A Trip Through Time We tend to think modern society is different because we have rules, we even have rules for sports. It turns out we are not so different in that area from our ancestors. Horse racing rules have been found which date back over 2,000 years and they may not even be the first set of rules. A tablet with a set of rules was found in turkey which is the ancient tablet I am referring to. The rules were transferred to an ancient monument in honor of a jockey named Lukuyanus. Our ancient ancestors seemed to have time for recreation. When archaeologists opened a tomb in China which has been dated from 2,300 years ago, they were surprised at one of the things they found. It was an ancient board game nicely tucked away in its own box. Unfortunately, the tomb had been looted and some of the pieces to the game were lost. Having said that, some pieces were left behind such as a die which had 14 sides. There were 21 pieces which had numbers on them and a tile with clouds and eyes painted on it. The archaeologists think they know the name of the game and it is Liubo which was sometimes called Bo. It seems this game has been found before in ancient tombs of people who were high in society in the Han Dynasty. Anything to do with ancient medicine is thought to be extremely interesting, especially to the medical profession. A 2,700 year old table from Mesopotamia belonged to a doctor who wrote how he cured some of his patients. One can imagine how crude medicine was in the 7th century B.C. These tables have given insight into ancient medicine. The tablet gave a great insight into how ancient doctors were trained. It proved the doctor knew about medicines from plants probably besides using magic to help in the cures. It seems even though so many majestic tombs have been found in Egypt, there always seems to be another which is located. There was a point where it was thought not many more would be found, but obviously discoveries are still going on. A few years ago, a team of Japanese archaeologists discovered the tomb of a royal scribe which had incredible decorations and was 3,000 years old. The tomb was located in the Theban necropolis. Moving on to an even older piece of a statue, a 4,300 year old head from a statue was found in Israel. Archaeologists believe it is the head of a pharaoh who is a mystery to them. The statue had been smashed about 3,300 years ago and the head was reassembled as best as it could be. Archaeologists would not only like to know who the pharaoh was, but why in was in ancient Israel. Going on to our trip into the past, an ancient bracelet was found. It set the archaeology community a buzz. Why were they so excited? Maybe it was because it was about 40,000 years old and made by an extinct race. The bracelet was found in a cave in Siberia. It was said to have been created by Denisovans, a precursor to the modern human race. But that was not the only reason they were so excited. Another reason was the precision with which it was made. The bracelet was made of a polished green stone, and thought to be so important it was only worn on very special occasions. It was originally about 4/5ths round and with a hollow center for slipping around your wrist. The cave had become famous for Denisovans living in it. Scientists are claiming they have discovered the first settlements in Australia and they are over 50,000 years old. They are said to be under the ocean. Evidence was also found in a cave at the coast of an island named Barrow Island. It has been said the Aborigines are the longest continuous race of people in one spot. They didn’t have a written language to justify this. It seems the first settlements were all on the coast which is now under water so it is very hard to find clues on the land. Written language for the Aborigines didn’t come along until relatively recently. A body of a horse was found in the Yukon in the Permafrost. Why was this so unusual? It might be because the horse was 700,000 years old. It was claimed at the time this horse has given us the oldest DNA ever obtained. We had found older remains of animals, but the DNA was no longer available. Scientists have since learned that the genus Equus, which includes horses, donkeys and zebras dates back much further than previously believed. It dates back over 4 million years. It is interesting to note before the finding of the horse and extracting its DNA, the oldest DNA we had obtained was from a bear and was 120,000 years old. The horse was found in 2003. As we continue to look back in time, we find scientists have found some incredibly old plants which have been preserved in Amber. Amber is fossilized tree rosin. It is known for trapping small animals and insects and preserving them as it hardens into a gem like material. It is not only animals and insects that get trapped however. Scientists have found flowers perfectly preserved in amber which have been dated back to 99 million years old. Can you imagine finding something that old which was preserved? Two flowers had become trapped in the stuff and it is believed this find can help scientists find out how flowering plants evolved. Scientist think they have found the oldest dinosaur fossil which is said to be 243 million years old. It is named Nyassasaurus Parringtoni. It was found in Tanzania and is a partial find of the animal. There comes a point where we just can’t seem to go back any further so the question is, was there life before that point which was so long ago, which the earth has covered up and destroyed any evidence of?
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