Posted by
M. E. Ward on Friday, August 15, 2008 2:44:53 PM
RE: Archaeologists get a glimpse of life in a Sahara Eden
Scientists uncover skeletons thought to be as old as 10,000 years, when monsoon rains created a 'green Sahara.'
By Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 15, 2008
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-sahara15-2008aug15,0,3774647.story
“The Sahara has been a desert for untold millenniums. But about 12,000 years ago, a faint wobble in Earth's orbit and some other factors caused Africa's seasonal monsoons to shift slightly north, bringing rains to the Sahara and greening it from Egypt in the east to Mauritania in the west.”
Opps! Looks like somebody didn’t get the memo about man made global warming. How can scientists keep a straight face when on one hand they blame man for the current global warming trend, and on the other blame it on a “faint wobble” in the Earth’s orbit? Isn’t it possible global warming is being caused by planet Earth passing closer to the gravitational pull of a black hole located just outside the Milky Way, thereby causing the axis to wobble a bit?
“One group of graves contained individuals who averaged more than 6 feet tall, with some as tall as 6 feet 8.”
Could these be the giants referred to as the Nephilim in the Bible?
Genesis 6:4-5 (NIV) 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. 5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
The Nephilim were considered people of great size and strength, and the Hebrew word means “fallen ones” meaning they were ripe for judgment.
Numbers 13:32-33 (NIV) 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
Deuteronomy 1:28 (NIV) 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart. They say, 'The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.' "
Could the Sahara have once been the “land of milk and honey” referred to in Numbers 13:27-28?
“These individuals, the Kiffian, were folded in tight burial arrangements with their knees against their chests and arms at their sides, almost as though they had been buried in burlap bags.”
Perhaps they were buried in burlap bags after being killed in battle, which would explain the account in Joshua describing how the decendents of Anak, or the Anakites, were destroyed during the time of Joshua.
Joshua 11:21-23 (NIV)
21 At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites from the hill country: from Hebron, Debir and Anab, from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua totally destroyed them and their towns. 22 No Anakites were left in Israelite territory; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive. 23 So Joshua took the entire land, just as the LORD had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.
Makes for interesting contemplation, I must say.
References:
Ancient Cemetery Found; Brings "Green Sahara" to Life
Christine Dell'Amore
National Geographic News
August 14, 2008
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/08/080814-sereno-sahara-missions.html
Remains of Cemetery Found in Sahara
Cemetery Remains Show That Now-Barren Sahara Desert Was Once Green And Populated
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON August 15, 2008 (AP)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=5585084
Ancient Sahara Graveyard Hints at Once-Green Desert
Friday, August 15, 2008
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,403921,00.html
Stone Age mass graves reveal green Sahara
- 18:00 14 August 2008
- NewScientist.com news service
- Nora Schultz
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/dn14536-stone-age-mass-graves-reveal-green-sahara.html?feedId=online-news_rss20
Remains of children found in 'green Sahara'