M.J. Rose

As the science of archeology advances, there is no doubt we will be in awe of what is found…

A new pyramid found south of Tikal’s Mundo Perdido. Image: PACUNAM/Canuto & Auld-Thomas

From Vice.com,

The Ruins of a Massive Ancient City Have Been Discovered in Guatemala
With the help of lasers and drones, scientists have found that Maya civilization was more advanced and populous than previously imagined.

by Becky Ferreira

“The ruins of an enormous Maya ‘megalopolis’ have been discovered in Guatemala with the help of the remote sensing technique LiDAR, according to a bombshell exclusive from National Geographic on Thursday. This vast lost city envelops sites like Tikal, Holmul, and Witzna—known for their temples and pyramids—but shows that these famous heritage areas are the tip of the iceberg of this lost urban network.

Hidden under the dense jungle canopies of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, more than 60,000 human-made features—homes, canals, quarries, highways, and more—have been identified in aerial imagery collected by an international collaboration of researchers headed by the PACUNAM Foundation, a Maya cultural and natural heritage organization.

This pre-Columbian civilization is estimated to have peaked some 1,200 years ago. The data suggests it may have supported a population of 10-15 million over the newly surveilled area of 800 square miles (2,100 square kilometers).

The advanced infrastructure, which includes agricultural terracing and elevated trade routes to prevent flooding in rainy seasons, has experts rethinking the dimensions and complexity of the Maya empire…”

For the rest (and lots of pictures), click here.

A storm reveals evidence of an illegal deed and immense cruelty…

From The Washington Post,

The last U.S. slave ship was burned to hide its horrors. A storm may have unearthed it.

By Cleve R. Wootson Jr.

“In the summer of 1860, half a century after the United States banned the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Capt. William Foster sneaked 110 African slaves into Mobile, Ala. — and knew that the floating evidence of the illegal deed could get him killed.

The trip was more part of an obscene bet than any sort of profit-making scheme, but the Clotilda, the ship that made the months-long journey, held the telltale signs that it was an illegal slaver: containers for water and food, and the lingering stench of urine and feces and vomit and blood.

If caught, Foster and his crew could be imprisoned or executed, so they found a remote section of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and torched the ship, igniting a mystery that would endure for a century and a half.

What happened to the Clotilda, the last ship to bring slaves to the United States?…”

For the rest, and a video, click here.

As you know, we love scents. Perhaps this little one-of-a-kind spot is worth a field trip?

The perfume organ holds hundreds of natural perfume oils. (Bianca Taylor/KQED)

From KQED,

New Museum in Berkeley Worships the Art of Smell

By Bianca Taylor

“The first thing I notice about the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents is that it doesn’t smell.

Mandy Aftel, the museum’s founder and the author of “Essence & Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume,” says this is not an accident.

“I think people are worried that it will be very smelly like a department store,” she says.

Aftel tells me that the natural oils in her perfumes are not as pungent and long-lasting as the synthetic oils that you’d find at a makeup counter.

The Aftel Archive of Curious Scents was founded as a way to share her love of natural fragrance with the world. The small museum is in a garage behind her house in Berkeley, just over the fence from Chez Panisse…”

For the rest, and a video, click here.