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Mysterious Stone Circles

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by zenMachine, Sep 18, 2011.

  1. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    Thought this article might be more appropriate in the Environment subforum. These things are really cool looking! Google Earth rules!

    http://www.livescience.com/16045-aerial-photos-mysterious-stone-structures.html

    The area near the Azraq Oasis in Jordan has hundreds of wheels, large structures made of stone that date back at least 2,000 years. These wheel structures are often found on lava fields and range from 82 feet to 230 feet (25 meters to 70 meters) across. Archaeologists used to believe that the Azraq Oasis wheels were used as a cemetery although that is now in doubt. (Unless otherwise noted, all the photographs in this album are taken from the air, as one can't make out the structures from flat ground.)
     
  2. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

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    What will be interesting will be the actual reason for building them. When finding something new from ancient cultures, the usual reason for what they made always seems to involve the "religious or cultural practices". With time and research, the actual reasons have to do with survival and real world problem solving. My favorite story like this concerns the large number of stones found at early human hunting and camping sites. The "bolo" stones were always worked to be very round and about the 2-4 inches in diameter. The initial explanations were that they had ceremonial significance. Later, Kathy Schick at Indiana Univ. started making stone tools (from other stones). Ideally the stone you used to chip the tools soon wore down. After it had no sharp edges, it was worthless as a tool and thrown away and replaced with a working stone with sharp edges. After doing this for months, they had quite a trash heap of "bolo stones". They were the waste of stone tool making, hence the large quantity where all the tool making took place. To this day, quite a few "experts" still claim they have religious significance.
     
  3. cyclopathic

    cyclopathic Senior Member

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    on a similar note; long time ago I read a paper (sorry name escapes me).

    The researcher had his 5 y.o son play for a week with heap of trash, then did "archeological" excavation. He found many different things, s.a. as broken bottles packed with stones, etc, which would suggest the "religious practices".
     
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  4. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Full link: Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

    Tom
     
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  5. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Just in case there's anyone left on the face of the earth that thinks you need a point in space (or even up in the sky) do do this kind of thing, I should suggest that it could'a just been a bunch of people messing around . . . just like these folks do:

    phony crop circles - Google Search

    live long and prosper

    ;)

    .
     
  6. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    My garden is full of stone circles. It takes awhile to select the stones and fit them all together, but the result is both practical and attractive. Maybe these ancient mysteries were garden plots?
     
  7. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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  8. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    Maybe it's the psychoanalytical concept of transference at work, but I don't understand why ancient circles are so often described by researchers as having 'religious or cultural significance'. Is it really so difficult to imagine people building clocks/calendars with the materials at hand?