Why are we alive?: Gobekli Tepe, et al.

So, yeah, it's been a LONG while since I've updated, and that's not entirely out of laziness. I've been reading instead of surfing the net most nights lately, and most certainly not law books ;) I've been on a travel run of late, and for those that don't know yet, I'm going on a two month summer program to Herstmonceux Castle to study international public law. There'll be plenty of updates from there, don't you worry.

But, in this potpourri blog update (you thought I jumped around a lot before?), in preparation for the summer, I've picked myself up a Kindle.

The ebook tipping point came when I found a mound of online resources for free downloads of current books, news and magazine releases downloaded straight to the Kindle (including the New Yorker, w cartoons!), as well as free international 3G internet service. Sure it's in black and white, but it's perfect for email, directions, wikipedia, facebook, etc. I was thinking of a Nook Color for the longest time, but figured that was more just another toy than an actual reader, and I'm happy, especially with all of Kindle's automations, that I went for the Kindle. That, and with little games included (Scrabble, Sudoku, Mathdoku!, etc... ), it was a no-brainer.

SO, to distract myself even further from the upcoming exams, I've been thinking about what to do this summer. The current plan is to travel around Europe for a bit after school, and then maybe a bike trip over the Rockies in late July.

The school in England is located about 90 kms south of London (but only 65 kms from Gatwick airport). So, easy and cheap access to the rest of Europe for a weekend trip.

Yup. I'll be "studying" there.

I've been fortunate enough to visit the castle once before with Jeremy when we went over to visit Simon while he was on exchange from Dalhousie, and it's absolutely great there. They even have a WORKING OBSERVATORY!!!

The above is the observatory figuring out whether a "leap second" was to be added in 2009. In a nutshell, a laser beam is fired at a satellite to which a retro-reflector has been attached. By measuring the time it takes for the beam to return, it is possible to measure where the base station is relative to the satellite and therefore detect fluctuations in the Earth's rotation as well as tidal movements of the land (due to the pull of the Moon). Interestingly, the solar building was not only the first of the new domes at Herstmonceux to become operational following the move from Greenwich; it is the only one where active research is still carried out.
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/rog/2009/01/no_leap_second_in_june_2009.html

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So, when not spending time on the grounds, current weekend trip ideas include Berlin, Madrid or Barcelona, and Paris, and maybe a cost saving long weekend bike/camping trip to Stonehenge, which is about 180 kms away. And yes, through the wonderful Tori, who happens to have cousins living a short 18 km jog away in St. Leonard's-on-sea, I think I may have secured a bike for the duration of my visit.

Speaking of Stonehenge for a second, which archaeologist believe was erected around 2500 BC, there are many theories as to why it was built. However, they all seem to centre around the idea that it was a religious meeting place of some kind. BUT, perhaps more interesting is the recently discovered Gobelki Tepe.

Located in south east Turkey, dating back to around 9000 BC (!), current theories surrounding this, errr, erection are that this is the reason for and the beginning of the transformation of the homo sapien nomadic hunter-gatherer to the current farming and agriculture lifestyle. These profound changes in our understanding of human societal and cultural development are absolutely amazing. Despite only about 5% of the area has been excavated so far, tremendous scientific research and theories have emerged.

Get this: A current theory holds that nomadic homo sapiens would gather in this area, and had been for years before erecting the monument, and because of the constant and consistent revisiting, sedentary farming villages emerged. Firstly, the hill was ideally situated for ancient hunters. Wild gazelles still migrate past twice a year as they did 11ish millennia ago. Secondly, for some reason they picked this place to make a consistent ritual place out of, for whatever reason. So, more proof right?

Wheat is considered the basis for farming culture today and in ancient times. One of the earliest domesticated form of wheat was the einkorn.

The cultivation of einkorn, perhaps for eating as gruel, is thought to mark the origin of agriculture in the ancient world. "If you know where [einkorn] wheat was domesticated, you know where agriculture originated," says wheat geneticist geneticist Jan Dvorak of the University of California. A newish study aimed to find those whereabouts, and has (read the full article pdf print here... you just gotta love the periodical access given with an active student number...).

Heun and his colleagues analyzed the DNA from 270 lines of the wild einkorn, as well as 68 lines of the larger, cultivated grain, which differs genetically only slightly from the wild forms. In the DNA fragments they examined, the cultivated einkorn most closely resembles 11 lines of wild einkorn that grow in the Karacadag Mountains, less than 30 kms from Gobekli Tepe.

"They show that all the cultivated einkorn is related to one specific population in Turkey," says Dvorak. THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE FINDING. Along with the cultivated wheat came barley and lentils, then other crops, including another form of wheat that led eventually to the familiar bread wheat. Likewise, sheep, goats, and pigs were domesticated in the Fertile Crescent, along with dogs (SN: 6/28/97, p. 400 (pdf)).

Incredible. This seems to be where it all started. It seems that the erection of monumental complexes was within the capacities of hunter-gatherers and not only of sedentary farming communities as had been previously assumed. In other words, as excavator Klaus Schmidt puts it: "First came the temple, then the city." (link)

More good, and obviously biased, reading on Gobekli here.

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Anyway yes, I have checked out flights from London to Sanliurfa (where Sanliurfa is less than 20 kms outside Gobekli Tepe), and they are currently running about 250 pounds, or $540, with a stop in Istanbul... Gobekli is about 170 kms by road from Istanbul.

Anyway anyway, after the castle (classes end on the 23rd of June), if not Gobekli, which does seem a bit out of the way and hence more of a one off trip(?), we're thinking of visiting Simon in Warsaw, go down to Krakow and Auschwitz, Vienna, and then Croatia to visit Milan. We have our return flight booked for July 9th. Of course this is still very much in the air, so to speak.

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Ok, I'm not done procrastinating yet. I'm currently looking for people to come along on this trip, as current enlistees are waivering... here's the recruitment email I sent out a couple months ago if anyone is interested.

Ok, I did some research on a Calgary to Kelowna bike route.

TOTALLY DOABLE in 6 days.

- Calgary Folk Festival Thursday July 21st - 24th. Awesome.
- Leave Calgary by bike Monday July 25th - arrive in Kelowna Saturday July 30th.
- Adam/Claire wedding.
- Monday August 1st is the August long weekend holiday. Fly back.

All these events are once in a lifetime opportunities as I see it. Except for Adam's wedding. HEY-OOOO!

Ok,

http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=63623 (route mapped out)

Around 600 kms. +/- 100 kms a day depending on hills = 6-7 hours on the bike on hard days, 5 hours on easy days. This obviously doesn't include stops, but, if we start each day at 8am and finish at 6pm, that's 10 hours travelling time, for 7 hours max bike time. Lots of time for food and exploration, never mind the early evenings. It's certainly not "easy", but totally doable, and a major accomplishment.

And look at the elevation below. There are 5-6 hard climbs, and don't get me wrong, these are hard, world famous climbs. Rogers Pass being one. Obviously we take the total kms down those days...

Although we may be against some wind, most of the trip is downhill! An ideal direction to do the Rockies if you're EVER going to do them.

On the way, we would pass some AMAZING places and views, with plenty of hostels/motels to stay in (so we don't need to haul tents, etc). Bow Valley Provincial Park, Banff, Sawback Range, Lake Louise, Yoho National Park, Glacier National Park, Mt Revelstoke National Park, and the Okanagan towns of Armstrong and Vernon, are just a few of the major stops along the way... Also, I don't think I need to tell you of the potential bike-wine tours in and around Kelowna as REWARD when we get there.

What a great accomplishment this would be, and to be bookended by two awesome events... it's practically a sin not to do this. I'm currently sending email inquiries to Vienna on how to actually make it a sin.

A few links:
http://www.canadabybicycle.com/bc/day8
http://www.womenscycling.ca/blog/heather-pardons-cycling-adventures/i-couldn%E2%80%99t-pass-up-on-rogers-pass/
http://www.fernandocandido.com/bcbiketrip/bcbiketrip.html
http://www.karlaugenstein.com/bc2.htm
(remember, we'd be doing most of these in reverse... )

Here's one in our general direction:
http://bikeforchildrenoflabour.blogspot.com/2010/07/day-3-lake-louise-golden.html

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Alright, enough for tonight. Back to consuming, and "the readings"... but first, solely on our Property Prof's recommendation, the following Cosby show clip.

This is perhaps 4:27 minutes you will ever spend.