Les rochers de l'Utah révèlent l'existence de nouvelles espèces de dinosaures by Zuzana Zelenakova

Des paléontologistes viennent de découvrir une nouvelle espèce de dinosaures, appelée Abydosaure, dans le parc national de Dinosaur National Monument dans l'est de l'Utah. L'Abydosaure appartient au groupe des sauropodes, qui sont des dinosaures remarquables pour la taille énorme de certaines espèces. Les sauropodes comportent quelques uns des plus gros animaux ayant jamais vécu sur la Terre. Les crânes d'abydosaure étaient enfoui dans ce qu'on appelle le mur des dinosaures, une couche de roches qui contient des centaines de fossiles de dinosaures. "Leur tête avait une structure plus légère que celle des crâne! s des mammifères parce qu'elles se trouvaient tout au bout de leur très long cou." a déclaré Brooks Britt, un paléontologiste de l'université Brigham Young. "Au lieu d'os épais fusionnant ensemble, le crâne des sauropodes était constitué d'os fins retenus ensemble par des tissus souples. D'habitude ils se désagrègent rapidement après la mort et se désintègrent." Ce dinosaure a été baptisé par Daniel Chure, le principal auteur du rapport de découverte qui paraîtra dans le journal Naturwissenshaften et son équipe de paléontologistes de Dinosaur National Monument. Le nom fait référence à la ville d'Abydos sur les bords du Nil où, selon la mythologie grecque, la tête et le cou d'Osiris, le dieu de l'au-delà et de l'enfer, sont enterrés. Sauros signifie lézard en grec. Le nom de l'espèce mcintoshi a été donné au! x nouvelles espèces en mémoire du paléontologue! Amé ;ricain, Jack McIntosh, qui était le spécialiste des sauropodes. On connaît principalement la partie située sous le cou de l'anatomie des sauropodes et la découverte de l'Utah jette plus de lumière sur les habitudes alimentaires des sauropodes. "Ils ne mâchaient pas leur nourriture, ils l'attrapaient simplement pour l'avaler." a expliqué Britt. "Leur crâne ne représentait qu'un pour cent de leur volume corporel et ils ne pouvaient pas mastiquer." Tous les sauropodes étaient herbivores et leurs dents en forme de crayons ne sont apparues qu'à la fin de la période des dinosaures. Les crânes qui appartenaient à de jeunes abydosaures sont actuellement exposés au musée de paléontologie de l'université Brigham Young.

related story (sgx16613): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100224/ap_on_re_us/us_dinosaur_...

by Zuzana Zelenakova for SigEx Ventures (http://sigexventures.com)

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Staroveká stena: dôkaz Kráľa Šalamúna? by Barbora Misakova

Biblia, tiež prezývaná ako kniha kníh, predstavuje hlavné náboženské texty judaizmu a kresťanstva. Kým pre niekoho ide len o zbierku mýtov, pre iných ľudí má táto kniha aj svoj historický význam. Archeológovia, historici a ďalší vedeckí odborníci z celého sveta sa už roky dohadujú o jej autenticite. Jeden z mnohých príbehov obsiahnutých v Starom zákone je o kráľovi Šalamúnovi. Podľa biblickej Prvej knihy Kráľov bol Šalamún synom Dávida a tretím kráľom zjedno! tenej monarchie. Bol známy pre svoju múdrosť, bohatstvo a moc, no tiež pre svoje hriechy, ktorých sa dopúšťal – odvracanie sa od boha a uctievanie modiel. Príbeh dvoch matiek hádajúcich sa o jedno dieťa je známy široko ďaleko. Šalamúnov múdry návrh rozseknúť dieťa mečom na dve časti a rozdeliť ich medzi dve ženy napokon vyriešil otázku, kto je skutočnou matkou dieťaťa. Kiež by sa aj dôkaz o Šalamúnovi ako skutočne existujúcej osobe dal tak jednoducho získať. Eilat Mazarová z hebrejskej Jeruzalemskej Univerzity našla opevnenie, ktoré podľa jej názoru potvrdzuje biblický príbeh o tomto vladárovi. Ak by sa vek tohto opevnenia (ktorý je odhadovaný na 3000 rokov) potvrdil, bol by to dôkaz toho, že v 10. storočí p! red Kristom Jeruzalemu vládla silná centrálna v! lád a s prostriedkami aj pracovnou silou schopnou postaviť takéto masívne opevnenie. Ako Mazarová povedala reportérom, je to „najvýznamnejšia konštrukcia, ktorú máme z obdobia Prvého chrámu v Izraeli.“ Toto opevnenie pozostáva z monumentálneho strážneho domu a 70-metrov dlhej starovekej steny. Tento objekt je dnes súčasťou dvoch významných islamských budov – Skalnatého dómu a mešity Al-Aksá. Hoci sa vykopávky robili už v rokoch 1860 a tiež v rokoch 1980, tento raz ide o ich kompletné prevedenie vrátane vykopávok veľkého množstva úlomkov keramiky. Tá dokazuje, že vek celého objektu spadá práve do obdobia údajnej vlády kráľa Šalamúna.

related story (sgx16594): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100223/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel...

by Barbora Misakova for SigEx Ventures (http://sigexventures.com)

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Ancient wall: proof of King Solomon? by Barbora Misakova

Bible, also called the book of all books, represents religious texts central to Judaism and Christianity. While for someone it is only book full of myths, for others it has also historical meaning. Archeologists, historians and other scientists from all over the world are discussing many years about its authenticity. One of the stories written in the Old Testament is about King Solomon. According to the biblical First Book of Kings, Solomon was the son of David and the third king of the united Monarchy. He was known for his wisdom, wealth and power, but also for his sin of idolatry. The story of two mothers quarreling about a baby is widely known. Solomon’s wise sugge! stion of dividing the living child in two with a sword revealed which woman was the true mother. If only a proof of Solomon as truly living person was also so easy to find. Eilat Mazar from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found fortifications that by her opinion are supporting the biblical narrative about the era. If the age of the wall (which is estimated at 3,000 years) it would be an indication that Jerusalem was ruled by strong central government with resources and manpower capable to build such massive fortifications. As Mazar told reporters, it is “the most significant construction we have from First Temple days in Israel.” These fortifications consist of a monumental gatehouse and 70-meters long section of an ancient wall. The compound now houses two important Islamic buildings – the golden-capped Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque. Even though these fortifications were excavated for the first time in the 1860 and later in 1980s, this time i! t was the first complete excavation including excavation of a ! large nu mber of pottery shards.

related story (sgx16589): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100223/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel...

by Barbora Misakova for SigEx Ventures (http://sigexventures.com)

SigEx Ventures's matrix of properties are quickly becoming leaders in digital telebroadcasting, free content delivery allowing people to easily talk, view, upload and share through free online TV broadcasting, free unlimited global calls, video blogs and SMS. SigEx Ventures invests in projects deploying "free" to add-on royalty revenue model! s

Utah rocks reveal a new dinosaur species by Zuzana Zelenakova

A new kind of dinosaur which paleontologists called Abydosaurus has been discovered in Dinosaur National Monument in eastern Utah. Abydosaurus belongs to the group of sauropods, which are dinosaurs notable for the enormous size of some species. Some of the largest animals that have ever lived on Earth are sauropods. The skulls of Abydosaurus were buried within so called Dinosaur wall, a rock layer that contains hundreds of dinosaur fossils. "Their heads are built lighter than mammal skulls because they sit way out at the end of very long necks," said Brooks Britt, a paleontologist at Brigham Young University. "Instead of thick bones fused together, sauropod skulls are mad! e of thin bones bound together by soft tissue. Usually it falls apart quickly after death and disintegrates." The dinosaur was named by the lead author of the discovery paper that will appear in the journal Naturwissenshaften Daniel Chure, a paleontologist at Dinosaur National Monument, and his colleagues. The name is a reference to the city of Abydos on the river Nile, where according to the Egyptian mythology the head and neck of Osiris, god of the afterlife and underworld, were buried. Sauros means lizard in Greek. The specific name mcintoshi was given to the new species in memory of the American paleontologist Jack McIntosh, who specialized in sauropod dinosaurs. Sauropods are mostly known from the neck down and the Utah discovery sheds more light on eating habits of these giants. "They didn't chew their food; they just grabbed it and swallowed it," Britt said. "The skulls are only one two-hundredth of total body volume and don't have an elaborate chewing system." All s! auropods were plant-eaters and their teeth developed at the en! d of the dinosaur age a pencil-like shape. The skulls that belonged to Abydosaurus juveniles are currently on display at Museum of Paleontology at Brigham Young University.

related story (sgx16585): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100224/ap_on_re_us/us_dinosaur_...

by Zuzana Zelenakova for SigEx Ventures (http://sigexventures.com)

SigEx Ventures's matrix of properties are quickly becoming leaders in digital telebroadcasting, free content delivery allowing people to easily talk, view, upload and share through free online TV bro! adcasting, free unlimited global calls, video blogs and SMS. SigEx Ventures invests in projects deploying "free" to add-on royalty revenue models