Raptorex: Shaking our Foundations

Knowing who and what come before humans did, and knowing who and what our ancestors roamed the earth with really interested me and so when I heard about this new discovery on NPR I realized just how little we know about the past, and that our search for answers to the past may never be complete.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112925703

NPR had a segment a few weeks ago; it got my attention because they were talking about a new species that was discovered. The discovery was of fossils of a dinosaur, the segment was entitled “Even T rex Started Small.” First a little background about the well known T-rex, The body type of a Tyrannosaurs rex is very unique, with a very large head, large body, and very small arms in proportion to it’s body. The T-Rex has been made into the king and the most vicious killer in the Cretaceous period, 68-65 million year ago, Rex, translating into King.” The T-rex weighed an average of 6.8 metric tons and stood approximately 13 meters.

Fossils of the Raptorex kriegsteni, named after the individual who purchased the fossils after the discovery, were found in China that dates back to 125 million years ago, long before the T-rex. The fossils resemble an almost exact miniature version of the body shape of the T-rex, yet it measures at 1/90^th- 1/100^th the size of the T-rex, standing at 9 feet tall and weighing the size of an average human. Judging by the body shape of the Raptorex it is now said to be the blueprint of a predator. It was originally thought that the fossil remains were those of a baby T-rex, but further examination revealed that the growth of the bones and fusion of the growth plates show that it was at least 5 years old at the time of death. The dating of the fossils also revealed that the Raptorex was much older then the T-rex, approximately 60-35 million years older, suggesting that the Raptorex may have evolved over millions of years into the T-rex.

This discovery has given paleontologists a new insight into the creatures that roamed the land before humans, as well as an idea of what it meant to be a predator in that era. The most interesting part of this discovery is that a fossil like this, or suggesting that a dinosaur of this type existed, has never before been discovered. I feel that this discovery, which was so unexpected and changed what we thought we had known about the period, has made me realize just how little we know about the past, and what we could still discover. I also feel however that the chances of paleontologists finding more fossils that change what we thought we knew about the past are slim, in part because of the uniqueness of the fossils, and because of the urbanization and desertification taking place all over the world, covering the stomping ground of our ancient ancestors and predators.

Walking on Your Ancestor(s)

The thought of walking and living on the very ground that loved ones were buried sparked my interest.
One of the first few Neolithic settlements, known as Çatalhöyük, buried and lived on their ancestors. The Neolithic people were the first group of people who began to grow their own plants and domesticate animals. As they moved away from the nomadic life, housing and the development of cities/towns became important.
The people of Çatalhöyük lived in buildings constructed with mud bricks. Most buildings had multiple rooms which were separated by thinner walls. The roofs were flat and supported by wooden posts. Typically, people entered their houses through their roof. This could have mainly been due to the fact that neighboring houses were separated by a wall, and there was not much space within a “town.”
The most interesting aspect of the Çatalhöyük’s culture is the burying their ancestors. This is one of the first instances in history where a formal burial of the dead is seen. When a family member died, they dug pits into the floor of their homes and buried the individual, then filled the pits back up and covered it. When the houses became unstable and old, it would simply be used as a foundation for a new house. The new homes would be built exactly the same as the old ones.
What would happen if you were the last person in your family to live? Would you get a proper burial or would you be ignored? Archeologists discovered one individual who was buried outside the home, but they do not know if the individual lost his family or if he was passing through the city.
These questions along with others including, why were houses built so close to each other, why did people enter their homes through the roof, and why bury ancestors on the floor which you live, are reasons why Çatalhöyük is an interesting Neolithic community.
Follow this link http://okapi.dreamhosters.com/remixing/mainpage.html to see what archeologists have discovered so far about the Çatalhöyük community.

"Greek- Dark Ages"

After watching the Ancient Greece movie in class I found some aspects of the film to be intriguing. The detailed art of Greece is very captivating and must take much time and patience for the artist. Today, it is rather rare to see architecture with such detail. The Greek's must have put an abundance of time and resources into their building and seemed to really care about the appearance of their city. After exploring this topic a little further I discovered something that was quite surprising.

The entire Greek culture diminished during The Dark ages for no apparent reason. This time was known as the Dark Ages, which lasted from 1200 BC to 700 BC. Many different works of art and architecture were lost during this time. Trading with surrounding countries came to a halt, entire cities were completely destroyed, and meaningful artifacts were ruined. It was as if the society no longer wanted to work to keep their beauty and strength present. During this time the Greeks transformed their "mighty city life" to a rather simple and small agricultural society. This time period seems to be one large mystery not only because much has been destroyed but also because of the lack of evidence. The people also stopped writing, which left later centuries no reasoning for the disappearing culture. Writing is an important way of life for all people, and for the writing to simply subside was rather appalling to those who discovered this time period.

I tried to put myself in this situation. I could not imagine having a strong and developing culture and then getting rid of it for any reason. What could have caused the Greeks to want to destroy everything they have worked so hard to obtain? Or did something happen that forced their actions or lack thereof? Even with the little evidence left behind from this era theories were later developed giving a plausible reasoning for the abandonment of the Greek culture. The Roman Empire had split into two parts: East and West. The East part was about to prosper for many years following unlike the Western part, which was largely invaded. Because of the division the entire culture seemed to disappear from the endless amount of battles and the unwillingness to compromise.

During the end of the Dark Ages the Greeks finally begun to urbanize and rebuild their once well-built society and artwork. This was a lot of work for the Greeks. But it was worth it in the long run. Today, Greece is filled with some of the world's most famous architecture and artwork.

"The Father of Numbers"

As a math and history student, I find Pythagoras to be a rather appealing person to examine. His estimated birth year is 570 BCE. As an ancient Greek philosopher, he was of a time of great innovation and discovery. Sadly, none of his writings survive today. This leads to much questioning of weather his many accomplishments are even his own or that of his successors. Nevertheless, it is Pythagoras who is regarded as one of the first great mathematicians and credited as founder of the well-known Pythagorean Theorem.
A significant rule in geometry, the Pythagorean Theorem pertains to right triangles. More specifically, it declares that the sum of the squares of the two right-angle sides is equal to the square of the hypotenuse. In general, A² + B² = C² for any right triangle as in the picture.

However, there are several pieces of evidence that suggest the knowledge of this theorem before Pythagoras' time. One is a Mesopotamian tablet known as Plimpton 322. It was written around 1790 BCE, during Hammurabi's reign and it includes entries related to Pythagorean triples. Furthermore, the Apastamba Sulba Sutra, which is dated to 600 BCE, contains a numerical proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. Significantly, there was no attribution of the theorem to Pythagoras for five hundred years after he lived. Then why does today's world know it as his discovery? As it is, authors such as Plutarch and Cicero gave credit to Pythagoras in their writings so that it has become the most well-known idea.

An interesting result of Pythagoras' life is the legacy he left behind. While he lived, he basically set up a school that was rather secretive by which members were bound by a vow to him and to other members. Pythagoreans considered themselves pure, wearing their hair long and dressing in simple clothing, often barefoot. Both men and women belonged. This intriguing group has had quite an influence on our world and its history.