MORE ON THE CRYSTAL SKULLS AT SERPENT MOUND

Ms. Sammi Soutar responded to my column in the Columbus Dispatch entitled “13 skulls nonsense detracts from real Mayan achievements” with the claim that it was “equal parts narrow-minded and objectionable” and that I had singled out “one group's hopes and cherished spiritual ideals for ridicule.” She also suggested that my comments were neither “informed” nor “scientific.”

Ms. Soutar is entitled to her opinions about what she finds objectionable and she can believe a commitment to a scientific understanding of the world reflects a kind of narrow-mindedness, but her accusation that my comments were uninformed and unscientific is woefully misguided. These were precisely my criticisms of the folks claiming the crystal skulls in question were either ancient or Mayan. The facts, not my opinion, demonstrate they are neither. Moreover, my deeper concern, not addressed by Ms. Soutar, was the association of Serpent Mound with these recent, non-Mayan artifacts, and the fear-mongering apocalyptic hysteria surrounding 2012. It is my feeling that the implications of this association trivializes Serpent Mound and the real achievements of its ancient American Indian builders and lends the fraudulent crystal skulls an undeserved halo of authenticity.

Hunbatz Men and his followers certainly are entitled to their beliefs. Yet when those beliefs are brought into the public arena of large events at sites such as Serpent Mound with newspaper stories promoting their claims without the “clear thinking …accuracy and fairness” that Ms. Soutar argues are “fundamental to good journalism,” then I believe it is my responsibility to provide an informed response from a scientific perspective.

Since the publication of my original column and blog post, the 11-11-11 event was held at a Los Angeles hotel. According to Hari Jiwan, a yoga teacher in Hollywood, who was quoted in an article in the Los Angeles Times, it was to be a day of “shifting cosmic direction,” which already had “brought the asteroid 2005 YU55 hurtling close to Earth and dumped the most autumn snow on New York City since the Civil War.” Mr. Jiwan claimed that “during the last period of similar intergalactic tumult, Atlantis fell into the sea and Noah had his flood.”

These ridiculous statements illustrate a broader concern with such claims that make them legitimate targets of informed criticism. If enough people are persuaded that real threats to our continued existence, such as asteroid impacts and global climate change, have a supernatural origin and can be addressed simply by gathering together a critical mass of crystal skulls, then it will be more difficult to achieve the political will to pursue real solutions – solutions based on a scientific understanding of the world -- to these looming problems. Such ideas are not simply wrong; they are dangerous.

Here is a link to Ms. Soutar’s entire letter to the editor of the Columbus Dispatch:
"Column insulted believers, journalism"
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2011/11/20/column-insulted-believers-journalism.html

Here is a link to the Los Angeles Times story:
"Heavens! It's 11-11-11"
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/11/local/la-me-eleven-eleven-20111111

Brad Lepper

Note: In my original post here I incorrectly referred to Ms. Soutar as "Mr. Soutar." I apologize to Ms. Soutar for my sexist assumption and have made the appropriate corrections in the above post.

LECTURES IN BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY AT OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY'S MELTON CENTER FOR JEWISH STUDIES

Oh Deer! Wild in the City Part II

A few weeks ago I did a blog about snakes, deer mice and hawks that show up around our collections’ facility a little north of the center of Columbus. Those animals are easy to find in many areas: the deer mice and northern brown snakes use so little space, and the hawks are easily mobile and wander far and wide. In early November, we had a much more surprising discovery at the Ohio Historical Center. An eight-point buck White-tailed Deer visited our “Bird Sanctuary.”

While no one is certain when he arrived, nor when he left, he was seen by dozens of staff and visitors for at least an hour around the middle of the day. Sometimes he was bedded down, twenty feet outside our windows. Sometimes he was browsing food in the same area. Our building (800 East 17th Avenue) is surrounded by the State Fair grounds, the Crew Stadium, I-71, a major railroad line and lots of residential and commercial development. The closest “wild” area of any size is along the Olentangy River, 1.8 miles due west as the crow flies. While bucks are known to wander looking for does during November, this buck had to travel quite a ways through “hostile” territory to find our Bird Sanctuary. (Maybe we need to re-name that area!)

Here are a couple of views from Google Earth of just how developed it is around our building.

A design of our Bird Sanctuary shows this area is only about 80 feet x 40 feet – or about 3200 square feet, which equals less than 1/10th of an acre. [The deer in the photo was laying down just to the left of the small pond.]

Obviously our Bird Sanctuary cannot support a White-tailed Deer – other than as a temporary refuge during its travels. Deer typically travel in about one square mile of land. But just the fact that it found and briefly used this habitat is rather amazing. Imagine what would happen if half of the residents of Columbus landscaped their yards for wildlife!

Deer have a very interesting history in Ohio. Before European settlement, when Ohio was 95% forested, deer were not super abundant. They are edge animals, not animals of the deep primeval forest. As the forests were cleared, deer quickly expanded their populations around those clearings. In 1800 an observer in Tuscarawas County reported that “it was a poor hunter who at the end of an hour could not bring down a fine buck or more palatable doe or fawn.” [The emphasis is mine.] A few years later during the Great Hinckley Hunt of 1818, 300 deer were shot in a single day. In early Ohio, there were no game laws, other than bounties on predators. In 1857 the State Legislature passed the first hunting restrictions, allowing deer hunting for only 140 days instead of all year. Notably, there were still no bag limits; you could shoot as many as you were able during those four-plus months. By 1911 deer were officially extirpated from Ohio. Some sources say for practical reasons Ohio had no deer from 1904 to 1923. Can we today imagine not one single deer in Ohio? The official Division of Wildlife estimate is that entering this fall’s hunting season we have 725,000 deer in Ohio. In a recent year, there were 24,600 deer/car accidents. Lots of deer! Some say too many.

How did the changes in deer numbers happen? Deer introductions were begun by the Division of Wildlife in what is today Shawnee State Forest in 1922. Being prolific, they multiplied and spread. Scientific game management controlled the harvest to allow the deer population to expand. In 1988, the White-tailed Deer was named the official State Mammal of Ohio. Today, game laws allow hunters (depending on the region of the state) to harvest up to six deer each – though few hunters take anywhere near that number. Deer are highly adaptable, are known to eat at least 1,000 different types of plants, and have learned to thrive in areas where they are protected and even in areas where they are hunted.

But let us remember that not all wild animals (or plants) are as adaptable as deer. Many require highly localized and strictly specialized habitats. Green Salamanders live only in crevices and caves on certain types of cliffs in southern Ohio. Indiana Bats require loose bark under old trees to roost during the summer, and caves to hibernate in during the winter. The Elfin Skimmer dragonfly lives in sedge meadow wetlands in only three isolated places in the state – and we don’t even know why they do not live in others of the rare wetlands remaining in the state. Fortunately, we have people who research the requirements of rare animals, and a few place such as State Nature Preserves where some of that specialized habitat is preserved. Seeing a wild White-tailed Deer is exciting and a special opportunity – even if they are much more common today than just a few decades ago. But seeing some of the truly rare wildlife that our state still harbors is a much greater thrill – and one which hopefully will continue to remain possible if we value and protect our special wild areas.

Bob Glotzhober

SERPENT MOUND AND THE CRYSTAL SKULLS

Late last month, Serpent Mound witnessed a ceremony that, I can say with some assurance, it had never witnessed before. Thirteen crystal skulls were brought together here as part of series of such gatherings at sacred sites expected to have culminated on 11/11/11 at the “Crystal Skulls World Mysteries Gateway Conference” to be held at a Los Angeles hotel. (This may not, in fact, be the culmination referred to in an October 29th article in the Columbus Dispatch, for the crystalskullsevent.com website assures us that some “VERY exciting things” are planned for a subsequent event on 12/12/12.)

According to a poster advertising an October gathering of the skulls in New York City, there is a legend of “13 ancient crystal skulls” that, when reunited, will “lay a new grid of consciousness for humanity.” The skulls are suggested to be “more than artifacts.” Many unnamed “intuitives” are said to feel that “they are Presences with the power to raise our collective vibration.” The poster goes on to claim that these ancient skulls “are here at this critical time to bring us the wisdom of the past & the knowledge of the future.”

The Dispatch article affirmed that the organizers of this event believe the skulls have paranormal powers and that they are “associated with Maya or Aztec culture.” Moreover, they are claimed to have some connection to the “2012 Mayan Prophecy” concerning the supposed imminent end of the world.

I discussed these issues in my Dispatch column on November 13th, but offer here a few additional thoughts.

I am not able to speak to whether these skulls possess the paranormal powers attributed to them by the promoters of these events. I can, however, rather conclusively assert that there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that they are either “ancient” or “Mayan.” There is, in addition, nothing in the indigenous Mayan belief system to suggest that the world will end on December 21st 2012, but I will confine this posting to a consideration of the artifacts.

Jane MacLaren Walsh, a Smithsonian Institution anthropologist, noted in her article “Legend of the Crystal Skulls” in the May/June 2008 issue of Archaeology magazine that there is no reliable evidence that any crystal skull was ever found in an archaeological excavation in Mesoamerica (or anywhere else for that matter). She conducted microscopic analyses of two of the most famous skulls, one in the Smithsonian and one in the British Museum, and demonstrated they had been carved with 19th century tools and techniques not available to the ancient Maya.

After conducting a detailed historical review of the circumstances surrounding several crystal skulls, she concluded that not only are they relatively recent fabrications, but “…all of the smaller crystal skulls that constitute the first generation of fakes were made in Mexico around the time they were sold, between 1856 and 1880.” Moreover, they may represent the work of “a single artisan, or perhaps a single workshop.”

According to Frank Thadeusz, writing in the October 7th 2011 issue of Der Spiegel, the source of the crystal from which the crystal skulls were made is, not Mexico, but Brazil and Madagascar. He thinks many of the skulls were carved by jewelers in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, who are both masters of their craft and quite discrete.

Under the circumstances, it’s hard to imagine why powerful ancient “Presences” would find these recent crystal creations to be suitable vehicles for their inhabitation, but perhaps I am simply exhibiting the limitations of my imagination.

I was not able to be at Serpent Mound for the gathering of crystal skulls, but I am told the event attracted a large and well-mannered group. I certainly don’t wish to leave the impression that they, or indeed any visitors, are unwelcome at the site, but I firmly believe that the fabricated histories of crystal skulls detract from the authentic ancient heritage of Serpent Mound. I post this article for the benefit of those who might otherwise be persuaded that these infamous artifacts had something to do with the world’s most spectacular effigy mound.

They don’t. Or at least they didn’t before November.


Here is a link to my column in the Dispatch:
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/science/2011/11/13/13-skulls-nonsense-detracts-from-real-mayan-achievements.html

Here is a link to the original Dispatch article on the gathering:
"13 skulls headed to gathering"
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2011/10/29/13-skulls-headed-to-gathering.html

Here are links to the Jane MacLaren Walsh’s articles in Archaeology magazine:
"Legend of the Crystal Skulls"
http://www.archaeology.org/0805/etc/indy.html

"The Skull of Doom"
http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/mitchell_hedges/

Finally, here is a link to Frank Thadeusz’s article in Der Spiegel:
"German Artisans Lay Claim to a Mysterious Tradition"
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,790456,00.html

Brad Lepper

Presidential Proclamation -- National Native American Heritage Month, 2011

It is finally official!

NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 2011

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

From the Aleutian Islands to the Florida Everglades, American Indians and Alaska Natives have contributed immensely to our country's heritage. During National Native American Heritage Month, we commemorate their enduring achievements and reaffirm the vital role American Indians and Alaska Natives play in enriching the character of our Nation.

Native Americans stand among America's most distinguished authors, artists, scientists, and political leaders, and in their accomplishments, they have profoundly strengthened the legacy we will leave our children. So, too, have American Indians and Alaska Natives bravely fought to protect this legacy as members of our Armed Forces. As service members, they have shown exceptional valor and heroism on battlefields from the American Revolution to Iraq and Afghanistan. Native Americans have demonstrated time and again their commitment to advancing our common goals, and we honor their resolve in the face of years of marginalization and broken promises. My Administration recognizes the painful chapters in our shared history, and we are fully committed to moving forward with American Indians and Alaska Natives to build a better future together.

To strengthen our economy and win the future for our children, my Administration is addressing problems that have burdened Native American communities for too long. We are working to bolster economic development, expand access to affordable health care, broaden post-secondary educational opportunities, and ensure public safety and tribal justice. In June, I signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Rural Council, to strengthen Federal engagement with tribal governments and promote economic prosperity in Indian Country and across rural America. This comes in conjunction with several settlements that will put more land into the hands of tribes and deliver long-awaited trust reform to Indian Country.

To bring jobs and sustainable growth to tribal nations, my Administration is connecting tribal economies to the broader economy through transportation infrastructure and high-speed Internet, as well as by focusing on clean energy development on tribal lands. First Lady Michelle Obama's recently launched Let's Move! in Indian Country initiative will also redouble efforts to encourage healthy living for American Indians and Alaska Natives. These actions reflect my Administration's ongoing commitment to progress for Native Americans, which was reaffirmed last year when we announced our support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Through a comprehensive strategy where the Federal Government and tribal nations move forward as equal partners, we can bring real and lasting change to Indian Country.

This month, we celebrate the rich heritage and myriad contributions of American Indians and Alaska Natives, and we rededicate ourselves to supporting tribal sovereignty, tribal self-determination, and prosperity for all Native Americans. We will seek to strengthen our nation-to-nation relationship by ensuring tribal nations have a voice in shaping national policies impacting tribal communities. We will continue this dialogue at the White House Tribal Nations Conference held in Washington, D.C. next month. As we confront the challenges currently facing our tribal communities and work to ensure American Indians and Alaska Natives have meaningful opportunities to pursue their dreams, we are forging a brighter future for the First Americans and all Americans.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2011 as National Native American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to commemorate this month with appropriate programs and activities, and to celebrate November 25, 2011, as Native American Heritage Day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

BARACK OBAMA