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1. Ancient Cities in Tamil Nadu May Be Over 7,000 Years Old.
CHENNAI, INDIA, January 5, 2003:
A British marine archaeologist
and author Graham Hancock has been examining a submerged city on the
East Coast of Tamil Nadu. Mr. Hancock says a civilization
thriving there may predate the
Sumerian
civilization of Mesopotamia in present-day Iraq and
definitely existed before the Harappan civilization in India
and Pakistan. He has been excavating the site off the coast of
Poompuhar, near Nagapattinam, 400 km south of Chennai. At a meeting
of the Mythic Society in Bangalore in early December, Mr. Hancock
said underwater explorations in 2001 provided evidence that corroborated
Tamil mythological stories of ancient floods. He said tidal waves
of 400 feet or more could have swallowed this flourishing port city any time
between 17,000 and 7,000 years ago, the date of the last Ice Age. The
Gulf of Cambay was also submerged, taking with it evidence of early
man's migration. The populations Mr. Wells and Mr. Pitchappan
mapped settled on India's East Coast 50,000 to 35,000 years ago and
developed into modern man. According to Hancock, "the Poompuhar
underwater site could well provide evidence that it was the cradle
of modern civilization." Hancock's theory is strengthened by findings
of India's National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), which has
explored the site since the 1980s. Man-made structures like well rims,
horseshoe-shaped building sites are some of the lost city's secrets. At low
tide, some brick structures from the Sangam era are still
visible in places like Vanagiri. The region, archaeologists
say, has been built over and over again through the ages and some of its
past is now being revealed. Mr. Glenn Milne, a British geologist from
Durham University, has confirmed Hancock's theory.
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2. The Ancient Gene Pool of Tamil Nadu
CHENNAI, INDIA, January 5, 2003:
India's East Coast, especially
along Tamil Nadu, is increasingly drawing the attention of
archaeologists and anthropologists from across the world for its
evolutionary and historical secrets. The focus has sharpened after genetic
scientist Spencer Wells found strains of genes in some communities of
Tamil Nadu that were present in the early man of Africa.
In the "Journey of Man" aired by the National Geographic channel,
Wells says the first wave of migration of early man from Africa took
place 60,000 years ago along the continent's east coast to India. Genetic
mapping of local populations provided the evidence. R.M. Pitchappan,
a professor of Madurai Kamaraj University in Tamil Nadu, helped
Wells collect the gene evidence from Tamil Nadu's Piramalai Kallar
people, inhabiting the Madurai and Usilampatti areas 500 km south of
Chennai. The community was once quite strong and independent.
Their genes have the amino acid
bands found in the gene map of the original man from Africa, and similar to
bands in the Australian aborigines. Says Pitchappan,
"The ancestors of the Kallar community may have come into
India from the Middle East." Wells believes there were three waves of
migration that early man undertook. According to Mr. Wells and his
Indian collaborator, early man went from Africa to the Middle East, on to
Kutch on India's west coast, all around to the peninsula's east
coast and then on to Australia. "These gene pools are unique
and very accurately map the path a population has taken, leaving behind
original communities to grow into independent groups but with a common
ancestor," explains Pitchappan.
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3. New Theories Place Ancient Humans in India
January, 2003
HYDERABAD:
In a new twist to the theory of
evolution of modern man, researchers have found two tribes in India who
could be the descendants of the biological Adam and Eve who
are estimated to have lived in Africa over 100,000 years ago. Researchers at
the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) here say
they have with them the genetic `black boxes' which indicate that a
tribe in Kerala and another in Gujarat could be the
descendants of the first people ever to set foot in Asia.
The new finding negates the widely-held belief in the scientific community
that the first people to land in Asia belonged to a branch of the migratory
population that exploded out of Africa over 60,000 years ago. The CCMB study
shows that the two tribal groups may have settled much before the Asian
branch reached the subcontinent, just before the last Ice Age. The
researchers say the two tribes are the oldest so far discovered genetically
and may have landed from Africa in Gujarat, migrated to Kerala and then to
the Andamans where they got trapped by the sea and warped in time.
The new theory also establishes that the enigmatic tribes of the
Andamans are the descendants of a tribal population of Asia and not
Africa. Western studies have tried to link the Andamanese tribals to the
African pygmies, but DNA analysis shows that this may not be
true. The Andamanese tribals are short in stature, have ebony-black skin,
peppercorn hair and large buttocks, making them a mirror image of the
African pygmies. But the new study published in Current Biology dumps the
western pygmy model to assert that the tribals are actually genetically
closer to Asian than to African populations.
The two tribal populations in India were discovered when CCMB
Director Prof Lalji Singh and his team did the first genetic analysis
of the Jarawa and Onge tribals of the Andamans.
He then tried to compare the DNA signatures with a few of the
532 tribal populations in the mainland and found a match in a community in
Kerala and Gujarat. But to his surprise, he found that these tribals in the
mainland were much older than the Onges and Jarawas. Singh, however,
refused to reveal the names of the two tribal groups in India for fear of
their population being `hunted' for their genes.
Of the dozen tribes, who populated the islands since ages, only four
survive--the Sentinelese, Jarawas, Great Andamanese and
Onge. While there has been no contact with the Sentinelese so far,
the Jarawas still live in the forest and the Onges have started joining the
mainstream. ``Our results show that the native Andamanese belong to a unique
group not previously identified anywhere else in the world,'' Singh
told reporters.
The CCMB finding was the result of the analysis of
mitochondria DNA, a genetic element passed down only through
women. This showed that the Onges and Jarawas belong to a lineage known as
M that is common throughout Asia. This establishes them as
Asians, not Africans, among whom a different mitochondria lineage, called
I, is dominant. The researchers then looked at the Y
chromosome, which is passed down only through men and often gives a more
detailed picture of genetic history than the mitochondria DNA.
The Onge and Jarawa men turned out to carry a
special change or mutation in the DNA of their Y chromosome that is thought
to be indicative of the Palaeolithic population of Asia, the hunters and
gatherers who preceded the first human settlements.
The discovery of Marker 174 among the Andamanese suggests that they too are
part of the relic Palaeolithic population, descended from the
first modern humans to leave Africa. No archaeological record of these epic
journeys has been found, perhaps because the world's oceans were 120
meters lower during the last Ice Age and the evidence of early human
passage is under water, says Singh. The study was done by Singh
and his colleagues at CCMB with their co-workers in the US,
New Zealand and Norway. Other Indian scientists involved in the study are
K. Thankaraj and Alla Reddy of CCMB, V.Raghavendra Rao of
the Anthropological Survey, and Subhash Sehgal of Port Blair.
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4. Ancient seals found at Hatab excavation site
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, MARCH 08, 2003 01:03:13 AM ]
VADODARA:
The Archaeological Survey of
India (ASI) Vadodara circle, has unearthed 160 ancient
seals, with the Brahmi script inscribed on them, from the Hatab excavation
site, located some 20 km south of Bhavnagar. The seals are said to be 2000
years old and were probably used to stamp goods that were to be exported.
"For the past one year, we have worked at the site and have dug up several
artifacts. All of them suggest that Hatab might well be the
ancient trading centre, referred to as 'Ashtakapra' in the
ancient Greek work 'Periplus' and which also finds a mention
in historical records of ancient geographer and eminent astronomer
Ptolemy," says ASI superintending archaeologist and
director of excavations, Shubhra Pramanik.
"The city has been recorded in history as a flourishing port in the 2nd, 5th
and 6th Century AD. The seals come from a pocket of the mud fortified
ancient town, which is surrounded by a moat. The moat has an inlet that
leads to the Gulf of Cambay thus suggesting sea trade," says Pramanik.
During ancient times, it is said that this part of Gujarat had extensive
trade links with Greece and other parts of the world. Proving this fact are
finds of the ASI like the Roman amphora (double-handled wine
jug peculiar to Rome), copper coins and terracotta artifacts. Even in
Kautilya's Arthashatra, it is mentioned about the practice of collecting
taxes from ships sailing in the sea and rivers.
"The job of the 'Antapala' (officer stationed at the border
coast) was to collect taxes and also control the quality of goods that were
to be exported. The seals are a rare find and they must have been used to
mark the goods that were exported," adds Pramanik. The seals are well
etched and are round and oblong in shape, almost similar to rubber stamps
that are used today. Pramanik says that other significant findings at
the site include two bronze artifacts, one of a humped bull and another one
of a human bust having Greek affinities. "There is also a terracotta face of
a woman. From the head gear it appears to be the daughter of Celucas
and the grandmother of Ashoka," says Pramanik. According to
her, the ruins in Hatab not only reveal Shaivite artifacts of
the Maitreka period but also indicate the influence of Buddhism. "The site
also has grain shells and a step-well, which indicates presence of a shell
factory here," she adds.
The excavated Roman amphora, copper and silver coins, terracotta items and
Indo-Greek artifacts, all seem to support the claim that Hatab might well be
'Ashtakapra', the trade centre in 'Siristhrin' (Saurashtra), located
opposite to 'Barigaza' (Bharuch) opposite to the mouth of 'Namades' (Narmada).
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5. More Vedic Temples Discovered in Cambodia
The Sydney Morning Herald
CAMBODIA, March 6, 2003:
Nearly 40 kilometers from the
Thai-Cambodia border the Chen Sran temple has been discovered
in the jungle of the northern Preah Vihear province. It was built in the
ninth or tenth century, and is dedicated to the Hindu tradition, cultural
officials said. The monument was known to authorities only after local
villagers reported it to a provincial cultural officer, said Uong Von,
chief of the heritage department at Cambodia's Ministry of Culture
and Fine Arts. The temple stands 15 meters tall, and is 150 meters in
length by 100 meters wide. Nearly 50 percent of the structure is damaged and
most of its artifacts have been plundered, even though there is no decent
road to the temple. "The temple remains were only a body -- there were no
artifacts," said Von. Almost a dozen previously unknown temples have
turned up in the last decade, said the expert. He also believes there are
more temples lying undiscovered in the same area along the
Thai-Cambodia border.
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6. Major Anthropology Find Reported in India
The Washington Times
CALCUTTA, India, Sept. 8 (UPI)
Scientists report they have
found evidence of the oldest human habitation in India, dating to 2 million
years, on the banks of the Subarnarekha River. The 30-mile
stretch between Ghatshila in the province of Jharkhand and Mayurbhanj in
Orissa has reportedly yielded tools that suggest the site could be unique in
the world, with evidence of human habitation without a break from 2 million
years ago to 5,000 B.C.
Anthropologist S. Chakraborty told the Calcutta Telegraph: "There are
no signs of terra incognito (a break in the continuum) in the Subarnarekha
valley, unlike any other site in India. Some of the heavier tools resemble
those found in the East African stone-age shelters, used by the
Australopithecus."
Chakraborty said the uninterrupted habitation could make the site
more important than even the Aldovai Gorge in East Africa, the Somme Valley
of France, Stonehenge in England, the Narmada basin in Madhya Pradesh and
the Velamadurai-Pallavaram rectangle in Tamil Nadu.
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7. Ancient Fossil on Ancient Sarasvati River
IANS
By Soni Sinha, May 1,
2003
An elephant fossil found in Rajasthan desert has drawn the attention of
historians who say it could provide vital clues to the existence of the
mythological river Saraswati. The discovery was made on the
Nagaur-Bikaner road, 350 km from Jaipur. "Carbon dating in the fossil would
be the most important evidence in this connection," said B.S.Paliwal,
the man behind the discovery. "The findings will soon be submitted to
scientific journals."
The fossil in Rajasthan, the land of the Thar desert, indicates that the
region was once rich in biodiversity. Paliwal claims this is the
first time an elephant fossil has been found there. Ram Singh Solanki,
president of Itihaas Sankalan Samiti, or the Organization of Historical
Evidence, said the discovery was yet another proof that the Vedic
river Saraswati once flowed in what is today the Thar region.
"Evidence suggests that the Saraswati-Sindhu civilization
flourished in an area of nearly 1.3 million sq km. "Investigations on the
fossil are important as it could throw light on the development of the human
civilization, besides having a bearing on Indian history," said Solanki.
Numerous signatures of paleo-channels in the form of curvilinear and
meandering courses were revealed.
More information about Sarasvati
HERE
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