Women Pioneers in Technology

Credit: Geena Davis Institute

25 Archaeological Finds

Archaeology is one of the branches of science that we investigate in this course. This News Science pictorial shows 25 of the more mysterious discoveries, including the Nazca lines, the round boulders of Costa Rica, and the 2000-year Antikythera Mechanism, a clock-like machine consisting of more than 30 precise, hand-cut bronze gears.

Check out these fascinating finds and consider what their use might have been.

Related reading: Who Laid the Foundations of Science?; African Stone, Shell and Egg Technologies; Africa is Archaeologically Rich; 4000-Year Bethlehem Tomb Found; Boat Petroglyphs in Egypt's Central Desert

Virtual View of the Solar Eclipse

One week from today, on Monday, August 21st, people in the United States will be able to view the great solar eclipse of 2017!

Watch this to see how the solar eclipse will look from anywhere in the United States. This is the first total solar eclipse visible from the United States mainland since 1979.

A total solar eclipse provides scientists the opportunity to look at the sun's corona, or outer atmosphere, which will appear as rays of white light surrounding the moon. They will gather data about the sun's corona, solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and the solar wind.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking all or a portion of the Sun. A solar eclipse can be total or partial. Students can view a total eclipse of the Sun on Monday, August 21 if you go to the part of North Carolina shown on this map:

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You must be in the path shown between 2:00 and 2:30 pm in order to see the total eclipse of the Sun! This is a narrow path of only 43.6 miles in North Carolina. Hopefully, the weather will be clear.

Residents of Columbia, South Carolina will be able to view a total solar eclipse about 3:10 pm.

Please wear protective eye gear while viewing the eclipse. Wearing eye protection permits your pupils to dilate. Do not remove the eye protection until you are under cover and do not look directly at the sun after removing the glasses.

Related reading: Eclipses: Do you know the difference?; The Great Solar Eclipse of 2017; Science You Can Do During the 2017 Solar Eclipse; Studying Solar Winds During Eclipses

Dinosaur Mummy Found in Alberta

An 18-foot dinosaur with fossilized skin and intact internal organs was found in 2011 in the oil sands of northern Alberta. This dinosaur mummy was a land-dwelling nodosaur and the best-preserved specimen of its kind.

It was found by accident by miners working in the area. It was painstakingly removed to be shipped to Alberta's Royal Tyrrell Museum where preservationist Mark Mitchell worked more than 7,000 hours over five years to expose the fossil’s skin and bone. 

This area was once under the sea and is rich in fossils. The body of the nodosaur ended up at the bottom of an ancient sea where minerals gradually turned the body into a fossil. 

The fossil was photographed for the June 2017 issue of National Geographic. The nodosaur was
a plant-eating creature with armored skin. Two 20-inch-long spikes on its shoulders rose like horns and were used for protection against potential predators. It was 18 feet long and weighed nearly 3,000 pounds. Mitchell's reconstruction reveals that the specimen had countershading that acted as camouflage that helped it hide from huge predators.

Related reading: The Amazing Nodosaur Found by Miners

Saros Cycles and Ecplises

Solar and lunar eclipses occur in cycles known as the Saros. The sarosis a period of approximately 223 synodic months (approximately 18 years, 11 days, 8 hours), that can be used to predict eclipses of the Sun and Moon. A series of eclipses that are separated by one saros is called a saros series. It is believed that the Greek word saros comes from the Babylonian word "sāru" which refers to the number 3600.

Abraham's Nilotic ancestors were experts at predicting eclipses because they had been observing patterns in the heavens and keeping records of astronomical events for thousands of years.

By 4245 BC, the priests of the Upper Nile had already established a calendar based on the appearance of the star Sirius that becomes visible to the naked eye once every 1,461 years. Apparently, Nilotes had been tracking this star and connecting it to seasonal changes and agriculture for thousands of years. This is verified by the Priest Manetho who reported in his history (241 BC) that Nilotic Africans had been “star-gazing” as early as 40,000 years ago. Plato, who studied in Egypt for 13 years, claimed that the Africans had been tracking the heavens for 10,000 years.

Priest-astronomer Taitai, 18th Dynasty ~1380 B.C. 

Berlin, Neues Museum, Ägyptische Sammlungen

Temple architecture of ancient Egypt provides evidence that Egyptians observed solar eclipses over 4,500 years ago. The Zodiac of the Dendera Temple shows two disks in the constellation of Pisces. One is the moon and the other disk contains the Wadjet or Eye of Horus decorated with the markings of the eyes of a hawk, the totem of Horus. When the right eye is shown it indicates a solar eclipse. David Smith explains that "a nearly total solar eclipse occurred on a date corresponding very closely to the actual depiction of the positions of the planets in the constellations and the position of the disk containing the Wadjet eye in 51 B.C."

An ancient Egyptian story tells of Horus losing an eye in his fight with Set and it is possible that this story is based on an astronomical event. It suggests observation of a solar eclipse.

References:

Smith, David G., Total solar eclipses in Ancient Egypt – a new interpretation of some New Kingdom texts.

Neugebauer, The Exact Sciences in Antiquity. Brown University Press, p. 195.

Technology-STEM Discovery Course

Fall 2017
Alice C. Linsley

The Middle School elective called "Technology-STEM Discovery"exposes students to 15 sciences and asks them to integrate their learning with Bible through the use of technology.

The students read, discuss, and complete projects on topics in agriculture, anthropology, archaeology, architecture, astronomy, biology, climate studies, earth science, forestry, genetics, linguistics, materials science, medicine, navigation, and zoology.

The Technology-STEM Discovery course has three components:

Component One: Computer Skills, History of Technology
Component Two: Christians in STEM throughout History
Component Three: Bible Technology Cards

Component One: Typical topics include:

The Power of the Internet
Google Docs
Internet Research/Search Engines
Style Sheets
Chrome Books
Creating and Managing a Blog

Animation: Pow Toon, Generator, Animoto

Digital storytelling: Toontastic tutorial

Cooperative Technology Project

The Technology-STEM Discovery classes will do internet research on the technologies throughout history. Students select a period of history and research the main technologies. This is a cooperative technology project. They are to produce a 6-page newsletter about the technologies of that period: archaic world 3000 BC to 500 BC; ancient world 500 BC to 200 AD; medieval world 200 AD to 1200 AD; or modern world 1200 AD to present.

Component Two

Students are not aware that an estimated 60% of pioneers in STEM have been Christians. Component Two introduces them to some of these people. Each student will produce a Powerpoint or Google slide presentation on a person from the list below. No dates after the person's name means they are living and can be interviewed by the student.


Johannes Kepler 1571-1630
Blaise Pascal 1623-1662
Georges Cuvier 1769-1832
Michael Farraday 1791-1867
James Clerk Maxwell 1831-1879
George Washington Carver 1864-1943
Robert Runnels Williams 1886–1965
Roger John Williams 1893–1988
Georges Lemaître 1894–1966
Austin L. Hughes 1949-2015
Raymond V. Damadian
Ian H. Hutchinson

Mary Anning 1799-1847
Agnes Giberne 1845-1939
Mary Celine Fasenmyer 1906-1996
Chris Templar
Katharine Hayhoe
Ann Marie Thro
Jennifer Wiseman
Robin Pals-Rylaarsdam
Nola Stephens

RUBRIC: The presentation is to have between 15 and 20 slides. The first slide is the title page with the student's name. The last slide is to be a summary of 5 or 6 main points. All slides, except the first and last, should have at least one image and no more than 10 words per slide.


Component Three

Students select a card from the Bible Technology Card Box. The cards address topics in 15 fields of science. Each card provides background information and context for students to research up to 3 questions per card related to science, technology, engineering and math in the Bible. Students are to complete 12 cards per semester (or 6 cards per quarter). The cards are color coded as follows:

Agriculture/Horticulture - sea foam green
Anthropology - gold
Archaeology - blue
Architecture - pink
Astronomy - bright green
Biology - blue
Climate Studies - purple
Earth Science - black
Forestry - teal
Genetics - red
Linguistics - brown
Materials - bright yellow
Medicine - orange
Navigation - white
Zoology - salmon

You will find answers to the Bible Technology Cards by clicking on the links below. The articles are listed under the branch of science. Be sure to check the "related reading" at the end of the articles for further information.

Agriculture/Horticulture
Horticulture in the Ancient World
Threshing Floors and Solar Symbolism
Olive Oil Production in the Ancient World

Anthropology
Confirmation of Biblical Populations
Getting the Facts About Human Origins
The Rising Star Expedition
Rising Star Expedition Update
Science in Progress: The Rising Star ExpeditionNoah's Sons and Their Descendants
More About Noah's Descendants
Nahor and His Descendants
The Marriage and Ascendancy Pattern of Abraham's People
The Mighty Men of Old
The Pyramid Builders
The Genesis King Lists
The Antiquity of the Edomite Rulers
Two Named Esau
Edom and the Horite Ha'biru
Priests, Shamans and Prophets
Three-Clan Confederations and Twelve-Clan Confederations
Some Marks of Prehistoric Religion

Archaeology
The Stone Age
Symbols of Archaic Rock Shelters
David's Zion Found
Jerusalem Virtual Pilgrimage
What Are Bullae?
3000 Year Temple Seal
Yahu Seals
Purity Seal From Herod's Temple
2400 BC Tomb of Purification Priest (Also read this.)
Sudan is Archaeologically Rich
Sixteen Pyramids Unearthed at Kushite Cemetery
70,000 Year Settlement Found in Sudan
Why Nekhen is Archaeologically Significant

Architecture
The Pillars of Solomon's Temple
Monuments of the Ancient Kushites
Kushite Shrines
Tumuli of the Ancient World
Petra Reflects Horite Beliefs
Prehistoric Obelisk Found in Judah
Circumcision and Circles of Standing Stones in the Judean Hills
Horite Temples
The High Places
The Shrine City of Nekhen
77,000-Year Settlement in Sudan
Europe's Oldest Prehistoric Town Unearthed in Bulgaria
The Trapezoid in Ancient Architecture
Sheep Cotes

Astronomy
Saros Cycles and Eclipses
The Sunlight Cycle in the Northern Hemisphere
The King Planet's North Pole Has Changed to Gold
The Celestial Dance Observed by the Magi
Who Were the Wise Men?
Horite Expectation and the Star of Bethlehem
The Sun and Moon as a Binary Set
The Sun and the Sacred
Ancient African Astronomers
Threshing Floors and Solar Symbols
Solar Imagery
A Tent for the Sun
The Sun and the Sacred
The Sun and Celestial Horses
Marcus Byrne: The Dance of the Dung Beetle

Biology
Genesis Has No Evolutionary Framework
Questioning the Common Ancestry Hypothesis
What is Meant by the Term "Kind" in Genesis?
Cambrian Explosion: The Binary Feature Signals Greater Diversity
The Genetic Difference Between Humans and Apes

Climate
Mega-Lake Chad
Mega-Nile
Katherine Hayhoe on Climate Change
Climate Cycles Indicate a Dynamic Earth

Complex Climate Changes
In Search of Green Arabia
When the Sahara Was Wet
Saving the Animals in Times of Flooding
Antarctica Once Had Baobab Trees
Volcanic Eruptions and Climate

South American Glaciers Growing

Climate Data Fudge Factor

Kansas Bill Calling for Objectivity in Climate Science Fails

Reality Climate Ideologues Won't Face
Climate Change and Genesis
Lower Solar Irradiance, Higher Atmospheric Temps?
Climate Cycles and Noah's Flood
Climate Studies and the Book of Genesis
Genesis and Climate Change

Two Environmentalists Knock Heads
Climate and Wealth Redistribution
Climate Change and Human Innovation
Antarctic Ozone Hole Smaller
America's Wake Up Call on Climate

Earth Science
The Pillars of the Earth
Volcanic Eruptions
Earth's Magnetic Pole Reversals
Reversals of Polarity: The Magnetic Flip
Afar Rift
The Lake Suigetsu Varve
Walking Rocks
The Atacama RockTumbler

Forestry
Trees in Genesis
The Trees of Prophets
Trees as Boundary Markers
The Judean Nut Palm
What Happened to the Cedars of Lebanon?
Antarctica Once Had Baobab Trees
The Fig Tree in Biblical Symbolism
Congo Basin Forest Ecology
Amazon Basin Forest Ecology
Theories About the Tree of Life
The Tree of Weeping

Genetics
Genetic Types: A few basics
Haplogroups of Interest to Biblical Anthropologists
R1b Profile of 64% of European Men
Ashkenazi Represent Judeo-Khazar Admixture
The Sub-Saharan DNA of Modern Jews
DNA Confirms Mixed Ancestry of Jews
A Kindling of Ancient Memory
The Bible and the Question of Race
80,000 Year Ancestor of Chinese Men

Linguistics
What is a Phoneme?
Phoneme Study Pinpoints Origin of Modern Languages
Early Written Signs
Ancient Canaanite Inscriptions
Symbols of Archaic Rock Shelters
The Urheimat of the Canaanite Y
Is Hebrew an African Language?
The Aleph as Ox/Bull Head
Technology to Preserve Languages on the Verge of Extinction
Conversation about the Beginning of Spoken Language
Navajo-Ket Linguistic Connection
Dr. Nola Stephens on Linguistics and Faith
The Generative Divine Word

Materials
Archaic Shell Technology
"Easter" Eggs in Antiquity
Brick Making in Antiquity
Stone Work of the Ancient World
Textiles of the Ancient World
Stone, Shell and Egg Technologies
Noah's Ark
The Gold of Ophir
Kushite Gold
A Silver Lining at Abel Beth Maacah
Paradise of Ancient Memory
Afro-Asiatic Metal Workers
Red and Black Smiths
Why Zipporah Used a Flint Knife
Afro-Asiatic Metal Workers
Ancient Miners Venerated Hathor

Medicine
Medical Care in Ancient Egypt
Medical Care in the Ancient World
Prehistoric Humans Used Plants Medicinally
The Ancient Nubians Used Antibiotics
Neolithic Medical Care
Herbs Used for Healing in the Bible
Dental Health of Ancient Sudanese

Navigation
Noah's Ark
Pythons Used for Sea Navigation
The Ancient Egyptians were Seafaring
4500-Year Harbor at Wadi al-Jarf
Boats and Cows of the Nilo-Saharans
When the Nile Was a Mega-River
Swimming and Diving: Activities of Archaic Peoples
Boat Petroglyphs in Egypt's Central Eastern Desert

Zoology
Dogs in the Bible
The Animals on Noah's Arc
The Ostrich in Biblical Symbolism
The Rooster in Biblical Symbolism
Religious Symbolism of Long Cow Horns
Why Cows Were Sacred in the Ancient World
Cows of the Proto-Saharans
The Fatted Calf

The Red Heifer

Ram Symbolism of the Ancient World

Jesus: From Lamb to Ram
Elephants in the Time of Abraham
Abraham's Camels
Sea Birds Use Sense of Smell to Navigate
Celestial Horses
Noah's Birds
The Lion and Judah
Animal Totems Used to Trace Ancestry


Additional helpful reading:

Who Laid the Foundations of Science and Technology?
Using the Bible to Test Hypotheses
When is the Evidence Sufficient?
Why Biblical Anthropology?
INDEX of Topics at Biblical Anthropology
INDEX of Topics at Just Genesis
The Key to Science and Scripture Alignment
Ancient Seats of Wisdom
Science and Technology in the Ancient World
The Oldest Known Calculator
Find Answers to Bible Technology Cards
Ancient Shrine Cities
Medicine in the Ancient World
Tumuli of the Ancient World
Clepsydra, an Ancient Time Device
The Sand Hourglass or Clepsammia
How Globes Are Made
A Brief History of Map Making
How Telescopes are Made
Ancient Textile Technologies

World War I Artifacts Found in Palestine

The discovery of artifacts in the "Holy Land" is of interest to biblical archaeologists and biblical anthropologists. This is especially true for artifacts of great antiquity, but sometimes artifacts are found from more recent times. Artifacts from World War I were found near the ancient fortress of Antipatris built by Herod the Great in honor of his father, Antipater.

Credit: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority

Volunteer archaeologists found rifle cartridges, shrapnel from artillery shells and even an insignia from the British forces' unit.

The artifacts were discovered while archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority and student volunteers were helping conduct excavations in advance of paving a road between two areas near Rosh Ha'Ayin. A student discovered one of the rifle cartridges, an artifact of the 1918 Battle of Megiddo fought by Turkish and British forces.

At the time of this battle the land was called Palestine, not Israel. Many Palestinians were Christians living under the Islamic rule of the Ottoman Turks.

The artifacts were uncovered in part of Migdal Tzedek National Park. In addition to the fortress of Antipatris, the region holds ruins from a Medieval crusader castle.


Related reading: World War I Battle Artifacts Unearthed in Israel; Ottoman Era Fisherman's House Unearthed in Ashkelon; The Plight of Palestinian Christians

WASP 121b

A huge alien planet has a stratrosphere, according to a new study co-authored by Mark Marley, of NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. 

Marley said in a statement: "This result is exciting because it shows that a common trait of most of the atmospheres in our solar system — a warm stratosphere — also can be found in exoplanet atmospheres."

"We can now compare processes in exoplanet atmospheres with the same processes that happen under different sets of conditions in our own solar system," Marley added.

WASP-121b lies very close to its host star, completing one orbit every 1.3 days, and is extremely hot. 

Read about it here.