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Time of India
20-07-2025
- Time of India
Glass finds at Vadnagar reflect its overseas links
Ahmedabad: Tiny beads, fragments of bangles, or other objects made of glass from Vadnagar in north Gujarat have shed light on the nature of the town's connections with far-flung places, ranging from China on one side to the Mediterranean Sea on the other. A team of researchers from India and the US studied the composition of the glass found from excavations and correlated it with known samples associated with specific regions of the world, placing the ancient town with over 2,000 years of continuous history on the trade map of ancient India. The study, 'Indian Ocean Connections and Regional Trade: An Elemental and Isotopic Study of the Glass of Vadnagar, Gujarat,' by Laure Dussubieux from the Field Museum in Chicago; Alok Kumar Kanungo from IIT Gandhinagar; Yadubir Singh Rawat from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI); and Pankaj Sharma from the Gujarat state directorate of archaeology and museums, was recently published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, an Elsevier publication. You Can Also Check: Ahmedabad AQI | Weather in Ahmedabad | Bank Holidays in Ahmedabad | Public Holidays in Ahmedabad Gujarat's unique position on the Indian Ocean has favoured long-distance trade, which is evident from the presence of significant quantities of glass objects with compositions typical of the east Mediterranean basin and the Middle East. Glass exchanges via the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea were likely bi-directional, with objects travelling east to Gujarat and also travelling west from the state to the Middle East or Egypt, as mentioned in the study. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Start planning your next adventure today Hotel Deals | Search Ads Browse Now Undo The researchers also found a type of glass believed to be produced in Gujarat, possibly for local demand. For the study, the researchers chose 47 representative samples from over 500 artefacts excavated from the site. These ranged from beads, decorative items, bangles, glass shards and tubes among others, indicating a wide range of glass objects. The researchers used modern techniques such as laser ablation and spectrometry to understand the composition of the glass. The glasses were divided into groups such as soda-rich, potash-rich, and contents of alumina and lime, among others. According to the study, the potash glass dates from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD, whereas those with mineral soda flux and sand with variable proportions of lime and alumina date to the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD. The later samples with soda plant ash glass date to the 14th-15th centuries AD.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Museum study shows human impact on chipmunks and voles in Chicago
CHICAGO -- Three stories above the Field Museum's exhibits, rows and rows of taxidermied chipmunks filled a tray in the museum's mammal archives. Pointing to two of the oldest critters, mammalogist Stephanie Smith picked up the pair of chipmunks off the tray, balancing them in the palm of her hand. 'The oldest ones we have are from 1891, and these were collected in Jackson Park over 100 years ago,' Smith said, pointing to the two chipmunks. 'You can see how good-looking they both look, and that's the beauty of this collection. We preserve this material to last, generation to generation.' In many ways, these well-preserved chipmunks mirror those that Chicagoans might see scurrying down alleyways or hopping around in parks today, with their distinctive white stripes and bushy tails. But according to a new study by Field Museum researchers, Chicago's modern-day rodents have evolved to look quite different from what they did just a century ago — mostly because of human development. Smith, along with assistant curator of mammals Anderson Feijó and two Field Museum interns, measured the skulls of nearly 400 rodent specimens — collected from the 1890s to modern day — to see how their skull structure had changed over time. The study, published June 26, focused on chipmunks and voles, aiming to compare the evolution of above- and below-ground species. They found that over time, Chicago chipmunks have overall gotten larger, but the row of teeth along the side of their jaw has gotten smaller. 'It's probably related to the food they're eating,' Feijó said. 'Chipmunks are much more interactive with humans and have access to different kinds of food we eat. So we hypothesize they are eating more soft food and because they require less bite force, which reflects in the tooth rows.' In vole samples, they found that the animals' size had stayed pretty consistent — but that the bumps in their skull that house the inner ear had shrunk. As Chicago grew over the past hundred years, the voles may have adapted to have smaller ears in order to protect them from the noisy city streets, Smith said. 'These two animals are small mammals, so people might sort of put them in the same category in their heads, right?' she said. 'But they're responding to this human alteration of the landscape in different ways. So preservation of natural populations of animals is not a one-size-fits-all thing … as the city changes, as we try and facilitate the longevity of green areas where these animals live, maybe we need to think about different solutions for different animals.' During the 20th century, Chicago was one of the fastest growing cities in the world, expanding from 516,000 residents in the 1910 census to 3.5 million residents by the 1950 census. With this rapid population growth also came rapid urbanization, as buildings, highways and transit grew more and more dense. While just 6% of land in the Chicago area was used for urban development in 1900, this grew to 34% by 1992, according to data compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. With fewer natural areas in the region, native rodents like chipmunks and voles have had to adapt to urban environments and find new sources of food and shelter. The Field Museum team used satellite imagery dating back to 1940 to determine how much of each rodent's habitat had been used for urban buildings at the time that they lived. 'These kinds of adaptations are happening across all different animals, different groups, different areas,' Feijo said. 'It's just a way that animals need to figure out how to survive these new conditions.' Similar trends have been documented in other major cities. A 2020 study of rats in New York City found that these East Coast rodents' teeth have also shrunk over time, similar to those of Chicago chipmunks. The Field Museum houses over 40 million mammal specimens in its archives, mostly collected in Chicago and the surrounding region, enabling scientists to track how different species have changed over time. The museum's exhibits represent less than 1% of its actual collections, according to museum communications manager Kate Golembiewski. In addition to manually measuring the chipmunks' and voles' skulls, researchers also created 3D scans of some of the specimens, which allowed them to more closely compare the differences between each specimens' bone structure. Moving forward, Smith and Feijo hope to use their data to find a stronger correlation between evolutionary change and urbanization. 'These animals, the fact that they are adapting and still relatively abundant shows that they are changing,' Smith said. 'But that doesn't mean that they're gonna be able to do that forever. So it's important to keep an ear to the ground, and try to understand what these guys are up to.' Solve the daily Crossword
The Star
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Too small to catch
Smith and Feijo examining chipmunk specimens from the Field Museum's collections.— Field Museum/The New York Times THIRTY years ago, the cod that swam in the Baltic Sea were brag-worthy – hefty creatures hauled in by the boatload, some as big as toddlers. Today, such giants are rare. A typical Eastern Baltic cod can now fit in the palm of your hands. Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Full access to Web and App. RM 13.90/month RM 9.73 /month Billed as RM 9.73 for the 1st month, RM 13.90 thereafter. RM 12.39/month RM 8.63 /month Billed as RM 103.60 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter. Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Chicago chipmunks are evolving fast — and our food may be why, Field Museum says
The Brief Scientists at Chicago's Field Museum have observed that local chipmunks have evolved with larger bodies and smaller teeth over the past century. The changes are linked to urban diets, with chipmunks consuming soft human food scraps like pizza and burgers instead of hard nuts and seeds. Researchers say the findings highlight how human presence is driving rapid evolutionary changes in wildlife — even in city backyards. CHICAGO - For more than a century, Chicago's Field Museum has been collecting animal specimens. Now, the Field's collection of a Chicago-area rodent is showing just how fast animals can evolve to co-exist with humans. What we know When you think of evolution, you probably imagine it takes thousands — even millions — of years. But scientists at the Field Museum are seeing remarkable changes in one particular animal — one you probably have in your own backyard. Among the Field's collection of millions of preserved animals are hundreds of chipmunks from the Chicago area. Some are new, and some are more than a century old. "So these are from 120 years ago and they look like they were alive yesterday," said Field Museum Research Scientist Stephanie Smith, as she held a large tray of chipmunk pelts and bones collected in the early 1900's. That collection has given Smith and other researchers an opportunity to witness evolution in real time. "This is really cool because we see that this is happening," said Smith. "Evolution is happening as we are watching and maybe not paying attention." In a recently published research paper, Smith and her colleagues compared the skeletons, skulls and fur of chipmunks collected in the Chicago area a century apart. "These chipmunks were collected in 1993 and these chipmunks were collected in 1906," Smith said, showing us two separate trays of chipmunks that both looked amazingly alive. Using careful measurements and 3D imaging, the researchers made a striking discovery. "We found that across the time period that we looked at, the animals are getting larger," said Smith. "But their tooth row, the length of the molars in the jaw, is getting shorter." So: bigger bodies, smaller teeth. Why? In urban environments, chipmunks are increasingly feasting on human food scraps — pizza crusts, sandwiches and burgers — instead of hard nuts and seeds that require strong jaws. As for their growing body size? "If you find a Twinkie on the ground and you're this big and the Twinkie is this big, you're going to get a lot of calories out of that and you're going to be a big, powerful chipmunk," said Smith. "But is it good for you? That's the question." Probably not. Which is why Smith said we all need to consider the biological footprint we leave behind. "The warning this sends is people are having an effect on animals at a biological level. Just by our presence," said Smith. "Everything that people do has an effect on how these animals live because they live in the same environment we do." And if you're wondering — yes, it's happening to rats, too. A recent study showed rats in New York City are also growing larger, with smaller teeth.
New York Times
10-07-2025
- Science
- New York Times
Maya Ruler's Tomb Is Unearthed in Belize, With Clues to His Ancient World
The archaeologists worked in the shadow of towering Maya ruins, piercing the floor of a structure they had searched years before. Below, they found an even more ancient chamber, still holding a body and the treasures it was buried with: a rare mosaic death mask and jadeite jewelry, shells from the Pacific and elaborate designs on pottery and bone. It was the 1,700-year-old tomb of a Maya ruler — the first ever found at Caracol, the largest Maya site in Belize — and it held clues to a Mesoamerican world where cities contended with one another from hundreds of miles apart. 'They've found a very early ruler, so that's very important, and he's claimed to be the founder of a dynasty,' said Gary Feinman, an archaeologist at Field Museum of Chicago who was not involved in the excavation. 'That's a major find.' Arlen Chase, one of the archaeologists working at Caracol, was among the first to enter the tomb. 'As soon as we saw the chamber, we knew we had something,' he said. From the style of ceramic vessels, he knew the tomb was exceptionally old. From the red cinnabar all around, he knew it was for someone of very high status. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
