No, this isn’t about the travails of Peter Jackson’s prequel.
A new paper was just released on the so-called Homo floresiensis, popularly referred to as the “hobbit” that has been touted as a new species of human. This study (scroll down again) argues that the hobbit isn’t a new human species at all, but an iodine-deficient human.
All this biochemistry nonsense! I don’t know why these scientists just won’t get around to looking for alien DNA as the solution!
Here is another description of the new theory contributing to the discussion of how the pyramids were built, sans ET. Scroll down to the bottom for the architect’s paper on his theory (free PDF).
What a shock!
Check out this recent post from Archaeology Daily News (you may have to scroll down to see the actual story). Pretty sweet explanation for how correct stone orientation and placement was achieved — very simple and very clever. The architect’s theory featured at the above link argues and demonstrates that the Egyptians invented the building grid. My only question is why this is considered a “new” discovery. I’ve actually been reading through a book I’ll recommend early to all of you interested in Egyptian building that covers the basics of this — with pictures of grid systems and grid marks on the monuments (sorry, no pictures of aliens building or supervising). The book is Building in Ancient Egypt: Pharaonic Stone Masonry, by Dieter Arnold. It’s fascinating. Below are some pictures from the Google Books location for this book (selective, but representative – the pages with photos were not included in the Google Books preview).
The ETC blog posted this recent update on the “controversy” surrounding the recent dissertation that archeoporn-peddling journalists touted as saying Jesus didn’t die on a cross. I had blogged a bit on that.
Before this gets mis-reported all over the web on Christian sites that promote phony Photo-shopped pictures as proof of giants in the ancient world, I thought I’d post it. Here is the link; the photo is below. And I’ll save you the conversion time. 193 cm = just under six feet, four inches, not ten or fifteen feet. Unusually tall for Chinese (these days) but right in the range I’ve suggested constituted a giant in the ancient world (anything over six feet tall upward into the seven foot range — sort of like today on the higher end).
I came across this video of a presentation I gave some years ago on this topic. I really should keep track of this stuff. Had a full beard then. The point of the presentation is to show that Gnostic gospels (the “real Bible” to conspiracists and Dan Brown fans) does not have a single line indicating Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married, or that they had a romantic/sexual relationship. It’s bunk (at least if we take the Gnostics for our source).
Michael Heiser: Gnosticism (part 3) – “Were Jesus and Mary Magdalene Married?” from Guy Malone on Vimeo.
Here’s the story (scroll down), which includes a picture.
I can hardly wait for the ancient astronaut crowd and those who want 2o-foot giants in antiquity to cite this find. Never mind that it’s an obvious *sculpture* (hence “foot mark” not “footprint” in my title). A connection to the pyramids can’t be far behind.