Mysterious East

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient human skull in China, dating back to 80,000 to 100,000 years, which may shed light on a shadowy chapter of evolutionary history. The finding was made by an excavation team led by Chinese archaeologist Li Zhanyang in the central province of Henan. According to National Geographic News, a report from the Chinese government earlier suggested that the fossil came from a modern human, which would have forced a radical reworking of current theories about when our species first left Africa. But, experts have said that the skull likely belongs to a sister or precursor species to modern humans. While still too early to judge the skull"s true significance, it hails from a pivotal evolutionary period, when modern-day humans beganto supplant the ancestral human species Homo erectus.

According to experts, the discovery raises the chances that the two species may have overlapped for some time in China, possibly interbreeding and sharing tools. "The skull shows characteristics of both archaic humans and of Homo sapiens," said Li. "If this is a "modern" Homo sapiens, with a high rounded skull, divided browridge, and chin, and is 80,000 to 100,000 years old, then it would indicate a very early dispersal of moderns eastwards from Africa and the Middle East," said Chris Stringer, a research leader in the Human Origins Program at the Natural History Museum in London. But according to Stringer, the fossil is much more likely to be that of an earlier species. Erik Trinkaus, a paleoanthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, offered a similar assessment after viewing photos of theHenan skull. "Based on the anatomy of the skull, with its large projecting browridge, this appears to be close to Peking Man," he said. The "Peking Man"¯ refers to a series of half-million-year-old skulls belonging to Homo erectus, which were found in a massive cave on the outskirts of Beijing in the 1920s and 1930s. Experts have said that the discovery of the older Henan skull is important because it increases the possibility that archaic and modern humans coexisted for a time in China, just as they did in Europe.

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The virtually unknown Chinese pyramids are historic monuments that now struggle against the ravages of time and the elements. The elaborate walls of one grand structure were accidentally discovered by U.S. pilot James Gaussman towards the end of the Second World War.  His engine failed when returning from a mission to aid the Chinese army en route to his base in Assam, India. Flying over Xi"an at a low altitude, Gaussman was astonished at the site of an enormous pyramid in the distance. The pilot did not waste this precious opportunity, and flew over, taking the photographs that would later accompany a report presented to U.S governmental authorities. In 1947, another U.S. pilot,keen to the legend of Gaussman"s mysterious "Great White" Chinese pyramid, flew close enough to the structure to catch a glimpse for himself.

He estimated the ancient wonder to stand nearly 1500 ft high in comparison to Egypt"s great pyramid of Giza which stands a mere 480 ft. from base to vertex. Yet this miraculous pyramid remained a closely guarded secret, kept hidden from the prying eyes of international investigation by Chinese authorities. In spite of such restrictions, German investigator Hartwig Hausdorf attempted to film and photograph the massive ancient structure. While Hausdorf managed to avoid the Chinese military that carefully patrolled the airspace above the Xi"an desert, he was never able to find the grand pyramid Gaussman photographed. Still, Hausdorf"s 1994 book, The WhitePyramid, detailing his findings of the other structures found in the area, and ushered in a great interest for these ancient treasures. Uncovering the secret: In 2000, China recognized that there were some 400 pyramids in the Shanxi region, to the north of Xi"an. Smaller than the legendary "Great White" pyramid, these ancient remains have been classified by some as burial mounds.  While some of these structures do in fact serve as tombs, others suggest the earliest Chinese pyramids served a more mysterious purpose.

View: Full Article | Source: Epoch Times

It covers an area the size of Cambridge but so far only a tiny proportion of the site of the First Emperor of China’s underground palace for the afterlife has been excavated. Now Chinese archaeologists have used computerised imagery to complete a 3-D reconstruction of the giant tomb that lies 30 metres beneath a mound, with the Qinling mountains in the background. The dramatic imagery has been made available to The Times by the historian John Man, before he publishes pictures and a detailed description of it in his book The Terracotta Army: China’s First Emperor and the Birth of a Nation next month. The reconstruction of the tomb has been put together by a team led by Duan Quingbo, of the Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology, and it is being made public as some of the greatestfinds at the excavation site — including figures from the famous Terracotta Army — are due to go on display at the British Museum.

The life-size figures, including bureaucrats, musicians and acrobats connected to the First Emperor’s civilian administration, will go on display on September 13 — making it the largest show at the British Museum since its Tutankhamun exhibition had visitors queueing around the block in 1972. The treasures include some of the 1,000 figures that have been excavated so far. An estimated 7,000 more are believed to be underground. A description of the palace dating from 89BC — about 100 years after its construction — hints at fabulous wealth, with models of palaces and pavilions, vessels and precious stones. Mr Man said that the reconstruction came about after archaeologists probed down from the surface, hitting stone and rammed earth walls. “If you join thedots, they look like an underground, four-sided palace of some considerable size.” Nobody knows what sort of roof it had. If it was wooden, it would have collapsed long ago, he said. About 3,000 families have been moved out of the area, near Xian in the Shaanxi province, in preparation for a more detailed survey around the tomb, although the excavations will continue for many decades. The tomb is unparalleled in world archaeology. The Terracotta Army was discovered by chance in 1974 and the site that it guards has continued to be dug since then, with many new treasures coming to light.

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A mysterious underground chamber has been found inside the Chinese imperial tomb guarded by the famous Terracotta Army, Chinese archaeologists say. Historical records describing the tomb of Qin Shihuang, China's first emperor, do not mention the room which is 30 metres (98 feet) deep. The unopened chamber was found at the site near the old imperial capital of Xian using remote sensingtechnology.

One expert says it may have been built for the soul of the emperor. More than 2,000 years old, the chamber is buried inside a pyramidal earth mound 51m (170 feet) high on top of Qin's tomb. It is situated near the life-size terracotta warriors and has four stair-like walls, says Duan Qingbo, a researcher with the Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology. The Chinese authorities have not given permission to excavate the site. It is believed that they wish to perfect archaeologicaltechniques before probing any further, and archaeologists have had to use the sensing technology at the site since 2002. Despite his brutal methods, Emperor Qin is remembered as a hero in China for forging a unified state. To view the rest of this article, please visit the source

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