Tag Archives: rome

Why we embrace the ritual of Valentine’s Day: Q&A with a Yale sociologist

Whether you’re a die-hard romantic or a callous cynic, there’s no escaping the millions of couples cozying up this Feb. 14 to celebrate Valentine’s Day.  

The origins of our only holiday devoted to love are somewhat murky. It is thought to have its beginnings in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated in mid-February. The fertility ritual included animal sacrifice, nude men, women flogged with animal hides, and a matchmaking lottery akin to a 1970s key party. (more…)

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NASA Space Assets Detect Ocean inside Saturn Moon

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and Deep Space Network have uncovered evidence Saturn’s moon Enceladus harbors a large underground ocean of liquid water, furthering scientific interest in the moon as a potential home to extraterrestrial microbes.

Researchers theorized the presence of an interior reservoir of water in 2005 when Cassini discovered water vapor and ice spewing from vents near the moon’s south pole. The new data provide the first geophysical measurements of the internal structure of Enceladus, consistent with the existence of a hidden ocean inside the moon. Findings from the gravity measurements are in the Friday, April 4 edition of the journal Science. (more…)

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Found: Tiny ancient crustaceans, buried alive with eggs and embryos

Scientists have found 450-million-year-old fossilized crustaceans entombed with their eggs and newly hatched offspring. At least one of the animals is a newly identified species.

The tiny ostracods — arthropods related to shrimps, lobsters, and crabs — were buried by a mudslide in an area of upstate New York, near Rome, at a time when the entire region was deep underwater. In one specimen, both eggs and early embryos are present with the adult female. (more…)

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Joint Palestinian-American Dig Near Jericho Yields Clues About Early Islamic Culture

As the Byzantine Empire was in decline, Islam began to dominate the Middle East, with a remarkable culture that showed a command of technology and an appreciation of art and decoration, research by archaeologists shows.

In order to study Islamic civilization in its earliest days, Donald Whitcomb, who directs the Islamic Archaeology project at the Oriental Institute, is undertaking a project with Palestinian colleagues to further excavate an early Islamic site north of Jericho that contains a palace, a bathhouse and what was probably a settlement to the north. (more…)

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