Hot winter birding spots by the San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco tours are just incomplete without you enjoying the Winter Birding spots of the Bay area. The rich wetlands of Bay Trail is something that is never to be missed if you are a nature lover, keep your cameras loaded as you are sure to enjoy many picture perfect moments of  San Francisco. Be sure to use a camera with a long lens to shoot the ducks, egrets and other marshland birds in their most active self as you might not want to disturb their seclusion in any way.


We will have to take all possible measures to avoid any disturbance created to these birds. Visitors are advised to stay away from causing any harassment to the birds as they will have to pay fines for violating the Migratory Birds act that safeguards the wellness of these birds.


One of the hot winter birding spots in San Francisco is the Arrowhead Marsh of Oakland where you can find migrating ducks and shore birds. Next in the list is the Coyote Hills Regional Park where visitors are allowed a fascinating boardwalk and trails through the marshlands.


There is Crissy Field marshland that stands as a spectacular example of habitation restoration where people can enjoy bird watching through East Beach parking area or from the Crissy Field Center. The Don Edwards refuge that is found along the Pacific Flyway is a network of parks. The entire area is about 30,000 acres of marsh, salt water ponds, shorelines and mud flats that acts as a home for a wide species of shorebirds and waterfowl.

Mass grave from Thirty Years' War

 “We estimate that there are at least 75 dead, who were buried very close together in several layers," archaeologist Susanne Friederich said on Friday. The Battle of Lützen, which took place in 1632, pitted Swedish soldiers against those under the command of German Roman Catholic general Albrecht von Wallenstein.

It was one of the bloodiest battles of the Thirty Years' War, with an estimated 6,500 to 10,000 casualties. The Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus was also mortally wounded during the battle. The grave was discovered in the late summer of 2011. The 42-square-metre tomb is 1.1 meters deep.

"With the help of anthropological methods, the victims' ages, wounds, causes of death and illnesses will be determined," Friederich added. The archaeologist said it would take six experts a year to completely unearth the tomb. She said it is thought the dead were buried without clothing, weapons or other personal effects.

Using isotope analysis, the researchers hope to be able to determine the victims' geographic origins. Historical evidence indicates that Germans, Swedes, Finns and Scots fought in the Battle of Lützen.

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30,000 silver Roman coins discovered in Bath

 

More than 30,000 silver coins have been found by archaeologists working at the site of a new city-centre hotel. The hoard, believed to date from the third-century, was unearthed about 450 feet from the historic Roman Baths. Experts believe the “treasure trove” is the fifth largest hoard ever discovered in Britain and the largest from a Roman settlement. The coins, which have now been sent to the British Museum for further analysis, are fused together in a large block. This makes identification and counting difficult and conservators at central London Museum expect the task of analyzing the coins to take up to 12 months.

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Archaeologists discover earliest known metal bit

The earliest known metal equestrian bit has been unearthed by archaeologists in Israel. The bit was discovered in an equid burial site at Tel-Haror, and had probably been used on a donkey. Archaeologists led by Professor Eliezer Oren, from Ben Gurion University,  made the discovery in a layer of material dating from 1750 BC to 1650 BC, known as the Middle Bronze IIB Period.

It is among a growing number of sites in the Near East yielding the remains of horses and donkeys. Dr Joel Klenck, a Harvard University-educated archaeologist and president of the Paleontological Research Corporation, led analysis of the remains in the Tel-Haror site. He said the burial site is at the base of a dome-shaped structure.

The southeastern wall of the burial edifice was overlaid by a thick mudbrick partition that surrounded a nearby temple complex. Klenck, an archaeologist specialising in the analysis of animal remains, noted the animal was a donkey, as evidenced by foot bone measurements and traits on the grinding surfaces of its teeth.

Klenck said the site yielded the earliest direct evidence of a metal equestrian bit. “Until the excavation at Tel Haror, archaeologists had only indirect evidence for the use of bits,” he said. “An example of this indirect evidence is wear marks on equid teeth at the fortress of Buhen in contexts dating to the 20th century BC.

 

“At Tel Haror, we retrieved the actual metal device.” Round plates on either end of the ancient bit feature triangular spikes that pressured the lips of the equid if the reins were pulled from one direction. He said the discovery provided important insights into ancient equestrian practices and methods of transportation in Near East.

Other discoveries in recent years in the Near East have painted a picture revealing the extensive use of donkeys and horses in ancient cultures. The Vulture Stele, in Mesopotamia, dating to 2600BC to 2350BC, known as the Early Dynastic III period, portrays an equid pulling a chariot-like vehicle. Various Mesopotamian manuscripts dating to this period mention the horse, donkey, hemione and hybrids such as the mule. From Sumeria, terracotta reliefs from the early second millennium BC show equids pulling a chariot and a human riding horseback.

Hittite art from the 13th century BC, in modern Turkey, show a larger species of equid, perhaps a horse, pulling a chariot with three soldiers, in contrast to smaller equids in Egyptian murals pulling chariots with only two men. Horse bones were found at Tell el-’Ajjul, in Israel, in contexts dated to around 3400BC and, in Turkey, at Bogazkoy, from the 17th century BC.

Archaeologists excavated donkey remains at Tell Brak in Mesopotamia dating between 2580BC and 2455BC. Egyptian donkey burials dating to 2000 BC to 1550 BC, known as the Middle Bronze II periods, include those found at Inshas, Tell el-Farasha, Tell el-Maskhuta, and Tell el-Dab’a.

From similar time periods in the Levant – the area including most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories – archaeologists have excavated donkeys at Tell el-’Ajjul and Jericho.

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In Europe Bulgarian Archaeologists Claim Oldest Monastery

Bulgarian archaeologists have uncovered what they believe is the oldest Christian monastery in Europea near the village of Zlatna Livada in southern Bulgaria. According to latest archaeological research, the St. Athanasius monastery, still functioning near the village, has been founded in 344 by St. Athanasius himself, reports the BGNES agency.

Until now, the Candida Casa monastery, founded in 371 AD in Galloway, Scotland, was believed to be the oldest Christian monastery in Europe, followed by the St. Martin monastery in the Pyrénées-Orientales, France (373 AD). Archaeologists have examined objects in a hermit's cave and shrine located near the present St. Athanasius monastery in Bulgaria, and found evidence that the great saint might have resided there.

Additional studies in archives at the Vatican have confirmed that St. Athanasius was present at the Church Council in Serdica (modern Sofia) in 343 AD. He then travelled on to Constantinople and is believed to have stopped in the area of present Zlatna Livada, which is located in Thrace on the ancient way between Serdica and Constantinople.

The small village of Zlatna Livada (pop. 123) is located near the Bulgarian town of Chirpan, Stara Zagora region. St. Athanasius of Alexandria (296/8-373) was for a long time Bishop of Alexandria, and is revered as one of the greatest Christian saints.

He did extensive work in theology and was one of the key figures in establishing the dogmata of Christian faith that are still accepted by Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Christians alike.

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Anglo-Saxon Christian grave find near Cambridge 'extremely rare'

An Anglo-Saxon grave discovered near Cambridge could be one of the earliest examples of Christianity taking over from Paganism, archaeologists said. The skeleton of a teenage girl was found buried on a wooden bed, with a gold and garnet cross on her chest. The grave is thought to date from the mid-7th Century AD, when Christianity was beginning to be introduced to the Pagan Anglo-Saxon kings.

It was uncovered at Trumpington Meadows by Cambridge Archaeological Unit. The cross is only the fifth to be discovered in the UK. Only 12 other "bed burials" have been found.

'Cusp of Christianity'

However, Alison Dickens, who led the excavation, said the combination of a bed burial - where the body was placed in a wooden frame held together by metal brackets - and a Christian symbol, was "extremely rare". "We believe there has only been one other instance of a bed burial and pectoral cross together, at Ixworth in Suffolk," she said.

The grave of the teenager, who was believed to be about 16 years-old, was one of a cluster of four uncovered at the site south of Cambridge. The three others were described as more typical Anglo-Saxon burials with no indications of Christianity. The 3.5cm (1.4in) cross found on the girl's chest had probably been sewn onto her clothing.

Other artifacts, including a bag of precious and semi-precious stones, and a small knife were also found with the body. Archaeologists said the craftsmanship of the cross was comparable to the royal Anglo-Saxon hoard discovered at Sutton Hoo, in Suffolk. Dr Sam Lucy, a specialist in Anglo-Saxon burial from Newnham College, Cambridge, said the method of burial and quality of the jewelry could indicate the girl was from a noble or royal family.

"Christian conversion began at the top and percolated down," she said. "This cross is the kind of material culture that was in circulation at the highest sphere of society." She said the idea of burying a body with "grave goods" for the afterlife was "counter to the Christian belief of soul and not body continuing after death".

However, she believed the merging of burial rites showed the grave was "right on the cusp of the shift from Pagan to Christian". Scientists from Cambridge Archaeological Unit now plan to analyze the skeletons and artifacts. They hope to determine whether there was any relationship between the Christian girl and the three other skeletons found in close proximity to her.

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Human fossils indication at new species

The remains of what may be a previously unknown human species have been identified in southern China. The bones, which represent at least five individuals, have been dated to between 11,500 and 14,500 years ago. But scientists are calling them simply the Red Deer Cave people, after one of the sites where they were unearthed.

The team has told the PLoS One journal that far more detailed analysis of the fossils is required before they can be ascribed to a new human lineage. "We're trying to be very careful at this stage about definitely classifying them," said study co-leader Darren Curnoe from the University of New South Wales, Australia.

"One of the reasons for that is that in the science of human evolution or palaeoanthropology, we presently don't have a generally agreed, biological definition for our own species (Homo sapiens), believe it or not. And so this is a highly contentious area," he told BBC News. Much of the material has been in Chinese collections for some time but has only recently been subjected to intense investigation.

The remains of some of the individuals come from Maludong (or Red Deer Cave), near the city of Mengzi in Yunnan Province. A further skeleton was discovered at Longlin, in neighbouring Guangxi Province. The skulls and teeth from the two locations are very similar to each other, suggesting they are from the same population. 

But their features are quite distinct from what you might call a fully modern human, says the team. Instead, the Red Deer Cave people have a mix of archaic and modern characteristics. In general, the individuals had rounded brain cases with prominent brow ridges. Their skull bones were quite thick. Their faces were quite short and flat and tucked under the brain, and they had broad noses. 

 

Their jaws jutted forward but they lacked a modern-human-like chin. Computed Tomography (X-ray) scans of their brain cavities indicate they had modern-looking frontal lobes but quite archaic-looking anterior, or parietal, lobes. They also had large molar teeth. Dr Curnoe and colleagues put forward two possible scenarios in their PLoS One paper for the origin of the Red Deer Cave population.

One posits that they represent a very early migration of a primitive-looking Homo sapiens that lived separately from other forms in Asia before dying out. Another possibility contends that they were indeed a distinct Homo species that evolved in Asia and lived alongside our own kind until remarkably recently. A third scenario being suggested by scientists not connected with the research is that the Red Deer Cave people could be hybrids.

"It's possible these were modern humans who inter-mixed or bred with archaic humans that were around at the time," explained Dr Isabelle De Groote, a palaeoanthropologist from London's Natural History Museum. "The other option is that they evolved these more primitive features independently because of genetic drift or isolation, or in a response to an environmental pressure such as climate." Dr Curnoe agreed all this was "certainly possible".

 

Attempts are being made to extract DNA from the remains. This could yield information about interbreeding, just as genetic studies have on the closely related human species - the Neanderthals and an enigmatic group of people from Siberia known as the Denisovans. Whatever their true place in the Homo family tree, the Red Deer People are an important find simply because of the dearth of well dated, well described specimens from this part of the world.

And their unearthing all adds to the fascinating and increasingly complex story of human migration and development. "The Red Deer People were living at what was a really interesting time in China, during what we call the epipalaeolithic or the end of the Stone Age," says Dr Curnoe. "Not far from Longlin, there are quite well known archaeological sites where some of the very earliest evidence for the epipalaeolithic in East Asia has been found.

"These were occupied by very modern looking people who are already starting to make ceramics - pottery - to store food. And they're already harvesting from the landscape wild rice. There was an economic transition going on from full-blown foraging and gathering towards agriculture."

Quite how the Red Deer People fit into this picture is unclear. The research team is promising to report further investigations into some of the stone tools and cultural artefacts discovered at the dig sites. The co-leader on the project is Professor Ji Xueping of the Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

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