Wishing a very happy and prosperous Onam to all iLanders

T. K. Unni

Was ancient Cypriot cave a prehistoric diner?

Did humans eat pigmy hippos into extinction around 12,000 years ago?

By Michele Kambas

Aug. 19, 2009

Thousands of prehistoric hippo bones found in Cyprus are adding to a growing debate on the possible role of humans in the extinction of larger animals 12,000 years ago.

First discovered by an 11-year-old boy in 1961, a tiny rock-shelter crammed with hippo remains radically rewrote archaeological accounts of when this east Mediterranean island was first visited by humans.

It has fired speculation of being the first takeaway diner used by humans to cook and possibly dispatch meat. It also adds to growing speculation, controversial in some quarters, that humans could have eaten some animals to extinction.

In Cyprus, where islanders’ love of the barbecue is alive and well to this day, it would have been the pygmy hippo, or “Phanourios minutus,” an endemic species resembling a large pig which apparently vanished around the same time people appeared on the island.

“We claim that humans likely were at least partially responsible for their extinction,” said Alan H. Simmons, a professor and former chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Half way down a cliff on Cyprus’s southern coast, researchers dug up thousands of remains of the animal which is thought to have roamed the island for perhaps a million or more years during the Pleistocene period, and then died out around 12,000 years ago.

Today, nothing remotely resembling a pygmy hippo roams Cyprus. Its largest wild mammals are timid sheep, strictly protected from an army of enthusiastic hunters, and donkeys.

Human imprint

With permission from Cypriot antiquity authorities and primary funding from the National Geographic Society and the National Science Foundation, Simmons led excavations on the site, Akrotiri-Aetokremnos, in 1987, 1988, 1990, and in 2009 concluded a smaller scale excavation of the area.

“There were over 500 individual hippos represented at the site … for some reason they (humans) stored the bones, instead of throwing them into the sea, perhaps for use as fuel,” said Simmons, who has written a book on the subject.

Together with thousands of pygmy hippo bones, as well as several large birds and a few dwarf elephants, the archaeologists discovered man-made implements on the same site, pointing to a link between humans and the animals. Radiocarbon dating puts the site at around 10,000 BC, some 3,000 years earlier than most scholars had assumed humans had arrived on the island.

Simmons says a small group of humans could have triggered extinction of the animals, which were already under stress from cold and dry climatic changes around 12,000 years ago. Many animals went extinct around the same time.

“There are two extinction scenarios: that they went extinct due to climate changes at the end of the Pleistocene or that humans contributed to their extinction,” he told Reuters.

The hippo itself, like other animals, swam across from the nearest land mass.

“These animals swam from the mainland full-sized and then, due to isolation, no prey, and limited food, underwent the dwarfing process, which is well documented on islands,” said Simmons. “This could occur relatively quickly.”

“We believe that they were primarily taken, processed and cooked at the site … and maybe, some at least, were consumed there,” said Simmons.

“But they also then could have been sent out to other related sites in the vicinity, although documenting contemporary sites has proven difficult.”

Whether the humans using Aetokremnos were permanent occupants of Cyprus or long-stay visitors is a matter still open to debate. It is likely, says Simmons that the hunters may not have lived on the island, but were travelling in search of meat or other resources.

Cyprus is between 30 and 60 km from the nearest land mass, and such voyages would have required considerable sea-faring skills.

The skills of prehistoric humans should not be under-estimated, said Simmons.

“These were pretty sophisticated people. Certainly if they could figure out how to navigate the Mediterranean, even at a small distance, they knew what they were doing.”

Copyright 2009 Reuters.

=======

T. K. Unni

22-08-09

A prehistoric 'runway' used by flying reptiles

Landing tracks of pterosaurs date back about 140 million years

Aug. 18, 2009

A prehistoric runway for flying pterosaurs has been discovered for the first time.

Scientists uncovered the first known landing tracks of one of these extinct flying reptiles at a site dubbed “Pterosaur Beach,” in the fine-grained limestone deposits of an ancient lagoon in south-western France dating back 140 million years to the Late Jurassic.

The footprints suggest the pterosaur '" a “pterodactyloid” with a wingspan roughly 3 feet (1 meter) wide '" flapped to stall its flight during landing, and then planted both of its 2-inch-long (5-centimeter-long) feet simultaneously at a high angle.

The reptile next dragged its toes briefly, took a short “stutter step” '" perhaps a hop with both feet '" and landed, settling its hands. It finally adjusted its posture and ambled off normally on all fours.

“No other track ways ascribed to pterosaurs in the world have shown either landings or takeoffs,” said researcher Kevin Padian, a palaeontologist at the University of California at Berkeley.

Pterosaurs, like birds, “were very light animals and didn’t tend to leave as many tracks when compared to, say, a 50-ton sauropod,” the largest dinosaurs to ever stride Earth, explained palaeontologist David Hone at the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Paleoanthropology of China in Beijing, who did not participate in this study.

“If tracks from pterosaurs are going to get preserved, it’s likely to be in the softest mud or finest sands, and it’s unlikely even then, so to get traces of a pterosaur landing like this is very exciting,” Hone noted. He added that the case the researchers make for the way the pterosaurs landed “is very strong and convincing.”

The fact this pterosaur had the capability to stall during flight implies sophisticated flapping control of the wings, Padian said. Future research will hopefully uncover tracks made during takeoff, shedding further light on how these extinct creatures once flew.

“There are hundreds of track ways in this big quarry,” Padian said.

� 2009 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

T. K. Unni

HAPPY

INDEPENDENCE DAY

TO ALL

Murali

The south Indian cinema industry has suffered a great shock yesterday of sad demise of our beloved actor sri. Murali.

Sri. Murali was an actor and remained as an actor in the minds of his enthusiasts all over the south India, especially in Kerala.

His devotion towards drama, cinema, and other art forms are excelled in all levels and portrayed as true lay-man and lived with the common man as simple as his aspirants.

His activities and dedications contributed a lot in its relevant art forms and many of them acclaimed by the concerned societies.

His demise is an unaffordable loss of Keralites and the vacuum will remain as it is.

May God bless his heavenly abode'.

My deepest condolence to the bereaved family and friends''

T. K. Unni

08-08-2009

Italy finds 4,500-year old skeleton of warrior

1 August 2009

ROME - A roughly 4,500 year-old skeleton of a man, probably a warrior killed by an arrow to the chest, has been discovered on a beach south of Rome, Italian police said.

The well-preserved skeleton, dubbed 'Nello', was found during a routine flyover around areas of archaeological interest in May that prompted police to probe a fissure in the ground.

'We thought it was that of a Roman solider, but then the experts identified it as dating back to the third millennium B.C.,' said Raffaele Mancino, an official with the police division overseeing Italy's cultural heritage.

Six small vases were found buried alongside the skeleton, whose feet are missing. The young man probably lived just within a few hundred years of 'Otzi', the prehistoric iceman whose corpse was found frozen in the Italian Alps in 1991.

Archaeologists said they plan further excavations since the discovery could be a tip-off to a broader necropolis in the area.

Courtesy: (Reuters)

T. K. Unni

02-08-2009

Shihab Thangal

Yesterday, Kerala Muslims especially Muslim League

lost their Benevolent Leader and Priest '..

He was a noble figure of Kerala.

His sudden abode to the heaven is a great loss to the all peace loving people in Kerala.  

My heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family and affected people….

T. K. Unni

02-08-09

Rajan P Dev

Malayalam film enthusiasts suffered another setback today because of the sad demise of beloved cine drama artist Rajan P Dev.  

Since last two decades, his performances were treated our cine-goers to the level of their satisfaction through out the different characters he realized.

May God Bless his soul to the journey of his heavenly abode'.

My heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family'.

 T. K. Unni

29-07-09

Art of Living

In my village, my neighbour and family with four children was living with so and so situation in early nineties.  The father of four children got up a love affair with a boy, almost the same age of his elder child.  The lady of four children suffered a lot in this dramatic situation.

The society has no roll in this matter, and they were blind, dumb and duff and the reasons to be analysed.  Some mischievous people sounded little bit against this, but nothing happened.  The love affair developed to a situation, temporarily deserting his wife and children very often and the gentleman was roaming with new bride boy all over the tourist spots in the state and celebrating their honeymoon. 

After few years the gentleman deserted his bride boy and hooked another boy from nearby village and the strata began same as before.  At this situation the deserted bride boy came to the gentleman's house and quarrelled with his wife and children that he must get the remuneration for his performance with her husband that which she could not entertain to the expectation of his sexual quest.  The children attacked the bride boy with harsh words and neighbours noticed the incident and they together kicked out the bride boy from the scene. 

Recently we managed to know from the Medias and other channels, that we are having strong activist groups of homosexuals all over the country and marching to attain their rights and activities to be legalized.

At that time, in the early 90s, I think there were no organisations of such activists in the country except few in metropolitan cities. All over the country, state or villages, if you observe, you can find some of these activities going on in our society.

Presently those who are engaged in such activities are having a pleasing mood due to the decision of our rulers lifting the article 377. 

After-effect of this will be disastrous to our society.

T. K. Unni

21-07-2009

Tribute

Malayalam cinema got a shock treatment today

While they are rivalling each other for chairs.!

We the cine-goers are the real losers of this

Sudden and sad demise of the scripter/director

Lohithadas.

My heartfelt condolence to his family and relatives

May God bless his heavenly abode.!

*

*

T. K. Unni