by neufer » Mon Sep 24, 2012 3:58 pm
rstevenson wrote:madtom1999 wrote:
'Seen to explode' ???
Sure, why not? There have been humans around on this planet for -- depending on your definition of human -- anywhere from a few hundred thousand years to a few million years. I imagine they found time to look at the night sky, and an exploding star would have been nicely visible in those pristine, light-pollution-free skies.
One should note, however, that it would have been problematically low on the southern horizon for observation from
the "cradle of civilization" 11,600 years ago (assuming that they didn't have other things on their minds at night):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_Supernova_Remnant wrote:
The Vela supernova remnant
(Declination 11,600 years ago: -55º) is a supernova remnant in the southern constellation Vela. Its source supernova exploded approximately 11,000-12,300 years ago. The association of the Vela supernova remnant with the Vela pulsar, made by astronomers at the University of Sydney in 1968, was direct observational proof that supernovae form neutron stars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natufian_culture wrote:
<<The Natufian culture
(Latitude~ 32º N) was an Epipaleolithic culture that existed from 13,000 to 9,800 years ago in the Levant, a region in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Natufian developed in the same region as the earlier Kebaran complex, and is generally seen as a successor which developed from at least elements within that earlier culture. It was unusual in that it was sedentary, or semi-sedentary, before the introduction of agriculture. The Natufian communities are possibly the ancestors of the builders of the first Neolithic settlements of the region, which may have been the earliest in the world. There is some evidence for the deliberate Natufians made use of wild cereals. Animals hunted include gazelles.
The Natufian had a microlithic industry, based on short blades and bladelets. The microburin-technique was used. Geometric microliths include lunates, trapezes and triangles. Sickle blades appear for the first time. The characteristic sickle-gloss shows that they have been used to cut the silica-rich stems of cereals and form an indirect proof for incipient agriculture. Shaft straighteners made of ground stone indicate the practice of archery. There are heavy ground-stone bowl mortars as well. There was a rich bone industry, including harpoons and fish hooks. Stone and bone were worked into pendants and other ornaments. There are a few human figurines made of limestone (El-Wad, Ain Mallaha, Ain Sakhri), but the favourite subject of representative art seems to have been animals. Ostrich-shell containers have been found in the Negev.>>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization#Early_civilizations wrote:
<<The process of sedentarization is first thought to have occurred around 12,000 BCE in the Levant region of southwest Asia though other regions around the world soon followed. The emergence of civilization is generally associated with the Neolithic, or Agricultural Revolution, which occurred in various locations between 8,000 and 5,000 BCE, specifically in southwestern/southern Asia, northern/central Africa and Central America.This revolution marked the beginning of stable agriculture and animal domestication which enabled economies and cities to develop.
Map of the world showing approximate centers of origin of agriculture and its spread in prehistory: the Fertile Crescent (11,000 BP), the Yangtze and Yellow River basins (9000 BP) and the New Guinea Highlands (9000–6000 BP), Central Mexico (5000–4000 BP), Northern South America (5000–4000 BP), sub-Saharan Africa (5000–4000 BP, exact location unknown), eastern USA (4000–3000 BP).>>
[quote="rstevenson"][quote="madtom1999"]
'Seen to explode' ???[/quote]
Sure, why not? There have been humans around on this planet for -- depending on your definition of human -- anywhere from a few hundred thousand years to a few million years. I imagine they found time to look at the night sky, and an exploding star would have been nicely visible in those pristine, light-pollution-free skies.[/quote]
One should note, however, that it would have been problematically low on the southern horizon for observation from
the "cradle of civilization" 11,600 years ago (assuming that they didn't have other things on their minds at night):
[quote=" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_Supernova_Remnant"]
The Vela supernova remnant [b][color=#0000FF](Declination 11,600 years ago: -55º)[/color][/b] is a supernova remnant in the southern constellation Vela. Its source supernova exploded approximately 11,000-12,300 years ago. The association of the Vela supernova remnant with the Vela pulsar, made by astronomers at the University of Sydney in 1968, was direct observational proof that supernovae form neutron stars.[/quote][quote=" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natufian_culture"]
[float=right][img3="[b][color=#0000FF]The Ain Sakhri lovers is the
oldest known depiction
of a couple having sex.
The carved stone object
was found in a cave
in the Judean desert.[/color][/b]"]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Lovers_9000BC_british_museum.jpg/159px-Lovers_9000BC_british_museum.jpg[/img3][/float]
<<The Natufian culture [b][color=#0000FF](Latitude~ 32º N)[/color][/b] was an Epipaleolithic culture that existed from 13,000 to 9,800 years ago in the Levant, a region in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Natufian developed in the same region as the earlier Kebaran complex, and is generally seen as a successor which developed from at least elements within that earlier culture. It was unusual in that it was sedentary, or semi-sedentary, before the introduction of agriculture. The Natufian communities are possibly the ancestors of the builders of the first Neolithic settlements of the region, which may have been the earliest in the world. There is some evidence for the deliberate Natufians made use of wild cereals. Animals hunted include gazelles.
The Natufian had a microlithic industry, based on short blades and bladelets. The microburin-technique was used. Geometric microliths include lunates, trapezes and triangles. Sickle blades appear for the first time. The characteristic sickle-gloss shows that they have been used to cut the silica-rich stems of cereals and form an indirect proof for incipient agriculture. Shaft straighteners made of ground stone indicate the practice of archery. There are heavy ground-stone bowl mortars as well. There was a rich bone industry, including harpoons and fish hooks. Stone and bone were worked into pendants and other ornaments. There are a few human figurines made of limestone (El-Wad, Ain Mallaha, Ain Sakhri), but the favourite subject of representative art seems to have been animals. Ostrich-shell containers have been found in the Negev.>>[/quote][quote=" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization#Early_civilizations"]
[float=right][img3=""]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Centres_of_origin_and_spread_of_agriculture.svg/500px-Centres_of_origin_and_spread_of_agriculture.svg.png[/img3][/float]
<<The process of sedentarization is first thought to have occurred around 12,000 BCE in the Levant region of southwest Asia though other regions around the world soon followed. The emergence of civilization is generally associated with the Neolithic, or Agricultural Revolution, which occurred in various locations between 8,000 and 5,000 BCE, specifically in southwestern/southern Asia, northern/central Africa and Central America.This revolution marked the beginning of stable agriculture and animal domestication which enabled economies and cities to develop.
Map of the world showing approximate centers of origin of agriculture and its spread in prehistory: the Fertile Crescent (11,000 BP), the Yangtze and Yellow River basins (9000 BP) and the New Guinea Highlands (9000–6000 BP), Central Mexico (5000–4000 BP), Northern South America (5000–4000 BP), sub-Saharan Africa (5000–4000 BP, exact location unknown), eastern USA (4000–3000 BP).>>[/quote]