• Ancient Digger teaches Archaeology and History to all Ages!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

130 Million Year Old Mistake: One of the First Dinosaurs



B Nelson, a wonderfully talented writer, reminisces about becoming an Archaeologist as a child. However, digging in the dirt in the dead heat of the afternoon wasn't exactly her idea of a swell time. Nonetheless, she still remained interested in the field, recently writing a gripping tale of one of the first dinosaurs ever found.

Although Iguanodon lived 130 million years ago, we pick up in 1822. When somebody found some teeth in Sussex, in South East England. Now, nobody can be sure who found the teeth, initially it was said that Mary Ann Mantell found them along a roadside, later her husband, Gideon Mantell, a fossil hunter, claimed it was he who found them. This was one of the first dinosaurs ever discovered and recognized as something important.
Read More

Related Articles from B Nelson


Monday, June 15, 2009

Six Notable Archaeological Forgeries in History



This post has been removed as the story was linked to a site that is no longer online. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Check out Archaeology.org's extensive list of Hoaxes, Forgeries, Fakes, and Strange Sites:

Archaeology's Hoaxes, Fakes, and Strange Sites




Friday, June 12, 2009

Most Vicious and Cannibalistic Prehistoric Creatures


During the Pre-Historic Era, certain creatures and species were limited in their access to food supplies, and so they were forced to feed on their own kind, giving them the ability to sustain their lives a bit longer.

Majungatholus

 

In 1998, paleontologist/anatomist Scott Sampson from the New York College found a Majungatholus skull, making it the most well preserved dinosaur skull ever found. Sampson said, "It's the kind of face that only a mother could love. It had textured, convoluted bone all over the surface of the skull which probably had skin tightly adhering to it. It had this horn-like structure on the top of the head between the eyes and another projection at the back of the skull as well."

Image via Wikipedia

Teeth marks along with serrated smaller notches were found embedded on the Majungatholus measuring the same width as the teeth on the dinosaur itself, implying that it may have been involved in a struggle with the same species.

Neanderthals


Around 43,000 years ago, the Neanderthals were turning to cannibalism—even brain-eating. Discoveries of fossil remains suggest that these prehistoric humans looked entirely different from their northern counterparts. The Osteology of this species clearly suggests signs of dismemberment and skinning.

Image via Wikipedia

Cannibalistic actions included cutting of the flesh, using small stone tools and smashing open the skull using larger tools to access the brain and marrow.

Image via Wikipedia

 

“Reports of the Neandertals (often spelled "Neanderthals") ate their own kind, says paleoanthropologist Antonio Rosas of the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid. Rosas is the lead researcher for the study, which is published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

Anasazi

MesaVerde



Around 900 AD in the Chaco Canyon, the Anasazi of the southwestern U.S. routinely "processed their colleagues . . . skinned them, roasted them . . . severed their joints . . . and put the pieces into pots. This gives an entire new meaning to vicious and bizarre." Unfortunately, history has continued to be a distressing chronicle of man's inhumanity to man. Today, Chaco Canyon is a Mecca for New Agers. They like to believe that Anasazi existed in full harmony with nature. However, the archaeological evidence is exceedingly “inconvenient for those who argue that man in his natural state was good and that civilization as we know it is evil.”

Cave Bears


Scientists have always believed that these creatures were gentle, feeding solely on vegetables and fruits. However, bones were discovered in the Carpathians - the mountains where Dracula supposedly dwelt – suggesting that cave bears could have also been cannibals. Ongoing studies of their bones and other accessory organs suggest that only a certain cave bear, dwelling in the Carpathians were carnivorous. They had high levels of Nitrogen 15 in their bones, which was highly bizarre considering that cave bears normally had low levels of Nitrogen-15.


Ultimately, Cave bears died out around 20,000 years ago when the ice had dominated the earth.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Spectacular Caves From Around the World




The UK offers lots of scenic views and one of these is the natural wonder - Fingal's Cave. It is a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.

The island of Staffa is a small island of Scotland's Inner Hebrides and is most famous for the volcanic rock formations which make up the island. The long columnar rocks with their geometric forms are part of the same formation as the more famous Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.

The cave is formed entirely from hexagonally-jointed basalt columns, similar in structure to the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland making them a unique tourist spots.

Read More: Spectacular Caves From Around the World

Written By Norbert Bermosa @Scienceray


Saturday, March 7, 2009

Post Removed


Post Removed

Like Ancient Digger? Why Not Follow Us?


Subscribe Via RSS Feed Follow Ancient Digger on Facebook Follow Ancient Digger on Twitter Subscribe to Ancient Digger Via Email

Get widget

Search

 

Ancient Digger Archaeology Copyright © 2015 LKart Theme is Designed by Lasantha