Dr. Irving Finkel on The Great Flood

I wasn't even going to read this story (yawn...another flood story...) until Irving Finkel's name caught my eye.  He's the real deal.  I first became familiar with his name many years ago in connection with my study of ancient board games.



^{The Ark Tablet in the hands of its decipherer, Dr Irving Finkel (Benjamin McMahon)}                                        

From The Telegraph Online

Irving Finkel: reader of the lost Ark

Tom Chivers meets the man who deciphered a 4,000-year-old blueprint – for the original Noah’s Ark

By Tom Chivers

7:00AM GMT 19 Jan 2014

 

Four thousand years ago, a millennium and a half before the first Jewish scholars put pen to parchment on the Book of Genesis, a scribe in what is now Iraq carved the story of a great flood on to a clay tablet, in the strange and beautiful script known as cuneiform. The story told of how a god came and warned a great man to build a boat, and to take his family on that boat, and two animals of every kind, because the world was to be cleansed with a flood.

 

About 30 years ago, one Douglas Simmonds wandered in to the British Museum, and handed the tablet to a man called Irving Finkel, who immediately recognised it as one of the most important archaeological finds of recent years. Dr Finkel, an Assyriologist or student of the civilisations of ancient Mesopotamia, begged Simmonds to leave it with him, but he would do no such thing. It took him until 2009 to convince Simmonds to let him have it; when he did, what he discovered was a piece of the flood story – the Assyrian story of the Ark, centuries before Noah.

They Were Making STEEL in Iron Age Scotland

This is absolutely fascinating, because it is so unexpected (article after break).  I was under the impression that steel manufacturing did not begin until the 800-900s CE.  I know Wikipedia has its critics, but when I want to get some quick information about a subject with which I am not familiar, that is where I go to get initial information, and research from there. 

The section of the Wikipedia entry on "Steel" about its early history is very informative:

Ancient steel

Steel was known in antiquity, and may have been produced by managing bloomeries, or iron-smelting facilities, in which the bloom contained carbon.^[15]

The earliest known production of steel is a piece of ironware excavated from an archaeological site in Anatolia (Kaman-Kalehoyuk) and is about 4,000 years old.^[16] Other ancient steel comes from East Africa, dating back to 1400 BC.^[17] In the 4th century BC steel weapons like the Falcata were produced in the Iberian Peninsula, while Noric steel was used by the Roman military.^[18]

Steel was produced in large quantities in Sparta around 650BC.^[19][20]

The Chinese of the Warring States (403–221 BC) had quench-hardened steel,^[21] while Chinese of the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) created steel by melting together wrought iron with cast iron, gaining an ultimate product of a carbon-intermediate steel by the 1st century AD.^[22][23] The Haya people of East Africa invented a type of furnace they used to make carbon steel at 1,802 °C (3,276 °F) nearly 2,000 years ago.^[24]

Wootz steel and Damascus steel

Main articles: Wootz steel and Damascus steel

Evidence of the earliest production of high carbon steel in the Indian Subcontinent was found in Samanalawewa area in Sri Lanka.^[25] Wootz steel was produced in India by about 300 BC.^{[26]
[not in citation given]}

However, the steel was an old technology in India when King Porus presented a Steel sword to the Emperor Alexander in 326 BC^{[citation needed]}. The steel technology obviously existed before 326 BC as steel was being exported to the Arab World at that time. Since the technology was acquired from the Tamilians from South India, the origin of steel technology in India can be conservatively^[vague] estimated at 400-500 BC^{[citation needed]}.

Along with their original methods of forging steel, the Chinese had also adopted the production methods of creating Wootz steel, an idea imported into China from India by the 5th century AD.^[27] In Sri Lanka, this early steel-making method employed a unique wind furnace, driven by the monsoon winds, capable of producing high-carbon steel.^[28]

Also known as Damascus steel, wootz is famous for its durability and ability to hold an edge. It was originally created from a number of different materials including various trace elements. It was essentially a complicated alloy with iron as its main component. Recent studies have suggested that carbon nanotubes were included in its structure, which might explain some of its legendary qualities, though given the technology available at that time, they were produced by chance rather than by design.^[29] Natural wind was used where the soil containing iron was heated by the use of wood. The ancient Sinhalese managed to extract a ton of steel for every 2 tons of soil,^[28] a remarkable feat at the time. One such furnace was found in Samanalawewa and archaeologists were able to produce steel as the ancients did.^[28][30]

Crucible steel, formed by slowly heating and cooling pure iron and carbon (typically in the form of charcoal) in a crucible, was produced in Merv by the 9th to 10th century AD.^[26] In the 11th century, there is evidence of the production of steel in Song China using two techniques: a "berganesque" method that produced inferior, inhomogeneous steel and a precursor to the modern Bessemer process that used partial decarbonization via repeated forging under a cold blast.^[31]

Luxor Tourism Down 99% from Normal

Oh my.  This is so sad.  I have great sympathy for the Egyptian people in Luxor and other areas so dependent upon tourism to make their livings.  What is the answer to getting the tourists back?  Stability - and a feeling that they will be safe.  Will Egypt see stability any time soon?  And will tourists ever feel safe?

Personally, it grieves me that at one time I contemplated making a trip with Mr. Don -- a boat trip down (up?) the Nile River, stopping at places like Luxor. Oh, how he wanted to go to Egypt!  But our budgets just would not allow. And then, that dream went pouf with the Revolution and consequent unrest and open warfare among various factions trying to take (or regain) power.  Now, with  Mr. Don passed away, well - that's just one trip I would never make by myself.  So I will never see Egypt.  I feel like crying.

Tourism: Egypt: the slow agony of Luxor and the Nile Valley

Governor, alternatives like agriculture, industry necessary

22 January, 12:25

(by Cristiana Missori) (ANSAmed) - LUXOR, JANUARY 22 - With the tourism industry in deep crisis in Upper Egypt, it is hard not to encounter people including street vendors, boat, taxi or carriage drivers ferrying tourists along the Nile in Luxor or to visit archaeological sites not begging visitors to buy something.

'Please, I am hungry, buy something, you decide the price', they say. Western tourists walking through Luxor are few although clashes and casualties registered between the two souls of Egypt - Morsi supporters and opponents - are relatively far from here.

'Here in Luxor we have taken to the streets at two historic times: on January 25, 2011 and in July 2013', said Boutros, a Coptic trader. Luxor residents chose to demonstrate for the ouster of two presidents, Mubarak and Morsi, as well as others across the country. 'However we are not interested in politics.

We only want to work', said Gamal from a nearby spice store smelling of cinnamon and cardamom with an old radio playing verses from the Koran.

Almost everything is sold at half price or on sale at markets as well as big hotels. A number of luxury hotels even offer Spa services with 50% off. The Art Museum, a three-storey bazaar selling products made by local artisans and spices which used to be open from 9 am until 10 pm, is empty. So retailers have decided to open only once a week.

'Only if a hotel or travel agent calls we open', said the manager. All products are half price or cost even less. The worst year, according to many, was 2012 under the government of the Muslim Brothers.

And the new governor of Luxor, Tarek Saad El Din, who took over the post last August, has far from an easy job. Four governors have filled the post since 2011 and the problems are still there.

About '70% of people here in Luxor work in tourism and my top objective is to attract again foreign and Egyptian visitors to this region', El Din told ANSAmed.

As a consequence, he started meeting ambassadors of France, Italy, Great Britain, Russia, Japan and Egypt, asking them to come check the situation on the ground. In Luxor, recalled El Din, 'nothing has ever happened. No violence'.

Numbers however show a harsh reality. 'In August, the rate of visitors was 1%. In the past few days it has risen to 28%'. A significant impulse, said the governor, was given by the visit of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

In order to confront the emergency and literally feed the starved tour operators in Luxor, 'the government of Cairo has allocated 3 million liras for guides and 2.5 for carriage drivers (and their horses)and all those working with feluccas all year', said El Din.

While waiting for the negative trend to stop, it is necessary to aim high. 'There are no factories here', said the governor. 'With the industry minister, we have decided to start two projects to develop food and beverage industries in the areas of Bogdadi and Esna. All this respecting the environment'.

The governor's idea is to develop renewable energies, in particular solar energy.

'So far we have installed panels on three different public buildings in the city', he said. Before becoming governor, El Din was executive director of the authority to develop Egyptian tourism. 'The agency has 1,74 million dollars in investments, 72% of which are in the hands of local entrepreneurs. We have confidence mostly in Egyptian investors'.

(ANSAmed) © Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved

Previously Unknown Pharaoh and Dynasty Discovered at Abydos

Mystery pharaoh and his tomb identified in Egypt

Charlene Gubash

Jan. 15, 2014 at 5:42 PM ET

 

CAIRO — A previously unknown pharaoh and his burial place have been unearthed amid the tombs of other Egyptian kings, and archaeologists say the find could lead to still more royal discoveries.
The pharaoh's name, Senebkay, was found inscribed on the wall of a burial chamber that's part of the Abydos archaeological site, near the southern city of Sohag. Fragments of the name appeared on one list of Egyptian kings and queens, but no other trace of Senebkay had been found until now, said Ali Asfar, head of antiquities for the Egyptian government.

"This was the first time in history to discover the king," Asfar told NBC News on Wednesday.
He and other archaeologists say Senebkay lived roughly 3,650 years ago, during the second intermediate period of ancient Egyptian history. That was an era when several rulers vied for power — setting the stage for the rise of Egypt's New Kingdom around 1550 B.C.

Intact Containers Containing Barley Uncovered at Catalhoyuk

Holy Hathor!  I love that ongoing excavavations are taking place at this site.  What else will be uncovered as time goes on...

From PAP Science and Scholarship in Poland

Poles discovered an over 8 thousand years old grain storage in Turkey

20.01.2014

The largest so far known in the Middle East amount of grain of the Neolithic period in a perfect state of preservation has been discovered by Polish archaeologists in Çatalhöyük, a famous archaeological site in Turkey.
 

Çatalhöyük is one of the largest urban centers of first farmers and one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world.

"In a small room with an area of approximately 7 m2 we discovered four clay containers. Each contained barley" - explained project pleader Prof. Arkadiusz Marciniak from the Institute of Prehistory, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.

In total, from each of the two studied containers archaeologists recovered almost 5 kg of grain. Such amount and such a good state of preservation is a global scale phenomenon. In addition, a different grain cluster was discovered in the room. Archeobotanical analysis showed that it was an extinct species of wheat, popular in Neolithic times in the Middle East and Europe. The room in which the discovery was made was situated in the north-eastern part of the homestead - it belonged to a larger residential building, inhabited 8,200 years ago. It was the final period of the large settlement. According to Prof. Marciniak, only few inhabited households remained on the hill at the time.

The entire structure will be exploted in the coming research seasons. It is known already that the grain storage must have burned down: grain was charred at the temperature of several hundred degrees. Nevertheless, archaeologists were able to determine that the walls of the room were whitened from the inside. In addition to the grain containers, archaeologists found several ceramic vessels, also used for storage.

Çatalhöyük is located in the southern part of the Anatolian Plateau (central Turkey). So far, Polish excavations have focused in the central part of the tell - an artificial hill formed as a result of centuries of settlement. Currently, during the second season, archaeologists explore a part of the south slope.

The first excavations at Çatalhöyük were conducted in the 1960s by British archaeologists James Mellaart. The research was resumed only in 1993. International team is headed by Prof. Ian Hodder of Stanford University. Polish archaeologists joined the project in 2001.

Çatalhöyük was inhabited continuously for 1200 years between 7200 and 6000 BC. It is estimated that during its heyday, the densely built-up settlement with an area of dozens of acres had 6000 residents. The site became famous due to the paintings which decorated the walls of houses and other plastic interior decorations. They depicted human and animal figures as well as geometric motifs. An interesting fact is that the dead were buried under the floors of houses.

Last year's excavations continued from June to August. The work was possible with financial support of the National Science Centre under the Harmony programme.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland, Szymon Zdziebłowski

szz/ agt/

tr. RL

ORCA Chess Winter Tournament 2014

Hola darlings!  This Saturday, January 18, 2014, The Ozaukee Regional Chess Association is hosting a four games in one day G/45, d5 tournament! 

Ozaukee Seasonal Series Winter Tournament

Flyer for details.  The entry fee is $15, $3 less if registered before January 15th and ORCA members receive an additional discount of $2.  You can register online - check it out! 

Site registration is available between 9:00 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. on January 18th.

Rounds will be at 10:00 a.m.; 12:30 p.m.; 2:15 p.m.; and 4:00 p.m.

United States Chess Federation membership is required.  Eighty percent (80%) of combined receipts (2 sections) minus expenses are awarded as prizes. 

2014 Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee

American GM Hikaru Nakamura is playing in the Masters Event, which has finished R3.  It's early days yet, with several players tied at 2.0/3 and Nakamura currently in 5th place (12 players).

There are no female players in the Masters, so I'm not that interested in it, despite an American GM playing.  Of much more interest to Goddesschess are the two women playing in the Challengers event.  Here are the Masters standings after R3 (I've highlighted the two women):

Tata Steel Challengers Wijk aan Zee (NED), 11-26 i 2014																cat. XIV (2579)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Bok, Benjamin	m	NED	2560	*	.	½	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	2½	2911
2.	Jobava, Baadur	g	GEO	2710	.	*	.	.	½	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	.	1	2½	2790
3.	Saric, Ivan	g	CRO	2637	½	.	*	.	.	1	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	2	2711
4.	Muzychuk, Anna	g	SLO	2566	.	.	.	*	.	½	.	1	.	½	.	.	.	.	2	2677
5.	Duda, Jan-Krzysztof	g	POL	2553	.	½	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	1	.	2	2742
6.	Reinderman, Dimitri	g	NED	2593	.	.	0	½	.	*	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	1½	2638
7.	Brunello, Sabino	g	ITA	2602	0	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	.	.	1	.	.	1½	2601
8.	Troff, Kayden W	m	USA	2457	.	.	.	0	.	.	.	*	.	.	½	.	1	.	1½	2569
9.	Zhao, Xue	g	CHN	2567	.	0	.	.	.	.	½	.	*	.	.	.	.	1	1½	2581
10.	Timman, Jan H	g	NED	2607	.	.	½	½	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	0	.	.	1	2501
11.	Wojtaszek, Radoslaw	g	POL	2711	.	.	.	.	½	0	.	½	.	.	*	.	.	.	1	2409
12.	Yu, Yangyi	g	CHN	2677	0	.	.	.	.	.	0	.	.	1	.	*	.	.	1	2464
13.	Van Delft, Merijn	m	NED	2430	.	.	.	.	0	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	*	1	1	2355
14.	Goudriaan, Etienne	m	NED	2431	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	0	.	.	.	0	*	0

I'll check back in a few more rounds to see how the chess femmes are doing. They are seasoned veterans, used to fierce competition, so it will be interesting to see what develops!  Information from The Week in Chess coverage. 

Does Çatalhöyük Painting Depict Ancient Volcanic Eruption?

From Science Daily

Neolithic Mural May Depict Ancient Eruption

Hasan Dagi volcano, Turkey. Photo from article. Awe inspiring.

Jan. 9, 2014 — Volcanic rock dating suggests the painting of a Çatalhöyük mural may have overlapped with an eruption in Turkey according to results published January 8, 2014, in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Axel Schmitt from the University of California Los Angeles and colleagues from other institutions.

2,000 Year Old Burial Uncovered by Utility Crew in Florida

At Huffington Post - Miami.  There is a news report video from the local television station about the discovery I recommend watching.  In accordance with the wishes of local Native American tribes, no photos of the remains are available.

Skeleton of 2,000-Year-Old Woman Unearthed In South Florida

Sun Sentinel | By KEN KAYE Posted: 01/10/2014 4:01 am EST | Updated: 01/10/2014 10:20 am EST
She rested in peace for about 2,000 years until utility crews came shortly before Christmas to install a new waterline on Pine Island Road in Davie, Florida.

That's when the fully intact skeleton of what is believed to be a Tequesta Indian woman was found -- perhaps the best-preserved remains of an ancient human uncovered in the past 40 years, authorities said Thursday.

"It's either Tequesta or the member of a people that predates the Tequesta," said Bob Carr of the Archaeological and Historical Conservancy in Davie. "It's unusually well preserved, considering it's been under a highway with thousands and thousands of cars going over it every day."

The woman, about 5 feet tall and about 20 to 30 years old, will now be analyzed by state and local archaeological authorities and then reburied in about a month in a secret location, with Seminole and Miccosukee Indians conducting the ceremony.

No artifacts were found with the skeleton, and it had no distinguishing marks to indicate how she died. "There's nothing in the bones to indicate trauma," Carr said.

The discovery began as crews were about to start installing a waterline on the east side of Pine Island Road near the Forest Ridge subdivision, between Griffin Road and State Road 84.

But before the backhoes began biting into the ground, Broward County archaeology officials warned that the waterline might run through a historical site and began surveying the area, Carr said.

The northbound lanes of Pine Island were closed as a result of the find and reopened on Thursday.

After the skeleton was unearthed, Seminole and Miccosukee Indian officials requested the discovery remain quiet until Thursday and insisted no photos be taken of it.

"This is fairly standard protocol," said Gary Bitner, whose public relations firm represents the Seminole Tribe of Florida. "It's done with an obvious respect for the remains."

Because of a state requirement that all construction sites must be surveyed to ensure no historical objects are destroyed, Carr and other archaeologists have found numerous bones and artifacts. But finding full skeletons is relatively rare.

Three other intact skeletons were found in the same vicinity in the 1980s and another skeleton was found in a new development in far western Miramar about 12 years ago.

The most recent one was the best preserved and among the oldest, Carr said. The age estimate was based on "context," as artifacts found earlier near the discovery site, including pottery shards, were determined to be at least 2,000 years old.

"There was no carbon 14 dating or DNA testing, as the Florida tribes don't want any physical destruction of the bones," Carr said.

In 2002, Carr discovered the foundation of a Tequesta Indian home estimated to be 1,000 years old in downtown Miami. Four more were found nearby last year.

He and other archaeologists also have found Tequesta artifacts in Parkland in 2008; a major Tequesta settlement, dating back to 800 A.D., along Fort Lauderdale's New River in 2009; and bones up to 3,000 years old, believed to be those of members of the Jeaga tribe, along State Road A1A in Delray Beach in 2012

New Dates for Adena Mound

This North American culture lasted for about 1,000 years.  I wonder if the USA will do so, sometimes, geez!

From The Chillicothe Gazette

Adena Mound dates to first century

Chillicothe's place in history even more secure

Jan. 14, 2014
Written by Matthew Kent, Gazette Staff Writer

Adena "effigy pipe" (from article)

CHILLICOTHE — As word of new evidence emerges that Chillicothe’s place in history goes back to the first century of the Common Era, at least one state historian is hoping people understand the importance of the discovery.

Ohio Historical Society archaeologists, in partnership with researchers from the private Cultural Resource Management firm Gray & Pape and Ohio State University, conducted radiocarbon testing on small pieces of bark and fabric excavated from the Adena Mound in 1901.

The bark produced dates of around A.D. 40, whereas the textile gave a date of 140 B.C. The new dates will be reported in an article in the February issue of the Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology.

Wari Burial of Women One of Top Ten Discoveries in 2013

Archaeology magazine online is out with it's top ten archaeological discoveries for 2013 and among them is the discovery of a large burial of three, or possibly four, Wari women surrounded by the bodies of "40 noblewomen buried in a sitting position" and four other sacrificed individuals, gulp:

A Wari Matriarchy?

Castillo de Huarmey, Peru

By ZACH ZORICH

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

 

At the center of Castillo de Huarmey in northern Peru is a burial complex where Milosz Giersz and a team of archaeologists from the University of Warsaw and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru uncovered chambers containing the remains of three, or possibly four, royal women of the Wari Empire. They were accompanied by 40 noblewomen buried in a sitting position, seven sacrificed individuals whose bodies had been thrown over the seated burials, and more than 1,300 artifacts, including ear ornaments typically worn by royal men and weaving tools made of gold and silver.

Photo credit, Patrycja Przadka Giersz.
Check out the head and face on top of the ceremonial flask!

“This is the first time in an archaeological excavation that we have found a tomb full of prestige goods related to Wari women,” Giersz says, adding that cotton and camel-wool textiles also found as grave goods were considered by the Wari to be more valuable offerings than gold. Giersz estimates that the tomb dates to A.D. 750. Burials of royal men have been found at the site, but thus far not in chambers of this size. The tomb could answer questions about the roles that women played at the highest levels of Wari society.

Blockbuster Story: Partial Remains of Queen Ketevan of Kakheti Possibly Identified

Holy Mother Hathor!  Well, I guess I won't just automatically dismiss as "myths" stories about relics of martyrs and saints being stashed away at this church or that monastary anymore... Too bad it took so long for this news to be published, seeing as the remains were recovered in 2004!  I first wrote about this discovery way back in April, 2009! 

Queen Ketevan. From the article, source Wikipedia Commons.  Tell me, do you think Cher looks like her?

From Past Horizons

Search for the relics of martyr Queen Ketevan

Article created on Sunday, December 22, 2013

DNA analysis has confirmed that a relic discovered by archaeologists amongst the ruins of St. Augustine’s Church in Goa, southeast India, is likely to be that of 17th century Queen Ketevan from the Kingdom of Kakheti in eastern Georgia.

Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Increased in Humans with This Neanderthal Gene Variant

From BBC News Online

25 December 2013 Last updated at 13:27 ET

Diabetes risk gene 'from Neanderthals'

By Paul Rincon Science editor, BBC News website

 

A gene variant that seems to increase the risk of diabetes in Latin Americans appears to have been inherited from Neanderthals, a study suggests.

We now know that modern humans interbred with a population of Neanderthals shortly after leaving Africa 60,000-70,000 years ago.

This means that Neanderthal genes are now scattered across the genomes of all non-Africans living today.

Details of the study appear in the journal Nature.

The gene variant was detected in a large genome-wide association study (GWAS) of more than 8,000 Mexicans and other Latin Americans. The GWAS approach looks at many genes in different individuals, to see whether they are linked with a particular trait.

People who carry the higher risk version of the gene are 25% more likely to have diabetes than those who do not, and people who inherited copies from both parents are 50% more likely to have diabetes.

The higher risk form of the gene - named SLC16A11 - has been found in up to half of people with recent Native American ancestry, including Latin Americans.

 

Why the Indus Civilization Collapsed: A Gruesome Story

Synopsis from Archaeology Magazine Online:

Indus Civilization Collapsed Amid Illness and Injury

BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA—Archaeologists are in agreement that the Indus Civilization, which flourished in present-day Pakistan and northwest India from the 4th to the 2nd millennium B.C., met its demise due to a change in climate. Now Appalachian State University anthropologist Gwen Robbins Schug adds to that narrative, showing that a weakened monsoon season led to both disease and social instability in the region. An inspection of 160 burials found at the site of Harappa, which collapsed beginning in 1900 B.C., turned up evidence of trauma-related bone growth, sinus infections, and telltale signs of tuberculosis and leprosy, as well as indications of systematic violence between the city's citizens. Women and children, in particular, who were struck by scarring diseases were most likely to have been the victims of assaults. The destabilization caused by the environmental changes appears to have led to violent displays of power directed at the lower classes.

 

The main article at Past Horizons:

Disease and trauma within collapsing Indus Civilisation

Article created on Wednesday, December 25, 2013

During the third millennium BCE, the Indus Civilisation flourished in what is now northwest India and Pakistan. Between 2200-1900 BCE the culture was characterised by long-distance exchange networks, carefully planned urban settlements such as Harappa and Mohenjo Daro that had sophisticated sanitation facilities, standardised weights and measures, and a sphere of influence that extended over a million square kilometres of territory.

The culture was seemingly at its height when the end came (collapse attributed to climatic change) but recent research published in both the open access journal PLoS ONE and an earlier 2012 article in the International Journal of Palaeopathology has expanded on this hypothesis.

A climatic collapse

Recent palaeoclimate reconstructions from the Beas River Valley demonstrates hydro-climatic stress due to a weakened monsoon system may have impacted urban centres like Harappa by the end of the third millennium BCE. However, the impact of environmental change was compounded by disruptions to the regional interaction sphere.

Lead author in both these studies, Gwen Robbins Schug, an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Appalachian State University, explained, “we assessed evidence for palaeopathology to infer the biological consequences of climate change and socio-economic disruption in the post-urban period at Harappa”.

This site is one of the largest urban centres of the Indus Civilisation and the study suggests that climate, economic and social changes contributed to the disintegration after 1900 BCE; the change being evident within the declining health of the population and the seeming rise of interpersonal violence towards those suffering from visible diseases.

Of Course They Could Talk!

Hola darlings!  Happy New Year to you all.  While the weather here is absolutely dreadful, way below normal cold and tonight windchills dropping as low as minus 30 F, we only got about 8 inches of new snow on top of the more than a foot that fell during December.  UGH!  To the south of us in the suburbs of Chicago, some places got 16 inches!  Now the snow is headed out east and it's going to be one big bad mess for you folks out there.  I hope everyone will come through safely. 

Okay, enough moaning and groaning about the weather.  Can't do a damn thing about it except move, and that won't happen now with my health issues, as I want to be close to family just in case.  Thank Goddess for polar fleece, hot chocolate, down-filled throws and blankets, and my fireplace! 

Check out this article from BBC News Online.  I didn't see the reference in the BBC article, but a synopsis at Archaeology Magazine Online reported that the Neanderthal remains that yielded the hyoid bone are 60,000 years old. 
20 December 2013 Last updated at 11:06 ET

Neanderthals could speak like modern humans, study suggests

By Melissa Hogenboom Science reporter, BBC News

An analysis of a Neanderthal's fossilised hyoid bone - a horseshoe-shaped structure in the neck - suggests the species had the ability to speak.

This has been suspected since the 1989 discovery of a Neanderthal hyoid that looks just like a modern human's.

But now computer modelling of how it works has shown this bone was also used in a very similar way.

Writing in journal Plos One, scientists say its study is "highly suggestive" of complex speech in Neanderthals.

New Year's Eve 2013!

Hola darlings!

I hope you are all enjoying this final day of 2013 in your own particular way!  Here in Milwaukee it is bitterly cold and snowing (it started about 3:30 p.m. or so, as I was leaving the supermarket with New Year's Eve supplies), the snow forecast to fall continually through Thursday noon.  Not that I would be out and about for New Year's -- haven't done that in YEARS!  I celebrate at home in a quiet fashion and while I try to stay up until midnight, I don't often make it, LOL!

This time of year is filled with nostalgia, as well as hope as we look toward the unknown future.  We (and now just me) of Goddesschess, have always tried to do our best to make things better in whatever ways we could reach out and touch people.  Now not so much writing and researching and posting articles (and writing our own) and publishing information not then readily available in the early days of the internet.  But time changes things, and we change, too.  Today, it's mostly about funding prizes and trying to encourage people to take up the game of chess, especially girls and women but, really, anyone of any age!  Chess has so much to offer. 

Our credo, and my personal credo, is to live the best life I can, and that means trying to make the lives of others better in whatever ways I can.  For me, these days, it's all about chess, darlings! 

A little trip down 2013's memory lane:

2013 opened with Goddesschess sponsorship at the Grand Pacific Open, a regional tournament hosted in Vancouver, British Columbia that draws from a wide area and, I like to think thanks in part to Goddesschess sponsorship, has hosted some very fine female players the past few years!  At the 2013 tournament (traditionally held over Easter weekend) WGM Kateryna Rohanyan, who received sponsorship funds, finished in 4th place overall, just missing out on a share of the tournament prize money, but she did take top Goddesschess honors -- $80.  Hardly the kind of prize worthy of a player who has participated in several U.S. Women's Chess Championships, but I as so happy she played.  Four other female chessplayers also took home Goddesschess cash prizes. 

On April 13, 2013, the Hales Corners Chess Challenge XVII took place.  I had intended to play in Challenge XVII after withdrawing from Challenge XVI in October, 2012, which took just a few days after the death of Don McLean, my dear Mr. Don.  But I just wasn't feeling up to part in April while continually wrestling with health issues.  I hated missing Challenge XVII -- let me tell you!  Goddesschess paid out $540 in prize money to the chess femmes, including prize money to my chess buddy Ellen Wanek, pictured here with Tom Fogec (left) and Robin Grochowski (right):

On the heels of Hales Corners Chess Challenge XVII was the U.S. Women's Chess Championship in May, 2013, hosted at the beautiful Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.  Goddesschess sponsored a "Fighting Spirit" (I call it the "Fighting Chess") award of $500.  Twelfth Women's World Chess Championship GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, once again agreed to serve as judge and selector of the Goddesschess prize winner. 

Ultimately, she chose Anna Zatonskih as the winner of the Goddesschess Fighting Spirit Award.

June 15 - 16, 2013, Goddesschess provided prize money for the Second (2013) Milwaukee Summer Challenge, hosted by my adopted chess club (Southwest Chess Club).  Honestly, I don't have a clue who ultimately won the best game prize money for the sections, but I know for sure the folks at Southwest Chess Club would have worked hard to ensure that all was fairly done and that the prize money went to the best game in each section, regardless of the winner's actual rating. 

On October 12, 2013, after a summer of on-line training games with chess buddies Shira Evans Sanford and Ellen Wanek, stern but fun task-masters, I played in the Hales Corners Chess Challenge XVIII.  Looking back, I can't believe I actually did it. LOL!  Maybe not such a laughing matter, because October 12th is the anniversary of Mr. Don's death.  But if he'd been here, he would have egged me on to go play (and I'm sure he was thinking maybe I'd make a fool of myself, because we were that competitive when it came to our chess and he HATED it when I won the occasional game against him), and I would have tweaked him as a chicken-heart because although I challenged him to come and play, or at least stand around and take excellent photos of the players at one of the Hales Corners Chess Challenges many times since Goddesschess had begun sponsorship (back in Challenge VIII), he always backed down.  Ha!  See, I'm still tweaking him up in Heaven. 

So, it was with bittersweet memories that I met up with Ellen Wanek at Challenge XVIII at the playing venue.  Ellen surprised me with a gift of a lovely chess tote bag! 

I immediately put that tote bag to use, and I put my chess training to good use too, drawing one game against a player rated almost 2x higher than I (and he was cute, too), and giving what I felt were good efforts in two other games.  The last game, I totally crashed and burned.  It was my fault, as my head was hurting (felt like my brain was going to explode) and I was exhausted.  I should have given my opponent much more of a challenge.  I'm embarrassed by what happened!  I should have told the TDs that I was withdrawing after R3.  Oh well.  That's the way it goes, sometimes. 

I will not be stupid and say that I do not mind losing games, because I do - terribly!  But if I lose a game after what I consider a damn good effort on my part, well, that's a different story.  At least I can take pride in my effort, if not the result.  At present, I just do not have the stamina I need to put forth what I consider a decent effort to play four intense 60 minutes on each side chess games in a single day.

Hales Corners Chess Challenge XVIII proved to be very lucrative for the chess femmes in terms of Goddesschess prize money -- $800!  A NEW RECORD!  The chess femmes came through and rose to my challenge made after Chess Challenge XVII, to break a record in prize money awarded to them!  I was soooo fricking happy!  Poor, but very very happy!  LOL!

And, in honor of Mr. Don and all that he meant to Goddesschess, I put up one-time cash prizes (in the form of Visa gift cards) of $100 and $50, respectively, to the top male finisher in each section (Invitational and Open). Don would have been so tickled about that!  A Goddesschess $50 best game prize was also on the table, open to all players. 

The photo above is of Mr. Don's corner of my desk in the front room, decked out for Christmas 2013, with glittery bird perched on a photo of a handsome Mr. Don in his prime (1999, when we first met), the one-armed warrior made out of a clothspin that Mr. Don rescued from the curbside outside his apartment and gifted to me one lovely Christmas visit, a pine cone from the grounds of St. Joseph's Basilica in Montreal, we spent a leisurely morning exploring there on December 7th after our memorable trip to Amsterdam in November/December 2001, the Queen Bird (moi, of course).  A precious photo of Mr. Don and I at the end of a carriage ride in old Montreal on that mild December 7, 2001 day, taken outside the Notre Dame Cathedral of Montreal. The lamp, embellished with the royal fleur-de-lis, is suitable for such a royal couple, don't you think!  Oh, and my version of the Eternal Flame, in the shape of a red glass heart that is either filled with an actual burning votive candle or a battery-operated votive candle.

Call me sentimental...

Like magic, I am reminded of the immortal words of the poets 'come live with me, and be my love...(Marlowe) ...the best is yet to come...'(The Scorpions):



In 2014:  Live your life doing good for others, in whatever way you can, in whatever way makes you most fulfilled.  Hey, darlings -- it's really not that difficult.  Just fricking do it, okay?  None of us lives forever, and we do not know what tomorrow holds. 

I'll once again be sponsoring these wonderful events (one in honor of Mr. Don's Canadian homeland). 

I love you all!  Here's to a fantastic and absolutely wonderful 2014!  The best is yet to come! 

GREEN BAY PACKERS WIN NFC NORTH TITLE!!!!!!

Woo woo, darlings!  Been sitting here on pin and needles since 3:25 p.m. this afternoon when the game started -- PACKERS v. DA CHICAGO BEARS at Soldiers Field in Chicago, IL, USA,amidst a snow storm.  Yeah, baby, NFL football in December!

PACKERS WON!

In lieu of my heart condition, I chose not to watch the game in full. I didn't want to KILL myself with a massive heart attack! Instead, I turned the game on TV and then turned it off if the Pack was not ahead.  LOL!  Several times. Oh, my poor heart!  I last turned the t.v. off during the early minutes of the 4th quarter after DA BEARS went up by 8 points yet again.

And so it was only a minute or so ago that I clicked the TV on again and the Packers/Bears game was OVAH! I turned the TV off and rushed to coverage online at The Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel, where I learned the Packers won by a score of 33 to 28. 

And now, the play-offs begin!

So, next weekend I'll be doing this drill all over again :)  Honestly, I do not know if I can stand this!

By the way, this just so happened to be THE DECISIVE GAME OF THE SEASON.  And it just so happened that QUARTERBACK AARON RODGERS CAME BACK FROM A BROKEN COLLAR BONE SUFFERED EIGHT WEEKS AGO TO LEAD THE TEAM TO VICTORY!  Well, if this isn't the stuff of legends, I don't know what is :)

Here is the box score, from JS Online coverage:

Green Bay at Chicago

Final	1	2	3	4	T
GB	0	13	7	13	33
CHI	7	0	14	7	28

Watch the awesome video of Rodgers (number 12) throwing the pass to Wide Receiver Randall Cobb (number 18) and Cobb catching the perfect pass and then running for the winning touchdown  at SB Nation!

For video recap of this exciting game, check this out from Yahoo sports.

The Packers will host the San Francisco 49ers next weekend at Lambeau Field. The 49ers beat the Arizona Cardinals in the final seconds to secure the No. 5 seed. The Packers are locked in as the No. 4 seed.

OHMYGODDESS!  San Frickingcisco!  I HATE THEM! I hate then almost as much as I HATE THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS.  Bwwwwwwaaaaaahhhhhhh!  Where did they finish in the NFC North?  Oh, 5 wins, 10 losses, and 1 tie. IN LAST PLACE IN THE DIVISION.  Tee hee hee.  Okay, so it's mean to laugh.  I don't care - I'm a BEYATCH! 

Game on next week, darlings, at LEGENDARY LAMBEAU FIELDDDDDDD (cue echo effect...)

Is Hnefatafl Evidence That Chess Was Not Invented In India?

A recent email from Dr. Rene Gralla containing information that raises interesting speculation.  Here it is, complete with links to source information:

THE NEWS: Norwegian people have now learned that chess may not be a product from India (BTW, the author of the column nonchalantly talks of "Persia" in this context) but that chess may be a pure Scandinavian brand in the first place ... since the the roots of the Chess of the Vikings, that famous "Hnefatafl", that date back to LATRUNCULI which was the ancient strategic game of the Roman soldiers and which was much older than the proto-chess Chaturanga from India.

The foregoing fact has been the leitmotiv of a column on chess that has been published by Simen Agdestein in the No. 2 (!!) of the tabloids of Norway - called VG (that means: "Verdens Gang") - on last Wednesday, December 11th, 2013.

 

The chess columnist Simen Agdestein - who is very close to the new World Champion Magnus Carlsen - reports on his first own experiences with Hnefatafl ... and then adds some information on the "8th International Ladies Chess Gala" that had been organised by the German daily "neues deutschland" at Berlin on November 28th, 2013; as part of the program of the event Norway's WIM Silje Bjerke had played an exhibition game of Hnefatafl.

 

... please inform the visitors of your webseite about the fact that Hnefatafl has now become a topic even in one of the chess columns of Norway's very popular tabloid VG! And please publish the scan of that very column on your great website - since I think that the foregoing information is very interesting for the visitors of your website. 

 

Unfortunately, the article was in PDF and if there is a way to post a PDF here at Blogger, I haven't figured it out.  So I copied part of it using the "free tools" I have on my computer -- and after comparing the first sentence letter by letter, I saw that it was a total mish-mash.  So I'm going back to the drawing board on this and will try again!

 

Stay tuned!

Added December 29, 2013 at 6:14 p.m. Milwaukee, WI time:

Here is a scan of the article! Sorry about the resolution, this is the best I could do:

 

 

The Thistle and the Rose Chess Set Returns!

Hola darlings!

Before Christmas I was contacted by a person who owns a COMPLETE Thistle and Rose chess set, and I was about swooning over the prospect of publishing the photos he promised to send me.  True to his word, these arrived before Christmas, but I've only just now am publishing them:

I apologize for the lopsided photos. When I downloaded I saved them oriented the best way to view them, but for a reason unknown to me (and one I cannot figure out how to correct), they are posting here all cock-eyed. But I hope you will be able to enjoy them, nonetheless.

He has the pawns!!!!  He received the complete set (with board) as a gift from a neighbor some 30 years ago who, I hope I've got this correctly -- himself received it as gift during a business trip.  My set, in contrast, was collected over several flights by Ms. JS when she worked for an oil company and was a frequent flyer on British Caledonia Airlines.

I've tried, off and on, for a few years to collect some pawns -- unsuccessfully.  E-bay is a bait pit when it comes to Thistle and Rose pawns, as I learned the hard way.  I didn't know -- before --  that E-bay allows vendors to rig the bidding.  Now I know better, and I don't shop at E-bay anymore.  I refuse to be cheated.  I've therefore no pawns for my efforts to join the beautiful pieces that were gifted to me by Judith S. some years ago, before she retired from our mutual employer.  Goddess bless her, she knew I was "into" chess and wanted to pass her Beneagle's pieces along to someone she figured would appreciate them.

I am forever grateful to you, Judith!  I posted about this wonderful gift earlier:

September 8, 2009:  An Unexpected Gift
October 1, 2011:  More on the Beneagles Thistle and Rose Pieces

I probably won't ever own the pawns to complete my set, as Mr. T (I will call him, as I do not recall whether I obtained his consent to publish his name, and I was too lazy to check back through our email correspondence to find out, duh!) helpfully sent me a link to The Whiskey Exchange to illustrate what full sets of the Beneagle's Thistle and Rose are going for now -- 499 BPS (British Pounds Sterling) for a full set without board and 599 BPS with the board.  Holy Hathor!  [Does anyone remember Mr. T from the television series "The A Team?"  One of my favorite shows!]

More photos are promised, and I will post them when they arrive.  Such a lovely set! I am NOT a collector but, by default, I happen to own three chess sets, two of which I've purchased over the years because I fell in love with them (not collector-worthy) and one set that was a gift (the Lewis Chess pieces set), plus my incomplete Thistle and Rose set (also a gift).  I also own a USCF regulation set with a roll-up board and woven vinyl shoulder case to hold the lot. I believe I paid something like $14 for the entirety, on sale a few years ago.  Woo woo! 

Now maybe I'm crazy (a likely possibility) -- but I dug out my research from a few years ago and found some interesting things price-wise:

June 29, 2009, a "Wade Full Set of White (Rose) Chess Pieces Beneagles - winning bid: GPB 51.00.  I believe that pawns were not included, as the photograph on the E-bay entry that printed out on Septenber 8, 2009 showed only the major pieces.

Also printed out on September 8, 2009, an auction preview sheet from Scotchwisky.com, Lot 634, estimated at 400 - 600 BPS, pieces minus whisky and I'm not clear from the description whether pawns were included, but a "copper chess-board" was included.

On October 1, 2011 I printed out an auction offering (Tennants Auctioneers) offering a full set of "Wade porcelain ches pieces designed by Ann Whittet and Fredrick Mellor, a bottle of Beneagles Etra Special Scotch Whisky, 26 2/3 Fl. Oz., 70 degree proof, in original cellophane wrapper, a copper effect chess board and information leafelet, in original box."  Estimated price 100 - 200 BPS.

If I haven't written this before, Fredrick Mellor worked for eorge Wade & Sons, Ltd., Stoke-on-Trent, and the pieces were "fashioned in the fine Wade Porcelain at Portadown in Northern Ireland."

Consider Year-End Giving!

Hola darlings!  I hope EVERYONE had an absolutely wonderful Christmas.  Mine was fabulous - spent in peace and solitude and I thoroughly enjoyed getting away from the rat race for a few days!  I made all of my favorite dishes for myself, gorged myself on good chocolates and wine (lots of wine, heh heh) and had fires in the fireplace every night.  It was WONDERFUL! 

There she is in all her glory, Maison Newton, complete with a snow storm (those white specks caught by the camera on "scene" don't capture how hard it started snowing seemingly the moment I stepped outside to try and capture a night image of mon maison in all of its Christmas-time glory)!  Let me tell you, that fireplace sure has come in handy:)  This photo was taken on December 16 and we've gotten a lot more snow since then -- still a foot on the ground now, even after Friday and yesterday's "melt-off" (we had a high of 44 degrees F yesterday and it felt positively spring-like outside!)  By this evening, temperatures will be back below zero F and the 'highs' for the next several days will be in the single digits F!   Brrrrrrrr shiver shiver! 

For U.S. taxpayers who itemize their deductions, many make year-end donations to "up" our charitable deductions for the year.  If you are one of those fortunate enough to have enough deductions to top the Federal Standard Deduction, I ask you to please consider making a donation to either or - preferably - both of these very worthy chessly charitable endeavors!

The Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Federation is conducting its 2013-2014 Annual Campaign to raise funds for the coming year's chessly activities.  Straight from the email:

2013-2014 Annual Campaign

This year's annual campaign will run through Feb 1, 2014. Each year WSCF raises funds to complete its annual budget. Funds are used to offer scholarships at end of the year tournaments, pay entry fees for Title I students at tournaments, help students attend summer chess camps, purchase online chesskid.com memberships, and pay for FirstMove (FirstMove) curriculum in Milwaukee Schools. Over $1500 has been raised to date toward this years goal.

 

WSCF activities and annual budget continues to grow each year. The end of the 2012-2013 season found over 1650 players participating in over 45 tournaments across the state. Tournaments were held in Green Bay, Appleton, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Plymouth, Sussex, Fall River, Watertown, Kenosha, Port Washington, Greenfield, Waukesha, Fox Point, Glen Dale, Whitefish Bay and Milwaukee. Nearly 200 campers attended 14 camps from Baraboo, Sheboygan, Kenosha and places in between. This fall WSCF teachers taught in 13 different schools in the Milwaukee Metro area and WSCF helped 9 different schools start the First Move curriculum in it 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms.

 

Your continued support will help WSCF expand its mission of providing scholastic chess to thousands of students across Wisconsin.

 

To donate click on this link to give on line via our First Giving page Annual Campaign or mail a check to our office at: WSCF 2819 W. Highland Blvd. Milwaukee, WI 53208. Your support is greatly appreciated.

You can make a donation online, I just did! 

Seriously, every little bit helps these kids a LOT!  If you prefer, you can send a check directly to the WSCF:  WSCF, 2819 W. Highland Blvd. Milwaukee, WI 53208.  All donations to WSCF are tax-deductible for those who itemize their U.S. Federal income tax deductions.  There are still a few more days to donate.  Wouldn't it be grand to send WSCF on its way to 2014 with $1,000 or more in its funding!


Another one of my favorite chessly groups is 9 Queens!  9 Queens was established by Jen Shahade and Jean Hoffman in 2008 in Tucson, Arizona:  9 Queens is dedicated to empowering individuals and communities through chess by making the game fun, exciting, and accessible. We offer free chess education programs specifically designed to promote critical thinking skills, academic performance, and self-confidence. Our mission is to use chess as a tool to motivate, empower, and engage under-served and under-represented populations to realize their potential and achieve academic and personal success.

Donations to 9 Queens are tax-deductible for those who itemize their U.S. Federal income tax deductions. I am proud to have been a supporter of 9 Queens since I first learned of the organization; for a few years, 9 Queens and Goddesschess collaberated to provide a special prize to the U.S. Women's Chess Championship. 

Arizona residents have a special opportunity to direct their local tax dollars toward 9 Queens objectives:

You decide where your tax dollars go...

To support 9 Queens please dedicate your Public School Activity Tax Credit to the Mexicayotl Academy!

If you pay taxes in Arizona, you have two choices about where that money goes:

#1: Send your tax dollars to the state, where legislators will decide how and where that money will be used.

#2: Keep your tax dollars in your community by making a donation to an organization you support.

Mexicayotl Academy is a qualifying charter school that is able to receive your Public School Activity Tax Credit. This tax credit is in addition to and completely separate from the Private School Tuition and Arizona Charitable tax credits. You may participate in any or all three if you are able to.

Individuals can claim a credit of up to $200, and couples filing jointly can claim $400. Click for more information on the tax credit from the Arizona Department of Revenue.

Your donation affects our community and supports our mission by helping the Mexicayotl Academy students learn a skill that is proven to help them with their critical thinking skills in math and science and in their self esteem. They are the future of Tucson-help us give them an opportunity they might not have had without us.

To make your donation to Mexicayotl Academy:

• Mail your donation before Dec. 31, 2013, to Mexicayotl Academy 667 N. 7th Ave, Tucson AZ 85705
• Please note on your check that it is for the CHESS PROGRAM.

Also, 9 Queens is a 501(C)(3) Non-Profit EID#77-0711937 and your donations are tax deductible!

For donations to 9 Queens please send your check to:

9 Queens P.O. Box 41838 Tucson, AZ 85717

Or go directly to 9queens.org to click the donate now button.

 

I just made a donation to 9 Queens, and I hope you will consider making one, too!  I know I sound like a broken record, but every little bit DOES help tremendously, because all of those little bit donations can add up!  But only you can help them add up by making a donation.

 

If either of these chessly endeavors don't ring your chimes, please please consider making a chessly endeavor donation elsewhere.  Chess in the United States is not a government-supported activity.  Chess is not something on most people's radar!  We chessly types must develop our future chess champions on our own, and corporate and charitable foundation sponsorship is sadly lacking for most of our local programs, in whatever state you live in.  'kay, enough said!  Goddess bless you all, darlings, and I sure do hope you will be celebrating New Year's Eve like I intend to celebrate mine :) :) :)