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Benvenuti in queste pagine dedicate all'archeologia. Amelia Carolina Sparavigna

Monday, 11 April 2011

Era de Pando, Peru

"Ancient Village in Liberec Department, Peru. This is a late Archaic site, thought to be created by the same Supe Culture responsible for the larger nearby site,Caral. The site includes and adobe pyramid and about two dozen buildings. A comparison aerial view on Google maps of both Caral and Era de Pando shows the similarities in architectural layout."
More http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=25983


Amazon Earthworks

Ancient Amazon Earthworks Seen by Satellite
"Amazonia is not the “wilderness” many assume it to be. For thousands of years human beings have been residing in and cultivating lowland and upland areas across the Amazon basin and beyond.
A recent article in National Geographic News provides a glimpse of earthworks built long before Columbus. Rediscoveries of the ancient croplands and city sites force us to re-evaluate notions of wilderness and to consider the long-standing, organized, cultural interactions and influences of humanity upon western landscapes."
http://westinstenv.org/sosf/2010/01/08/ancient-amazon-earthworks-seen-by-satellite/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/01/100104-amazon-lost-civilization-circles.html
http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2010/11/amazonian-geoglyphs.html

Colibri of Nazca


Geoglyph as seen by Google Maps (after processing)

Flying on Andes

"Birds were precious resources in the economy of Andean societies. Merchants traded brilliantly colored parrot and macaw feathers in long-distance networks connecting the Amazonian rainforest, the Cordillera, and the remote Pacific coast, where they adorned the sumptuous garments of rulers and kings. Coastal agriculturalists used guano to enrich their fields. Sailors collected the valuable fertilizer offshore on sacred islands, where they left prestigious offerings. On the coast, domesticated muscovy ducks may have been part of the subsistence."
Birds of the Andes, by Hélène Bernier, Source: Birds of the Andes | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cahuachi - pyramids

"Hablar de Cahuachi es hablar de una ciudad perdida en la noche de los tiempos. Cahuachi fue la capital teocrática de la Cultura Nasca gobernada por sacerdotes". More http://www.peruecologico.com.pe/esp_cahuachinasca_1.htm
Cahuachi was the major ceremonial center of the Nazca culture from 1 CE to about 500 CE. The "ciudad perdida" contains over 40 mounds topped with adobestructures. The permanent population was quite small. The town was apparently a pilgrimage center that grew its population during the ceremonial events. These events probably involved the Nazca lines.
"Cahuachi's most famous monument is the Great Pyramid, which hogs the skyline and casts an eye over the Nazca Lines, the geoglyphs which have made the culture so famous. As with most buildings in the city, the pyramid looks like a giant maze thanks to the winding ceremonial staircases which lead to its summit.... Many ceramics and other ceremonial items, such as fabrics and paintings, have been found in Cahuachi. ... Like many pre-Columbian American cities, Cahuachi was mysteriously abandoned, around 500 AD."
http://heritage-key.com/site/cahuachi



Thanks to Wikipedia and Ed88!

Nazca

"The Nasca culture was the archaeological culture that flourished from 100 to 800 AD beside the dry southern coast of Peru in the river valleys of the Rio Grande de Nazca drainage and the Ica Valley (Silverman and Proulx, 2002). Having been heavily influenced by the preceding Paracas culture, which was known for extremely complex textiles, the Nasca produced an array of beautiful crafts and technologies such as ceramics, textiles, and geoglyphs (most commonly known as the Nazca lines)."
More Wiki

Frigatebird and heron - Nazca


Google Maps show geoglyphs of Nazca: a very very long beak!

Geoglyph near Titicaca


A geoglyph of Titicaca - As seen by Google Maps

Archaeoastronomy in Ancient India

The Journal of Cosmology, 2010, Vol 9, 2063-2077. JournalofCosmology.com, July, 2010
is publishing the paper "Visions of the Cosmos: Archaeoastronomy in Ancient India" by Subhash Kak, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA
Abstract This paper is an overview of archaeoastronomy in ancient India. It describes the Vedic conception of the cosmos and the representation of the knowledge of the motions of the sun and the moon in the design of fire altars. Sites of archaeoastronomical interest described include Neolithic and Megalithic sites and the Sanchi Stupa.
"In the Indian view, the cosmos is seen as being tripartite and recursive (see Kak, 2000a and Kak, 2008 for review and additional references). The universe is viewed as three regions of earth, space, and sky (Dumézil, 1988) which in the human being are mirrored in the physical body, the breath (prāna), and mind. The processes in the sky, on earth, and within the mind are taken to be connected."
http://journalofcosmology.com/AncientAstronomy103.html

Antonio Raimondi

"Antonio Raimondi (1826 – 1890) was a prominent Italian-born Peruvian geographer and scientist. Born in Milan, Raimondi emigrated to Peru, arriving on July 28, 1850 at the port of Callao. In 1851 he became a professor of natural history. ...Throughout his career, Raimondi displayed a passion for all things Peruvian. He undertook no less than 18 extensive journeys to all regions of the country, studying the nation's geography, geology, botany, zoology, ethnography, and archaeology. In 1875, he collected his findings in the massive tome El Perú, ...". More Wiki

Hiram Bingham

Hiram Bingham, formally Hiram Bingham III, (1875–1956) was an academic, explorer, treasure hunter and politician from the United States. He made public the existence of the Quechua citadel of Machu Picchu in 1911 with the guidance of local Indigenous farmers. Later, Bingham served as a member of the United States Senate. More Wiki 

Bingham used the Raimondi's maps of Peru for exploring the country. In the book "Inca Land, Explorations in the Highlands of Peru", Bingham is telling "Raimondi's marvelous energy led him to penetrate to more out-of-the-way Peruvian villages than any one had ever done before or is likely to do again. He stopped at nothing in the way of natural obstacles."

Speculum Orbis Terrarum - Peru

From the “Speculum Orbis Terrarum,” Antwerp, 1578.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10772/10772-h/10772-h.htm

Nuremberg Maps - Peru

Part of the Nuremberg Map of 1599, Showing Pincos and the Andes Mountains

Settimio Severo

« Sono diventato tutto quel che ho voluto. E mi accorgo che non ne valeva la pena »
questo disse Settimio Severo, a un suo luogotenente, come riporta Wiki.
Lucio Settimio Severo era nato a Leptis Magna, in Libia nel 146. Morì a York nel 211. Da generale divenne imperatore romano, iniziando la dinastia severa. Prima della sua morte, l'impero su estendeva sull'isola britannica fino al vallo di Adriano.


Map of the Roman Empire with the provinces of 210 AD.
Map created by Mandrak, Wikipedia, on public domain.

Libya's UNESCO World Heritage Sites

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Libya  are:
Archaeological Site of Cyrene
Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna
Archaeological Site of Sabratha
Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus
Old Town of Ghadamès
 Libya's UNESCO World Heritage Sites