Mystery of Teotihuacan

The underground work of the temple of Quetzalcoatl

TEOTIHUACÁN, México — In the archaeological site of Teotihuacan, 40 miles southwest of Mexico City, a team of archaeologists discovered a tunnel that may have much to reveal about one of the most important pre-Columbian civilizations.

The site was discovered by chance in 2003 when the heavy rains that fell in the region have revealed a small crater. But only in 2009, scientists began to excavate the place - with the support of the Institute of Anthropology and History Mexico (INAH).

The researchers believe that the tune could lead to a burial chamber of rulers of Teotihuacan, because none of them, no cemetery or graves have been found to date.

The archaeologist Sergio Gomes says: Teotihuacan means "place of the gods". It was a religious center built as a replica of the universe. The tunnel that we are looking can to be a sort of gateway to the underworld. We believe that this architecture can also to hide a replica of the underworld.

Historians estimate that the city flourished in the early Christian era. Teotihuacan was possibly the most important urban center in North America in his time of splendor. Your maximum population may have been 200 thousand inhabitants. Occupying an area of 25 sq. km, only 5% of the site was explored by scientists. Teoatihuacan was abandoned by the seventh century.

In August 2010, after digging about 12 feet, archaeologists have found what could be the entrance to a tunnel. The hypothesis was correct. The entrance had been blocked deliberately - with stones, and objects parts that may have belonged to a temple destroyed. Were already removed 300 tonnes of materials: small objects made ​​of jade, marine shells, bones.

A small camera-robot, first used in an archaeological research in Mexico, exploited the small entrance. A radar system allowed to evaluate the possible extension of the tunnel, about 120 meters. The hypothesis suggest that in the end of the corridor may exist at least three mortuary chambers containing the remains of some rulers of Teotihuacan.

The idea is based in the location of the site that seems seems extend itself along the underground area of the temple of the "Plumed Serpent" (Quetzalcóatl). The delicacy required for the operation involves a job that should last for years. But it is a start for unravel the great mystery that is the origin and abandonment of the powerful city of Teotihuacan.

SOURCE: NICHOLSON, Sophie. Unos arquéologos buscan en un túnel los secretos de Teotihuacán.
IN Google/AFP, published in 04/07/2011
[http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iwsL9Xn0J5XPAHRRThKkfkIq8NCg?docId=CNG.d9537645f26505042c24a73e3115be9f.2141]

👻 SPIRITISM FEVER IN BRAZILIAN MOVIES

"As Mães de Chico Xavier" (The mothers of Chico Xavier), April 2011. More recent production of the Brazilian spiritist cinema.

In the brazilian cinema the rise of a new genre of films opens a space in the market and reveals the excelent acceptance and fascination of the the conception about life after death of kardecist spiritism in the imaginary of people.

The phenomenon isn't surprising considering that Brazil is the largest Spiritist kardecist nation of the world. There is in the country a vigourous spiritist literature. 

The 'beyond', according kardecist spiritism also appears on TV, in soap operas of great success. But, on movies, the popularity obtained by the spiritists produtions is a mark in the history of the brazilian cinema.

The thing began in 2008 when the film "Bezerra de Menezes - O Diário de um Espírito" (Diary of a spirit) debuted and even without any big advertising structure, attracted nearly 500,000 viewers in that year alone. 

The film, is a biographical account of  Bezerra de Menezes life, a physician and exponent of the spiritist movement Kardecist at Brazil.

From the exit of "Bezerra de Menezes" was born the film producer company Estação da Luz (Light Station). Since then, the company produced two more films: 

Chico Xavier (2010) and 

As mães de Chico Xavier (The mothers of Chico Xavier – 2011), both directed by Daniel Filho. 

But other producers were paying attention in the genre. Also in 2010, it launched the long "Nosso Lar" (Our Home).

Chico Xavier, a film about the life of the most famous brazilian spiritist medium.

With great stars of the national drama, the film budgeted around 12 million of reais, Chico Xavier, another biography, takes to the big screen the life of Brazil's most famous medium. 

In the same year, 2010, "Nosso Lar" arrived the theaters. The most expensive film in Brazil's history, even now, costed 20 million of reais.

Our Home is based in one of the most renowned works of literature psychographed made in Brazil. 

The eponymous book (that was wrote - or psychographed by Chico Xavier), translated into several other languages, speaks of a place, the Beyond, passing from the shadows of hell of the sinners to the rescue of souls. 

Our Home is the name of an ethereal city, a kind of spiritual colony where the disembodied spirits are cured from the trauma of physical life.

In his debut, only in the first three days of exhibition, "Our Home" earned 5.7 million of reais and was seen by more than half a million people.

Nosso Lar, (Our Home), 2010. Another film-related to the medium Spiritist Chico Xavier (1910-2002) medium, author of numerous texts of literature psychographed produced in Brazil. The story is inspired in the eponymous book, a best seller of the kardecist spiritist brazilian literature.

"Our Home", produced by Iafa Britz, also has a cast of big names. Moreover, according to the book scene, it was necessary to hire international experts as the director of photography Ueli Steiger and special effects supervisor Lev Kobolov of the Canadian company Intelligent Creatures.

In this april month, 2011, debuted "The mothers of Chico Xavier" ("Estação da Luz" prodution), another story related to the life of the medium. In this april month, (2011) debuted "The mothers of Chico Xavier", another story related to the life of the medium. And it's not te finish. Two new debuts of the genre are coming. In the "midia" - they talk about a spiritist fever in produtions of brazilian movies.

Also in 2011, will be released "E a vida continua" (...and Life goes on) and "O filme dos espíritos" (The film of the spirits), the latter inspired by the famous "Book of Spirits" (Book of Spirits), by Alan Kardec, the precursor of western Spiritualism.

RELATED LINKS 

Chico Xavier movie website 

[http://www.chicoxavierthemovie.com/] (english) 

Nosso Lar movie website 

[http://www.nossolarofilme.com.br/ingles/] (english) 

As Mães de Chico Xavier movie website 

[http://www.asmaesdechicoxavier.com.br] (portuguese)

FONTES Cinema brasileiro aposta em "Chico Xavier". 

IN Diário do Vale, published in 04/02/2010 [http://diariodovale.uol.com.br/noticias/3,19212.html#axzz1IbfAwOrA] 

Nosso Lar é a terceira maior estréia da retomada. 

IN Ultimo Segundo, published in 07/09/2010 [http://ultimosegundo.ig.com.br/cultura/cinema/nosso+lar+e+a+terceira+maior+estreia+da+retomada/n1237771101373.html]

Filmes aumentam movimento em centros espíritas. 

IN Midia News, published in 04/04/2011 [http://www.midianews.com.br/?pg=noticias&cat=16&idnot=46614]

Atafona: the city being swallowed by the sea

Photos: Isabela Kassow. See more photos here

RIO DE JANEIRO (state) – Atafona, district of town of 'São João da Barra', situated 314 km from state capital (Rio de Janeiro city) no needs tsunami or hurricane to be destroyed. There, nature is not abrupt. But it works slowly, almost lovingly, engulfing the place bit by bit, relentlessly.

The sea advance over the place is been monitored since the 1970s. Streets houses, hotels, entire blocks are gone. The Atlantic Avenue, a classic landscape of coastal cities, no longer exists. In a radius of five kilometers of coast, erosion has turned everything in ruins. The water takes the sand creating dunes that occupy the space stolen to men.

The advisor to the Planning and Environmental Management of the municipality of Sao Joao da Barra, Andre Pinto explains:

The first observations of erosion were made 40 years ago. The problem was intensified by the lack of pressure of the water volume of the Paraiba do Sul River, which crosses the town towards the sea. The strong dynamics of ocean currents, the geological formation and for being a point of tension of the winds from the northeast, beyond the construction irregular in the fringes of the river and the sea, all of this aspects contribute to make the ocurrence of this phenomenon so intense in Atafona.

The city of São João da Barra has 30 thousands inhabitans and a territory of 432 km². The main economic activity in the region has always been fishing. But 'tourism of the ruins' has grown from in recent years.

The oldest inhabitants say that, since the 70's, the sea surged over five streets, totaling about 500 homes. This is equivalent, by the calculations of the prefecture, 40 soccer fields. Long ago, the sea became prohibited for swimming due to the presence of rebar and constructions debris hidden under the muddy waters.

SOURCE: MORATELLI, Valmir. Atafona: a cidade que está sendo engolida pelo mar. IN último Segundo, published in april – 01/2011 [http://ultimosegundo.ig.com.br/brasil/rj/atafona+a+cidade+que+esta+sendo+engolida+pelo+mar/n1300019862044.html#11]

More fossils of prehistoric crocodiles found at Brazil

Cranium of "Decuriasuchus" found at hinterland of Rio Grande do Sul state, south of Brazil. The predator, who lived in the Triassic period, is older than dinosaurs known.

Rio Grande do Sul (state) – In the city of 'Dona Francisca' in a place called 'Quarta Colônia' (Fourth Colony), researchers of the Museu de Ciências Naturais da Fundação Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul (Museum of Natural Sciences of the Foundation Zoo-botanical of Rio Grande do Sul) e da USP (University of São Paulo) de Ribeirão Preto (city of São Paulo state) – they presented to the worldwide scientific community a fossil from 240 million years ago.

An article about the discovery was published this month (march) by the german scientific review Naturwissenschaften (Science and nature). The text is signed by the Paleontologists: Marco Aurélio Gallo de França (USP), Max Cardoso Langer (USP) e Jorge Ferigolo (of the Museum).

Nine of the ten fossils in the site were found together. Footprints of diferent sizes were found too. The researchers belive that they could made by a mothers and puppies. The animals are so much distant relatives of the actual crocodiles. Furthermore, the discovery is uncommon because the pieces were found almost entirely intacts.

The animals that are a new spécie that was identified like belonged to the Rauisuchia group and it was named Decuriasuchos quartacolonia. It was predator carnivore of the Triassic period. Its size was about 2.5 m and a half long and had serrated teeth.

SOURCES

Fundação apresenta fóssil de 240 milhões de anos encontrado no Estado IN Diário de Canoas/RS, published in 03/31/2011 [http://www.diariodecanoas.com.br/site/noticias/geral,canal-8,ed-60,ct-214,cd-312595.htm] Pesquisadores gaúchos e de Ribeirão identificam ‘avô’ do crocodilo. IN Jornal da Cidade/Ribeirão Preto/SP, published in 03/30/2011 [http://www.jornalacidade.com.br/editorias/cidades/2011/03/30/pesquisadores-gauchos-e-de-ribeirao-identificam-avo-do-crocodilo.html]

Prehistoric crocodile nests found in Sao Paulo

SÃO PAULO state/Br – On a farm situated at the locality in Jales, near the city of Sao Jose do Rio Preto (SP state), a crocodile fossils attracted the attention of the international scientific environment. Twelve nests of the beast were found with remnants eggs of these primitive reptile known as Baurusuchus pachecoi. The fossils date back 85 million years ago. Therefore belong to the Cretaceous, the last period before the extinction of dinosaurs.

In Brazil, the species was found for the first time in 1945 in Paulo Faria. This time, along with the nests were also rescued a skull of the arcane crocodile in perfect conditions of conservation. The descobeta was published in the journal Palaenontology. The paleontologist Carlos Eduardo Maia, who discovered the fossils says that he and his team had the honor of give the name to the new finding: Baurulithus fragilis.

SOURCE: Ovos fossilizados de crocodilo pré-histórico são encontrados em Jales, SP. IN O Globo, publicado em 03/29/2011 [http://oglobo.globo.com/cidades/sp/mat/2011/03/29/ovos-fossilizados-de-crocodilo-pre-historico-sao-encontrados-em-jales-sp-924115211.asp]

Mayas: The Stele of number 6

Monument Maya similar to the Stele of number 6, in exibition in La Venta Park Museum

MEXICO – Recently was publicized the information the discovery in Tabasco (one of 31 Mexican states. Capital: Villahermosa) of a supposedly archeological new find belonging to Mayan culture: the Stele of number 6, a stone compostion that could contain prophetic signs about the end of the world.

The midia announced the fact, but in true, Estela No. 6 was found in 1958 in the hills Tortuguero, at Macuspana. Today, it is under the guardianship of the Museum of Anthropology and History Carlos Pellicer House. The piece was never shown to the public.

The stele, which is not a single object but a monument, it is the only document of the Mayan classic period that specifically refers to the date 13.0.0.0.0.0 Ajaw K'ank'kin 3, meaning the equivalent of 21 or 23 December 2012. Therefore, many consider that the stele No. 6 contains something like a prophecy about the end of the World.

However, according to the Maya's Collection director, that brings together ancient hieroglyphs and iconography (Ajimay-INAH), Carlos Pallana Gayol: What we know is that, according to the Mayans the Stella indicates the end of a period and not the end of the world or the advent of a disaster.

FONTE: GARCIA, Flor. Estela 6 marca el fin de un periodo.
IN Tabasco Hoy, published in 03/29/2011
[http://www.tabascohoy.com/noticia.php?id_nota=209840]