A remote area of the Amazon river basin was once home to densely populated towns, Science journal reports.
The Upper Xingu, in west Brazil, was once thought to be virgin forest, but in fact shows traces of extensive human activity.
Researchers found evidence of a grid-like pattern of settlements connected by road networks and arranged around large central plazas.
There are signs of farming, wetland management, and possibly fish farms.
Archive for August, 2008
‘Lost towns’ discovered in Amazon
Cracking the Khipu Code: Deciphering the Ancient Incan Writing System
At its height around AD 1500, the Inca controlled almost all of the west coast of South America, from Ecuador to Chile. The Inca were an advanced civilization, and like every other advanced civilization on the planet, they had temples and priests and farming and ceramic production and irrigation systems and tribute collection and craft specialists. However, unlike every other civilization on the planet, the Inca did not have a writing system that we would recognize. This has always been somewhat of a puzzle: archaeologists assume that advanced civilizations must have some way of tracking what gets done, for the central administration to keep up on what went on in the far-flung pieces of its empire. Egypt had hieroglyphs on paper and stone; Mesopotamia had cuneiform pressed into clay; but what did the Inca have?
Cracking the Khipu Code: Deciphering the Ancient Incan Writing System
Photos: How the Victorians did gadgets
The British Library in London is playing host to an exhibition of gadgets and technology from the Victorian era and early 20th century. The collection belongs to collector and author Maurice Collins and is promoting the Business and Intellectual Property center at the library.
Saddleback Bloopers
Obama makes misleading claims about ethics legislation and abortion at a church-sponsored forum. McCain exaggerates his tax-cut proposals.
Utah researchers suggest OLED efficiency not so hot
The problem is that for years OLEDs have had a theoretical ceiling of 25 percent efficiency, meaning that though costing less, they’d use twice as much power as inorganic LEDs. Some researchers have theorized ways in which OLEDs might achieve comparable efficiency as inorganics, but research by University of Utah materials scientists suggests that the 25 percent figure is probably correct. This doesn’t mean OLEDs are out of luck; they have a lot of advantages: in addition to their lower price, they have better color range and viewing angle, and are capable of being put on flexible materials. Chances are neither type of LED is going to squish the other since they have unique features.
Bridgefolk: A Movement for Grassroots Dialogue and Unity between Mennonites and Catholics
Bridgefolk is a movement of sacramentally-minded Mennonites and peace-minded Roman Catholics who come together to celebrate each other’s traditions, explore each other’s practices, and honor each other’s contribution to the mission of Christ’s Church. Together we seek better ways to embody a commitment to both traditions. We seek to make Anabaptist-Mennonite practices of discipleship, peaceableness, and lay participation more accessible to Roman Catholics, and to bring the spiritual, liturgical, and sacramental practices of the Catholic tradition to Anabaptists.
Bridgefolk: A Movement for Grassroots Dialogue and Unity between Mennonites and Catholics
Remains of Roman Temple in Galliee Capital Found
Roman temple ruins from the 2nd century A.D. have emerged from excavations at the ancient Jewish capital of the Galilee in Israel.
The discovery shows that the city of Zippori housed a significant pagan population which built a temple in the city center during the Roman period. The central location of the temple lies within a walled courtyard, and may help archaeologists better understand the urban layout of Zippori in the Roman era.
Man drives trucks into house after fight with roommate
A man fighting with one of his housemates rammed the home with a semi truck and a pickup and later tried to run down two police officers, authorities said.
Mythbusting: Debunking Common Windows Performance Tweaking Myths
As a tech writer, one of my biggest pet peeves is the plethora of bad advice littered across almost every web site dedicated to system tweaking. Besides the tweaks that simply don’t work, some of them will actually cause your computer to run even slower—or worse. Let’s examine some of the most offensive myths out there regarding PC performance tweaking, and debunk them once and for all.
Mythbusting: Debunking Common Windows Performance Tweaking Myths
