Jump to content
IndiaDivine.org

Man set foot in Ice-Age Tibet

Rate this topic


jijaji

Recommended Posts

Man set foot in Ice-Age Tibet

 

 

By Nick Easen

CNN Hong Kong

April 18, 2002

 

LHASA, China -- Fossilized hand and footprints have revealed that mankind lived on the Tibetan plateau at the height of the Ice Age -- 16,000 years earlier than anyone previously thought.

 

The 19 fossilized signs of life have also cast doubt on the theory that the plateau was fully covered by a glacier one kilometer thick at that time.

 

The 20,000 year-old prints, 85 kilometers (53 miles) from Lhasa, predates any archaeological evidence on the plateau and suggests that man may have migrated to the "roof of the world" extremely early on.

 

At the arid and frigid site, 4,200 meters above sea level, scientists found the marks of at least six individuals, of which two were children, including a well-structured stove.

 

"The findings mean that human settlement here is 16,000 years earlier than scientists thought, but also human beings had the ability to adapt to such cold environment," Hong Kong University's Professor David Zhang told CNN.

 

Since the height of the last Ice Age was between 24,000 and 18,000 years ago, the evidence, which shocked Zhang, shows that early man could adapt to this extreme environment.

 

The findings, published in both the journal Nature and an American geophysical journal, are also a nail in the coffin for the ice-covered plateau hypothesis.

 

The theory indicates that the 4,000-meter high Tibetan plateau was completely covered in ice, thicker than the present Greenland ice sheet, even during the last Ice Age.

 

Yet the findings clearly indicate that the plateau was partially ice-free, and that man was able to survive there, albeit around hot springs where the climate was more equitable.

 

Until this discovery, the oldest known settlements were from the Late Neolithic Age, around 4,000 years ago, which led scientists to believe that Tibetans migrated onto the high-plateau around this time.

 

Archaeological findings of prehistoric remnants are rare in Tibet because of its political sensitivity and poor physical conditions.

 

Stumbled on the marks

Fossilized footprints at a hotspring, perhaps the Tibetan plateau was more habitable that scientists first thought

Professor Zhang stumbled on the marks in marble-like rocks, while he investigated the hot springs in 1986, and returned to collect a sample in 1995.

 

It was not until 1999 when he involved dating specialist Professor S.H. Li that they were able to calculate the age of the hand and footprints.

 

The Ice-Age hot spring that probably attracted early Tibetan settlers also preserved their hand and footprints for future posterity.

 

The soft mineral mud prints dried in to a durable limestone deposit called travertine, which allowed Zhang and Li to date the prints using a technique called thermo-luminescence dating.

 

The process involves using quartz as a mineral clock since tiny grains of the mineral were trapped in the deposit when the mud solidified 20,000 years ago.

 

Heated quartz emits light in proportion to the time that has passed since it was last warmed up or exposed to light.

 

The next step for Zhang and his colleagues is to further investigate past environmental changes on the Tibetan plateau, as well as the current physical environment.

 

"It is the roof of the world with the deepest gorges and highest mountains. It is worth protecting and it may later tell us something more," Zhang told local media.

 

 

[This message has been edited by jijaji (edited 04-22-2002).]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If pyschedelic drugs were their sacrament, they probably had no dearth of devoted followers.

 

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

((((((((((((( Posted Image ((((((((((((((

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

 

(Remember op art?)

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by Rati (edited 04-22-2002).]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Rati:

If pyschedelic drugs were their sacrament, they probably had no dearth of devoted followers.

 

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

(((((((((((( Posted Image((((((((((((((

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

 

(Remember op art?)

 

 

 

 

Posted Image

 

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by jijaji (edited 04-22-2002).]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, there's only one orthodox religion for our generation:

 

Give me that old time rock n roll.

That music just soothes the soul...

 

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

 

 

[This message has been edited by Rati (edited 04-22-2002).]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

/////////////////////////

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

/////////////////////////

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

/////////////////////////

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

/////////////////////////

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

/////////////////////////

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by Rati (edited 04-22-2002).]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Rati:

Hey, there's only one orthodox religion for our generation:

 

Give me that old time rock n roll.

That music just soothes the soul...

 

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \

 

 

[This message has been edited by Rati (edited 04-22-2002).]

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Rati:

/////////////////////////

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

/////////////////////////

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

/////////////////////////

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

/////////////////////////

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

/////////////////////////

 

[This message has been edited by Rati (edited 04-22-2002).]

Anyone know of some good mantras to get spiders to leave the house and go back outside where they belong? We must have had an egg hatch recently, as I am now finding them crawling all over the place. In fact one just tried to crawl over to the keyboard a minute ago. These particular house spiders are not dangerous like black widows or brown recluses or anything. Just your basic yellow web weavers. They're just kind of creepy. I can't even imagine what they have been living on, except devouring each other (something they are known to do), because we do not have other insects inside (just a stray silverfish here and there and some soil bugs that live in the house plants).

 

Reminds me of those really weird spiders in Nabadwip and Vrindaban that crawl around on the walls and are flat like pancakes.

 

Posted Image

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by Rati (edited 04-22-2002).]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Scientist fed LSD to spiders back in the 70s and they spun really strange webs. The only problem is that those webs did not work at catching any food, so the spiders died. Maybe I could try that, if nobody has any good mantras to get rid of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rati said:

They're just kind of creepy. I can't even imagine what they have been living on....

 

I don't know how to tell you without adding to your creeped out feeling bro.

 

Reminds me of the time that i got up to get some water after have been in bed just a few minutes.Right above my chest I saw this spider abou two feet above me.He was propeling down from the ceiling.I just knew the lil' devil had been up there just waiting for me to go to sleep.Maybe for hours. Posted Image

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like there is only that same religion for the current younger generation in Iraq: After a bunch of college grads finished denouncing America in an interview with Tom Brokaw today, as soon as the cameras stopped rolling they gathered around to ask him questions about American movies, fashion and yes - their favorite POP STARS.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...