Traps siberianos

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Trapps o escaleras siberianas. Los traps siberianos (en ruso: , Sibirskie trappi) son una de las mayores y ms enigmticas emisiones de basalto del mundo; abarcan ms de 3.000.000 km2 de desiertos rticos. En un milln de aos han emitido a travs de la corteza unos 1,5 millones de km3 de lava. Estas emisiones, tras ser estudiadas durante aos, no se relacionan con un rifting, aunque pueden ser el resultado de una pluma del manto que alcanz la corteza originando un punto caliente que se mantuvo activo durante millones de aos. La etapa de formacin de las escaleras siberianas coincide con la extincin masiva del Prmico-Trisico, la mayor de la historia. Se afirma que los gases relacionados con esa enorme erupcin pudieron haber afectado el clima global, de modo que alteraran severamente las cadenas trficas terrestres al perjudicar el crecimiento de las plantas en el planeta. This article is about the geological feature. For the chess opening, see Siberian Trap.

The world around 260 million years ago, not long before the eruptions forming the Siberian Traps occurred on the eastern shore of the shallow sea (paler blue) at the north of the map.

The extent of the Siberian Traps. (Map in German) The Siberian Traps (Russian: Sibirskije trappy) form a large region of volcanic rock, known as a large igneous province, in the Russian region of Siberia. The massive eruptive event which formed the traps, one of the largest known volcanic events of the last 500 million years of Earth's geological history, continued for a million years and spanned the PermianTriassic boundary, about 251 to 250 million years ago. The term "traps" is derived from the Swedish word for stairs (trappa, or sometimes trapp), referring to the step-like hills forming the landscape of the region, which is typical of flood basalts.

Contents

1 Geographical extent 2 Origin 3 Impact on prehistoric life 4 Siberian Traps and nickel 5 See also 6 Notes 7 External links

Geographical extent
Vast volumes of basaltic lava paved over a large expanse of primeval Siberia in a flood basalt event. Today the area covered is about 2 million km roughly equal to western Europe in land area and estimates of the original coverage are as high as 7 million km. The original volume of lava is estimated to range from 1 to 4 million km. The area covered lies between 50 and 75 north latitude and 60 to 120 east longitude.

Origin
The source of the Siberian Traps basalt has variously been attributed to a mantle plume which impacted the base of the earth's crust and erupted through the Siberian Craton, or

to processes related to plate tectonics.[1] Another possible cause may be the impact that formed the Wilkes Land crater, which may have been contemporaneous and would have been antipodal to the Traps.[2] This controversial scientific debate is ongoing.[3]

Impact on prehistoric life

One of the World Heritage Sites, the Putorana Plateau, is composed of Siberian Traps This massive eruptive event spanned the Permian-Triassic boundary, about 250 million years ago, and is cited as a possible cause of the Permian-Triassic extinction event.[4][5] This extinction event, also called the Great Dying, affected all life on Earth, and is estimated to have killed 90% of species living at the time.[6] Life on land took at least 30 million years to fully recover from the environmental disruptions which may have been caused by the eruption of the Siberian Traps.[7]

Siberian Traps and nickel

The Siberian Traps are considered to have erupted via numerous vents over a period of roughly a million years or more, probably east and south of Norilsk in Siberia. Individual eruptions of basalt lavas could have exceeded 2,000 km3. The giant Norilsk-Talnakh nickelcopperpalladium deposit formed within the magma conduits in the main part of the Siberian Traps. The presence of extensive tuff and pyroclastic deposits suggests that a number of large explosive eruptions occurred during or before the eruptions of basaltic lavas. The presence of silicic volcanic rocks such as rhyolite is also indicative of explosive eruptions.

See also 09/12

Un Atapuerca en Crdoba?

Cueva del ngel :: Los expertos sospechan que la Cueva del Angel alberga restos de homnidos Se ha encontrado un fmur fosilizado que hace pensar que hay ms La investigacin se encuentra paralizada desde hace cuatro aos La financiacin de los trabajos est resuelta; es cuestin de permisos Se ha constituido la fundacin privada Cueva y Sima del ngel La Cueva del ngel, a la que algunos consideran ya la Catedral de la Prehistoria, podra convertirse en el yacimiento arqueolgico ms importante del mundo si finalmente se encontraran durante sus excavaciones restos de homnidos. Hasta la fecha la Sima de los Huesos de Atapuerca (Burgos) es el nico yacimiento en el que se han hallado restos seos de Neandertal pertenecientes a una treintena de cuerpos. Lo que hace diferente a este yacimiento, situado en la sierra de Ara (Lucena), es su capacidad para explicar el comportamiento humano de hace 350.000 aos. Segn los estudios realizados desde 1995, fecha en la que comenzaron las excavaciones, los asentamientos que se produjeron en el entorno se mantuvieron durante miles de aos. Las primeras excavaciones sacaron a la luz una cueva a la que los primeros hombres posiblemente trasladaran a los animales cazados. All los despellejaran, los despedazaran, cortaran la carne y la prepararan para comerla, probablemente asndola. En esta primera fase se encontr un pozo con relleno del Cuaternario, en el que se observaba gran cantidad de huesos de animales y de herramientas de piedra. La estratigrafa realizada en una profundidad de 6 metros arroj un dato revelador: la existencia de un fuego continuohace ms de 200.000 aos. Segn el arquelogo y jefe de la excavacin, Cecilio Barroso, se han encontrado ms de 100.000 huesos de animales, todos estn fracturados, lo que lleva a pensar que los primeros moradores del planeta coman tambin la mdula para alimentarse. Barroso seala que a diferencia de Atapuerca en la que slo se han encontrado huesos humanos, en la Cueva del ngel hay comportamientos. Gracias a los restos hallados es posible conocer el tipo de clima en el que vivieron, la vegetacin y los animales que existan en aquel momento. Diferenciacin de estancias En 2008, ao de las ltimas excavaciones, se hall una nueva cueva en la que segn los instrumentos encontrados llev a los investigadores a pensar que se trataba del lugar en

el que los homnidos vivan y dorman. Es decir, aparece por primera vez una diferenciacin de las estancias de un hogar, un sitio para cocinar y otro para hacer vida y dormir.
Pero realmente el gran descubrimiento en la Cueva del ngel fue el de un fmur fosilizado. La pieza fue encontrada por un espelelogo en una gran grieta situada debajo de la segunda cueva, ambas conectadas por un agujero. Los arquelogos sospechan que este agujero haca las veces de vertedero y que a travs de l se arrojaban los huesos y restos de los humanos que all vivieron. Respecto al fmur encontrado, los expertos dicen que no hay una datacin absoluta pero si se basan en el grado de fosilizacin y en la industria encontrada, la achelense, podramos estar hablando de un pre-neandertal. Cecilio Barroso afirma que si se llegasen a encontrar ms restos humanos, el yacimiento de la Cueva del ngel sera uno de los ms importantes del mundo. Segn sus estudios, calculan que a lo largo de 200.000 aos, unos 8.000 homnidos pudieron vivir en la sierra de Ara, por lo que les extraa no haber encontrado ningn resto todava. La investigacin est paralizada desde hace cuatro aos debido a un problema administrativo de la Junta de Andaluca, explica Barroso. "Llevamos cuatro aos pidiendo permisos sin recibir respuesta, nos ignoran". No es un problema de financiacin. Para ello se ha creado este mismo ao la Fundacin Privada Cueva del ngel, con un presupuesto de 30.000 euros: "Tenemos el dinero, pero nos falta el permiso para seguir excavando", comenta Barroso. En la Cueva del ngel se han encontrado ms de 80 bifaces de slex mientras que en Atapuerca slo se ha hallado uno, el mundialmente conocido como Excalibur, explica el jefe de la excavacin. Esto demuestra, afirma, que el potencial de este yacimiento es inabarcable. El Mundo

Skilled hunters 300,000 years ago September 17, 2012 Skilled hunters 300,000 years ago Enlarge Credit: University of Tbingen Finds from early stone age site in northcentral Germany show that human ingenuity is nothing new and was probably shared by now-extinct species of humans. Ads by Google The DNA Ancestry Project Discover Your Ancestry with DNA. Find Ethnic and Geographic Origins. www.DNAAncestryProject.com Archeologists from the University of Tbingen have found eight extremely well-preserved spears an astonishing 300,000 years old, making them the oldest known weapons anywhere. The spears and other artifacts as well as animal remains found at the site demonstrate that their users were highly skilled craftsmen and hunters, well adapted to their environment with a capacity for abstract thought and complex planning comparable to our own. It is likely that they were members of the species homo heidelbergensis, although no human remains have yet been found at the site. The project is headed by Prof. Nicholas Conard and the excavations are supervised by Dr. Jordi Serangeli, both from the University of Tbingen's Institute of Prehistory, which has been supporting the local authority's excavation in an open-cast brown coal mine in Schningen since 2008. They are applying skills from several disciplines at this uniquely well-preserved site find out more about how humans lived in the environment of 300,000 years ago. The bones of large mammals elephants, rhinoceroses, horses and lions as well as the remains of amphibians, reptiles, shells and even beetles have been preserved in the brown coal. Pines, firs, and black alder trees are preserved complete with pine cones, as have the leaves, pollen and seeds of surrounding flora. Until the mining started 30 years ago, these finds were below the water table. The archeologists say they are now carrying out "underwater archaeology without the water." Work continues almost all year round, and every day there is something new to document and recover. Some of the most important finds of the past three years have been remains of a water buffalo in the context of human habitation, an almost completely preserved aurochs (one of the oldest in central Europe), and several concentrations of stone artifacts, bones and wood. They allow the scientists to examine an entire landscape instead of just one site. That makes Schningen an exciting location and global reference point not just for archaeology, but

also for quaternary ecology and climate research. A research center and museum, the "Palon," is to be opened in 2013 to to provide information to the public about the work going on in Schningen. Provided by University of Tbingen search and more info website Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-09-skilled-hunters-years.html#jCp

septiembre 18, 2012

Lanzas de hace 300 mil aos
En una mina de carbn de Alemania central, en Schningen, se descubrieron ocho lanzas de 300 mil aos de antigedad. No se haban descubierto hasta la fecha lanzas tan antiguas, que las ubicaran en la poca de la especie Homo heidelbergensis, de nuestro gnero humano. Este descubrimiento llevara la capacidad de tener pensamientos abstractos y planeamiento complejo comparable al nuestro mucho ms atrs en el tiempo de lo que se crea hasta ahora. El Homo heidelbergensis fue una especie que se cree que podra ser ancestral directa tanto de los neandertales en Europa, como de nuestra especie Homo sapiens en frica. Resulta muy interesante descubrir que estos humanos antiguos ya tenan la capacidad para fabricas artefactos complejos como una lanza. En el yacimiento, excavado por cientficos de la Universidad de Tbingen, al mando de Nicholas Conard, se descubrieron gran cantidad de artefactos lticos junto con las ocho lanzas, as como muchos restos fsiles de animales como elefantes, rinocerontes, caballos y leones, pero ningn resto humano. Se trata de un yacimiento muy rico en fsiles vegetales y animales, preservados en muy buenas condiciones, lo que ha permitido que se pueda reconstruir casi por completo el paisaje que rodeaba a ese sitio. Por ahora no se ha dado a conocer mucha ms informacin sobre las Lanzas, pero ya vendr cuando se analicen y estudien, y se publiquen en alguna revista cientfica. Fuente: ScienceDaily EDITADO: Nos cuenta Maju, que esto de nuevo no tiene nada, ya que se trata de las mismas lanzas que se descubrieron en 1998, en realidad, y no se ha aportado nada nuevo sobre el tema, sino que se construir un nuevo museo donde sern exhibidas. Enlace a la info en ingls sobre las Lanzas de Schningen.

Olduvai stone chopping tool

From Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, 1.8-2 million years old Made nearly two million years ago, stone tools such as this are the first known technological invention. This one is the oldest object in the British Museum. It comes from an early human campsite in the bottom layer of deposits in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Potassium-argon dating indicates that this bed is between 1.6 and 2.2 million years old from top to bottom. This and other tools are scientifically dated to about 1.8 million years. Using another hard stone as a hammer, the maker has knocked flakes off both sides of a basalt (volcanic lava) pebble so that they intersect to form a sharp edge. This could be used to chop branches from trees, cut meat from large animals or smash bones for marrow fat - an essential part of the early human diet. The flakes could also have been used as small knives for light duty tasks. To some people this artefact might appear crude; how can we even be certain that it is humanly made and not just bashed in rock falls or by trampling animals? A close look reveals that the edge is formed by a deliberate sequence of skilfully placed blows of more or less uniform force. Many objects of the same type, made in the same way, occur in groups called assemblages which are occasionally associated with early human remains. By contrast, natural forces strike randomly and with variable force; no pattern, purpose or uniformity can be seen in the modifications they cause. Chopping tools and flakes from the earliest African sites were referred to as Oldowan by the archaeologist Louis Leakey. He found this example on his first expedition to Olduvai in 1931, when he was sponsored by the British Museum.

Archaeological News: Oldest Art Even Older: New Dates from Geienklsterle Cave Show Early Arrival of Modern Humans, Art and Music
archaeologicalnews:

ScienceDaily (May 24, 2012) New dates from Geienklsterle Cave in Southwest Germany document the early arrival of modern humans and early appearance of art and music. Researchers from Oxford and Tbingen have published new radiocarbon dates from the from Geienklsterle Cave in Swabian ScienceDaily (May 24, 2012) New dates from Geienklsterle Cave in Southwest Germany document the early arrival of modern humans and early appearance of art and music. Researchers from Oxford and Tbingen have published new radiocarbon dates from the from Geienklsterle Cave in Swabian Jura of Southwestern Germany in theJournal of Human Evolution. The new dates use improved methods to remove contamination and produced ages between began between 42,000 43,000 years ago for start of the Aurignacian, the first culture to produce a wide range of figurative art, music and other key innovations as postulated in the Kulturpumpe Hypothesis. The full spectrum of these innovations were established in the region no later than 40 000 years ago. These are the earliest radiocarbon dates of Aurignacian deposits, and they predate Aurignacian dates from Italy, France, England and other regions

Researchers from Oxford and Tbingen have published new radiocarbon dates from the from Geienklsterle Cave in Swabian Jura of Southwestern Germany in the Journal of Human Evolution. The new dates use improved methods to remove contamination and produced ages between began between 42,000 43,000 years ago for start of the Aurignacian, the first culture to produce a wide range of figurative art, music and other key innovations as postulated in the Kulturpumpe Hypothesis. The full spectrum of these innovations were established in the region no later than 40,000 years ago. These are the earliest radiocarbon dates of Aurignacian deposits, and they predate Aurignacian dates from Italy, France, England and other regions. These results are consistent with the Danube Corridor hypothesis postulating that modern humans migrated to Europe and rapidly moved up the Danube drainage. Geienklsterle Cave is one of several caves in the Swabian Jura that have produced important examples of personal ornaments, figurative art, mythical imagery and musical instruments. The new dates from Geienklsterle together with existing dates using thermoluminescence confirm the great antiquity of the Swabian Aurignacian. The new dates indicate that modern humans entered the Upper Danube region prior to an extremely cold climatic phase referred to as the H4 event dating to ca. 40,000 years ago. Previously, researchers had argued that modern humans initially migrated up the Danube immediately following the H4 event. As it now looks modern humans entered southwestern Germany during a mild phase of the last Ice Age, under climactic conditions, which should have been inhabitable by indigenous populations of Neanderthals. Despite a major effort to identify archaeological signatures of interaction between Neanderthals and modern humans, researchers have yet to identify indications of cultural contact between these groups in Upper Danube region. These results point to the Upper Danube Valley as a plausible homeland for the Aurignacian, with the Swabian caves producing the earliest record of technological and artistic innovations that are characteristic of the this period. Whether the many innovations best documented in Swabia were stimulated by climatic stress, competition between modern humans and Neanderthals or by other social-cultural dynamics remains a central focus of research by the archaeologists from Tbingen and Oxford. Highresolution dating of the kind reported here is essential for establishing a reliable the chronology for testing hypothesis to explain the expansion of modern humans into Europe, the processes that led to a wide range of cultural innovations including the advent of figurative art and music, and the extinction of Neanderthals.