wondered

Archaeologists have always wondered what the severed and nailed heads of the Iberians mean. They already have the answer

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What does a severed head displayed on a wall mean? What if the skull also shows a huge iron nail stuck in the forehead? The question may sound crazy, but it has been intriguing archaeologists for decades who are dedicated to studying the communities that populated the northeast of the peninsula millennia ago, where have appeared in deposits like that of Ullastret. There are those who consider that the skulls were war trophies that were displayed as a warning and display of power. Others believe they are revered relics. Now we are closer to find out. What has happened? That archaeologists dedicated to studying the iberian communities of the Iron Age have delved into an enigma that has intrigued them for decades: Why the hell they cut off heads? What did they intend when they cut out skulls that they then exhibited to the public? Who owned them and what were they used for? The issue becomes even more mysterious if we take into account that historians have verified that part of these decapitated skulls seemed to receive “a treatment post mortem“which included certain incisions or the use of cedar oil; and (perhaps most fascinating) that some skulls show enormous holes and even iron nails driven into the bone. What exactly have they studied? What Rubén de la Fuente Seoane, an archaeologist at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​and his colleagues have done is to focus on two sites in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, located in what is now Catalonia: Puig Castellar and Ullastret. To be more precise, what they have analyzed are seven cut skulls located in both towns dated to the last millennium BC. Their conclusions have been expressed in an article published in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. It may not seem like a very large sample, but skulls represent a much more widespread phenomenon. As I remembered this week Fran Lidz in The New York TimesSince 1904, archaeologists have located “dozens” of skulls of this type in the northeast of the peninsula dating between 800 and 218 BC. You don’t have to go far to see them. They can be observed at the Museum of Archeology of Catalonia (MAC), which has been expanding your collection. The most curious thing is that these skulls were not only cut off, they were also exhibited, placed on porches, stakes… Sometimes with enormous iron nails pierced through them. But… Why did they do it? That is the question that archaeologists have been asking for some time. Because? For what purpose were the skulls decapitated, prepared and displayed? “Who were these individuals and what were their heads used for?” he wonders From Fuente Seoane before remembering that “traditionally” the debate has revolved around two major hypotheses. There are those who maintain that the skulls were war trophies designed to intimidate enemies and those (in a radically different interpretation) interpreted them as “venerated relics” related to figures who had had influence in the community. And what is the answer? Easy to ask, not so easy to answer. As you remember the article published by De la Fuente Seoane and his colleagues, some scholars have looked at the location of the skulls to try to understand their function. The problem is that this seems to complicate the issue even more. There are heads that seem to have been displayed directly on walls. Others were discovered in graves or in the context of “domestic spaces.” How then to solve the enigma? De la Fuente-Seoane’s team chose to broaden the focus and avoid exclusive explanations. “Our study shows that it can be a mistake to have to choose only one option,” explains to The New York Times. What does that mean? That the practice of severed heads among the Iberians of the northeastern peninsula could be richer, more diverse and complex than we thought. To begin with, the archaeologists confirmed that the skulls do not appear to have been selected at random. Some treatment is also appreciated post mortem of the pieces, with practices that suggest the existence of experts in preparing the skulls, which would in turn reveal that it was not an occasional practice. “Our results reveal that the individuals from Puig Castellar and Ullastret would not have been selected at random. There would be a homogeneous tendency towards men in the ritual, but the patterns of mobility and location suggest greater diversity, which could imply social and cultural differences between individuals from the two communities,” comment. That is to say, experts suggest that the practice of severed heads could have responded to “several criteria.” Same ritual, several meanings? Exact. “In Puig Castellar, severed heads in public spaces could demonstrate power, venerate prominent members of the community or intimidate enemies. In Ullastrer, the location of the heads in exposed areas suggests that they were important inhabitants, revered locally,” pick up the item. The ritual was therefore rich and more diverse than many believed. “It did not respond to the same symbolic expression among the Iberian communities of the northeast, It varied according to the settlement“. “In some cases it seems that foreign individuals were mainly used as symbols of power and intimidation, while in other towns the veneration of individuals linked to the community could have been prioritized,” they point out from the UAB. “The practice of the heads was applied differently at each site, which seems to rule out a homogeneous symbolic expression.” How did they conclude that? The researchers decided to study the origin of each skull and ask themselves a question: Did they belong to the native population or are they remains of people from other communities? It may seem like a minor issue, but it is crucial to the premise with which the team worked: if the skulls were war trophies they probably did not have a local origin, while if they were used to venerate ancestors of the community they surely did. To clear up doubts, the experts resorted to the analysis of stable isotopes … Read more

If you have ever wondered what the pride of the Spanish Navy is like, this virtual walk puts you in the S-81

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Although the Spanish Naval History is rich and prolificfor years, Spain built submarines under foreign license. Giving life to one of these vehicles is not an easy task, but at the beginning of this century, something changed and the Navy decided that it was time to have its own model: Class S-80. After years of development, delays and some problems, in November 2023 the S-81 was delivered, aka “Isaac Peral” It is a submarine with some of the latest technology innovations and A “unique” propulsion system (which will work at some point). And, if you have ever wondered what life is like within a submarine or how its operators train, the Navy has published a 3D video in which we can see some of the S-81 rooms. What needs to be done to enjoy the video is to give the ‘play’ and rotate with the mouse, turning the camera to see the first details of the roof and, then, of the interior. The first thing we see is the upper area of the submarine, which in some works has been indicated as the entrance zone to it, but that it is an ‘watchtower’ from which the commander performs the work of approach to port. It is the best point to control the operation and has manual controls and a huge compass. At the bottom of the bow, the submarine entrance hatch can be seen, as well as a series of countermeasures in the foreground. Apart from the torpedoes, the S-81 has electronic and acoustic countermeasures as part of its defense and survival suite. In the offensive weapons, it has torpedoes, missiles and mines. As countermeasures, an acoustic lally system is helped that Imitate the submarine signing To divert enemy torpedoes. It also has the possibility of launch mobile countermeasures, luresand the electronic system allows both the detection of enemies and the disturbance of adversary signals to increase their ability to perform furtive operations. In the final bow we see the hatch through which the crew enters the submarine. In the central hall, a plaque remembers the main characteristics of Isaac Peral, as well as some historical data. On both sides of the hall, we find dependencies for the crew. These are six or three beds cabins and each of the 48 occupants of the submarine has its own bunk. In other submarines, especially in the oldest, there was something called “hot bed”, beds in which the crew slept in shifts. Only the commander has his own cabinless than 3 m². Now, although the crew can be rested by having its own bed, there are bad news: there are only two toilets and three showers for the entire endowment. Under the candle, the highest part of the submarine that is from which the commander controls the entrance to port, is the command platform. This is the brain of the submarine and in the image below we can see operators training in the simulator found on the mainland. Also on the mainland, operators can train with a simulator to learn to keep the ships of the ship through ‘avatars’. It is very widespread, but it is always curious to see how they handle similar systems with Xbox’s command. The truth is that the virtual walk of the Navy is short and would have been great to see some non -confidential units under the optics of that 360º camera. Currently, Isaac Peral will be a few months stopped in port because it will undergo a new maintenance round. As they detail in The confidentialwork will be carried out in Mechanics, electricity, hydraulic, electronics and cooling areas With the intention of calibrating systems such as communications, analyze the operation of the drinking water production system and check the state of missile throwers. The S-81, the unique of the S-80 fleet at the moment, due to a postponement In the afloat of the S-82 Narciso Monturiol until the end of summer, it will be three months stopped in port for this maintenance. Images | Navy, Navantia, Rubén Somonte Mde In Xataka | That time Spain bombarded Istanbul: nine ships, a film flight and the Obsession of Octavio de Aragón

If you have ever wondered how much humanity would occupy if it was a giant meatball, quiet: you are not the only one

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Once, many years ago, I came up with a stupid question, At the level of Yahoo Answers. If I spit a lot, can I dehydrate? My reasoning was that, at some point, I would lose the ability to create fluid, but it did not happen a good moment of laughter with those present. There is an internet corner in which my question would have been taken very seriously: Reddit. And it is precisely where the definitive question is answered: how great a meatball made with all human flesh. At the moment, We are about 8.2 billion people running around the world (although there are those who think we have left Between 1,000 and 3,000 million along the way). Consult that real time number It is dizzy and addictive, and it is really difficult to “visualize” how much we are more than 8,000 million people. A lot, yes, but … how much? There is graphics and maps that try to reduce this so that we have a perspective of what the Asian population supposesfor example, but it is still complicated that we visualize what it would mean by together more than 8,200 souls in the same place. As I say, in Reddit there is a very special place, one called ‘they did the math‘In which users post absurd questions and solve themselves using all possible mathematical seriousness and rigor. The great human meatball We are going to focus on that idea of the “great human meatball.” Kiwi2703 was the one start This great debate, with simulation included. The parameters he took were 7,880 million existing people at that time, with a calculation of 62 kilos of average weight and a density of 985 kg/m³. Mixing everything and creating a compact ball, we would have a sphere of just under a kilometer in diameter. To contextualize everything much more, Kiwi shared a drawing in which we can see that the human meatball would be much higher than the Manhattan skyscrapersbut I would enter Central Park. As we say, the updated numbers would make the meatball be somewhat larger because we are 400 million more humans (and we will continue to increase until Let’s reach 10,000 millionS By the end of this century before starting to fall) but it is curious that we occupy so little space within our planet (once we have pressed in a ball, of course). This Absurd questions is a sciencebut taking them seriously can be really fun. Examples: would it be possible to put a rocket into orbit if the propulsion were candies mixed with Coca-Cola? The conclusion is that nosince it does not use Coca-Cola Light and because releasing co₂ from an aqueous solution does not have enough energy to achieve the necessary thrust. In another, a photograph of a type that has a structure like a harness that allows to have a compressor and a split of a air-conditioning Next to a battery to literally have a portable air conditioning. The question It is how long it can work and the calculations point to between one and two hours, but it depends a lot on the way we choose. Because yes, there are many real absurd questions, but others that force us to think and use those resources that we learn in the studies and think that they will not help us from nothing. An example? When I know look for calculate the weight of a huge cube of tungsten Next to a man, a really dense material. The users exposed the density of the metal, the height that man could have, the possible dimension of the cube and calculated the weight. And, at the end of the day, the calculation that all humanity can form a meatball that between Central Park is not worth much, but if you run out of subjects to talk about and You hate awkward silencesIt is definitely a good resource. For now, I’m going to see if my spit question has been resolved in Reddit. Image | Reddit (Kiwi2703) In Xataka | Europe has always seen Japan’s demographic crisis as the future. For Italy it is already the present

In 1950 two scientists wondered if possible a nuclear bomb of 10 gigatons. Its results are hidden locked up

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On October 30, 1961, a Soviet bomber furrowed the skies of the Arctic towards Novaya Zemlya. Under his fuselage he hung an artifact the size of a bus: an unprecedented nuclear pump. At 11:32, the called TSAR pump He released. A parachute slowed its fall, allowing the plane to move away. Then, a detonation illuminated the sky with a fireball of almost 10 kilometers in diameter and a fungus -shaped cloud that amounted to more than 65 kilometers. The show was surreal: the pump, With 50 megatones explosive (more than 3,300 times that of Hiroshima), became a symbol of the Nuclear madness. But it could be much worse. The awakening of a new era. With the atomic bombardment of Hiroshima and Nagasaki In August 1945, the world changed irreversibly. Those bombs, 16 and 21 kilotons respectively, they marked the beginning of the destructive power without a paragon of Nuclear weapons. However, despite their fearsome capacity, these weapons were only the first step towards a much more sinister technological escalation. What would later transcend the most reckless imagination. The most powerful pump ever detonated would be That Soviet tsar of 50 megatones, although designed to reach 100. However, the most disturbing thing is that this was not the summit. In hidden, the United States had still planned More huge. The “Super” concept. Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs were based In fission: A chain reaction in which heavy nuclei are divided releasing energy. But as we said, in parallel to their development, some scientists imagined a second stage: The fusion. This implied union of light nuclei (as deuterium and tritium) to form a heavier one, releasing even more energy. It happens that this reaction required an initial fission explosion to activate, which would give rise to the concept of the Hydrogen pumps. In the 1940s they were just a theoretical speculation … but everything changed very soon. Photograph of a replica of the tarum pump housing Communism comes. After the detonation of the First atomic bomb Soviet in 1949, the United States accelerated its thermonuclear programs. The fear of communism, enhanced by the revolution in China that same year, made the National Security Council recommend quadruply military spending. In that context, the figures of Edward Teller and Stanislaw Ulam appear, who devised The design that even today supports the H bombs. In 1952, the “Mike” test of Operation IVY demonstrated for the first time the Thermonuclear principle: an explosion of 10.4 megatones (500 times Nagasaki) that left a crater of 1,900 meters wide. Despite such force, that was not enough for Teller. The Soundy germ. Two years later, in 1954, the so -called “Shrimp” bomb during the Castle Bravo test. A powerful explosion was expected, but the result of 15 megatons (1,000 times Hiroshima) even surprised its designers, both by strength and by the devastating level of radiation released. However, Teller’s impetus did not stop there either. I wanted more, Much more. It was then that one of the most delusional and terrifying projects of nuclear history emerged: the Sundial Project. Designed by Teller and his colleagues from the Livermore Radiation Laboratory, the plan proposed a new destruction scale: no already kilotons or megatones, we entered In the gigatons. A couple of brothers. They were designed Two weapons: Gnomon and Sindial. Gnomon would act as “primary”, with a detonation of 1,000 megatons aimed at detonating Soundy, which would reach a power of 10,000 megatons, that is, 10 gigatons. For placing it in perspective, he thinks again The image of the beginning. Well, the figure exceeds 200 times the tsar bomb, and almost does not fit in the conceptual framework of the physics of conventional explosions. The potential apocalypse. The logic behind Sindial overflows any traditional calculation. To such powers, the laws of escalation of destruction They lose any validity: The heat, pressure and energy released would be so monstrous that, a priori, they would open a hole in the atmosphere. In fact, A report Del Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists pointed out that a pump like a sundial, detonated about 45 kilometers of altitude, could cause fires in an area of the size of France. The death toll would be unthinkable, not only because of the immediate explosion but by global radioactive sequels. Hiroshima, with 140,000 victims, would be a sigh against cataclysm that would represent Sindial. It was not science fiction. Although it might seem like a laboratory fantasy, the Sundial Project It was not a joke or an eccentric occurrence. Declassified documents and historical analysis indicate that Livermore’s team worked seriously For years in the development of Gnomon, with concrete plans to test it in the Redwing operation of 1956. That test was canceled, but the mere existence of the plan shows to what extent the fear, scientific ambition and deterrence had pushed the superpowers to border the abyss of the unacceptable. Echoes of Sindial. Suindial never materialized, but his mere conception forced A critical reflection In American politics. The growing destructive power of these weapons overflowed not only military strategy, but also ethics, logistics and land physics itself. While many ruled out their tactical utility for being impracticable (a pump of such dimensions was impossible to launch), its potential as an instrument of symbolic terror was enormous. As with The TSAR pumpits value was more political than operational: a floating threat that showed how far a nation could go if I wanted. Monster in the shadows. Finally, the Soundal project is It was diluting between political restrictions, international treaties and practical sense (without serving as precedent). The Ratification of the treaty Partial prohibition of nuclear trials in 1963 was a brake on atmospheric tests, which in practice made it impossible to continue advancing in the development of extreme performance weapons. The strategy then went on to favor smaller, portable and operational multiple eyelets, leaving behind the vision of total apocalypse that represented Sindial and its cousin Soviet sister. Imagine the unimaginable. What’s doubt, today sundial is just a footer … Read more

Someone wondered what would happen if we allowed all athletes to do. The result is already here: improved games

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“Imagine that a 60 -year -old beat the Usain Bolt world record.” Sounds crazy, but that is the phrase that left last year during An interview with The Guardian Aron d´souza, the founder, president and visible face of Enhanced. His words matter because D´Souza is organizing, with the support of some outstanding investors, the Improved games (Enhancend Games), a sports competition that will open the door for your athletes to dop and consume drugs prohibited by sports federations. The objective is the one that D´Souza commented: to knock down barriers and leave behind the brands of Usain Bolt or other apparently unbeatable plusmarks on the tracks. The idea, of course, has generated a huge stir and has already led to international experts and agencies to alert of its dangers. Las Vegas, May 2026. That is the city and the date on which improved games want to make their great start. In An act held this week at Resort World Las Vegas, D´Souza and his team announced that the first competition open to the consumption of drugs vetoed by the sports federations will be held next year, between May 21 and 26in “The city of sin.” More specifically, in a complex built for tests within the Resorts world las vegas With clues and pool. A for world records. There the athletes who participate in the tournament will compete in three disciplines: swimming, athletics and lostfilia, with different categories in each. For that purpose, the organizers will prepare a 50 -meter pool with four lanes, a six -lane speed track, a special scenario for weightlifting and something so (or even more important): A succulent list of metallic awards. In addition to the premiums for participating, Enhanced will offer a reward of $ 500,000 per proof, of which 250,000 will go to the pocket of the first classified. If any of the athletes hit a world record in the “definitive tests” (100 meters smooth and 50 m free) will also pocket a gratification of one million dollars. The objective is evident: spray plusmarks. For now and to open appetite, the organizers They assure that one of its swimmers has already managed to overcome a 2009 record. The keyword: doping. What defines improved games is not who, where and when they organize, but how they raise the tests. Its great hallmark is that they open the door to the use of drugs or treatments vetoed in official competitions. “Unlike traditional sports agencies, Enhanced does not prohibit substances that improve performance, but also bring them to light, with total transparency, safety and medical supervision,” Underline. Throughout the last months the organizers They have stressed that treatments will not be administered “in any way” and athletes will have to pass “thorough medical recognitions.” In The same report of The Guardian in which D´Souza talked about breaking Bolt’s records even states that organizers will not accept illegal substances and their drugs must have been legally prescribed. Of course, compliance with the standards seems to depend on the collaboration of athletes. “Sport stagnated”. Although the appointment has generated A considerable controversythe organizers have loaded it as an epic and insist that their goal is to open horizons. “We live in a world transformed by science, from vaccines to AI. But sport has stagnated. Until today. We are not updating the regulation, we are rewriting it,” claims D´Souza. Enhanced’s website includes other ideas Roundsuch as “superhumanity” or “future of sport.” “We are creating a new category of excellence, a world where drugs to improve performance are used safely, open and supervised.” “In 1896 Baron Pierre de Coubertin reinvented the old Olympic Games for his time, an era of nationalisms,” Reflect. “Now we are reinventing the Olympic Games again … to create a completely new formula, not sport, but of humanity.” Apart ideas, the truth is that the organization He has recognized who hopes to enter millions of dollars for the issuance rights and in The same statement in which he informs of the first improved games slides that plans to launch at the end of this summer a company dedicated to “improved performance products”. “Dangerous, not very ethical and harmful”. Not everyone shares the enthusiasm of D´Souza and his team. On the contrary. Since Enhanced revealed his plans and especially after the confirmation of his first “games”, there have been few voices that have risen to pronounce against the idea. This week the Sport Australia Athlete Advisory Group He warned that “the normalization” of drugs to improve performance “promotes doping as entertainment, putting athletes at risk, and devalues ​​the efforts of those who choose to compete clean.” For the organism, the concept of improved games is “dangerous, not very ethical and harmful.” And it is not the most resounding opinion about it. Travis Tygart, Executive Director of the US Anti -Doping Agency, He thinks that the initiative is “a dangerous clown show, not really sport” and the world anti -doping agency speaks of “dangerous and irresponsible project.” Others They pull irony And they have baptized the Enhanced Games of “steroid Olympics.” An appointment, several names. If the improved games have achieved so much impact is not only because of their challenging and controversial approach. To its visibility has helped (and much) that Enhanced has managed to embark in the initiative some prominent names of the world of finance and sport. Among the first figure Peter Thievel either Donald Trump Jr. Among the second, the Australian swimmer James Magnussentwice world champion of 100 m free. And to him others have joined such as the Ukrainian plusmarchist Andrii Govorov or the Bulgarian Josif Miladinov, European silver in 100 butterfly. One of the names that have sounded the most in recent days has been however that of Greek Olympic swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev, who According to Enhanced He has already managed to break the world record of 50 m free with a mark of 20.89 seconds, which would exceed the one achieved in 2009 by Cesar Cielo. The BBC points out that, … Read more

For years, historians wondered if the fights between gladiators and lions were real. They already have the test

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One can go to posterity for many reasons. For writing a great novel, composing a symphony, being an influential politician, A pioneer or even commit some misdeed or error to forget. In the former Roman Britain, however, a young man lived, from no more than 35 yearswhich will be remembered for something very different: a bite. To be more precise the denttellada of a lion in the middle of the pelvis. It may seem an extravagant motive to move on to the annals, but that bite tells us a lot about the Roman shows. The reason? The man in question It was probably a gladiator And that old dentontellada constitutes “The first physical evidence” of the fighting between humans and beasts on the Roman sand. Historians already knew about them, but through tracks such as mosaics, ceramics or written documents. There wasn’t evidence. In a place in Britania … The origin of history (or at least that of The investigation who have just presented a group of experts from the Maynooth University and the King’s College London) is in a Roman cemetery of 1,800 years old Located in Driffield Terrace, on the outskirts of York. There, near the old EBORACUMon the main road between what is now York and London, a deposit with dozens of burials was discovered in 2004. Some very peculiar. In 70% of cases Experts appreciated that the bodies had been beheaded, a well -known practice in Britania and that it is usually considered a funeral ritual Post Mortenalthough it is also related to executions. In addition, except for a woman and some young people, the vast majority of those buried were corpulent men Between 18 and 45, men with different origins and with marks of brutal trauma cured before they die, which leads to think that they often participated in fighting. A very special bone. All those details and the similarities between York’s bones and those found in another former excavated cemetery years ago In Ephesushas led some experts to a fascinating conclusion: what they found in Driffield is neither more nor less than A burial with remains of gladiators. Among all his remains there was one, however, that caught the attention of the archaeologists: a pelvis, part of the skeleton of a man of between 26 and 35 years which was buried with two other people and covered with horse bones. What was special? A brand. Deep Sharp Enigmatic An incision that experts soon associated with the bite of an animal. What animal? And when did he bit him? Identified the dentellada was the task of finding out its origin. And to achieve this, archaeologists did the most logical: They contacted British Zoos And they were asked to be given samples of horse bones biting by cheese, tigers, leopards and lions and then compared the marks. When they finished they took a capital surprise. The puncture found in York’s pelvis coincided with everyone’s greatest feline. Thus, the other big question was pending: in what circumstances could a lion bite a fighter? How were both in the sand? The question is interesting because, to begin with, the big cats often kill their prey by biting them in the neck or head, like Remember The Guardian Tim Thompson, Professor of Anthropology at Maynooth. “The pelvis is unusual. That wound can be survived. It is not deadly. We believe that the individual had been incapacitated and that these marks are evidence that the animal dragged the body.” The bones thus counting a fascinating story. What if it is a Venatore? Few figures are more emblematic (and versioned) of Roman history than gladiators. However, not all fighters and specialists trained to entertain the people fighting with other men in melee fighting. There were aurigas, acrobats and Venators (either Bestiarii), people who fought on the sand with wild beasts. “The Roman amphitheats also organized ‘Beast Cacerías’ (Venation), who faced people against animals, a show that lasted from the republican period to late antiquity, “the researchers collect in The article in which they collect their findings, published in the magazine Plos One. Gladiator vs. great felines. During the shows the Venatore They were dedicated to hunting and measuring their forces before the public with tigers, leopards, bears, elephants, wild boars, deer, bulls … and also lions. Animals served for fighting and were also used for “spectacular mutilations” or executing criminals during bloody Damnatio Ad Beasts (“condemns beasts”). With all those data, the teacher Thomspon explains that he and his colleagues reached a fascinating conclusion about York’s nibble skeleton: “We believe that it is the remains of a gladiator who faced the feline in a combat sand as part of a Roman show.” Why is it important? Because as they underline so much The King´s College London and Maynooth UniversityYork’s bone is “the first physical evidence of a combat of gladiators between humans and animals in the Roman period.” Historians had seen images of fighters bitten by lions in mosaics and ceramics and knew about fighting with beasts thanks to written records, but the pelvis unearthed in ancient Britain has allowed them to go further and shed new light on the shows of Rome. “Although images of gladiators have appeared fighting lions in ancient mosaics and ceramics, this is the only convincing skeletal evidence of the Roman world of bite marks produced by the teeth of a great feline,” Celebrate John Pearcearcheology professor at King’s College. If York’s bone and the study he has inspired is relevant, insists The London institution is because it throws a “convincing skeletal evidence.” “The bite marks represent the first osteological confirmation of violent encounters between humans and great carnivores in a combat or training environment in the Roman world,” ditch The institution. From the clues to the tests. Archaeologists knew about the existence of shows with animals, but in a way until now they had clues, signs distributed by mosaics, ceramics and chronic. York has just yielded a test. And one that has been studied … Read more

A youtuber has wondered why movies always improve in black and white. The answer: “Less distractions”

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The tendency to move black and white some successful films looks like a fashion more than a hollywood desperate for repairing and selling our favorite films several times. In some cases, however, the results are surprising, and there is an explanation for this: why in virtually all cases the black and white versions of films that were shot in color are so interesting, when they do not directly improve the original? Blanquinegros dinosaurs. It is the question that Youtuber Midday Reviews was asked when he checked for the umpteenth time one of his favorite films, ‘Jurassic Park’, This time in black and white. He discovered in her, thanks to an experiment that did not believe that he was going to take him to any interesting conclusion, a completely new film, one that returned to the terror to the saurios he experienced when he first saw the film, in the cinema and being a kid. The reason: less distractions. According to the author of the channel, this improvement is summarized in one point: the absence of color distracts less, and the viewer focuses unconsciously on planning, textures, lighting, microgest of interpretations. In aspects more linked to film creation, and therefore in black and white movies have a more “cinematographic” appearance. Not only because they are backward for times when films were less naturalistic and more focused on cinematographic language, but because the absence of color makes the spectator more aware that he is watching a fiction. Other examples. Midday Reviews reviews multiple examples of recent films that have received this treatment commercially, such as’Mad Max: Fury on the road‘(that George Miller himself considers The best version of the movie) either ‘Logan‘ (that He was born as an experimentbut that fans and director think that it is the definitive version of the film). Also mentions a case of which We have talked here‘In search of the lost ark’, a completely unofficial experiment, but that reaches the same conclusions as ‘Jurassic Park’: without distractions derived from color, background aspects such as edition or planning shine throughout its glory. You try. Midday Reviews recommends experiencing with your favorite films, ensuring that you will always find some interest with these colorless versions. And to demonstrate it, it puts some unusual examples: ‘Ninja turtles’ has almost expressionist lighting and planning details; And ‘Solo at home’ becomes an absolutely sinister dyes film thanks to its use of contrasts and that make it a film close to the horror genre. We have done it. Of course we have done it. We have tried an absolute icon of horror cinema: the first ‘nightmare in Elm Street’, overflowing with chiaroscuros, contrasted colors and games with lighting and colors. The result is not only a much more rough film, but completely loses the low -budget air of the Wes Craven classic, acquiring a very classic elegance. Apart from the fact that, as the video says, the lack of color allows you to repair in aspects such as the very detailed and terrifying texture of the special effects or makeup. Is it used for all cases? It will be a matter of testing, but the fun does not take away from you. Header | Warner In Xataka | The magic of the 70 mm: what makes a film recorded in this format so special and obsess so many directors

If you have ever wondered what would happen if 99% of a country will run out of electricity, Chile has lived it in their flesh

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99% of the population of Chile remained in the dark. A failure in an electric transmission line caused the biggest blackout from the country in 14 years from 3:15 p.m. until after 23:00 hours. Short. Chile has seen the electricity supply interrupted in 14 of the 16 regions, from the Arica northern to the southern of the lakes in an extension of more than 3,000 kilometers that the nation travels, According to the National Disaster Response Service (Senapred). For eight hours the Chilean country was without light or connection and until midnight did not return, so the government authorities They had to decree The state of emergency and a curfew (between 22.00 and 6.00 in the morning on Wednesday) and convene the disaster risk management committee (Cogrid). The chaos. The blackout that surprised at noon generated a huge circulatory chaos, prevented banking, financial, mining and commercial activity. In addition, it put hospitals and other essential services at risk, and has already been reported at the time of writing this note The death of three electrodependent people. On the other hand, the images of the Metropolitan Region Metro Without light and People returning on footthey are already viral in different social networks. To this media have confirmed people from the Bío Bío region, Valparaíso and the city of Santiago de Chile who had to send SMS messages to communicate, the information came through the radio and the little internet (it was intermittent) reached them to use to use The X app (old Twitter), since it was the only one that worked. Regarding the coercive measures of the government, it mobilized thousands of security agents of the Military Police of Carabineros and the Investigation Police (PDI), According to the Undersecretariat of Defense. For the moment There is no record of acts vandalism or serious accidents, but the national air traffic with delays and agglomerations has been affected. The blackout. The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, He went to the country at 10:00 p.m. from the Palacio de la Moneda by contingency before the power of electricity supply. In this speech to the population, Boric explained that the blackout was the product of A fault of the Isa Interchile company and there was a massive cut in almost the whole country. From the National Electric Coordination (CEN) they reported that the interruption of the electricity supply was produced by a disconnection of the 500 kV transmission system in the North Chico. Through this situation, the service recovery plan was activated to reestablish electricity, but it did not begin to reach up to 10 p.m. and after four attempts, they had not succeeded. The president of the Board of Directors of the CEN, Juan Carlos Olmedo, confirmed that disconnection It was due to “an unwanted operation in the protection and control systems of the line (which the Isa Interchile company manages).” And he explained: “The electronic systems did not operate the way it should have operated.” The vulnerability of the system. Isa Interchile, a subsidiary of the Colombian company Isa, plays an important role in electric transmission in Chile, being responsible of infrastructure such as the New Maitencillo Line – New Pan of Sugar. The electrical system in Chile is composed of different private companies that generate and distribute, but a failure in these infrastructure can affect the electricity supply nationwide. The recent blackout has shown The vulnerability of the electrical system Chilean, no It is obsolete. However, when concentrating into a few hands and an interruption in a key infrastructure can generate chaos nationwide, highlighting the need to reinforce Resilience and diversification in the country’s electrical system. Affected a pillar of the economy. The world’s largest copper mine, hidden from BHP, ran out of electricity, confirmed to Reuters. Also the state copper mining company Codelco confirmed in a statement to media That all their mines were affected, leaving the largest, the Lieutenant and Chuquicamata, without electricity, while the smallest mines could partially operate using support generators. Similarly, the Antofagasta Minera was able to continue working. A day after the blackout. Recently, Interior Minister Carolina Tohá, has announced at a press conference that the government has raised the state of exception by catastrophe, together with the curfew. However, the minister explained that the uprising of the measure “does not affect the regions of the country in which we have a state of emergency exception, particularly the Araucanía region and much of the biobío, which are with an emergency state by security reasons, this does not affect the deployment of military personnels that we have on the border (north). ” Image | Pablo carved Xataka | There are so many Australians with solar panels in their roofs that the electricity grid has been one step away from the abyss

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