Beagle Channel in the Patagonia

Beagle Channel in the Patagonia

January 31, 2013

SEVEN INTRIGUING TOPICS FROM SPANISH AMERICA



My Blogger group set up another challenge this week based on the following incomplete sentence:

“When it comes to reality TV shows, I…”


So here is my personal way of completing this sentence:

When it comes to reality TV shows, I usually pass them by!


I prefer another kind of “reality” centered on the various puzzles that Spanish America has to offer.


So my time is completely taken up as I enquire about numerous very absorbing and controversial topics.In this post I describe a short list.


MY LIST



         The Monte Verde Archaeological site in southern Chile.



The ongoing study of this particular site has undermined the traditional belief that the first humans entered the New World by crossing into Alaska along the Bering Land Bridge about 11,000 BP and then gradually spread south to inhabit the rest of the continent.

The dating obtained from the Monte Verde site shows that human inhabitants were living there in a settlement about 13,000 BP, which would be an impossible result for a terrestrial migration. The only plausible explanation seems to be that humans spread this far south by following a coastal route and actually sailing down the western coasts of both North and South America. 

The controversy over the findings at this site has been ongoing for several years.  Many academics from various parts of the world have tried to reject these findings. However, the Chilean Government, by means of the National Monuments Council, has submitted this site for consideration by UNESCO, to be included as a World Heritage Nomination.

So how and when did the first Americans (both North and South) get here? A tantalizing and absorbing question!




THE MONTE VERDE SITE, CHILE 






 Source: Rodolfo Ditzel Lacoa, CC BY SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.




        The mystery of the Fuegians and Patagonians


When Charles Darwin travelled through the extreme South Cone of South America, he met and studied several indigenous inhabitants which have since been referred to as the Fuegians and the Patagonians. Recent genetic studies have produced an exciting mystery: the genetics of these people (now extinct) do not correspond to those of the Amerindians, as the so called “first inhabitants” of the Americas are frequently described.

Experts on genetics are now describing these primitive tribes as “paleo-amerindians, and have decided that these inhabitants were here before the so-called “first inhabitants”

This means that when the first humans migrated into North America, they were not really the first inhabitants of the New World. The Patagonians were there before them!

So where did these ancient people come from? It is thought that they are connected to Australia and the Pacific islands, but this has not been proved as yet.  Would this be possible? Another interesting adventure to unfold!



      The strange story of the chicken bones at El Arenal, Chile

 
On excavating a site at El Arenal in the province of Arauco, Chile, some 50 chicken bones were found. The DNA research on these bones has shown that they are related to Polynesian chicken bones, basically from the island of Tonga.

The radio-carbon dating shows results consistent with the colonization of the more easterly islands of the South Pacific such as Easter Island. This has in turn strengthened the idea of contact between the southern American cultures and the Polynesian people.

Now, would this be the origin of the Chilean “Araucana” chicken that lays blue eggs? Nobody really knows. The only clear fact seems to be that there were chickens in South America before the Spaniards arrived, and this is very contrary to traditional thought.



      The mystery of the great variety in architectural design in the Americas



This mystery is too complex to really deal with in this post, but the central idea that strikes my imagination, is related to the differences between the pre-Columbian cultures of North America, that is the US and Canada, as compared to the Spanish  American archaeological sites.


On the one hand we have earthworks, constructed by the so called “mound builders”, to be found at locations like Cahokia of the Mississippi culture; on the other hand we have the massive stone structures to be found in Mexico, Yucatan, and in numerous places along the South American Andes, such as Saposoa, Pumapuncu at Tiwanaku (Bolivia-Peru), Sacsahuaman (Incas), Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo (Peru) and so many more!


Why are there no significant earthworks in Latin America that can compare to those in the US? 


(I am supposing that the stone structures were erected because there was stone available)



            What about the giant dinosaur fossils found in Argentina?



Reports state that fossils of the biggest herbivore dinosaur and the biggest meat eating dinosaur ever to be found up to now were located in the Argentine Patagonia.


What were they doing there?




      The story of the camels of South America (Andean Region).



Only six species of Camelids survive on Earth today, and 4 of these species are to be found in the Andes of South America. These are the Llama, the Guanaco, the Alpaca and the Vicuña.


How did this happen?  The primitive Camelids were spread over many parts of the world, but now we have a very different picture. So what are the reasons for this?

 A LLAMA IN ITS NATURAL HABITAT





Source: mckaysavage, CC BY 2.0. Flickr





        What is the mystery of the Nazca lines?



The Nazca lines are giant drawings in the earth, or geoglyphs, located in the Nazca desert in Peru. They were built by members of an ancient culture that lived there about at least 600 years BCE. These lines are drawings of hundreds of figures, each drawn with a single line, of which many are in the shape of animals. 



The most mysterious feature is that the pictures formed by these lines are only visible from high up in the air. Some of the figures are over 900feet (270 meters) across.


So how and why were these figures built?



 THE NAZCA LINES FOR A HUMMINGBIRD






 Source: Martin St.Amant, CC BY SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons




SOME CONCLUSIONS.



I hope the previous list has been enough to explain why I really have no time for reality TV shows! Besides, I find these topics much more interesting. What do you think?



SPANISH VERSION 



(This blog is bilingual)



En este post analizo las razones de mi preferencia por leer y estudiar sobre los más fascinantes temas referentes a la América Hispana, en lugar de emplear el tiempo mirando los “reality” de la TV.



Para fundamentar mi preferencia, expongo muy brevemente siete tópicos que resultan realmente absorbentes.



    Monte Verde, importante sitio arqueológico en el sur de Chile.



Los estudios sobre este sitio han hecho tambalear la tradicional versión sobre el poblamiento inicial de las Américas. En efecto, todos hemos leído que los primeros habitantes entraron por un puente terrestre en el estrecho de Bering, y de ahí se expandieron gradualmente por las Américas, utilizando vías terrestres y probablemente a pié.


Sin embargo, las fechas arrojadas para Monte Verde por los análisis del radio-carbono, indican que el lugar fue habitado alguno miles de años antes de la llegada de los “primeros habitantes” a Norte América. La única explicación encontrada a la fecha establece que los primitivos humanos se expandieron por vía marítima, situación que hasta ahora había sido poco admitida.


Los estudios provenientes de Monte Verde han resultado muy controversiales para todo el amplio mundo académico especialista en estos temas. Sin embargo, recientemente el Gobierno de Chile, a través de su Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales, ha propuesto el sitio arqueológico de Monte Verde ante la UNESCO para ser incluido como Patrimonio de la Humanidad.

Y ¿cómo y cuándo llegaron entonces los primeros habitantes a las Américas? Una pregunta  muy atractiva.




     El misterio de los Fueguinos y los Patagones.



Cuando Charles Darwin visitó el Cono Austral de Sud América, se encontró con unos habitantes nativos bastante extraños. Eran los llamados Fueguinos y Patagones, grupos ahora en extinción.


Los estudios genéticos de los restos de estos individuos han causado un fascinante misterio, porque no corresponden al perfil que ya se había determinado para los llamados “amerindios”, razón por la cual los científicos ahora han creado el término “paleo-amerindios”.  Se ha determinado que estos paleo-habitantes llegaron ANTES que los supuestos “primeros habitantes” que entraron a Norte América.


¿De dónde provienen y cuándo entraron? ¡Otro interesante misterio!




    La extraña historia de los huesos de gallina encontrados en El Arenal, Chile



Durante las excavaciones realizadas en el sitio arqueológico de El Arenal, en la provincia de Arauco, Chile, se encontraron unos 50 huesos de gallina. Los estudios de DNA de estos restos confirman que están relacionados con las gallinas de la Polinesia, en especial de la isla de Tonga.


Los estudios de radio-carbono son compatibles con las fechas de colonización de las islas más cercanas a la costa chilena y le prestan verosimilitud a los contactos entre ambas culturas. 


Ahora bien, estos estudios ¿arrojarán finalmente más luces sobre el origen de la gallina Araucana de Chile, la que pone huevos celestes?  Nadie lo sabe a ciencia cierta, lo único que queda claro es que había gallinas en la América Hispana antes de la llegada de los españoles.



    El misterio de la variedad en diseños arquitectónicos de las Américas.




Este tópico es demasiado extenso para ser tratado aquí, pero mis ideas principales se orientan al contraste entre las culturas de Norte América, entiéndase EE.UU y Canadá y las culturas de la América Hispana.


En los EE.UU. encontramos  construcciones mediante grandes movimientos de tierra, como por ejemplo en Cahokia de la cultura del Mississippi.


En la América Hispana predominan las grandes estructuras de piedra, como las de México, Yucatán, Saposoa, Pumapuncu, Tiwanaku, Sacshuaman, Machu Picchu, y Ollantaytambo, por mencionar unos pocos.


Pero no hay estructuras con grandes movimientos de tierra como en los EE.UU. ¿Cuál es la razón?




   ¿Qué pasa con los fósiles de dinosaurios gigantes encontrados en Argentina?



En la Patagonia Argentina se han localizado los restos fósiles del dinosaurio herbívoro más grande y también del dinosaurio carnívoro de mayor tamaño, de todos los encontrados a la fecha en el mundo.


¿Qué hacían ahí? ¿Cuál es su historia?



     Los camélidos de América del Sur (Región Andina)



Hoy en día sólo sobreviven 6 especies de camélidos sobre la faz de la Tierra y 4 de ellos viven en los Andes de América del Sur. Son los siguientes: la Llama, el Guanaco, la Alpaca y la Vicuña


¿Cómo pasó esto? En tiempos antiguos los camélidos habitaban en múltiples lugares y había más especies. Hoy la historia es muy distinta.




     ¿Cuál es el misterio de las Líneas de Nazca?



Estas Líneas corresponden a dibujos gigantescos trazados sobre la tierra y que son llamados geoglifos. Se ubican en el desierto de Nazca en Perú y datan de a lo menos 600 AC. Representan muchas figuras, y hay muchas representaciones de animales.

El misterio de estas figuras es que sólo pueden apreciarse al ser vistas desde el aire, ya que son realmente muy grandes.


¿Cómo y para qué fueron construidas?




ALGUNAS CONCLUSIONES.



Espero que la lista presentada ilustre la razón por la cual en realidad no tengo tiempo para la TV y menos para los “reality”. ¡Estos misterios son mucho más interesantes! ¿Qué piensas tú?


More about similar topics in a future post.       Más sobre temas similares en un próximo post.





LANGUAGE TIPS FOR ENGLISH



Words that go together!  * Right on time   - * Draw a conclusion    - * Go bankrupt   - * Time goes by   – * Come first 





LANGUAGE TIPS FOR SPANISH.



Expresiones de uso frecuente: * Tomar el  pelo - * Tener pocas luces  - * Sobre gustos no hay nada  escrito 





How is your level of comprehension?          ¿Cómo está su nivel de comprensión?





© 2012  joanveronica  (Joan Robertson)





I will be very happy to receive your comments! Just click the word “comments” lower down.
 

 
 
 

 


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14 comments:

  1. Totally interesting list Joan and many of which I truly admit being ignorant on, but thanks for sharing and educating me a bit tonight. Thanks again as always for linking up with us!! :)

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    1. Hi Janine! Many thanks for your visit and the comment! Thanks also for giving me the opportunity to share my favorite topics. These are better than any reality on TV, I would think! They tend to grab! So I'm off to bed now! See you tomorrow.

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  2. 1st, I LOVE llamas! I think they are so elegant, compared to other animals or their stature. Thanks so much for linking up with #FTSF!

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    1. Hi there, many thanks for the visit and the comment! I'm so glad you liked this post, and the llama is cute, isn't it? I'm very happy to participate in FTSF, and hope to continue to do so! I still have to leave some comments, but this computer is terrible! See you!

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  3. Wow, this is so interesting, and MUCH better than watching the Kardashians!

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    1. Hi Rachel, those were my thoughts exactly! TV just makes life shorter, to my mind. Plus I enjoy writing, every topic has its challenges! So I will see you around soon, have a good day!

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  4. Thanks for enlightening Joan. I had no clue about such a show until now...thanks :)

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    1. Hi Ruchira, I'm so glad you found these topics interesting! I of course find them fascinating, I have spent many years of my life reading and studying and asking real people a lot of questions when I've had the chance. And just recently the DNA studies have opened up a whole new horizon! Really dramatic! So I'll see you around soon, all the best!

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  5. I agree! I have zero time for reality TV shows. What you are doing is SO MUCH more interesting!

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    1. Hi Kristi, so nice to have you visit my post! I'm really happy you find these topics interesting, that was one of my basic ideas when I created this blog! I'm very grateful for the opportunity to communicate with other bloggers like this, and also for the support I have received! I'll be seeing you soon! Be happy!

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  6. Really an interesting post! I remember watching much of what you describe on the History Channel and Discovery Network before they became home to the useless program they now promote. Sad how society casts aside its history to view the ignorant of the present. Says something about society, doesn't it? Great Job!

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  7. Hi Rich, your comment as always is happily received! Yes, I agree with your points, society does seem to consider the unimportant as a priority. Rather sad! Fortunately there are ways to avoid this, I have managed to do so quite successfully, I think! But then I have never "gone with the crowd", and that has helped! I'll be seeing you around soon, so have a good day!

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  8. Wait! I thought I commented on this post! I remember reading it. LOL. I just wanted to come back and thank you - for all your support, for all your sweet comments on my blog and I CAN'T WAIT to see your upcoming posts! Quiero aprender mas de una persona muy lista y linda. ;)

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    1. Hi Cyndi, well this was the nicest start to this day! Thanks for your comment, you always lift my spirits! Whatever support I have provided is very well deserved, and I will continue to write interesting posts...I hope! See you around!

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