“Flying chariots,” “celestial cars,” “mechanical birds,” “winged vehicles,” and “aerial cities.” These may sound like the swarming aircrafts from James Cameron’s sky-battles in Avatar, but, in fact, they come from a much older source: ancient Indian literature. Called vimanas (pronounced “vimans”) in Sanskrit, such flying vehicles appear throughout India’s ancient texts. They are especially prominent in combat sequences, when gods and divine beings battle their enemies high above the earth.
Highlighted Quote:
"Strong and durable must the body of the Vimana be made, like a great flying bird of light material…. with its iron heating apparatus underneath… a man sitting inside may travel a great distance in the sky."
In celebration of our chilly northern climate, the Ontario Archaeological Society will be holding their annual symposium in Killarney Ontario from Sept 24-26, a town on the northern tip of Lake Superior.
The symposium is called "Shibaonaning - the place of the clear passage." It will focus on the archaeology of the Canadian Shield. It’s a vast, rocky, forested area of Canada that covers Northern Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and parts of the arctic.
At eight million square kilometres, it’s nearly double the size of the entire European Union. Although it's chalk full of mines, the rocky terrain makes it difficult to do any kind of farming. In ancient times the people on the northern end of Lake Superior depended on hunting and gathering in order to survive.
This Friday promises a feast for archaeology lovers in the Toronto area. The Archaeology Centre, at the University of Toronto, is holding Archaeology Research Day. It takes place from 10 am to 4 pm at Koffler House, 569 Spadina Ave., Room 108.
Fifteen presentations will be given on archaeology research happening all around the world. It’s a free event and there’s no registration. If you’re interested in research involving ancient times, you will not be disappointed. Much of the research that is going to be presented dates to that era. Here are some of the highlights:
Submitted by veigapaula on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 15:22
The ancient Egyptians were well aware of the properties of Frankincense, and used it to treat phlegm, asthma, throat and larynx infections that bleed, and for calming down vomiting. The inhalation of the melted stem relieves both bronchitis and laryngitis. But new research by immunologist Mahmoud Suhail suggests that it may contain properties that could cure cancer. Could the knowledge of the ancient Egyptians be scoured to revolutionise cancer treatment today?
Frankincense is grown in green valleys, on the other side of the Dhofar Mountains that catch India's summer monsoons, making the area a paradise in the Arabian Peninsula. Boswellia sacra was produced there as far back as 7000 BCE, locals say. Almost as long ago, the ancient Egyptians began importing the substance. The journey from what is now Oman to ancient Egypt must have been made millions of times by ancient caravanserai.
Did the ancestors of todays Inuit race across the arctic 750 years ago in search of meteorites? Canwest News Services has just published an intriguing story that suggests just that. According to the news service, Dr. Robert McGhee, curator emeritus at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, recently published this theory in a new book, The Northern World: AD 900 to 1400.
Basically the idea works like this. 10,000 years ago a meteorite crashed into west Greenland, it’s known today as the Cape York meteorite. Mining in the arctic was quite difficult (even today) so an iron meteorite was very handy for anyone wanting to make metal tools.
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dept of Anthropology, Washington State University
Dr. Jodi Barta is a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Anthropology at Washington State University in the United States.
Dr. Barta holds a PhD from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. While there she conducted bio-archaeology research on the site of Vagnari in southern Italy. Archaeologists have unearthed 70 skeletons at the site so far. Vagnari holds an Imperial Roman estate that produced textiles and iron implements, some of the workers were slaves.
She conducted DNA analysis on the skeletons. Most of the skeletons are from the local area, but one turned out to be very unique. The skeleton’s DNA indicates that he was of East Asian ancestry on his mother’s side. He appears to be the first example of a person with East Asian ancestry found buried in the Roman Empire.
Barta is also doing archaeological research on the Northwest coast of North America where she is looking at dog bones. Dogs existed there before European contact and can provide researchers with clues as to how human lifestyles changed over time.
Ontario’s Minister of Culture, Aileen Carroll, was tossed out of cabinet today as part of a larger shuffle. She will now become a backbench member of the legislature.
The decision caught members of the media off-guard. The National Post said that, “Ms. Carroll's demotion is perhaps the most surprising. A former federal minister, the Barrie MPP was considered a high profile candidate in 2007.”
The Toronto Star writes that she may have made a decision not to run in the next general election. In Canadian politics it is not unusual for retiring ministers to get dumped from cabinet before they actually retire. Her replacement is going to be Michael Chan, who is moving from the Citizenship and Immigration post.
A dying ancient culture, strange visitors from a far away land and a changing climate that helped bring them together.
Whether you believe Dr. Patricia Sutherland’s research or not, you have to acknowledge one thing – she tells an incredible story!
It’s a tale of how two dynamic, but ultimately doomed, cultures co-existed together – the Greenland Norse and the Dorset of the Canadian Arctic.
Dr. Sutherland is a curator at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa Canada. She has been conducting Arctic archaeology research for more than 30 years.
Curator of Eastern Arctic Archaeology - Canadian Museum of Civilization
Dr. Patricia Sutherland is curator of Eastern Arctic archaeology at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa Canada. She has been conducting archaeological work in Canada for more than 35 years.
She was one of the first archaeologists to work on the Queen Charlotte Islands, a chain off the west coast of British Columbia. Her fieldwork in the arctic has seen her do research in numerous places including the MacKenzie Delta, Hudson’s Bay, Baffin Island and Labrador.
In addition to her curatorial responsibilities she is director of the Helluland Project. This program is investigating the activities of the Norse in the Eastern Arctic and the contact they had with the people living there.
Sutherland believes that an ancient people called the Dorset – who died out after 1000 AD – made contact with the Norse and had a trading relationship with them. As evidence she cites the discovery of spun yarn, art that appears to depict Europeans, wooden arrowheads and other wooden artefacts which have holes that appear to be made by iron nails.
“Flying chariots,” “celestial cars,” “mechanical birds,” “winged vehicles,” and “aerial cities.” These may sound like the swarming aircrafts from James Cameron’s sky-battles in 
In celebration of our chilly northern climate, the 
This Friday promises a feast for archaeology lovers in the Toronto area. The 
Did the ancestors of todays Inuit race across the arctic 750 years ago in search of meteorites? Canwest News Services has just published an 
Ontario’s Minister of Culture, Aileen Carroll, was tossed out of cabinet today as part of a 
A dying ancient culture, strange visitors from a far away land and a changing climate that helped bring them together.
