitor to Pluto approaches its destination, astronomers working to understand what it will find there have uncovered a tiny moon orbiting the dwarf planet.

The moon is the fifth known natural satellite of Pluto and has been informally labeled P5. It was discovered Saturday, July 7, in images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope as part of a campaign to identify possible hazards to the New Horizons spacecraft, now en route to Pluto for a 2015 flyby. Dust rings encircling Pluto, or small moons shedding unseen debris, could endanger the $700-million mission. So far, the search has not identified any dangerous dust bands around Pluto, but it has turned up two newfound moons—a small object called P4 last year, and now P5.

The Surprising, and Surprisingly Influential, Life of Pythagoras

Pythagoras held that there are three sorts of men, just as there are three classes of strangers who go to the Olympic games. There are the lovers of gain who come to buy and sell, the lovers of honour who come to compete, and the lovers of wisdom who come simply to look on.

Life

Pythagoras was born on the island of Samos, not far from Miletus. On the advice of Thales of Miletus, he travelled to Memphis in Egypt where he came into contact with priests renowned for their wisdom. At the age of 40, he fled the tyranny of Polycrates to Croton in Southern Italy, where he established a philosophical and religious community. 

Misterul manuscrisului Voynich

Manuscrisul Voynich, descris ca “cel mai misterios manuscript”, dateaza din secolul 15 si a fost scris probabil in nordul Italiei. Este denumit astfel dupa Wilfrid Michael Voynich, cel care l-a cumparat in anul 1912.

Manuscrisul are forma unei carti ilustrate cu 232 pagini, iar textul este scris cu litere si cuvinte neidentificate, insa fara taieri sau corecturi.

Desenele in schimb sunt executate cu mai putina stradanie. Ele reprezinta plante, oameni, animale si teme astronomice.

Arctic Biologist Shares Astonishing Sea Creatures With the World

There is no road to the White Sea Biological Station, which sits at latitude 66° N on the cusp of the Arctic Circle. Located on the shores of its namesake, the White Sea, the only way to get there is by boat in summer and snowmobile in winter since the waters of Kandalaksha Bay are frozen six months out of the year.

Inside the station is an unlikely photo studio where Alexander Semenov, 25, is sharing his stunning photographs of arctic sea creatures with the global online community.

Jurassic Park in a Petri dish: Scientists bring 500 million-year-old bacteria back to life - what could possibly go wrong?

A 500 million-year-old bacteria has been brought back to life in a laboratory at Georgia Tech in an experiment with echoes of Jurassic Park's disastrous recreation of the dinosaurs.

The researchers have resurrected a 500-million-year-old gene and inserted it into a modern E Coli bacteria.

The 'Frankenstein' germ has thrived. In the lab, the creation has now lived through 1,000 generations.

Robot Dinosaurs Printed in 3-D Using Fossil Templates

A hobbyist found the first nearly complete dinosaur skeleton in New Jersey in 1858, during the era of gentlemen scientists, gas lamps and extremely ruffled skirts. A century and a half later, paleontologists are still working in one dig in the southern portion of the state. Kenneth Lacovara, a paleontologist at Drexel University in Philadelphia, inherited the site from generations of paleontologists before him.

Some of Lacovara's plans for what he finds here, however, are entirely new. Over the past few years, he has started a few projects using the latest technology for paleontology. His latest plans include making robotic dinosaurs using a 3D printer.

Simbolul lebedei în miturile lumii antice

Potrivit DEX, LÉBĂDĂ,  lebede, s.f. 1. Gen de păsări acvatice, mai mari decât gâsca, cu pene albe sau (rar) negre și cu gâtul lung și arcuit (Cygnus); pasăre care face parte din acest gen. ♢ Cântecul lebedei = ultima operă sau manifestare (înainte de moarte) a unui mare creator sau interpret. 2. (Art.) Constelație din emisfera boreală; Crucea. – Din sl. lebedĩ.

Așadar termenul a pătruns în limba română prin slavonescul “lebedi”. Denumirea științifică “cygnus”(lat.) provine la rândul ei din greaca veghe unde semnifica “pasăre închinată lui Apollo”. Dar Appolo era zeul Soarelui la greci, zeul luminii. Legatura dintre lebădă și lumină este însă mult mai evidentă în etimologia termenilor “swan”, “schwan”. Jung este cel care a făcut o apropiere între radicalul “sven” și termenul sanscrit “svan”care înseamnă “a fremăta”. În opinia lui Jung “cântecul lebedei” nu este decât manifestarea mitică a izomorfismului etimologic dintre lumină și cuvânt”.