Thursday, July 24, 2014
12 ANCIENT MYSTERIES THAT MIGHT NOT EVER BE SOLVED
http://www.educatinghumanity.com/2014/07/12-ancient-mysteries.html
Despite the relentless efforts of the best historians, academics, cryptographers
these codes have never been deciphered. We are confounded even today despite all
of our technological wonders. Someone went to great lengths to leave messages
carved into the earth, on stone or on some type of manmade device. What secrets do
these treasure hold and how important are they for the future of mankind?
Paracas Geoglyphs Candelabra
Geoglyphs are giant images drawn on the surface of the ground. The Nazca Lines are
probably the most famous geoglyph, but just 200 kilometers (130 mi) from the Nazca
Plain is an even more mysterious example.
The Paracas Candelabra measures about 180 meters (600 ft) across. Despite the
close proximity to the Nazca Lines, this geoglyph was likely not built by the Nazca
people. Ancient pottery found at the site dates to 200 B.C., which means that the
Paracas culture is most likely responsible. But while we have some idea who built the
candelabra and when, the question of why leaves archaeologists baffled.
Some attribute a religious value to the geoglyph, as locals consider it to be the staff of
Viracocha, an ancient creator god. Others, however, suggest a more practical
purpose. The Candelabra is carved into a hill. The angle and huge size means that it
can be seen from a great distance, as far as 20 kilometers (12 mi) out to sea. This has
led some to believe that it was used as a landmark for sailors.
Phaistos Disc
The mystery of the Phaistos Disc is a story that sounds like something out of an
Indiana Jones movie. Discovered by Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier in 1908 in the
Minoan palace-site of Phaistos, the disc is made of fired clay and contains mysterious
symbols that may represent an unknown form of hieroglyphics. It is believed that it
was designed sometime in the second millennium BC.
Some scholars believe that the hieroglyphs resemble symbols of Linear A and Linear
B, scripts once used in ancient Crete. The only problem? Linear A also eludes
decipherment.
Today the disc remains one of the most famous puzzles of archaeology.
The Uffington White Horse
Uffington White Horse
Ancient and mysterious landmarks are not an uncommon sight in England. Although
Stonehenge comes to mind first, many more are to be found.
The White Horse in Uffington, a 115-meter (374 ft) hill figure, was created by digging
deep trenches filled with crushed chalk. This animal appears to be a horse, and
similar depictions appear on ancient coins dated to the Bronze Age. Near the figure
are burial mounds from the Neolithic period. These graves were reused up until the
Saxon period, leading some to claim that the White Horse is not as old as previously
thought.
Two factors separate the Uffington White Horse from similar landmarks. For
starters, the White Horse is much, much older. Many other horse figures date to as
late as the 18th century, so they were most likely done in honor of the original White
Horse. The other factor is the condition of the figure. Considering how old it is, the
White Horse is in remarkable shape, most likely thanks to the locals who kept it in
good repair.
The Tartaria Tablets
The Tartaria Tablets
These three small stone tablets, found in a Romanian village, might feature the
earliest form of writing ever discovered.
Most archaeologists used to agree that several regions developed writing
independently between 3500 and 3100 B.C. The earliest examples we could find
showed photo-writing from cultures such as the Sumerians in Mesopotamia.
However, if the Tartaria tablets are genuine, then they predate the other discoveries
by 2,000 years.
In that case, the earliest writing belongs to the Vinca civilization, a Neolithic culture
present throughout southeastern Europe between 5500 and 4500 B.C. Various other
artifacts from that era belonging to the Vinca culture have been found, also with
symbols on them.
The mystery regarding the tablets comes from their age. Initially, museum
employees baked the clay tablets to better preserve them. The process rendered
accurate carbon dating impossible. So at first, they appeared to be from around 2700
B.C. Only recently have newer tests suggested that they are much older.
The White Shaman Rock
The ancient cultures of the Americas still hold many secrets, and one way to decode
them is by studying rock paintings. Near the Pecos River in Texas’s Lower Pecos
Canyon is one of the oldest and most significant of these paintings—the White
Shaman. A 7-meter (24 ft) artwork dated to over 4,000 years ago, the White Shaman
is thought to offer information regarding an ancient lost religion.
Controversy surrounds the rock painting’s meaning. Up until recently, most
archaeologists agreed that the artwork depicted five human figures in battle or
during a pre-battle ritual. However, one archaeologist now claims it shows people
communicating with the spirit world, specifically through the use of peyote.
The Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis
The Linen Book of Zagreb is the longest text written in the Etruscan language. The
language had a huge impact on the world since it heavily influenced Latin, but
nowadays, it is mostly lost. Only a few ancient documents feature it, so large chunks
of the Liber Linteus are still untranslated to this day. From what can be gathered
from the book, it appears to be a ritual calendar, although it was initially thought to
detail funeral rituals.
It’s astonishing that the Liber Linteus survived all this time despite being from the
third century B.C. It is extremely uncommon for linen books to last that long—but the
Liber Linteus was no ordinary book. It survived because it was repurposed. The book
was cut into pieces and used by ancient Egyptians to wrap a mummy.
This meant that the Liber Linteus was preserved in good condition, but it went
unstudied for a long period of time. Even when it was found, most people who saw it
simply assumed that the text was Egyptian.
The Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis
Sajama Lines
Anyone impressed with the Nazca Lines or the Paracas Candelabra should learn
about the Sajama Lines in Bolivia. They, too, are a collection of lines etched into the
ground, but they dwarf other geoglyphs in sheer scope.
Sajama has thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of different lines that range
from 1–3 meters (3–10 ft) in width and can be up to 18 kilometers (11 mi) in length.
The lines cover an area of almost 7,500 square meters (70,000 sq ft)—roughly 15
times larger than the famous Nazca Lines. Despite their giant scale, very little
research has been done regarding the Sajama Lines. The true size of the network had
been very difficult to gauge until recently, when satellite imagery became available.
The lines are astonishingly straight despite their length, natural obstacles, and the
area’s rugged topography. No records detail the lines’ construction, but they are most
likely prehistoric, built over countless generations.
Their purpose remains a mystery. They may have guided pilgrims, they may have
marked burial towers, or they may have had some sort of astronomical significance.
Rongorongo
Rongorongo is a system of mysterious glyphs discovered written on various artifacts
on Easter Island. Many believe they represent a lost system of writing or proto-
writing and could be one of just three or four independent inventions of writing in
human history.
The glyphs remain undecipherable, and their true messages — which some believe
could offer hints about the perplexing collapse of the statue-building Easter Island
civilization — may be lost forever.
The Blythe Geoglyphs
The Blythe Intaglios are a collection of dozens of geoglyphs found in the Colorado
Desert near Blythe, California. They show various representations of animals,
geometric shapes, and giant humans, the largest depicting a 50-meter (170 ft) man.
The true scope of the geoglyphs was unknown until 1932, when it was viewed from
the air.
Based on their location, they were likely constructed by the Quechan or Mojave
Indians. The etchings are supposed to represent important figures from these
respective cultures. Two, for instance, are thought to represent Mastamho and
Kataar, two creator deities found in Mojave culture.
But we still know remarkably little about the carvings for certain. They could have
been made as long as 10,000 years ago or as recently as 450 years ago.
The Emerald Tablet
The Emerald Tablet remains the most mysterious item on this list because, unlike the
others, it does not exist anymore. We do not know its author, origin, or location. We
do not even know exactly what it looked like.
All we know is that the first documented mention of the Emerald Tablet dates to an
old Arabic book sometime between the sixth and eighth centuries. The earliest Arabic
translations claim that the original text was in ancient Syriac. The first Latin
translation of the text appeared in the 12th century, and multiple other translations
have been made since then (including one by Sir Isaac Newton).
The text is considered the most important document in the field of alchemy. It is
prized by alchemists because it supposedly presents information regarding the
philosopher’s stone, a substance able to turn base metals into gold. But despite
allegedly holding such valuable information, nobody has ever successfully used the
Emerald Tablet to achieve that alchemical feat.
