Scientists have been trying to figure out how ancient man moved from his home and fanned out over the entire planet. Many different theories have come up and some may even be correct, but I read something which really makes me wonder about some of these scientific theories. This theory states ancient monkeys came on rafts to Central America. Wow this would mean they had to cross the ocean from Africa. Even if monkeys could figure out how to build rafts or used down trees to float across the ocean, assuming there were no storms, how would they have eaten or had anything to drink. Are we being told they stocked up for their trip? I just can’t believe any scientist worth his or her salt would put this theory forward and yet there it is.

There is a new way of examining fossils and this will change everything. A scientist has figured out how to see fossils in a new way and it is by shining florescent light on the fossil. This allows scientist to find soft tissue which still might remain. It does make one wonder if soft tissue is discovered are we looking at some type of cloning opportunity. Here is an important fact, it could turn out that many of the fossils we have dug up have tissue on them which was never seen, on the other hand preserving the bones may have destroyed this tissue on the fossils which were set up for public viewing. The light is produced by a laser and is extremely intense. The intensity bathes the sample and everything stands out and this includes things which were invisible to the human eye under normal conditions.

A new discovery has been made and it just reinforces the fact the earth was very much different millions of years ago. An ancient fossil forest was unearthed. It was found in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The forest has been dated at 380 million years old. It is believed the earth went through drastic changes in the Devonian period which ran from 420 million to 360 million years ago. This was when there was a huge drop in CO2 levels in the atmosphere. It is believed this was caused by the fact small plants were becoming trees and such and creating large forests. This was also said to be responsible for the lowering of the earth’s temperature to what it is today. The fossil forest was formed mostly of lycopod trees. These forest were so dense there was only about 8 inches between trees making it almost impossible to pass through.

Many small insects and animals have been found preserved in amber. Recently a small lizard was found this way and scientists have finally dated it. It was found to be an incredible 99 million years old. It is the oldest specimen of its kind and is being called a missing link for reptile researchers. Just how much older is it than other samples? It has been found to be 75 million years older. The object was found decades ago along with other well-preserved reptile samples, but U.S. scientists were only able to date it recently. They said, “It was incredibly exciting to see these animals for the first time. It was exciting and startling, actually, how well they were preserved.”

Researchers are finding out the Vikings were building up their seafaring and fighting ability much earlier than suspected. It was thought the Vikings only started this buildup after the raid in England at Lindisfarne which occurred on 8 June 793. It was believed after this raid, which was brutal, the Vikings were excited into action by the amount of valuables they had captured. Lindisfarne was a very rich religious monastery and the Vikings had taken everything after killing all the priests and monks. It turns out they were preparing for these raids at least a hundred or more years before. This was evidenced by the finding of two Viking ships which had been buried. This ship were made at least 100 years before the raid. Viking civilization had been changing even before then. The Vikings had become fur traders and wanted slaves and wives according to a historian and this started them on the path to marauding long before the Lindisfarne raid.

Everyone knows Hannibal crossed the Alps with elephants and horses, what they don’t know is the exact path he took. This may be changing since scientists are claiming they found the path by examining ancient horse dung. They say the dung is still teaming with preserved bacteria left by Hannibal’s cavalry. The scientists say Hannibal crossed the Alps at Col de Traversette which is 3,000 meters above sea level. Here is the strange part, it is very hard to cross even by a person wearing a back pack and yet Hannibal crossed it with an army of 30,000 men, 37 elephants and 15,000 horses. There are easier sites but he chose this one, perhaps to mislead the Romans. He did catch them with their pants down, so they say. The dung has also been dated back to the time of the crossing.

Did you ever wonder what was the world’s oldest printed book. No it is not the Gutenberg Bible. That book came hundreds of years later. It was the Diamond Sutra printed in 868 A.D. This is 600 years before the bible. The book had been hidden for centuries in a cave at the edge of the Gobi Desert. It was discovered by accident when a Chinese monk cleaning sand from a cave in 1900 and noticed a crack in a wall. It was a doorway which had been plastered over and then painted. There were about 60,000 scrolls in the room and the Diamond Sutra. The book was woodblock printed and a scroll. It measured more than 16 feet long and was dated. It had instructions stating it should be given away for free. The government had ordered the monk to leave everything and seal the cave, but an explorer had heard about the find and arrived in 1907. He found the monk who let him see a few scrolls. He purchased about 5,000 scrolls. One of the scrolls was the Diamond Sutra, the world’s oldest printed book.