Native Americans

It was found in the foundation of a Wampanoag house around 1800. In 1930, it was moved to the reconstruction of the Aptucxet Trading Post, the first commercial business in what is now the United States. Other than that, there are few facts available. It's a 200 pound stone that has moved around a bit. Some say it was once the threshold of an Indian church, although the inscriptions were buried so as not to spook the Indians. "Experts" claim the writings are from: Vikings (of course), Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Irish Monks (Culdee), and perhaps the most practical of all, an Indian practicing his writing. A little more information on the stone (and an enlarged image) for the curious. :) Several theories have been put forth over the years.

The stone was supposed to have been brought in as a stepping stone in the late 17th century when Samuel Sewell, the "hanging judge" of Salem witch trial fame, realized he had been swayed by the general hysteria of the period. He felt deep remorse for having gone along with the death penalties for those innocent people and spent the rest of his life trying to atone. One of his actions was to build churches throughout the area for the Indians. Bournedale was one of the first of those churches. When the stone was brought in to be used as a doorstep, the natives refused to walk on the marks of their ancestors. It was turned upside down and was thus made usable, according to the story. Later the church was destroyed or movedand the stone found its way into the foundation of a home where it was eventually discovered. Several Nordic scholars and amateur runeologists have attempted to find a message. Barry Fell, an amateur linguist, included it in his book about ancient mysteries in North America and proclaimed it was Phoenician. In each case another "expert" has come along and "debunked" the current solution. Other suggestions include: Irish monks and a 19th century Indian learning his alphabet by practicing on a rock! All that can be said with any certainty is that the inscription is old; it dates back at least to 1800. Beyond that its origin is unknown, and anyone at this point in time can believe any story he wants about it. Article Source

Anthony North: One area of spirituality often ignored by the wider world is the Native American. The Native American mystic is often known as the Medicine Man, principally because of his power to heal, but also to communicate with the supernatural. A continuation of the early shaman, endemic to most tribal societies, he also bears many similarities to the guru. The ‘Medicine Man" most likely survived from before the migrations across the Bering Strait over twenty thousand years ago. Mystical apprenticeship: Such a mystic is thought to be chosen by the spirits, indications of an ability to communicate with them beginning in childhood. Continuing visions and omens will lead to the child being taught by anexisting mystic.

A right of passage for the growing mystic will be his first vision quest, of which he will have many in his life. Such quests happen after a period of asceticism, such as going to a remote place to meditate. Another method is the sweat lodge in which saplings are covered with blankets and hot stones placed within. The mystic will go inside and pour water on the stones, his sweat causing purification. The vision quest: During his visions he will meet his guardian spirit. Granted a dream or vision of this spirit, it will usually be in an animal form and will grant the mystic special powers. He will be taught a spirit song and given a number of talismen - eagle feathers, shells, animal parts. These bestow the mystic"s new powers and represent omens. They will be kept in a sacred bag known as his medicinebundle. The mystic will, of course, become much more than a relationship between himself and the supernatural. In classic tribal style, he will also be the bridgehead between his tribe and the guardian spirit. Ritual life: In this sense, he is responsible for the tribe"s culture and well being. He will be the storyteller who tells of the tribe"s origins as told by the guardian spirit, and he will be the symbol of totemism, giving the tribe identity and a moral code through animal or plant representations of natural phenomena and events.

View: Full Article | Source: Beyond the Blog

Scientists have given the lie to the hoary scene in Westerns in which a cowboy slowly drowns in quicksand or alternatively is cast a lifeline by a buddy and gets hauled to safety. Physicists in the Netherlands built a miniature quicksand in their lab, mixing up fine sand, clay and saltwater. They discovered that quicksand becomes more viscous very slowly: it takes days for the substance to become progressively more toffee-like inconsistency.

On the other hand, it loses this viscosity very quickly in response to stress. A moving object in the sand causes it to liquefy swiftly, as the sand heads towards the bottom and the upper layers become runny. The settling sand then becomes so compact that it is impossible for material with the density of a human body to become completely submerged. So an ensnared cowboy should take solace in that he won't drown, the study suggests. On the other hand, he is likely to stay there for a long time, for even the mostmuscular help won't get him out. The dense sand so clumps around the lower limbs that just to haul out a foot requires a force of 100,000 Newtons, about the same as that needed to lift a medium-sized car. The study, published on Thursday in the British weekly science journal Nature, is led by University of Amsterdam researcher Daniel Bonn.

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A scientist who found deep grooves chiselled into the teeth of dozens of 1,000-year-old Viking skeletons unearthed in Sweden believes the strange custom might have been learned from aboriginal tribes during ancient Norse voyages to North America -- a finding that would represent an unprecedented case of transatlantic, cross-cultural exchange during the age of Leif Ericsson. The marks are believed to be decorations meant to enhance a man's appearance, or badges of honour for a group of great warriors or successful tradesmen. They are the first historical examples of ceremonial dental modification ever found in Europe, and although similar customs were practised in Asia and Africa over the centuries, the Swedish anthropologist who studied the Viking teeth is exploring thepossibility that trips to Newfoundland and other parts of the New World a millennium ago introduced the Norsemen to tooth-carving styles being carried out at that time in the Americas."The cases from the North American continent are from the time period," Caroline Arcini, a researcher with the National Heritage Board in Lund, Sweden, told CanWest News Service.

"So it is within the same timespace as the Swedish ones that are dated from 800-1050 A.D."In a paper published by the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Ms. Arcini details the horizontal etchings across the front teeth of about 25 young men whose remains were found at several Viking Age burial sites in Sweden and Denmark. The "furrows" -- some teeth have several parallel grooves -- "are so well made that it is most likely they were filed by a person of great skill," Ms. Arciniwrites.But "the reason for, and importance of, the furrows are obscure. The affected individuals may have belonged to a certain occupational group, or the furrows could have been pure decoration."Examples of tooth modification have been found at archeological sites around the world -- with the exception, until now, of Europe.The study notes a similarity in style between the Scandinavian specimens and dental markings common about 1,000 years ago in parts of North America, including Mexico and the present-day United States as far north as Illinois.

View: Full Article | Source: National Post