Hinduism Explained

What is Hinduism?

Hinduism, the religion of over a billion people, is the world’s oldest religion and the most confusing one to non-Hindus. It makes billions of people around the world ask, What is Hinduism? Some say it isn’t even a religion, more a way of life. Hindus themselves call it Sanātana Dharma, the eternal tradition. So what is Hinduism, does YOLO apply to them, and who is that elephant god?

Hinduism is the world's oldest active religion. It's the result of the merging of the ancient Indus Valley civilisation and nomads that came into India around 1500BC. Some scholars say it could even go back many more thousands of years.

Hinduism has a long long history. But today we'll be focusing just on the core beliefs of Hindus because I don't have the willpower to animate a 3-hour video.

Hinduism is so diverse, so deep, and means so many different things to different people. Learning even the basics of this fascinating and ancient religion gives us an insight into the worldview of over a billion people.

According to a recent study, the mysterious boats painted in an Australian cave may be records of "battle ships" from modern-day Indonesia

Two bizarre artworks were discovered within a cave in northern Australia some 50 years ago. They represent a pair of boats with strange qualities that have perplexed scholars ever since their discovery, and they are probably hundreds of years old.

Researchers may have now discovered the images in a study that was just published in the journal Historical Archaeology, shedding light on Indigenous stories that have been long-erased.

Even while neighboring drawings of Indonesian fishing boats and later European ships have been discovered, the two mystery vessels are distinct: The vessels, according to the experts, are "combat ships" from the Moluccas, a collection of Indonesian islands situated immediately to the north of Australia.

According to a statement from Flinders University in Australia, the study's lead author, Mick de Ruyter, a maritime archaeologist, these motifs "support existing ideas that sporadic or accidental voyages from Indonesia to the Australian coastline took place before or alongside regular trepang [Indonesian for "sea cucumber"] fishing visits."

Uncertainty exists over the specific circumstances in which Aboriginal populations came into contact with Moluccan boats. The researchers note that the existence of fighting craft nevertheless suggests instances of physical violence or at the very least a projecting of authority. It's possible that the two groups got into a fight over commerce, headhunting, or slavery.

An other hypothesis put forth by Sue O'Connor, an archaeologist at Australian National University who was not involved in the study, is that Aboriginal groups may have traveled to the Moluccas. This either shows that such crafts have traveled to the coastlines of Arnhem Land [a region in northern Australia] or Arnhem Land residents have traveled to the Moluccan region, seen those crafts there, and returned to paint them.

The level of detail portrayed in the paintings astounded the researchers as well. Such accuracy suggests that the Indigenous artists spent more time with these ships than they did merely glimpsing them from the shore. The paddles, prowl boards, pennants, and other decorative elements of the ship have all been accurately depicted.

Based on certain features, such as the oars and pennants, researchers concluded that these boats likely weren't fishing vessels.  Darrell Lewis / Flinders University

According to the university's statement, reports from Dutch colonists show that during the 17th century, groups from the Moluccas were sailing "frequently" to Australia.

The study was not conducted by Australian archaeologist Paul Tacon of Griffith University; nevertheless, he is collaborating with Wesley and a wider group to investigate how Aboriginal people documented their contacts with outsiders. He tells Live Science's Jennifer Nalewicki that the new study gives encouraging new information.

This thorough investigation demonstrates persuasively that there was communication between Moluccan islanders and Aboriginal people in Arnhem Land, Australia, hundreds of years ago.

Creepy Things That Were Normal for Vikings!

From their pillaging of distant lands to their fierce battles, Vikings were a force to be reckoned with. But what you may not know is that they had some strange and creepy customs too! From sacrificing animals to the gods, to believing in a mysterious "death tree," this video will uncover these dark secrets and more. Prepare to be spooked by the mysterious and often-forgotten customs of the ancient Norsemen.

300,000-Year-Old Artefacts Discovered in Britain! 800 in Total

Researchers from UCL Archaeology South-East have found some of the largest early prehistoric stone tools ever discovered in Britain, including enormous foot-long hand axes.

In total 800 stone artefacts have been uncovered from the dig in Kent. The objects were buried in material that filled a sinkhole and an ancient river channel and they are more than 300,000 years old.

The area under excavation in Kent is a hillside above Medway Valley, which is made up of deep ice age sediments. Watch the video to learn more about this exciting discovery!

16,000 year-old Ice Age Horse Found During Utah Family’s Backyard Renovation

Paleontologists have determined that a skeleton discovered during a landscaping project belonged to a horse from the Pleistocene Era.

The horse had arthritis when it died. It is possible, too, that it had bone cancer in one ankle.

That can happen to any horse once it gets to be a certain age. This one is nearly 16,000 years old.

In 2018 paleontologists identified the skeleton of a horse from the ice age in Lehi, Utah — a particularly unusual discovery given that much of the western part of the state was underwater until about 14,000 years ago. Buried for thousands of years beneath seven feet of sandy clay, the remains were discovered only when the Hill family began moving dirt around their backyard to build a retaining wall and plant some grass.

Laura Hill said she and her husband, Bridger, uncovered the skeleton on September 2017, but didn’t think much of it at first. They wondered if it was a cow; Lehi is about 15 miles from Provo and was once mostly farmland that hugged the edges of nearby Utah Lake. She consulted a neighbor, a geology professor at Brigham Young University, who examined the bones, and guessed they were from a horse from the Pleistocene Era.

“I was shocked,” Ms. Hill said. “This is something we did not expect.”

Utah is home to several fossil sites where dinosaurs and other ice age animals, including mammoths, mastodons and saber-toothed tigers, have been discovered. Horses have roamed North America for 50 million years, said Ross MacPhee, a curator in the department of mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History. During the Pleistocene Era, the continent was dominated by two kinds of horses, he said, adding that he believes today’s domesticated horses are linked to one of those breeds. Despite harsh conditions, Mr. MacPhee said, “those horses could live anywhere.”

Rick Hunter, a paleontologist at the Museum of Ancient Life, a short drive from the Hill home, said Ms. Hill approached him last month to investigate the family’s discovery.

“She came in and said, “I found a skeleton in the backyard and I don’t know what to do,’” Mr. Hunter recalled. “I replied, ‘I do.’” Last week he and a team from the museum’s lab, where they study dinosaur fossils, went to her home.

The skeleton was missing its head, but was otherwise intact. Mr. Hunter estimated the horse to be the size of a Shetland pony; it was found lying on its left side, with all four legs tucked near its torso. Parts of the skeleton were damaged from exposure to weather. Curious onlookers had picked at the ribs and other bones.

Mr. Hunter did not know how the animal died, but he has a theory. Utah was covered during the last ice age by Lake Bonneville, a prehistoric lake. (The Great Salt Lake as it currently exists is a remnant of Lake Bonneville.)

Perhaps the horse was trying to escape from a predator and ran into the lake, Mr. Hunter surmised. “Horses can swim,” he said. “Maybe it got trapped out there, drowned and sank to the bottom.”

Mr. Hunter said he and his team visited the site at the Hill home for two days last week to excavate the remains. The bones were uncovered in a sandbank seven feet below the surface. “This is not uncommon,” the paleontologist said. Still, there was the question of what happened to the head.

He broadened the search to 50 feet beyond the original site. In the expanded area the group found bone fragments, molars and small pieces of the skull. Mystery solved: The skull had been shattered and moved when the landscaper cleared the land.

The skeleton was taken back to the museum, where it was cataloged, preserved and repaired. Unlike with dinosaurs, the horse’s bones were dehydrated and not yet fossils. Fossilized minerals in bone turn to stone, but the horse was not old enough for that to have happened. That posed a problem for Mr. Hunter’s team. “If they dry too quickly, they will crack,” he said. “You have to cure them slowly.”

Mr. Hunter also hopes to pin down the horse’s age with greater precision. The current estimate of 14,000 to 16,000 years is the team’s best guess until it can be studied further. Once the skeleton is reassembled, Mr. Hunter said, he would like it to become a permanent exhibit at the Museum of Ancient Life. Mr. MacPhee of the American Museum of Natural History concurred.

“It’s important that it ends up in an institution somewhere,” he said.

Ms. Hill said she and her husband were not sure what they were going to do yet. She said neighbors had flocked to the backyard to see the oddity before it was removed, and family members were advising the couple to have the skeleton appraised. (They are hoping to get a tax deduction if they donate it.) “It would be nice to have it here at the museum,” Ms. Hill said. “Mr. Hunter does want us to donate it.”

When Mr. Hunter visited last week he brought a volunteer who talked to the neighborhood children about Lake Bonneville, ancient animals and, of course, the horse in the backyard. Mr. Hunter said he would name it “Hill Horse” in honor of the family that found it.

Ms. Hill was pleased. “Now all these little kids want to be paleontologists,” she said with a laugh.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/03/science...

12 Most Amazing Recent Archaeological Finds

There's rarely anything more fascinating in the field of archaeology than that which has been discovered recently. Artefacts that were found years ago have been extensively studied and discussed by now, and much of their mystery has been lost. With things that have been found more recently, the mystery still exists! It's clear from these recent discoveries that we still have much to learn about our ancient ancestors, so let's start learning now.

The RISE and FALL of the Roman Empire

What was the Roman Empire? Many empires have established world order in the past. However, only a handful of them has managed to become eternal. But, even among these, there is only one winner. An empire to whose superiority no other empires come on par with. Do you know which realm we are referring to? It is no other than the Roman Empire.

11 Secrets of the Mysterious City of Machu Picchu

In 1911, Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham and a small team of seven set out in Peru to uncover the lost city of Vilcabamba but were quickly led to one of the world's most fascinating sites. The expedition team met Melchor Arteaga, a local farmer, on their trip from Zuzco, who told tales of the "old mountain" ruins known as Machu Picchu - this would eventually prove to be the "Lost City of the Incas." It dates back to at least the 14th century and is today regarded as a Modern World Wonder. Even with cutting-edge technology, scientists need clarification on how the Incas created their city without using steel, masonry, or wheels.

Anglo-Saxon Pagan Gods

When the Western Roman Empire crumbled, the Anglo-Saxon peoples who occupied Britain brought their own paganism with them. This was Germanic, with a pantheon of deities that included Woden, Thunor, Tiw and Frig. Its temples were wooden structures that leave scant traces in the landscape, but you can find evidence for their beliefs in cemeteries like Sutton Hoo.

This lecture looks at such evidence and at literature such as Beowulf and the history written by the Christian scholar Bede.

The Chilling Truth Of The Phoenician Child Sacrifice Ritual

The truth of the damning charges made against this great race.

They invented the alphabet and modern navigation and introduced wine to Europe. But after the sacking of Carthage by the Romans in 146 BC and the destruction of their famous library, the world was left with very little evidence of Phoenician life and culture.

The Greeks and Romans describe them as a race of unscrupulous profiteers, grubby merchants – and worse. They were seen as a morally corrupt race who forcibly prostituted their daughters in sacred rituals and killed their own young in an attempt to win over their violent gods. But were they truly evil or victims of a vicious propaganda campaign?

Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia

In today’s video we will explore the vast and important religious tradition of ancient Mesopotamia! Enjoy!

Unraveling the Strange and Unexplained Archaeological Discoveries of the Past

This video showcases an array of bizarre and inexplicable findings from various archaeological excavations that pose challenging questions to our understanding of human history. From objects of mysterious origin and undecipherable ancient scripts to perplexing architectural wonders of the ancient world, we unravel some of the most enigmatic pieces of our past. Each discovery we explore stands as a testament to our ancestors' ingenuity, leaving us amazed at the complexity of their lives and achievements. Along with high-quality visuals and expert commentary, we provide a comprehensive analysis of these archaeological marvels. Come, let's embark on a thrilling expedition into the enigmatic past, where each turn reveals new secrets and keeps you gripped till the very end. Join us in our quest to uncover the mysteries of human history, one strange artifact at a time!

12 Most Incredible Archaeological Finds

Archaeology fans, we know you love hearing about great discoveries. It’s why so many of you are already subscribed to our channel! Our team goes looking for tremendous tales about discoveries from distant locales and bygone eras. In this video, it’s just great story after great story. No waiting around - let's get things started!