Teotihuacan in 1906

/

Leopoldo Batres, a pioneer of the archaeology of Mexico, published a picture book of the Teotihuacan site as it was in 1906…during early excavations. His reconstruction of the Pyramid of the Sun was evidently flawed but the book is still worth browsing to understand why the place was never ‘lost’ once it was created; the structures are large and dominate the scene even before excavation.

Teotihuacan : memoria que presenta Leopoldo Batres ... año de 1906

Looking at the book reminded me of a trip to Mexico City with my parents in 1966; one of the places we visited was Teotihuacan and I remember it vividly; it was interesting to think about all the changes that had happened at the site in the 60 years between when this book was published and when I visited. This book prompted me to search/read more about recent work at the site; a lot has been discovered there between 1966 and now!

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 2, 2021

/

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

The oil-field ‘fugitive’ that can slip into the water supply – The methane leaks into ground water are yet another reason fossil fuel is problematic. The industry evidently can’t or won’t clean up…making moving away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible even more urgent – although climate change should be enough for the world to be doing that already.

Top 25 birds of the week: Brown Birds – Not all birds are colorful! Watching small brown birds can be just as much fun though.

Ancient Human Presence Revealed At White Sands National Park - Researchers Push Back Date Of Human Arrival In North America Thousands Of Years – Fossilized footprints in the gypsum sand playa deposits…dated to the Late Pleistocene.

Mexico’s Ancient Inhabitants Moved Land and Bent Rivers to Build Teotihuacán – Still more being learned from an archaeological site that has been studied for many decades. LiDAR is one of new technologies that is yields a lot of new information.

Poorly circulated room air raises potential exposure to contaminants by up to six times – COVID has prompted more detailed research on this topic…and the discoveries should be used to improve building ventilation systems to help control other air-borne diseases.

Why colorful food is good for you – I like the colors and flavors….it’s an added benefit that they are also healthy choices!

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Will Launch Into Orbit in December – Finally!

River research reveals scale of macroplastic pollution – A plastic bottle takes a long time to break down….450 years and requires UV light. With so many bottles getting into rivers around the world, it is important to understand how they travel…how they begin to breakdown. They are going to be around for a very long time and, right now, more are still entering the rivers.

Research shows more people living in floodplains – From NASA. Tragedies that are getting worse as population increases and climate change causes flood risk changes.

Making Beetles Pee Can Protect Your Garden – Maybe this is also a pathway to an effective way to control insects like aphids without pesticides!

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 4, 2021

/

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Entomologists Eradicated the First Asian Giant ‘Murder’ Hornet Nest of 2021 – Includes a picture of the 9 layers of the nest that was carved into an alder tree’s interior.

Turning thermal energy into electricity – It seems like this type of electricity production would have application beyond the military. Even solar panels produce heat and finding a way to automatically harness that into more electricity would be a good thing.  

Climate Change Producing More “Fire Weather” as Far East as Oklahoma – It’s not just the west coast that has a higher risk for fire as the planet gets hotter.

Aztec Pictograms Are the First Written Records of Earthquakes in the Americas – One of the pictograms matched to a 1507 earthquake that coincided with a solar eclipse!

Food systems: seven priorities to end hunger and protect the planet – A thoughtful commentary re ending hunger and improving diets; de-risking food systems; protecting equality and rights; boosting bioscience; protecting resources; sustaining aquatic foods; and harnessing digital technology.

Eating walnuts daily lowered 'bad' cholesterol and may reduce cardiovascular disease risk – There was a similar article about pecans a few days ago. I’m glad I like both walnuts and pecans! However – ½ cup is a lot to eat in one day. Usually ¼ cup is considered a serving.

Top 25 birds of the week: Woodpeckers! – I always enjoy hearing a woodpecker in the forest…and its a special tree to see them in our yard. The piliated, downy, and red-bellied woodpeckers are native to our area.

How to fight microplastic pollution with magnets – Many people filter their drinking water…but the conversation about filtering microplastics is newer. Hopefully filters that are effective and affordable will become the norm. It will take a long time to reduce the microplastic load already in the Earth’s water. We are just not recognizing the damage they are causing.

Americans Moving to Disaster-Prone Areas, Despite Climate Change – I’ve started to think about this more recently so appreciated seeing this post. Taking climate change into account – why would anyone buy property in areas that will be increasingly flood prone or incredibly hot/dry? A house nestled in a forest may look appealing but there are an increasing number of people that have already experienced the hazards of that beauty.

1,800-Year-Old Flower Bouquets Found in Tunnel Beneath Teotihuacán Pyramid – I visited Teotihuacan in the spring of 1966 when my parents took me to Mexico City. It was one of the highlights of the trip. The new discoveries are interesting….and I am thinking about whether I would like to see it again. Maybe in spring of 2026? The article references a site with some great pictures of Teotihuacan – worth a look.