Arqueologia 2008

[Luis França]

Amber fossils suggest France once a jungle

BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The region of Europe we now call France, might once have been like an Amazon jungle. That's what a new analysis of amber fossils suggests.
The 55-milllion-year-old pieces of amber (fossilized tree sap) were found near the Oise River in northern France. Amber from different sites tends to have different chemical compositions.
The new study, detailed in the Jan. 4 issue of The Journal of Organic Chemistry, reports the discovery of a new organic compound in amber called "quesnoin," whose precursor exists only in sap produced by a tree currently growing only in Brazil's Amazon rainforest.

 

[Luis França]

Ancient "Lost City" Discovered in Peru, Official Claims

Ruins recently discovered in southern Peru could be the ancient "lost city" of Paititi, according to claims that are drawing serious but cautious response from experts.
The presumptive lost city, described in written records as a stone settlement adorned with gold statues, has long been a grail for explorers—as well as a lure for local tourism businesses.
Mayor Guillermo Torres described the ruins as a 430,000-square-foot (40,000-square-meter) fortification near an area known as Lobo Tahuantinsuyo.
Few other details about the site were offered, but initial reports described elaborately carved stone structures forming the base of a set of walls.

 

[Luis França]

Satellites spot lost Guatemala Mayan temples

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Ancient Mayan astronomers aligned their soaring temples with the stars and now modern archeologists have found the ruins of hidden cities in the Guatemalan jungle by peering down from space.

Archeologists and NASA scientists began teaming up five years ago to search for clues about the mysterious collapse of the Mayan civilization that flourished in Central America and southern Mexico for 1,000 years.

The work is paying off, says archeologist William Saturno, who recently discovered five sprawling sites with hundreds of buildings using a spy satellite that can see through clouds and forest to reveal differences in the vegetation below.

Saturno said the satellite images made it infinitely easier to find ruins covered for centuries by dense jungle vines and trees. "It was like shooting fish in a barrel," he said.

 

[Luis França]

Mysterious Pyramid Complex Discovered in Peru

The adobe bricks of an ancient pyramid are among the finds at
a mysterious complex recently discovered on the coast of Peru.
Experts say the complex belonged to the ancient Vicús culture
and was likely either a religious center or a cemetery for nobility.


The remnants of at least ten pyramids have been discovered on the coast of Peru, marking what could be a vast ceremonial site of an ancient, little-known culture, archaeologists say.
In January construction crews working in the province of Piura discovered several truncated pyramids and a large adobe platform.