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Fact: Puebloans may have traveled more than 60 miles with huge logs strapped to their heads
Sandra Gutierrez G.
Researchers seem to constantly wonder how ancient civilizations moved large objects, but they rarely get the chance to test their theories empirically.
join the team of Anthropologist and physiologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In the true spirit of experimental science, they tied a 136-pound log to their heads and figured out how the Pueblos of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, hauled the wood they needed to build their extraordinary architecture. .
Chaco Canyon was the most important political and ceremonial center for the Ancestral Puebloans. There they built the famous stone and adobe dwellings along the cliff walls, ceremonial structures called kivas, and semi-circular structures known as the Great House.
Scientists have calculated that 200,000 trees were used to build this particular site, but there are no trees nearby. In 2001, a tree-ring expert at the University of Arizona conducted a chemical analysis to show that the wood in Pueblo buildings Collected from mountains at least 75 miles away– The farthest Chuska Mountains are 100 miles away from Chaco Canyon.
The Puebloans had no wheels, no pack animals, no other kind of modern carriage system that we know of. What’s more, archaeologists haven’t found any scratches on the ground around Chaco Canyon that would suggest the logs were dragged or pushed. As a result, large logs weighing 16 feet and 190 pounds had to be carried by hand.
While there have been many theories, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have tested the hypothesis that the timbers of the Chakoan architecture were actually moved by only a few people at a time using tumplines. Tumpline is a technique for transporting goods on trees. Wrap the strap around your head to secure your waist.
Three of the four authors of this study trained for 3 months We need to figure out if this theory is possible for humans, and how long it would take to transport 132 pounds of pine wood over 25.5 miles using a tumpline made of nylon webbing and foam padding. there was.
Allowing for a short break every 20 minutes and a long break every 2.5 miles, the researchers walked at an average speed of 4.5 miles per hour and completed the test in a total time of 9 hours and 44 minutes.
Yes, tumplines are a perfectly viable way to transport heavy timber over long distances. The researchers said the tanline was “surprisingly comfortable” and that communication was key to coordinating walks and avoiding tree swaying.
Fact: Wolves help reduce human car accidents
Rachel Feltman
Anyone who has ever driven a car, even in the vague countryside, knows it. Deer have the supernatural ability to be run over by human cars. In 2021, a Wisconsin study found an interesting connection to an all-too-common phenomenon. Deer clashes and the presence of wild wolves. According to 22 years of data, the presence of wolves means that people are hitting deer less often.
You might think it was because the wolf ate the deer. After all, deer populations tend to: go out of control Unless a predator keeps them in check. Studies have shown that wolves eating deer can reduce accidents by 6%. But what the researchers found was that A 24 percent decrease.
The remaining three-quarters of the impact ishorror landscapeWolves tend to follow the clearest trails in wooded areas, such as streams. Humans coming in and building the landscape means artificially cutting down roads, pipelines, railroad tracks, and so on. Deer are known to change their behavior and position to avoid predators. So when wolves are in town, they roam the roadsides, and deer stay off the streets.
The study estimates that wolves save Wisconsin about $10.9 million in losses each year. prevent car accidentsThis is more than enough to cover what the state pays for people who have lost pets and livestock to wolves, and tends to be the greatest public opposition to restoring wolf populations. The researchers also noted that there are other potential economic benefits they hadn’t calculated, such as the reduced risk of Lyme disease transmission seen when deer populations are well managed. .
Fact: Papers published in academic journals can be completely hoaxes.
By Ari Hazelwood
In 1996, New York University physics professor Alan Sokal wrote an academic paper and submitted it to Social Text. The paper was accepted and published. And a few weeks later, Sokal revealed that his paper was a hoax. It was full of nonsense and jargon and was written to show the pitfalls of the academic peer review process.
