Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Mistery behind Secrets of the Cave painters Part .IV


In view of this discovery, some experts have excitedly compared the expressive power and vision of the cave painters to the likes of the Dutch painter Vincent Van. Gogh the difference is, however, that the paintings of chauvet-or at least some of them – are among the oldest in the world, and were probably painted for very different reasons. The latest research has shown that some paintings were completed by later Stone Age artists, sometimes after an interval of as much as several thousand years.

The old idea that mankind need many millennia to produce works of art is now obsolete. Even those scientists who had previously believed in the slow and gradual development of artistic quality, as shown in cave paintings had to acknowledge that the paintings from Chauvet are among the most carefully executed of their kind ever discovered. The naturalistic representation of animals, the accurate paintings, among with the intentional smudging of contours, the use of perspective all this was evidence of exceptional skill. So, advanced were the Stone Age painters that they could not only endow their creatures with a sense of size, but could also convey the impression of movement.

Unfortunately, the origin of the art of these unknown people remains hidden. Did the paintings have a connection to magic or religious ceremonies? Perhaps the answer lies waiting to be discovered in another of these subterranean museums.

Mistery behind Secrets of the Cave painters Part IIII


In 1985, half century after the discovery of Lascaux, the professional diver Henri Cosquer came across another treasure trove of prehistoric art. Between Cassis and Marseille in the south of France, at a depth of 35 m below sea level, Cosquer found a cave that created a sensation among pre historians. The oldest known works of art representing people and animals are 35,000 years old. But they cannot compare to the magnificent wall paintings which adorn Cosquer’s cave.

The carbon-14 dating method tells us that the oldest part of the cave is more than 28,000 years old. Like Lascaux and the other examples of cave paintings, Cosquer’s cave shows the great hunting scenes of the ice age. The small horses, the three penguins, the jelly fish, The great deer and deer and all the other animals that can be found in the grotto are just like the ghostly hand prints framed in blown red ochre early masterpieces of art.

The real sensation came in 1995 when the exact dating of the Chauvet Cave forced experts to revise radically their long established conceptions of the beginnings of painting. On the basis of the Chauvet finds, we can now say with certainty that prehistoric artists began to sale the heights of artistic achievement at least 33,000 years ago very much earlier than was previously assumed.

(Cont.)

Mistery behind Secrets of the Cave painters Part .II


For a long time, the Lascaux caves, located in the Dondogne region of central France, were the most famous prehistoric site. This was due to the age of paintings found there about 17,000 years old and because of their exceptional artistic quality.

The discovery, in 1940 of The Lascaux caves brought a great influx of visitors to the site, and aroused fears that the paintings might be damaged by increased humidity, Careless Contact and even Vandalism. The caves were closed to the public in 1963. But in order to permit people to view the paintings, researchers commissioned Lascaux II an exact copy of the cave, with its numerous treasures.

The first sight of the rock paintings is unforgettable and a mystery. Each animal seems to emerge from the rock face. The spine of a horse melts into a crevice, the muscle of a bison runs along a rock edge, and the neck of a bull follows the outlines of a ledge. The artists of Lascaux used the rough texture of the rock to give a three dimensional quality to their creations. By candlelight, the bulls come to life and fill the cave with their presence.

How did the paint? Where did they get their colors from? And how did they apply them? What is the mystery behind it?To be able to reconstruct the movements of our ancestors, it was necessary for painters and archaeologists to work side by side

(Cont.)

Mistery behind Secrets of the Cave painters Part .I


The works of pre historic cave painters provide a window into a vanished world, a time when bison and mammoths roamed the plains of Europe. The discovery of spectacular underground art galleries has stunned the world. First there was Lascaux, with its 17,000­-year-old cave paintings. Then came the finds at Cosquer, estimated to be about 28,000 year old. But the sensational discovery of the Chauvet cave in southern France in 1994 has shed new light on the very beginnings of human artistic genius.

The three cave explorers could hardly believe their eyes: after making their way down a long, narrow path, they entered an enormous gallery some dozens of meters underground. On one wall they saw three lines in ochre and a small red mammoth. With care Jean-Marie Chauvet, Eliette Brunel-Deschamps and Christian Hillaire walked to the end of the chamber. There, they found themselves surrounded by bison, rhinoceros, mammoths, horses, bears, wild cats and deer, all of which seemed to run across the walls of the cave.

The discovery of this staggering Stone Age art gallery took place in December 1994 in southeastern France, more precisely in the valley of the Ardeche, a tributary of Rhone River. The Chauvet cave, named after Jean Marie Chauvet, constitutes one of the most extraordinary archaeological finds of modern times. This is partly due to the works of art it contains, but the cave has also opened completely new perspectives for the study of the beginnings of art. These remarkable finds have led to new discussions of old questions: who were the first artists when and why did they start painting?

(Cont.)

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Poompuhar : Underwater excavation in Tamil Nadu




Poompuhar is an ancient port city in Tamil Nadu, India. Its very old name in Tamil Poetic works and other literature are Puhar , Kaveripoompatinam etc. It is located in the mouth of river Kaveri in Southern Tamil Nadu. It was once a flourishing ancient Port city in the Early Chola Kingdom around 500AD.

The city was constructed in a well planned manner. The city had two distinct districts one near the sea and the other one to the west. The district near the sea was inhabited by the fisher folk, foreign traders,overseas travellers, and merchants. weavers, silk merchents vendors,potters and jewellers stayed there. The shipyard and ware house was there.And is named as Maruvurpakkam, to its west is Pattinapakkam. Kings and nobles, rich merchants, farmers, astrologers, dancers and army were stayed there.

In Silapathikaram one of the most famous five epics in Tamil Literature Poompuhar was extolled and heralded in detail. Other Tamil literature's like Manimekalai and Temple Inscriptions speaks loudly the fame of Puhar. Purananooru a very old poetic work also describe the city and the life of the Puhar people.


Big ships entered the port without any hassles and the precious goods arrived from other countries spread over the sea shore and the goods were stored in the huge warehouses and displayed in both day and night market for sale. Many very huge and high beautiful mansions are near the sea shore with high platform.

The Scientists believes that the ancient city was destroyed by Tsunami in 416 Ad possibly caused by Krakatoa event.

In 2006 National Institute of Ocean Technology conducted some surveys and showed the remains of the ancient port city well inside the sea two kilometers away. The record of Tamilians international trade and architectural marvelous sinks silently into the deep.


Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Story behind their names

You have probably heard the story of how you got your name at least once or twice. Well, people are not the only ones that come with interesting naming stories. Founders of companies go to great lengths to come up with quintessential company name, which can at times make or break them.



Google:
The name started as a joke boasting about the amount of information the search-engine would be able to search. It was very first named as"Googol" a word of the number represented by 1 followed by 100 zeros. But later founders-Stanford graduate students Sergey Brin and Larry Page represented their project to angel investor, and from whome they received a cheque made out to "Google'.





Yahoo:


The name was derived by Jonathan Swift and was used in his book 'Gulliver's Travels'. it represents a person who is revolting in nature and action and is barely a human. Yahoo! founders Jerry Yang and David Filo finalised this name because they considered themselves as yahoos.

Micro soft:
Coined by Bill Gates to represent his company that was devoted to MICRO computer SOFTware. Originally named it as Micro-soft, but then the'-' was removed.






Adobe:


Came from the name of the river Adobe Greek that ran behind the house of founder John Warnock.







Corel:



The name was arrieved from the founder's name Dr.Michael Cowpland. The logo stands for COwpland REresearch Laboratory.






Apple computers:
Steve Jobs was three months late in filling a name for the business, because he didn't get any better name for his new company. So one day he told the staff," If I do not get a better name by 5 O'clock today, our company's name will be anything I like." Since at 5 O clock no body came up with a better name, and he was eating an apple at that time (favourite fruit of Steve Jobs), so he kept the name of the company as " Apple Computers".

Cisco:
It is not an acronym as is popularly believed it Short for San Francisco.

Hewlett Packard:


Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to select whether the company they founded would be called Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett. And thelosser was Bill, but not Dave








eBay:

The founder of eBay, Pierre Omidyar , had a web consulting company called Echo Bay Technology Group. Echobay.com was already taken when he tried to register it, so he selected the ne name eBay.Com instead.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Which theorem is easy to calculate? Indian method or Pythagoras?


Pythagoras was a famous Greek philosopher and Great Mathematician in 495BC. Pythagoras has been discovered a theorem in Geometry called after his name as”Pythagoras Theorem”. In his theorem he established the relation ship between the Hypotenuse and the other two sides adjacent to the right angle. Though this theorem now bears his name it was previously formulated and used by Indians and the Babylonians.
According to this theorem The Square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other to sides. In this formula finding any one of the unknown quantity is a long process of taking square root. It is a cumbersome time consuming process.
But before his period, The Tamil people in India followed a easy way to calculate the lengths of the sides with out taking Square roots. The Tamil Poet Bothaiyanar mentioned this method in his Tamil verses. I have given you the details with the pictures please compare them and point out which is the easiest way to find the length.
According to the Bothaiyanar to find the length of the hypotenuse, measure any one of the sided and subtract one eighth of its length from it and add it with half of the other side you will get the length of the hypotenuse.



It is very simple isn’t it ancient Tamilians find the height and slope of the hills by this way only
And this is your turn, please register which is the easy method to calculate?

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Is it possible to feel Near Death Experience? Part.II


UNREAL JOURNEY:
For the skeptics, people who report a near death experience are certainly sincere, but they have not returned from death. Sceptics see the NDEs as simply a mirror of reality, with nothing to do with the afterlife. The question that remains, though, concerns the substance of these cases.
Suppose for a moment, that the victims had really left their bodies. This would mean that an independent part of their being could detach itself from the physical body. The survivors are convinced that this is what takes place. But there are no rational grounds for believing this to be true.
For many psychologists and physiologists, a near death experience can be compared to conditions of trance and their accompanying hallucinations. Under the impact of an overwhelming physical and mental shock, the brain releases large amounts of chemicals known as endorphins- natural painkillers which bring about feeling of happiness and wellbeing. The effects of the endorphins are similar to those triggered by certain synthetic drugs, and include the feeling of peace described by some survivors of NDEs. After such a journey into the beyond, some people not only lose their fear of death, but they even regret having returned- not least because it is at this point that the pain begins. But at least they are still alive.

Is it possible to feel Near Death Experience? Part.I



Is it really possible to cross the threshold of death and yet return to life? Time and again, the survivors of severe accidents have described exactly this scenario. However, doctors and other are skeptical about reports of near death experiences. Could these be the body’s way of protecting itself from life threatening trauma?
Occasionally, people describe experiences that challenge our notions of what is possible. Consider the following: a man is driving along the highway when he suddenly loses control of the vehicle. There is a powerful impact as he ploughs into a tree or other obstacle. The driver is trapped in the twisted wreckage of his car, unable to move. Gravely injured, his life is ebbing away. Suddenly, he feels a force pulling him upwards. While anxious rescuers struggle to free him, he feels himself rising up into the air, leaving behind the battered shell of his body. His role changes: he is no longer involved, he becomes a spectator. Then everything grows dark, and a tunnel opens up to swallow him. There is a passage, at the end of which he can see an unreal right. He hears sounds and voices that comfort him and make him feel at rest. Then he re enters the tunnel, returning to the scene of the accident and the sound of human voices- the rescuers. And he begins to feel pain.
Such a description is typical of a Near Death Experience (NDE), a phenomenon that defies explanation. A surprising number of people have undergone such experiences, and have described the journey in detail.
The question of whether there is life after death has always interested people, but it has recently undergone a revival, In part, this stems from the development of modern medical resuscitation technologies, which enable emergency personnel to save many more lives than was possible in the past.
People who have narrowly escaped death after an accident have described journeys that have taken them into the beyond. After the publication of Dr. Raymond Moody’s best selling book "Life after life" in 1988, such reports became widely known, and NDE’s have been the subject of intense debate for about 20 years. Some people dismiss the stories as nothing more than tales of the spirit realm. Others suppose that the survivors are influenced by the tabloid press, and that they tell journalists what they think readers would like to read. Would survivors of NDEs describe such experiences if they had not already heard similar reports in the media? There is a third group, those familiar with the scientific background, who interpret NDEs as simple hallucinations; for them, the main question is what triggers these experiences.
(Cont.)

Friday, March 5, 2010

Aztecs:A great imperial power of Mexico valley


A great imperial power, The Aztecs came to dominate the valley of Mexico in less than hundred years. Egged on by blood thirsty gods, they were a war like people, out standing for their military skill and well organized society by that time the Spanish Conquistador Herman Cortes arrived in 1519, The Aztecs and their allies were rulers of some 25 million peoples. The Aztecs were one of many tribes who invaded the valley of Mexico soon after the collapse of The Toltecs in the late 12th century. They dominated the valley after 1438.

Tehochtitlan is the capital city. It is a city of canals and narrow streets, The Aztecs capital was built on an island in the lake Texcocs. It was linked to the land by three narrow cause ways. The city was home to 2, 00,000 people- four or five times larger than any European city by that time. Most people lived in small houses in the narrow streets surround an area of temples- The Great Percinct. The centre of the Technochtitlan was dominated by the Great Percinct, surrounded by the wall decorated with huge serpent heads. Inside the enclosure were the temples of the leading gods.


A skull rack displayed the head of countless victims of human sacrifice. When they won the war The Aztecs killed many prisoners as offering to their gods. Aztecs believed that human sacrifices were necessary in order for the universe to continue. The commoners lived in small mud houses and grew crops on the marshes. They dressed simply. The nobles were warriors, tribute collectors, and judges; they were rewarded for their service with land. The subject peoples made their regular payments to their Aztec overlords, in the form of maize, cacao, or cotton.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

May Flower: The Pilgrim Fathers Expedition



The 180 tones May flower was originally built to carry wine and other cargoes, not people, and was cramped and uncomfortable. Living quarters of each of the 102 passengers were not bigger than single bed. Many of them were unprepared for their new life. One passenger died and a baby was born on the Voyage. How ever many did not survive the winter America.

On 21st November 1620 a small ship anchored in the sheltered bay behind Cape Cod, on the east coast of America. The ship, the Mayflower contained 35 religious dissenters who wished to star a new life in America. So that they could worship the way they pleased. Sailing with them were 67 other emigrants; Together the voyagers known as the Pilgrim Fathers. It was their pilgrimage across the ocean that created the first successful European colony in North America. They called their settlement Plymouth, in what is not Massachusetts.

A third of the passengers were separatists. They rejected the Pomp and ceremony of the Church of England and wished to practice their own, simpler form of worship. They dressed in plain clothes and disapproved of frivolity and idleness, but later every one came to New England.

They are that pilgrims first settled became known as New England, members of the Wampanoag tribes already live there. Fortunately one of them spoke English and with him acting as a translator, the Wampanoag helped the colonists plant crops and hunt for food without their aid the pilgrims would not have survived their first year in the new land. The first house the pilgrims constructed were built roughly cut planks of wood from the local forests, the roofs ere coated with bark to keep the rain and snow out. Every pilgrim had to work hard to help clear the site and plant crops necessary for their survival.