ISPECTRUMIssue 03/September-October 2013 MAGAZINEWORLD ARCHAEOLOGICALTREASURES INTERVIEW WITH DR. EBEN ALEXANDER COGNITIVE DISSONANCEAmoebas to protectus from the flu
CONTENTS Features 11 17 03 Interview with3 dr. Eben alexander 26 THE SKEPTIC NEUROSURGEON WHO WENT TO HEAVEN AND COME BACK 06 NDEs in the Laboratory 08‘Proof of Heaven’ 09 Who is Dr. Eben Alexander 37 11 Amoebas to protect us from the flu 12 Protection from bird flu possible 13 Amoebas work much faster than chickens 15 No antibiotics, mercury or form- aldehyde contained in this vaccine 17 COGNITIVE DISSONANCE 19 Festinger & Carlsmith research 23 How active is cognitive dis- sonance in our everyday experi- ences? 26 Alan Turing: A Brilliant Unknown 30 The Turing Machine 32 The Breaking of the ENIGMA Code 34 Apple’s Logo 37 WORLD ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURES 50 Lost Archaeology 1
editorial Mado Martinez The third issue of Ispectrum Magazine Editorial Director arrives full of interesting content, start- ing with an interview with neurosurgeon Ispectrum Dr. Eben Alexander, who after years of being a skeptic of NDEs (Near Death magazine Experiences) changed his mind due to meningitis that kept him in a coma for Editorial Director seven days. Do you want to know what Mado Martinez, he has to tell the readers of ISPECTRUM [email protected] MAGAZINE? I am sure you do. Art Director Don’t miss the special article by Markus Rayna Petrova Markus Köller who brings us, directly [email protected] from a German laboratory, interesting research about amoebas that protect Copy Editing and Proofreading us from flu. No antibiotics, mercury or Matt Loveday formaldehyde contained in this vaccine. [email protected] Feel curious? We do! John Sims Our psychology section, with Rob [email protected] Hutchinson, is about cognitive disso- nance. What happens to our private Daniel Hallam opinions if we are forced to do or think something that contradicts the way we Contributing Writers think? We want to know. How about Rob Hutchinson you? Markus Köller We have the telecommunications enginer Manolo Barea, who revitalizes Manuel Barea for us the figure of Alan Turing, one of the fathers of computer science.Do you John Sims know what apples have to do with Alan Turing, and what Alan Turing has to do Images with the Apple Computer Company? Cover Photo : ©DEBORAH FEINGOLD, commons.wikimeadia.org, Finally, this issue comes with an public domain photos, extraordinary journey through the most morguefile.com amazing of the world’s archaeological treasures. John Sims, a former field www.ispectrummagazine.com archaeologist from Wales, unveils for us some things about our ancestors [email protected] through what they left behind. +44 7517864 167 / +44 7938707 164 (UK) Enjoy reading, leave us your comments and share with us your ideas. Follow Us 2
INTERVIEW WITH DR. EBEN ALEXANDER THESKEPTICNEUROSURGEON WHO WENT TO HEAVEN AND CAME BACK by Mado Martinez website www.madomartinez.comF rom a skeptic to a believer. What ferent man. Now he truly thinks, he truly knows that there is life beyond death.makes an atheist neurosurgeon who What happened? Well, it’s easy. Dr.didn’t believe in Near-Death Experiences Alexander almost died. His brain was attacked by a bacteria that kept him in a(NDEs), change his mind to the point of coma for seven days and turned off his synapses. While his physical body was inaffirming that Heaven is real? the bed of a hospital surrounded by his family, this neurosurgeon was in anotherFor many years, Dr. Eben Alexander place; a Heaven where he learnt importantthought that everything finished when you lessons…die. Near-Death Experiences? What werethey? Surely a result of a lack of oxygen Do you want to know which ones?in the brain but nothing else, and he wasso sure about it that he even manifestedit. But today Dr. Eben Alexander is a dif- 3
M.M. You are a famous neurosurgeon that in the past, didn’t believe inNDEs. You even wrote papers against any remote possibility of life afterdeath. What was your theory in this period of your past?E.A. As a surgeon, I was proof of what happens science behind them—Iused to believing in what after death. But after found a wealth of infor-I could see, feel, and my experience, when mation that revealed ameasure. At the time, I started really looking firm grounding in sci-NDEs and conscious- for scientific papers— ence and belief in NDEsness independent of the not necessarily papers are not mutually exclu-brain seemed like wish- that had made it into the sive.ful thinking to me, and news, but papers andI never really looked for research with rigorous 4
M.M. So today you defend NDEs as real experiences, more real than thereality in which we live. Can you affirm that consciousness exists?E.A. The tougher question, physical brain and how Consciousness might and one that I have the mind appeared to learned a lot about work. For example, ifbe defined as aware- since my experience, is I had a patient with aness of things outside whether consciousness tumor that affected aoneself. So while phi- is essentially mechani- part of the brain asso-losophers have been cal—that is, arising sole- ciated with language,debating more precise ly from physical pro- he would have trou-definitions for millen- cesses in the brain—or ble communicating. Butnia, and the finer points holistic, in that it tran- I’ve since learned thatare quite complicated, scends the brain. As it’s a lot more compli-the core of the thing is a neurosurgeon, I was cated than that.easy; if you’re reading used to a one-to-onethis, if you’re aware of correlation between thethis newspaper, you’reconscious.M.M. Do you affirm it from the personal point of view or from a scientificpoint of view?Е.A. then, I have learned a to accept the hypoth- While the science lot, and based on my esis that consciousness experience, a wealth exists beyond the phys-has been emerging of anecdotal evidence, ical brain.throughout the last and emerging researchfew decades, I refused in medicine andto seriously consider physics, I have comeit until my own per-sonal experience. Since 5
M.M. Is it possible to experiment with NDEs in a laboratory?Е.A. ly precious, and while exciting research in this research in this area area, and all of them Absolutely. However, interests me, the health have found creativeas a doctor, I hold the and well being of other ways to learn aboutHippocratic oath—do no people far outweighs consciousness—fromharm—in the highest anything we might learn neuroscience to theo-regard. Doctors and sci- using that method. I’m retical physics—withoutentists cannot in good in contact with teams of risking patients healthconscience perform researchers all over the in any way.experiments that could world doing some veryharm their patients.Our lives are infinite-M.M. Can Science explain everything, or does it need to open up to otherdisciplines of knowledge to explain themysteries of life, physics and the universe?Е.A. tally ill were assumed theory and proven fact Ultimately, science is to be possessed. Now aren’t always clear we have the rightthe study of the observ- vocabulary and con-able universe. I think ceptual frameworkscience can explain to talk about viruseseverything—if we can and bacteria, and thefind ways to observe right tools, like micro-a broader range of the scopes, to observeuniverse. and measure them. But the differencesJust a few hundred years between “magic” andago, illness seemed likea curse, and the men- 6
until much later. And be incredibly arrogant without assumptions orwhile we’ve learned a of us to assume that we preconceptions.lot, we’re nowhere near have discovered every from neuroscience to100%. Witch hunts way to see the world theoretical physics—continue even today and every tool to mea- without risking patientsin countries like Papua sure it. Scientists are at health in any way.New Guinea, where a their best when they arewoman was burned open to all possibilities,alive in 2013. It would and arrive at a studyM.M. When a person says that she/he has had an NDE, a scientist doesn’tbelieve her/him. When people like Louis Hay, Gregg Braden, etc, say thatthey have cured themselves from a cancer with positive thinking, what doyou - a doctor - have to say?Е.A. at their bedside from py and radiation ther- As a doctor, I’ve seen doctors and loved apy, works better than ones—even people who anything else. But itpeople recover who “shouldn’t” be able to doesn’t work in everyevery medical test hear or process audio. case, and there’s oftenindicated should have Clearly, we still have a no clear reason why itdied. And I’ve seen lot to learn about how works for one personpeople deteriorate who the brain works, and and doesn’t for another.should have responded how we interact with I would never advise ato treatment. We just our environment when patient to forgo chemodon’t know everything the brain is severely in favor of meditationabout how the human injured. or other mental efforts,body heals itself. but I don’t dismiss the We know that modern power of positive think-Some studies show treatment for cancer, ing.that show people in a including chemothera-coma do better whenthey hear positive talk 7
M.M. During your experience you met other beings, and you knew aboutother worlds, other universes, other existences. Do these experiencesprove that “aliens” exist?Е.A. are other planets capa- miraculous thing, but ble of sustaining life. I am not so egotistical I believe that there are Statistically speaking, or naive as to think wemore things in heav- it seems likely that at have a monopoly onen and earth than are least some of those that consciousness.dreamt of in most peo- can, do. Humanity is aples’ philosophies. Weknow now that thereM.M. In “Proof of Heaven” we find the testimonial of a person that is a neu-rosurgeon; but it is not a scientific book. Are you only interested in ‘spread-ing the word’ or have you thought about conducting scientific research inorder to publish papers and books for the scientific community? Е.A. how what I learned can change their lives for I wanted Proof of the better. While I don’t Heaven to be acces- feel a calling to do labo- sible to people with- ratory work with NDEs, out a medical back- I do continue to follow ground. While there are current research about lots of studies about consciousness and near-death experienc- NDEs, and support the es, research jargon can researchers doing that be daunting for many work. There is some people. really exciting research out there right now, and Right now, I’m focused I feel very blessed to be on continuing to share here at a time when we my story and help- ing people understand 8
are constantly learningnew things about whowe are, where we are,where we’re going, andwhat it all means.WHO IS DR.ALEXANDER? Eben Alexander PROOF OF HEAVEN: THEis an American neu- EXCERPTSrosurgeon and theauthor of the best-sell- A beautiful, incredible any words, she spokeing Proof of Heaven: dream world… Except it to me. The messageA Neurosurgeon’s wasn’t a dream. Though went through me likeJourney into the I didn’t know where I a wind, and I instantlyAfterlife, in which he was or even what I was, understood that it wasdescribes his 2008 I was absolutely sure of true. I knew so in thenear death experi- one thing: this place I’d same way that I knewence and asserts that suddenly found myself that the world around usScience will determine in was completely real. was real […] The mes-that Heaven really does sage had three parts,exist. [A girl] Without using and if I had to trans-If you want to knowmore about him, checkoutwww.lifebeyondeath.net 9
late them into earthly not one universe but impossible, and with-language, I’d say they many –in fact, more out free will could beran something like this: than I could conceive- no growth –no forward“You are loved and but that love lay at the movement, no chancecherished, dearly, for- center of them all. Evil for us to become whatever. You have nothing was present in all the God longed for us to be.to fear. There is nothing other universes as well,you can do wrong”. but only in the tini- est trace amounts. EvilThrough the Orb, Om was necessary becausetold me that there is without it free will was 10
Amoebas to protect us from the fluInnovative flu vaccine takesfirst hurdle at Regulatory Agency by Markus Köller website www.medien-loge.deM ünster, July 29, 2013. We may likely become a thing of the past. still know from biology class The vaccine was developed by Cilian that amoebas (or scientifically called AG, a biotech company based in Tetrahymena) are microscopic sandal Münster, Germany, and is currently shaped single cell organisms and can in advanced testing phase. The be found in any lake or water puddle. German Paul Ehrlich Institute, more They will now help to produce the flu precisely the Federal Institute for vaccine named Ciflu, the production Vaccines and Biomedical Products of which is twice as fast as and safer has now granted permission for than current technology. Risks and next steps in the vaccine’s develop- supply shortages for vaccines against ment. seasonal or pandemic flu will most 11
By rendering scientific advice, the Paul EhrlichInstitute helped the amoeba based vaccine to takeits first big official hurdle in the first attempt. Sinceanimal tests of Ciflu were positive and, in fact,superior in efficacy to the standard vaccine, theregulatory agency has authorized additional in vivotesting: A first official signal for the large potentialof this new product. Protection from bird flu possible What is it, in fact, that makes Tetrahymena so much better than other vaccine production? “I have been following research at Cilian AG very closely for years now“, explains Professor Tiedtke who is cell biologist and biotechnologist at the University of Münster in Germany. “Tetrahymena cells offer a lot of advantages. As eukaryotes, they pos- sess similar features to human cells – meaning that compounds can be produced naturally the same way (as in the human body) and are therefore harmless for us humans and animals. In addition, such vac- cine production would by far be a lot faster than conventional methods. It is very flexible – and one day it could protect us from the bird flu.” 12
Amoebas work much (Sources: Bild links: CDC / Laura R. Zambuto. Bild rechts: www.cilian.de)faster than chickens Speed in the production of vac- Current vaccine production incines is often the decisive fac- chicken eggstor: the German Federal Ministry ofHealth recommends that individu- “Our process is a lot more effi-als should get vaccination against cient and cleaner” says Dr. Marcusinfluenza, commonly referred to as Hartmann, Chief Scientific Officer offlu, every year between the months Cilian AG. “In comparison with theof September and November. This current standard vaccine we couldis particularly relevant in children produce large quantities almostand the elderly. However, what hap- twice as fast. This applies for sea-pens if shortages occur in conjunc- sonal flu but also for a pandemiction with the manufacturing and which tend to spread in the generalsupply of vaccine, as was the case population very quickly.”last year in Bavaria and NorthernGermany? The time window for Another advantage:production is extremely narrow. More safetyBecause of constant mutation, theWHO determines the relevant virustypes each February for the upcom-ing flu season. Through convention-al production in Germany, the stan-dard vaccine is produced in chickenembryos in a very tedious process.The chicken embryos get infectedwith the live virus which multipliesin their bodies. This process alonetakes more than 2 months.Recombinant vaccine Ciflu, meaning The outer membrane of the flu virusproduced through biotechnology, consists in most part of a protein,could offer relief in the near term. called hemagglutinin. Hartmann and 13
Dr. Marcus Hartmann of Cilian AG demonstrating how much safer his process is(Sources: Bild links: CDC / Laura R. Zambuto. Bild rechts: www.cilian.de)his team can program Tetrahymena the handling of pathogens or par-DNA in a complex high-tech process ticles thereof. ”Such risk can only beso that they will only produce the lowered through expensive addition-protein. Through vaccination with al safeguards”, explains Hartmann,hemagglutinin, a person produces while standing in plain attire in theantibodies that recognize the flu lab. “Unprotected as I stand in ourvirus and remember the structure vaccine production is not possibleof the protein long term. This helps in conventional production, thereto identify the virus a lot quicker they have to wear protective safetyand then effectively fight it. suits. Here, however, I can reach into the vessel with my bare hands Besides production speed, manu- and nothing would really happen tofacturing of hemagglutinin offers me”.another advantage: Conventionalvaccines may contain immobilizedviruses or virus like particles. Cifluon the other hand features only theprotein. Growing viruses in chickeneggs or in some other productionsystems always carries a risk ofcontamination since they involve14
No antibiotics, mercury or formaldehydecontained in this vaccine On top of this, the certain that the side “The decision renderedvaccine from amoeba effects will be a lot by the Paul Ehrlichdoes not contain any less. The next tests will Institute resembles thecontroversial ingredi- certainly provide the experts’ great inter-ents such as mercury, scientific evidence”. est in this productionantibiotics or formal- process”, according todehyde. Standard vac-cines currently contain (Sources: www.cilian.de)small amounts of theseingredients, remnants The scientific advice Professor Tiedtke, whofrom the purification from the Federal Agency has researched andprocess. Such ingre- confirms that if the studied the unique fea-dients have caused amoeba masters the tures of Tetrahymenaresentment in parts of upcoming tests, tests for decades. “I believethe population towards in human subjects will that Dr. Hartmannvaccination. Only 10% be next. A collabora- found a potentially veryto 15% of Germans tion partner for clinical good, fast and safewill get immunization trials has already been alternative to produceagainst seasonal flu found. effective vaccines.”partly because they fearside effects and allergicreactions to intolerablevaccine components.“In this regard Ciflu iscleaner”, according toHartmann. “Since weonly produce a harm-less protein, we are 15
The vaccine from amoeba does not containany controversial ingredients such as mercury, antibiotics or formaldehyde“We are pleased at hav- a bit like the iPhone can get to the mar-ing received the support changed the way we ket with Ciflu and havefrom the Paul Ehrlich use wireless commu- prepared strategicallyInstitute. If all upcom- nication” according to insure production oning tests will be as posi- to Christian Scheiner, a large scale with ourtive as the ones to date, Cilian’s CEO. “We are partners.”the vaccine will certain- confident that withinly change a few things the medium term we16
Cognitive dissonance is the area of social psychology which involves theway we deal with two contradicting thoughts, and how we deal with thiscontradiction. 17
COGNITIVE DISSONANCEbyrob hutchinsonwebsitewww.ispectrummagazine.comW hat happens to our private that we actually agree with the opinion if we are forced to content of the speech, in essencedo or think something that contra- convincing ourselves to change ourdicts the way we think? Quite sur- mind and bringing the conflictingprisingly evidence suggests that we thoughts to an end. This also workschange our private opinion so that the other way round, in that if weit corresponds more with the opin- want to resolve the conflict but errion we are forced to deliver. For more towards our own opinion weexample, if we are told to impro- will rationalize or disregard infor-vise a speech supporting a point mation, filtering it so that it agreesof view that we disagree with, this with our present opinion.creates contradicting thoughts inour head. To resolve this contra-diction, we shift our opinion so 18
sense, but cognitive dissonance is not that easy to predict. His results actually showed that a large reward caused a smaller subsequent change in opinion in participants than a lesser reward.Cognitive dissonance is not that easy to predict The example above is very simple It was a few years later whenand clear cut, but there are many Festinger (1957) and then Festingerfacets that influence cognitive dis- & Carlsmith (1959) made realsonance. In truth, the concept is inroads into research on cognitiveas complicated as the execution dissonance theory. They focusedis cunning. When cognitive disso- more on researching into how anance was first being investigat- person’s opinion changed if theyed Kelman (1953) postulated that were presented with informationif the contrary information being contrary to their opinion and had topresented to the participant was reproduce that information in somesupplemented by a reward, then format. Most of you reading thisthe greater the value of the reward may be able to look back at timesthe more the participants opin- you have rationalized informationion should shift towards the new to fit your opinion, but it’s muchinformation. Logically this makes19
harder to recognize a time when dissonance is a very devious mech-your opinion shifted to align with anism, as it operates on a subcon-contradictory information. Arguably scious level and any contributingthis is the most interesting aspect factors, such as a generous reward,of cognitive dissonance theory and push it into the conscious mind andalso the aspect Festinger started to negates it’s effect.investigate in detail in 1957. Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) Expanding on Kelman’s 1953 put this theory to the test, aim-research, Festinger postulated that ing to discover that if the largerthe effect of cognitive dissonance the reward offered the smaller thewould be maximized if the reward subsequent private opinion changeoffered or the punishment threat- would be. This experiment, withened was barely enough to prompt many cunning deceptions, wouldthe person their private opinion go on to become one of the cor-with the opinion presented. The nerstones of cognitive dissonancemore obvious or greater the reward theory. Students at Stanford, asor punishment was, the less an in most psychology departmentseffect it had. If this were to be true at universities, were required toit would demonstrate that cognitive spend a certain number of hours 20
as participants in experiments run hours, so the university adminis-by fellow students and profes- tration were using this as a goodsors at the university. At the start opportunity to interview the sub-of the term it was additionally jects in the spare time after theexplained to these students that to experiment. Then, the experimentmonitor the experiments that were began, with subjects first havingbeing conducted interviews would to move spools around a tray forbe held with some students and half an hour and then, for the nextthey would be asked for their hon- half hour, putting pegs in a board.est opinion of the experiment. One Obviously, doing such boring tasksparticular study, called ‘Measures for an hour would give the subjectsof Performance’, lasted two hours a negative view of the experiment,and 71 male students signed up which is exactly what Festinger andfor it. This is where Festinger and Carlsmith were counting on. AfterCarlsmith’s deceptions began. The all, who enjoys putting pegs in asubjects were told that the experi- board for half an hour?ment lasted just over an hour, butthey had to schedule it for two At this point subjects were informed that there would be two groups in this experiment and they are in Group A. Group B will do exactly the same thing, but before they start a student who is running the experiment will tell subjects how interesting and entertaining the experiment is. That is the group they are really interested in, and the experiment the subject just did is the control group. The subject then waits for the interviewer from 21
cash and all the subject had to do was tell the other student arriving that the experiment was interest- ing. The Subjects agreed, and duly informed the arriving student that the experiment was indeed inter- esting. Surprisingly, this arriving student (an actress), then told the subject that her friend had done the experiment, found it really boring, and encouraged her to get out of doing it. To this, some subjects putthe university to arrive and askabout the experiment he just did.However, whilst he is waiting, theexperimenter pops his head in atreception and rather embarrassed,informs the subject that the stu-dent who is running the experi-ment for Group B has not turnedup, so would he mind doing it forthem? It would only take a fewminutes and they will pay him a $1.Another set of students having justdone exactly the same procedureand, receiving the same explana-tion about the student not turningup, are offered $20. Remember,it’s 1959 so even a $1 is useful 22
forward a more persuasive argu- removed for various other rea-ment, that the experiment really sons. This left a pool of sixty to bewas interesting and that her friend analyzed, twenty from each groupwas wrong. (a control group who never were asked to talk to the arriving stu-Having done this, the interviewer dent but were still interviewed,from the university arrived the $1 group and theand asked subjects a $20 group).few questions tocheck up on howexperiments The resultswere being showedconducted With their experiment that, onin the uni- Festinger and Carlsmith average,v e r s i t y. laid the foundations of subjectsSubjects in thewere asked cognitive dissonance $1 groupfour ques- theory. respond-tions, one ed posi-of which was tively to thein regards to question ofhow interesting if they thoughtthe tasks they had the experimentto do were. Festinger was interesting andand Carlsmith were very enjoyable. The $20 dollarcareful, and used the interview as group however, showed very littlean opportunity to weed out any difference in relation to the controlsubjects who were suspicious at group in their reports of how enjoy-having to inform the girl that the able they found the experiment.experiment was interesting. The To sum up, when subjects weredata of five subjects was removed induced via a small reward to sayafter they indicated they were sus- something that conflicted with theirpicious as to the real nature of the private opinion, this private opinionexperiment, and additionally the changed to correspond more close-data from six more subjects was ly with what the subject had been 23
told to say. The larger the reward only to discover that the club, is inoffered the smaller the effect was. fact, rather dull and boring, hardlyWe can conclude from this that cog- worth all the time and effort younitive dissonance works best when put in. However, this creates twothe reward offered is the minimum contradictory thoughts, your opin-necessary to cause the change in ion that the club is a waste of time,behaviour. With their experiment and the opinion presented to youFestinger and Carlsmith laid the that the club, with all its prerequi-foundations of cognitive dissonance sites to join, must be amazing. So,theory. we shift our opinion to be more in line with that of the opinion pre-So just how active is cognitive dis- sented, in effect changing our mindsonance in our everyday experi- to really believe that the club is aences? The answer is, alarmingly, great place to be. The harder it isvery active. Let’s look at some situ- to join the club, the more you valueations that maybe you have found your membership, no matter howyourself in, and after applying the average the club is.cognitive dissonance theory, canyou honestly say that you haven’tduped yourself into changing yourown opinion? Let’s say you reallywant to enjoy a very exclusive gym,or any other type of membershipclub. You have high expectations,but being a high end club youhave to do many arduous thingsto gain membership, such as pro-duce evidence of your income, goto a couple of interviews and reallyprove that you are worth beingallowed to join. All that effort andeventually you are allowed to join..24
Another example is how people so we take a little more on therationalize their behaviour even side, feeling that we deserve morethough society, or others, may deem money so its not wrong at all.it as morally or legally wrong. If a We may recognize that stealing isperson steals from their employer wrong but we twist the informationthey may rationalize it by think- to justify our opinion and end theing that ‘everybody else does it so contradiction that we are experi-why shouldn’t I?’ Or, that we feel encing.aggrieved at the pay we receive,25
Cognitive dissonance is a robust theory, with much evidence to sup- port it’s basic principles and more complicated aspects. It is one of the most important yet little known and understudied areas of psychol- ogy, especially since it is so com- mon in our everyday lives and sub- consciously acts to align our opin- ions, whether we want to change them or not.26
Alan Turing: A BrilliantUnknown by Manuel BareaWhen our Director Mado most important aspects ofMartínez posted on social net- his life, his work and clarifyworking site Facebook of feel- if possible the legend of theing addicted to the iPhone, Apple logo.I told her of the hypothesisthat the Apple logo was a We have all studied in ourtribute to the British math- childhood how Isaac Newtonematician, Alan Turing. She discovered the law of uni-was very surprised by the versal gravitation, stoked byexciting story that accompa- an apple falling down fromnies his life and invited me to a tree. However, history hascollaborate in this edition of overlooked a second appleIspectrum Magazine. In this that changed the world of sci-article, I will try to get the ence… 27
A Brief Review of his BiographyT he name Alan Turing is Alan Turing probably not familiar to (1912-1954)most people who read this text, butthere are good reasons to consider to its simplicity. Turing graduat-him one of the most influential and ed with honors in Mathematicsinteresting characters of the 20th from Cambridge, and thereaftercentury. Alan Mathison Turing was worked in the then-emerging fieldborn on the 23rd of June 1912, in of Quantum Mechanics. In AprilPaddington, London. Turing spent 1936 he published a famous arti-the first thirteen years of his life cle that introduced the concept oftraveling between England and algorithm, and defined a calcu-India, where his Father was a colo- lating machine of infinite capac-nial civil servant. Upon a return to ity known as the Turing Machine,the United Kingdom, he became a which operated on the basis of astudent at the boarding school of series of logical instructions. It isSherborne, where he met his first considered, therefore, to be thelove; Christopher Morcom - a class- forerunner of modern computingmate who died of tuberculosis in and computing theory. He moved1930, a few weeks before graduat- to the United States’ University ofing. Princeton, where he worked with the logician Alonzo Church and He subsequently studied at King’s received a PhD. in Mathematics.College (University of Cambridge) However in 1938 he returned towhere he met Von Neumann - England to engage in a study of thewhose invention; The Von Neumann very foundations of mathematics.machine - is still in use today in This led to him working secretly forstudies of concept designs andthe architecture of computers, due 28
the British Cryptanalysis Department tions to other branches of applied– a Government school dedicated to mathematics; such as Biology.encoding and encryption. Recently published research that During the Second World War he has used Turing’s theory as a tem-was offered the opportunity to apply plate, has offered information intohis theories; as a commander of a the correlation of a Leopard’s spotsdivision of the British Intelligence. or the stripes of a Tiger. An almostHe continued work on both the pro- mathematical sequence that showscesses and the machines that were to how the parameters - such as thebe known as bombe, which allowed darker markings - are used for ‘pro-for the deciphering of encrypted ducing’ different substances wherasNazi codes and machines. Among the ochre or opposing colour(s)these was of course the Nazi Enigma inhibit or ‘control’ what producesmachine which contained messages these substances. It sounds like afrom the 3rd Reich, and provided random process but it is not.information that gained the allies avaluable tactical advantage. After the war he developed one of Turing’s career was emphaticallythe first electronic computers: The cut-short however when, in 1952,Automatic Computing Engine (ACE), he went to the Police to report a bur-in the National Laboratory of Physics glary that had taken place at his ownin the United Kingdom. Shortly there- home – perpetrated by his own loverafter he worked on the Manchester and an accomplice. It was then thatMark I, recognized as one of the first his homosexuality emerged, andreal computers. he was prosecuted and sentenced In these subsequent years Turing’s for ‘grave impropriety’ and ‘sexualwork with computers deepened perversion’. He was told he couldgreatly, and he established the the- choose between jail and chemicaloretical template that would define castration. Turing chose the secondwhether a computer had the capa- option, which resulted in significantbility to think like a Human – a fore- physical and emotional consequenc-runner to what is now referred to es. For a year they injected him withas Artificial Intelligence. The ‘Turing estrogen to “reduce libido” – a pro-Test’ also made significant contribu- cess which worked – and dramati-29
cally altered the hormones in An Apple with a missing bittenhis body which left him with piece, could be a kind oftributegrowths similar to a women’s to Alan Mathison Turing.breasts. His public image hadbeen completely ruined. Hehad been publicly humiliatedby the State, and his considered by British Intelligence asown body left the a potential risk to national security.marks of his Although the company Appleshame. has never confirmed the the- ory; it has pointed out thatOn the 8th their logo: an Apple with aof June missing bitten piece, could1954, his be a kind of tribute to Alanassistant Mathison Turing.found himdead in hisbed. At hisside, on thebedside table,was an apple withone bite taken from it. He wastwo weeks shy of his 42nd birthdaywhen he died. It was establishedthat he had been poisoned by cya-nide - allegedly injected into theapple. Officially, the death of AlanTuring was considered a suicide, andsome argue that this - given the wayhe died – was his attempt at recre-ating his favorite tale: Snow Whiteand the Seven Dwarfs. But his deathalso suggests that it is not possibleto rule out murder; as Turing, due tohis homosexuality, would have been 30
In 2009, as a result ofa public mobilization,Prime Minister GordonBrown apologized onbehalf of the BritishGovernment for theharassment sufferedby Turing. However,in 2012, the BritishParliament refused topardon the scientist,claiming that homosex-uality – at the time theevents occurred – wasconsidered a criminaloffence. Turing machineThe Turing Machine is cal computer science. all, no matter how fastone of the most beau- Because of its simple the processor, or howtiful and intriguing description and behav- much memory is avail-intellectual discover- ior, it is amenable to able.ies of the 20th cen- mathematical analysis.tury. A simple and use- This analysis has led to Turing sought toful abstract model of a deeper understand- describe the mostcomputation (and dig- ing of digital comput- primitive model of aital computers) that ers and computation; mechanical device thatis general enough to including the revelation had the same basicembody any computer that there are some capabilities as a human.program. It forms the computational prob- The machine consistsfoundation of theoreti- lems that cannot be of the following com- solved on computers at ponents: 31
The ticker-tape Turing machine tape sition diagram, which isstores the input, the The tape head of a finite table of instruc-intermediate results, the Turing machine tions that specifiesand the output. The scans the tape one cell exactly what action thetape is one arbitrarily at a time. We refer to machine takes at eachlong strip, divided into the cell being scanned step. Each state repre-cells. Each cell stores as the active cell and sents one of the possi-one of a finite alpha- the symbol it contains ble configurations of thebet of symbols. In the as the input symbol. At machine. Dependingexample below, we use each time step, the tape on its current statea 4 character alphabet head reads the input and input symbol, theconsisting of: 0, 1, A, symbol, and leaves it Turing machine over-X, and #. either unchanged or writes the input symbol overwrites it with a new with a new symbol and symbol. At the end of moves to a new state. each time step, the tape Each transition con- head moves one posi- nects one state, say ‘s’, tion to the left or right. to another state, say We highlight the active ‘t’, and is labeled with cell in light yellow. In two symbols, say ‘A’ the example below, the and ‘X’: this means that A is replaced with an if the Turing machine X and the tape head is in state ‘s’ and the moves one cell to the input symbol is ‘A’, then left. it overwrite the ‘A’ with an ‘X’ and transitions to state ‘t’. Each state is Turing machine labeled with one of five tape head designations: L (left), R (right), Y (yes), N (no), The control unit or H (halt). Upon enter- is the analog version ing a state, the Turing of the CPU in modern machine either moves day microprocessors. It its tape head or halts consists of a state tran- according to the state’s designation. 32
ways. In addition to the permutationsSome online simulators of Turing’s of these rotors, the electrical con-machine can be found at: nections on the back of the machine could be changed manually givinghttp://morphett.info/turing/turing. rise to more than 150 million mil-html lion million possible configurations. To increase the security even more,http://db.ing.puc.cl/turingmachine/ the orientation of the three rotors changed continuously, so much sohttp://math.hws.edu/TMCM/java/ that each and every entry couldxTuringMachine/ contain a different coding spectrum, even though the characters entered on the keyboard were the same. For example:The Breaking of the Typing ‘DODO’ might generate theENIGMA Code message ‘FGTB’: The ‘D’ and ‘O’ are Enigma machine The Enigma machine consisted ofa keyboard connected to a unit ofencoding. The encoding unit con-tained three separate rotors whosepositions determined how they wouldbe coded by each letter on the key-board. What made the Enigma Codeso difficult to break was the enor-mous number of ways in which themachine could be configured. First,the three rotors of the machine couldbe chosen from a group of five, andcould be changed and exchangedto deceive potential code breakers.Second, each rotor could be locatedin one of twenty different ways. Thismeans that the machine could beconfigured in more than a million 33
sent twice, but are encoded differ- ple, and get the code book with theently each time. daily settings for the next month. The alternative method - which wasThe Enigma machines were deliv- adopted during the greater part of the war - was to transmit the day’sered to the Army, the Navy and the configurations as a preamble to the daily messages themselves, butGerman Air Force, and operated even coded according to the configura- tions of the previous day.in the railways and other depart- When the war started the Britishments of the government. As was School of Codification was domi- nated by linguists and scholars ofthe case with all the code systems classical languages. But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs soon realized thatthat were used during this period their theoreticians of numbers had a higher probability of finding theof time, a weakness of the Enigma key to break the German codes and, to begin the operation, ninewas that the receiver had to know of the most brilliant British theo- rists of numbers were gathered atthe configuration set by the issuer. the new headquarters of a school in Bletchley Park; a Victorian man-To preserve the security of Enigma, sion in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire. One of them of course was Turingsettings had to be altered every day. who had to abandon his hypotheti- cal machines with tape and infi-One of the ways that the issuers had nite unlimited processing time; to face a practical problem with finiteto change the configurations with resources and a very real time limit.frequency and keep the receivers In fact, the Enigma had to be bro- ken afresh over and over again.informed The brilliant pre-war work by Polish mathematicians, which enabled thewas the reading of Enigma messages on thepublica-tion of thedaily con-figurationsin a bookof secretcodes. Therisk of thismethodwas thatthe Britishcould cap-ture aGermansubmarine,for exam- 34
simplest key-systems – Apple’s Logo old-fashioned point ofgiven to Britain and view.France in 1939 –, was I know of several theo-certainly crucial, but it ries on the origin and It depicts Newtonwas not sufficient for creation of the desired reading under an applethe continuation and ‘apple with bite’ logo, tree, surrounded byextension of Enigma so I’m going to col- the name of Applecode breaking over the lect the most interest- Computer Co. and thenext six years. New ing I’ve found, without text:ideas were essential. forgetting that AppleIn 1939-40, Alan Turing has had different logos ‘Newton… A Mindand another Cambridge throughout its history. Forever Voyagingmathematician: Through Strange SeasGordon Welchman, fur- The first logo was of Thought … alone’.ther developed a new designed by Ronaldmachine; the British Wayne in 1976, short-Bombe. The basic ly after the foundingproperty of the Bombe of the company.was that it could break Wayne is a per-any Enigma-encrypted fect strangermessage, provided in the stylethat the hardware of of the ‘fifththe Enigma was known B e a t l e ’,and that a plain-text who‘crib’ of about 20 let- invitedters could be guessed Jobs andaccurately. A simulator Wozniak toof the Bombe can be participatefound at the following in Apple.web address: Wayne’s logoh t t p : / / w w w. l y s a t o r. was of an elab-liu.se/~koma/turing- orate design to thebombe/bombe.html 35
Apart from the artis- Source:http://commons.wikimedia.org/ Photo-Matt Yohetic value, Wayne’s logowas a disaster, tech-nically speaking. Theapple of ‘Apple’ wasbarely visible, and eventhe name of ‘AppleComputer’ was hardto read. Hence it wasdiscarded quickly andthe group decided thatthey needed somethingmore professional.Jobs commissioned theRegis McKenna Agencyto take care of the imageof Apple, and thereworked Rob Janoff,one of the designers Steve Jobs holding a MacBook Airwho has created some (at MacWorld Conference & Expo 2008-of the most recogniz- Moscone Center - San Francisco, CA)able corporate identi-ties of world industry, design that represented a great number ofsuch as IBM; Intel; an apple with a bite at legends still circulateFedEx; Volkswagen and one side. Jobs thought around it – despite con-CNBC. After receiv- the work was good, but tinuous rebuttals froming the order, Janoff he requested Janoff Jobs, Apple, Janoff andwent to a grocery store make it more colorful McKenna…and bought all kinds to ‘humanize the com- There are those whoof apples for inspira- pany’. And so were say that the apple is ation. He cut each of the added the famous six tribute to Alan Turing,apples in different ways bands of colors. This to his life, his work,and, after a long med- is the official history of how he died and theitation; he submitted one of the most famous fact that he was gay.to Jobs a monochrome logos of all time, but 36
Some think that the The rainbow design more difficult to answer.rainbow of colors was had become a lit- It may be possible thata reference to the flag tle outdated and the Jobs simply liked to eatof the gay communi- experts realized that them – particularly thety, but this theory has the shape of the Apple McIntosh variety!also been denied by itsdesigner, who states Why an apple? This remainsthat it simply symbol- more difficult to answer.ized the evolution frommonochrome to colorcomputers. More recently oth- logo is more recogniz- But regardless, wheth-ers have found Aureos able. They began to er the roots of the logonumbers and Fibonacci use variants in black are simple or indeedsequences in their pro- and white or shades of an urban legend, itportions, although a gray to replace the col- remains that it couldmore detailed analysis ored spectrum. be a subliminal tribute- and a comparison with to one of the greatestother logos – allows Despite the numerous minds of the last cen-one to see that through theories, some posed tury.certain sequences you questions do have sim-can achieve any value ple answers, such asand bring it closer to the choice taken for thelook like what in reality apple to have a missingit is not. bite was just to portray a sense of scale; or to After the return of show that it is an appleSteve Jobs to Apple as opposed to a cher-in the middle of the ry. But, ultimately, the90s, the company had question remains: Whysuffered many chang- an apple? This remainses and one of themwas again in its logo. 37
by John Sims website www.ispectrummagazine.comWORLD ARCHAEOLOGICALTREASURESF irst let’s clear up that I’m not writ- There are of course all the usual names, pyramids, Stonehenge, Avebury, Machuing about treasure as in gold doubloons Pichu, Nazca, Angkor Wat, Wall of China, Forbidden City, Pompeii et al. Those areor buried loot. Archaeological treasures so well known that you can hardly turn on the telly without at least one of them beingare discoveries that advance our knowl- in a documentary, so I won’t be listing any of them.edge. The searching for treasure is trea-sure-hunting, not archaeology. Treasure-hunters tend to destroy the archaeologyto get at the gold. That doesn’t mean thatthere’s nothing on my list that has a valuein monetary terms.lessons… 38
Carnac, in France Carnac stonesAlso I don’t propose to list these been there since Neolithic times andin any numerical order. That would were taken from the local rock. Bysuggest that one is more important comparison, Stonehenge originallythan another, and I feel that they had 60. The Carnac stones, whenare all of equal importance, albeit viewed from the air, seem to be laidfor many different reasons. By all out in geometric shapes, fuelling themeans place them in any order you ancient alien theorists to claim theywish. must have been put there by aliens to navigate by. I fail to see why aliensIt’s my goal to highlight the less well need stones to navigate, they got allknown but more interesting sites of the way to Earth without them.the world, not only in the UK. Firstamong them being the stones at In monetary terms therefore, apartCarnac, France, not only because from their value if cut up to makethey’re amazing but because they’re blocks to build with, they are of nobeing slowly destroyed, with the value, but what they tell us aboutstones being removed to make way Neolithic France is huge. With thesefor roads and even buildings. What enormous stone features, Aveburyare the French thinking to let this also has many stones, it alwayshappen? makes me wonder how they, theThese stones, all 3000 of them, have people who erected them, ever found the time or got organised enough to 39
Antikythera mechanism When it comes to it being a trea- sure, I shall quote Professor Michael Edmunds of Cardiff University who led a 2006 study of the mechanism:do it. Life back then was a strugglejust to survive, without lugging mas-sive rocks about.I love the Carnac myth that the rea-son the stones are in such straightlines is because they’re a Romanlegion turned to stone by Merlin. Ifonly archaeologists could prove it.Source: Centre des monumentsnationaux. Next must feature the world’s first “This device is extraordinary, thecomputer. No, not the Apple, the only thing of its kind. The design isAntikythera Mechanism. Made to cal- beautiful, the astronomy is exactlyculate astronomical positions. It has right. The way the mechanics arebeen dated to the early first century designed makes your jaw drop...inBCE (BC for Christians, political cor- terms of historic and scarcity value,rectness gone mad). Technological I have to regard this mechanism asartifacts approaching its complex- being more valuable than the Monaity and workmanship didn’t appear Lisa”.again until the 14th century whenmechanical astronomical clocksbegan to be built in Western Europe.40
The mechanism was Way older than and weighs up to 20in a wooden box Stonehenge or Carnac tons. They are fittedand is approximate- and it has turned into sockets carved outly 340×180x90mm in archaeological thinking of the bedrock. We’dsize, having 30 bronze on its head. find it hard to do thatgears (although some today with cranes andothers could have been The carving is in aston- modern tools.lost). The mechanism’s ishing detail, not leastremains were found as considering they were The site had in recent82 separate fragments done with primitive years been used forof which only seven tools, but what’s caused farming, and indeedcontain any gears or a problem with the dates some of the archae-significant inscriptions. is that it was made ology had been dis- a couple of thousand turbed by them whileSo, an object that was years before there was clearing the area, butmade 13 centuries agricultureahead of its time. Now in the area,that’s what I call a trea- and archae-sure. ologists haveSource: BBC News, May always said10 2012. that agricul- ture cameGöbekli Tepe before monu- ment build- Gobekli Tepe in Turkey. ing. Now theyThis one is quite new have to think(discovered in 1994) so again and itsome of you may not may have ahave heard of it. It’s a huge impactgroup of rings of stone on the way wepillars carved with ani- think aboutmals, dating to the the the evolution10th millennium BC. of civilization. Each of the stones is about 6 metres high 41
Treasure of Villena.Spainit was one such farmer first century AD, which of gold found fromwho first realised the had been used to make the European Bronzestones weren’t just ran- counterfeit coins. Not a Age. Almost 10 kilosdom. However, it is the world treasure, but for in weight and made upGerman archaeologist the owner it probably of gold, silver, iron andKlaus Schmidt who is was worth a small for- amber. Some are 23.5credited with realising tune. Who said archae- carat gold. That’s pret-what the stones were ology isn’t fun? ty rich stuff. It’s thein 1994 and excavated Source: wikipedia. most important find ofthem. prehistoric gold in theSource: Smithsonian. Iberian Peninsular.com. T reasure The iron objects are A brief sidestep into Villenathe less serious side of of the oldest found in thearchaeology. In 2005a metal detectorist in Iberian PeninsularEast Riding (UK) founda Roman copper alloy and are highly inter-coin die for a denari-us of Marcus Aurelius, esting in that theyRoman Emperor in the We now go to Spain for are from a time when some proper treasure. iron was considered to Tesoro de Villena (the be a precious metal, it Treasure of Villena). being still the Bronze Probably the best hoard Age and all. 42
We can thank the archaeologist Sveshtari tombJosé María Soler for digging themup in 1963. The collection is now To Bulgaria. Not the vampire skel-on display (in a locked, armoured eton, the Thracian treasure fromshowcase) in Villena’s Archaeological the world famous Sveshtari tomb.Museum while copies are shown in Important enough that the Louvreexhibitions around the world. are trying to get their hands on it. The items found are awesome. That collection makes it to this list Aside from their obvious monetarybecause it’s one of the few examples value, the workmanship is perfect.of treasure in monetary terms being Someone very skilled spent a verysimultaneously an important archae- long time making these items, andological find in that it’s an example that may be because of their con-of the relative value of iron in the nection to some seriously importantBronze Age and a step towards the world figures.transition to the Iron Age.Source: El Tesoro de Villena, JoséMaría Soler.Thracian gold treasure from the village of Sveshtari ,BULGARIA 43
It’s thought that the items are part Winchesterof a ritual burial, probably connected Hoardto possibly a huge burial ground,probably related to the funeral of the To Britain. The Winchester Hoard.Gath ruler Kotela, one of the fathers- I include this one because it wasin-law of Philip II of Macedon. Like described as the most importantI said, some important people, so discovery of Iron Age gold objectsonly the best workmanship. Told from Britain since 1950 and becauseyou they’re well connected, didn’t I? there’s a mystery element about it.You’ll notice that we archaeologists It’s from the time of Julius Caesar.say ‘maybe’ and ‘probably’ a lot.That’s so that we can’t be proved As gold hoards go it’s not vast,wrong. some 1160 grams of very pure gold. It includes two sets of jewellery, two They are from the late 4th to early torcs, one smaller than the other,3rd century BC. The find is unique. probably for a woman, two broochesIn charge of this most exciting dig and two gold bracelets. The torcsis the prominent Bulgarian Thracian however weren’t made in the usualexpert Professor Diana Gergova from way for an Iron Age torc from Britain,the National Archaeological Institute, Ireland or France.Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, whodiscovered the items when excavat- This find is also quite new, discov-ing the Omurtag mount. ered in 2000 by a metal detectorist named Kevan Halls who fortunately The importance of this find is that reported his find so that the siteit’s only a small part of a much big- could be investigated and recorded.ger archaeological site that has still What’s interesting, for a hoard, isto be excavated. There’s no telling that the items weren’t found in awhat else we’ll be able to learn about grave or even a settlement, ratherthe 3rd century BC from this site, they were found simply buried atpossibly showing the connection of the top of a hill. Probably covered bythe Gath influence on the westerntribes like the Celts.Source: novinite.com (Sofia NewsAgency)44
Winchester Hoard,UK Photo by Portable Antiquities Scheme from London, England (The Winchester Hoard Uploaded Victuallers) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commonstrees at the time, sug- the Romans didn’t get 15-1700 AD, so ancientgesting that they were them. treasure it ain’t. It’shidden for safekeeping. made of bronze, rather What makes these interestingly. Rather sad, really, isn’t items interesting in anit? Imagine you have archaeological sense Thought by the finderthis couple, probably a is that they are from to be maybe a Romanlocal king and queen, a time of transition in nose protector worn bywho probably had some Britain from the Iron soldiers under a helmet,wealth, as even back Age to the Roman peri- but after a somewhatthen gold was only for od, and these items tortuous route betweenthe wealthy, and the showed some of the various experts it wasRomans came so they mixed influences of the declared to be a post-carefully hid their trea- time. medieaval prosthet-sures because they’d Source: British Museum. ic nose that probablyheard that the Romans belonged to a gentle-were big on robbing gold Another pause for a man of means whofrom those they subju- lighter moment. The may have lost his origi-gated. Then for what- Beddingham Nose. nal hooter to syphilis,ever reason – prob- Found in 2009 by a which was rather com-ably they were killed metal detectorist in mon at the time among– they were unable to East Sussex. Dated the middle classes.retrieve them. At least to between around 45
That the item wasn’t er and green tinge ROSETTA STONEfound in a grave but ona sunken path makes now, then it wouldme wonder just how itgot there. Not some- have looked rath-thing that you’d dropwithout noticing, sure- er more fleshy and Without it we’d still bely? been much more sub- scratching our heads It’s somewhat impor-tant however, in terms tle when worn. We get over hieroglyphics.of archaeology. Toquote Stephanie Smith so used to seeing old The French found it inof the PAS (PortableAntiques Scheme) “This coins, but something as 1799 and it was lib-was a very exciting findbecause while it doesn’t unusual as a false nose erated from them byhave huge monetaryvalue, it is such a rare, keeps us excited about the British in 1801. Itinteresting and bizarreobject that tells a funny the job.” currently lives in thestory about life duringthat period. Dallying British Museum, just towith prostitutes becamea socially accepted I love her style and annoy the French. It’saspect of a gentleman’slife, but unfortunate- enthusiasm. By the often blamed for begin-ly disfigurement fromsyphilis, for which there way, the good news ning Egyptology but it’swas then no cure, wasone of the side-effects is that the finder will just a bit of stone. Weand a metal prostheticwas deemed a better be allowed to keep his can blame the treasure-alternative to a largehole in one’s face. treasure. hunters for Egyptology. Although it has a dark- Source. The Telegraph. We can’t do a list of great archaeologi- cal treasures with- out including Egypt, surely? OK, they have the pyramids, the mummies and the sphinx. So well known that they don’t need covering yet again here. Moving on, we have the Rosetta Stone. 46
Terracotta They were originally painted and Army held weapons but the paint faded and many of the weapons were The Terracotta Army of Qin Shi either looted or rotted away overHuang. My favourite. Qin Shi Huang time. Many of the figures are stillwas the first Emperor of China who not excavated. Some weapons werehad the army buried with him in about found and were still sharp. The210 BC. The object being for them swords were covered with chromium oxide which has kept them in perfect to be his condition even after 2000 years of bodyguard being buried. in the after- Source: Smithsonian.com. life, appar- ently. He must have beena worrier, there are reckoned to beover 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariotswith 520 horses and 150 cavalryhorses. Then there were the non-military figures, including musicians.They are of course all life size. It’s widely reputed that each figure A terracotta soldier with his horse,CHINAhas a different face. This isn’t entirelyaccurate. In fact some eight mouldswere used, then bits of clay wereadded to them to make them a bitdifferent. They were also manufac-tured in pieces and later assembledon a sort of production line style.47
Olduvai handaxe, Lower Palaeolithic, about 1.2 million years old,Olduvai Gorge Probably the most important dis- The Leakeyscovery of all, Olduvai Gorge was proved that itinstrumental in our understanding of was. Sharpenedearly human evolution. It’s a palaeo- stone tools areanthropological site. Not only really sort of hardold but really hard to spell. The site to argue withwas the home of Homo habilis about when it comes1.9 million years ago, then at 1.8 to archaeology.home to Paranthropus boisei, andHomo erectus 1.2 million years ago, That theseso it’s a bit lived in. tools were made from material If you want to see it, head down that came fromto the Great Rift Valley in Eastern some nine miles away is thoughtAfrica. Hard to miss, it’s also the to prove an increase in the abil-biggest site in this list, it’s huge. ity to think ahead and plan things. However, there is some doubt that they were in fact the makers of the tools. It all gets very complicated. Source: Listverse (Jamie Frater) Significantly this site shows thedevelopment of hominins and the useand production of stone tools, hunt-ing etc. as shown by gnaw marksleading on to cut marks on animalbones. The fact that such bones andevidence of tool making in localisedareas indicate that they were start-ing to become more communal.Where this site becomes most impor- Australophithecus boiseitant is that until the Leakeys (Maryand Louis) found such early tools,it was doubted by many that Africareally was where humans started. 48
L’Anse auxMeadows And to America. It was later abandoned similar to those in NorseL’Anse aux Meadows. by the Vikings. It is how- Greenland and Iceland.Included because rath- ever now recognised as Also found were aer than holding any- the oldest settlement workshop, a forge andthing of much value, it of Europeans in North a furnace, along withcorrects history. It’s a America. iron items like nails andViking settlement found The excavated remains buckles typical of Vikingat the tip of the Great of peat turf buildings manufacture.Northern Peninsula, with wooden frames areNewfoundland, in NorthAmerica and excavat-ed from the ‘60s tothe ‘70s, that datesback to the 11th cen-tury. That’s some fourhundred years beforeColumbus stumbledacross America. 49
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