10,000 Years-old Skeleton Extracted From Flooded Cave

One of the earliest human skeletons of America, which belonged to a person that lived more than 10,000 years ago, in the Ice Age, was recovered by Mexican specialists from a flooded cave in Quintana Roo. The information it has lodged for centuries will reveal new data regarding the settlement of the Americas.

The Young Man of Chan Hol, as the skeleton is known among the scientific community, due to the slight tooth wear it presents, which indicates an early age, is the fourth of our earliest ancestors found in the American Continent, and has been studied as part of a National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) project.

After 3 years of studies conducted In Situ to prevent information loss, the Chan Hol skeleton was subtracted from the water by a team of specialists headed by biologist Arturo Gonzalez, coordinator of the project Study of Pre Ceramic Men of Yucatan Peninsula and director of Museo del Desierto de Coahuila (Museum of the Desert of Coahuila), with the participation of speleodivers Eugenio Acevez, Jeronimo Aviles and Luis Garcia, part of the recently founded Instituto de la Prehistoria de America (Institute for American Prehistory), funded by INAH.

The Young Man of Chan Hol, named after the cenote it was found in, was recovered in a 542 meters long and 8.3 deep cave where stalagmites abound, and is reached after going through flooded, dark and difficult labyrinths.

National Geographic features University of Miami's work on Bahamas 'blue holes'

Expedition leader, Kenny Broad ascends from
a deep chamber in a Bahamian blue hole.

Expedition led by UM scientist sheds light on evolution, archaeology and climate change

The cover story of the most recent issue of National Geographic Magazine (August 2010) features a University of Miami (UM) led expedition to the underwater caves of the Bahamas, known as 'blue holes.' These unique environments are one of the least understood ecosystems on the planet, largely due to the challenges involved in studying these extreme environments, which include complete darkness, dramatic reversing currents, extreme depths, poisonous gasses, and silty, tight squeezes. The expedition made significant findings related to the past history of the earth, including human occupation, previously undiscovered microbial life, and abrupt climatic changes.

The expedition was conceived of and led by National Geographic Emerging Explorer Kenny Broad, Director of UM's Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, and Associate Professor at UM's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Funded by The National Geographic Society, the National Museum of the Bahamas, and the National Science Foundation, this work included more than 150 dives and involved unique collaboration between cave divers, scientists from several different fields, and a specialized film team led by the late Wes Skiles, a renowned filmmaker, conservationist and cave explorer. The expedition also was featured in a one-hour NOVA PBS special entitled "Extreme Cave Diving." (see below for the complete video)

True Causes for Extinction of Cave Bear Revealed: More Human Expansion Than Climate Change

Ursus spelaeus male skull found in Cova Eiros
(Triacastela, Lugo). Credit: Grandal-D'Anglade et al.

The cave bear started to become extinct in Europe 24,000 years ago, but until now the cause was unknown. An international team of scientists has analysed mitochondrial DNA sequences from 17 new fossil samples, and compared these with the modern brown bear. The results show that the decline of the cave bear started 50,000 years ago, and was caused more by human expansion than by climate change.

"The decline in the genetic diversity of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) began around 50,000 years ago, much earlier than previously suggested, at a time when no major climate change was taking place, but which does coincide with the start of human expansion," says Aurora Grandal-D'Anglade, co-author of the study and a researcher at the University Institute of Geology of the University of Coruña.

According to the research study, published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, radiocarbon dating of the fossil remains shows that the cave bear ceased to be abundant in Central Europe around 35,000 years ago.

Speleologists Find New Animal Species in Maja Harrapit Cave in Albanian Alps

A team of speleologists has discovered new galleries and animal species during their research in the Maja Harrapit (Arapit) Cave, located on the foot of the wall of Maja Arapit Summit in the Albanian Alps.

During their month-long work, the team has discovered and mapped new vertical galleries in the cave, which have increased its length and its development in height, putting it among the largest caves of this kind in the world, Aleksey Zhalov from the Bulgarian Speleology Federation, which coordinates the team, told national media.

According to Zhalov, zoological research was also carried out, which yielded finds of new animal special.

The Maja Harrapit Cave was first explored in the 1970s by Albanian cavers. It was mapped during the first Bulgarian–Albanian expedition in 1992, when 512 metres of cave passages were surveyed. Since then, the team of Albanian, Bulgarian and other speleologists has been researching the cave annually and continue to discover new parts of it.

Calgary explorers discover Canada's deepest cave system near Continental Divide

A team of five amateur cavers from the Calgary area have found a link between two caves in a remote part of the Rockies near the Continental Divide, making the system Canada's deepest by more than 100 metres.

"It's 15 per cent deeper than anything that was known in Canada before," said Kathleen Graham, one of the cavers who found the link. "So this is a lot deeper."

The 653-metre deep cave, which is also the fourth-longest in Canada at 4.5 kilometres, is near the Alberta border in Mount Doupe, a 2,667-metre peak about a 90-minute drive on forestry roads southeast of Fernie, B.C.

Its discovery was the culmination of dozens of forays into two neighbouring caves by about 34 cavers from the Alberta Speleological Society working in small teams over eight years.

Surveying: New mapping grades (UIS)

Or get a copy from UISIC

Photography: Automatic Slave Units: The Firefly

Both the Firefly 2 and Firefly 3 are based on a slave unit designs by David Gibson of the BCRA CREG, UK www.caves.org.uk/flash/

 

Firefly 2 Operation
Just plug the slave unit into your flashgun and you are ready to shoot!
If you do not want to use the illumination from the trigger flashgun (the one connected to the camera) then you can tape the infra red filter provided to the window of the trigger flashgun to provide an infra red only flash. The slave unit will be triggered, but no visible light will come from the trigger flashgun.

Bats Facing Regional Extinction in Northeastern US from Rapidly Spreading White-Nose Syndrome

White fungus on hibernating bats' noses, ears, and arms
causes them to awaken early and lose fat reserves
leading to early death.

A new infectious disease spreading rapidly across the northeastern United States has killed millions of bats and is predicted to cause regional extinction of a once-common bat species, according to the findings of a University of California, Santa Cruz researcher.

The disease, white-nose syndrome, first discovered near Albany, N.Y. in 2006, affects hibernating bats and has caused millions to perish, writes lead author Winifred F. Frick, in a study published in the August 6 issue of Science.

Frick, a UC Santa Cruz graduate who is now a post-doctoral researcher in UCSC's Environmental Studies department, said the disease is spreading quickly across the northeastern U.S. and Canada and now affects seven bat species. If death rates and spread continue as they have over the past four years, this disease will likely lead to the regional extinction of the little brown myotis, previously one of the most common species in North America, she said.

Cave paintings found in Dominican Republic

Sixty-one petroglyphs and two bas-relief sculptures believed to 5,000 years old were found in the Dominican Republic, a media report said.

Raul Fernandez, a local resident, found the work in a cave in northern Monteclaro town, the Listin Diario daily said Tuesday.

Spanish archaeologist Adolfo Lopez said the petroglyphs and sculptures could be 5,000 years old.

Lopez, a specialist in cave art at Madrid`s Universidad Complutense, said one of the Monteclaro sculptures is among the three most important pre-Columbian cave art ever found, due to its particular shape and because such works are so rarely found.

"This sculpture is the last bas-relief of quality to be found in the Antilles. It portrays a figure sitting in a fetal position, which gives the idea that it is dedicated to fertility," he said.

Lopez christened the cave with the name of "Raul de Monteclaro" in honour of its discoverer and the place where it is located.

Source: Zeenews