team of researchers from Leiden University in the Netherlands have discovered what appears to be the oldest known engraving in human history. The geometric marks were found on a fossilized mollusc shell that dates back approximately 500,000 years ago.
In colonial-era Indonesia, 166 freshwater muscle shells were found at Trinil, a common digging ground for paleontologists and anthropologists. The shells were found on the banks of the Bengawan Solo River, in the Ngawi regency of the East Java Province. It’s a well known spot given the fact that it’s the site that Dutch paleontologist Eugene Dubois discovered the famous “Java Man,” the first early hominid remains to be found outside of Europe.
As reported in the Journal Nature, the team at Leiden University, led by Josephine Joordens used modern day technology to analyse the Trinil shells that were found at the site. Carbon dating of the sediment in the shells put their age between approximately 430,000 and 540,000 years old.
One of the shells that was found had a smooth and polished edge, which suggests it might have been used as a tool for cutting, scraping, etc. Another one of them was found to have “a zigzag set of grooves cut into it, by a sharp implement such as a shark’s tooth. The marks are at least 300,000 years older than the earliest previously known, indisputable engravings.” (2)
“It’s the oldest known graphic expression. The behavior is deliberate . The individual had the desire to make a zigzag pattern in a single go. We don’t know why he did it. It may have been the mark of ownership, a personal code, a gift. ” – Francesco d’Errico of Bordeaux University in southwestern France.(2)
Geometric marks like these are considered to be a sign of cognitive behavior and neuromotor skills that – previously – have only been attributed to modern man. This thought, however, has now changed and these findings are sufficient evidence to attribute these characteristics to Homo erectus, which completely shatters the modern day stereotype of H. erectus, which is one with very limited cognitive ability.
Findings like these are truly remarkable and shed light on just how little we really know about our past. Furthermore, discoveries that change the current framework of knowledge are not always publicized. When it comes to the modern day theory of evolution, although it’s thought to be generally well understood, there is still much we do not understand about it. Whether substantial or minuscule, discoveries such as this help to piece together the convoluted puzzle that is evolution.
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![Photo: SOUND AND CREATION :
====== By Sri Chandrashekharendra Sarswati Swami ======
[Kanchi Paramacharya Sri Chandrashekharendra Saraswati Swamiji was the 68 th Sankaracharya of Kanchi Karmakoti Peetham]
What is sound ? According to modern science, it is vibration. "If you examine the core of an atom you will realise that all matter is one." This Advaitic conclusion is arrived at according to nuclear science and the concepts of Einstein. All this world is one flood of energy (sakti); everything is an electromagnetic flow. But how do we account for the manifestation of different objects ? It is to be attributed to different type of vibrations.
The scientific concept that the different vibrations of the same energy are the cause of creation is the same as the belief that world was created with the breath of the Paramatman manifesting itself as the sound of the Vedas.
Consider human beings and other creatures. What is it that determines their health and feelings ? The breath that passes through our nadis, blood vessels, during respiration produces vibrations and on them depends the state of our health. Those who keep their breathing under control through the practice of yoga are healthy to an amazing degree. They do not bleed even if their veins are cut. They are able to remain buried in the earth in samadhi stopping their pulse and heartbeat. They are not poisoned even if they are bitten by a snake or stung by a scorpion. The reason is that they keep the vibrations of the nadis under control during breathing.
Breath is vital not only to the body but also to the mind. The mind which is the source of thought and the vital (pranik) energy that is the source of breath are the same. Healthy or unhealthy thoughts are to be attributed to different vibrations of the nadis. You may test this for youself. See for yourself how you breathe when you are at peace before the sanctum of a deity or in the presence of a great and wise person and how you breathe when your mind is quickened by desire or anger. The happiness you experience when you take part in something divine, like a bhajan or atemple festival, must be different from the pleasure that sensual gratification gives you: the vibrations of the nadis concerned will also be correspondingly different.
When you experience joy of an elevated kind the passage of breath will be through the right nostril, but when you are enjoying sensual pleasure it will be through the left. When you meditate, with increasing concentration, on the Reality Serene which is the source of all your urges and feelings, the breath will pass through both nostrils slowly, evenly and rhythmically. When you are absorbed in the object of your meditation breathing itself will cease, but there will still be life. The great awareness called jnana will then be in bloom as it were.
The inert body of a man and the awareness that is the vital essence of his life are both dependent on the course of his breathing. They grow or decay according to it. The course of a man's breath keeps his inner vibrations in order.
Is it not from the Paramatman that so many countless inert objects and so many sentient beings have originated and grown ? The movements appropriate to these should have also occured in the Ultimate Object that is the Paramatman.
Even according to non-dualism, the Brahman that is utterly still and is unconditioned and has no attributes (nirguna) manifests itself in the countless disguises of this cosmos with the power of Maya, Maya that cannot be described. Disguises or no disguises, we have to concede the existence, in a mundane sense, of the inert world and of the sentient beings. But we must remember that even Maya has its source in Isvara who is "Mayin". But the power of Maya apart, all that we see have arisen from the vibrations in the Object called the Parabrahman. At the same time, with all these vibrations , this Object remains still and tranquil inwardly. This stillness not withstanding, there are movements that are apparent to our perception. They are not disorderly movements but constitute a system embracing vast heavenly bodies like the sun at one end and the tiniest of insects on the other or even something as humble as a blade of glass.
It is this orderliness that goes to make worldly life happy. The Paramatmam has created this by bringing all powers of nature within an orderly system. But if you sometimes see flaws in it and the natural forces going against us, it is because he likes to be playful now and then.
The human mind can go astray to any length. Indeed it keeps wandering aimlessly like a globin or an imp. Whatever the extent to which cosmic life is orderly, it (the human mind) breaks free from all control and runs about like a mad dog.
When the powers of nature are unfavourable to us, is there a way to change their behaviour and make them favourable to us ? Is there also a means by which our mind could be brought under control when it goes haywire ? If everything is caused by vibration, by sound, there must be a way of making the forces of nature favourable to us and of purifying our mind and bringing it under control through this very sound. The Vedas constitute such sound.
By controlling our breath through the practice of yoga, it is possible to gain access to the breath of the Paramatman and by this means perform such actions as can uplift our own Self as well as mankind. Here the vibrations of the nadis do not produce the sound that is audible to us. Science tells us that there are sounds outside the range of human hearing in the same way as there is light that does not pass through the lens of the human eye.
However, it is possible to bring within us (within our reach) that which is without. When a musician sings on the radio, the sound of his music is converted into electromagnetic waves which travel through space. But how do we hear music ? The receiving set captures the electromagnetic waves and reconverts them into sound waves.
(Science is not opposed to religion. It seems to me that it even helps in the growth of religion. A century ago, before the radio and the telephone were invented, it would not have been easy to counter the arguments of an atheist who dismisses claims made on behalf of the sound of the Vedas as absurd. Now the discoveries of science have come to our rescue. )
It is possible for humans to earn the power of energy possessed by such an inert object as the radio set. Indeed we can earn much more, do much more. It is tapas, ascetic endeavour, that will give us such energy. What is tapas ? It is the determination to find the truth: it is keeping the mind one-pointed in this search, forsaking food, sleep, home, everything. But when you are a seeker like this, you must remain humble and erase the least trace of egoism in you. You must realise that the truth you seek will be revealed to you only with the grace of Isvara. The sages performed austerities in this manner and attained to the highest plane of yoga. They could perceive the vibrations in creation, that is the course taken by the breath of the Supreme Godhead. Besides, they also knew them as sound capable of being heard by the human ear in the same manner as electric waves converted into sound waves. It is these sounds that they have passed on to us the mantras of the Vedas.
The Vedas are called "Sruti. " That which is heard is Sruti. "Srotra" means the "ear". The Vedas have been handed down orally from generation to generation and have not been taught or learned from any written text. That is how they got the name of "Sruti". Why were these scriptures not permitted to be written down ? Because the sound of the Vedas cannot be properly transcribed. There are sounds or phonemes that cannot be accurately represented in any script. For instance, the one between "zha" and "la". Such sounds have to be learned by listening. Besides there are svaras for Vedic mantras (tonal variations, proper accentuation) : "udatta" (raised syllable), "anudatta"(lowered syllable) and "svarita"(falling syllable ). Mistakes in enunciation are likely even if diacritical or some other marks are used in the printed text. Wrong chanting will not bring the desired results. There is much difference in the vibrations caused by pronouncing a syllable laying stress on it and pronouncing it without any stress. Correspondingly, there will be changes in our feelings and urges and the divine forces that rule nature.
There is a story in the Taittiriya Samhita of the Vedas which illustrates how wrong chanting can produce results contrary to what is intended. Tvasta, the divine carpenter, chanted a mantra with the object of begetting a son who would be the slayer of Indra. But he went wrong in the intonation of some syllables. So, unwittingly, he prayed for a son who would be slain by Indra instead of one who would slay that celestial. And his prayer (that had gone wrong in the intonation) was answered. When the wavelength shifts even minutely on our radio we receive the broadcast of a different transmitting station. Fine-tuning has to be done to get the required station. So is the case with the intonation of Vedic mantras. There should not be the slightest mistake in the svaras. Just as we receive a different station on our radio when the wavelength is changed, so the result is different when we go wrong in the intonation.
This is the reason why it is of the utmost importance to learn the Vedas by listening - hence the name "Sruti". Another explanation occurs to me for the name "Sruti". The sages heard, did they not, the sound of the divine vibrations that cannot be perceived by the common people ? Did they read the Vedas in any book or did they compose them themselves ? Sruti is an apt name for the Vedas since they were made known to the world after they had been first heard by the sages.
The Vedic seers have the name of "mantra-drastas" --a "drasta" is one who sees. If the sages "saw" the mantras it would mean that they did not "hear" them. Which of the two versions is correct ? Did the sages see the mantras or did they hear them ? If they saw them, in what script did they appear ? There was no script at the time, neither Devanagari nor Grantha nor Brahmi, the basis of all. But, then, the sound of Vedas, their svaras, cannot be truly written down in any script.
The answer to this problem is that when the sages were meditating the mantras of the Vedas appeared to them in a flash in their hearts. It may be that in this state of theirs they could neither see nor hear anything. The mantras must have appeared in a flash in the inner recesses of their minds.
"Seeing" or "looking" does not denote merely what is perceived by the eye. It is a term that covers a variety of perceptions and experiences. When we say that a man has "seen" all sorrows in his life, does the term "seen" imply only what he "saw" with his eyes ? Does it not mean what he has "experienced" ? The term "mantra-drasta" also could be taken in a similar manner as referring to what is perceived through experience. It is further believed that the sages were able to hear the Vedas with their divine ears.
Arjuna wished to see the Lord's cosmic form (visvarupa). The Gita has it that Krishna Paramatman said to him: "You will not be able to see my cosmic form with these eyes of yours. I will give you a celestial eye. . . . . "
Just as Arjuna was endowed by the Lord with a divine eye, the sages must have been invested with celestial ears to grasp the sound emanating from the Paramatman and pervading the vast space.
The vibrations of the Vedas serve the purpose not only of creation and the conduct of life. There are indeed Vedic mantras that help us to transcend this life and become one with the Ultimate Truth. When a man returns by the same way as he comes, does he not arrive at the starting point ? In the same way when we go seeking how creation came about, we are led to the point where there are no vibrations, no movements, where there is utter stillness. Some mantras that create vibrations in our nadis accomplish the same noble task of taking us to such a goal. Such are the Upanisadic mahavakyas and Pranava.
In sum, the Vedas are not anyone's compositions. The sages did not create them, nor were inscribed by the Paramatman on palm-leaves.
THE VEDAS ARE INFINITE :
If the cosmos of sound (sabda-prapancha) enfolds all creation and what is beyond it, it must naturally be immensely vast. However voluminous the Vedas are, one might wonder whether it would be right to claim that they embrace all activities of the universe. "Anantah vai Vedah", the Vedas themselves proclaim so (the Vedas are endless). We cannot claim that all the Vedas have been revealed to the seers. Only about a thousand sakhas or recensions belonging to the four Vedas have been revealed to them.
Brahmaa, the Creator, alone knows the Vedas in their entirety. Before the present Brahmaa there was a great deluge and, preceding it, there was another Brahmaa. And, similarly, before him too there must have been another Brahmaa. But through all these vast vistas of time, through successive deluges, the vibrations caused by the Paramatman's breath have existed in space, the vibrations that urged the first Brahmaa to do the work of creation. These vibrations are indestructible. The Brahmaa who appears after each great deluge performs his function of creation with them.
The sounds we produce are never destroyed. I remember reading that what Jesus Christ spoke 2, 000 years ago could still be recaptured in his own voice and that efforts are being made for the same. I don't know how far these efforts have succeeded. But I do know that there does exist such a possibility (of receiving a voice or sound from the past). We know that a sound, once it is produced, remains in space without ever being destroyed.
Brahmaa created this world with the sound of the Vedas and this sound is not destroyed even during a great deluge. We build a village or town with stone, earth, timber, iron, etc. All these materials are derived from the will of the Paramatman, from his thought, from the vibrations that are his will or thought. Brahmaa saw the sounds corresponding to these vibrations as the Vedas and the chanted them and brought all the world into existence.
We often see reports in the newspapers of trees flowering or fruiting in abundance in response to the vibrations of certain sounds. Some vibrations have also the effect of stunting the growth of plants. Here is proof of the fact that sound can create, sustain and destroy.
Brahmaa could create the universe with the sound of the Vedas because of his power of concentration. A siddha can cure a sick man if he intones the Panchakasara mantra - the mantra that we mutter every day - and applies holy ashes to the patient's body. He is able to do it because he has greater power of concentration than we have. If the mantra is to be efficacious it has to be chanted without any tonal error whatsoever. Only then will it bring the desired result. Brahma had the power of concentration to the full since he came into being as an "instrument" for creation.
Much could be accomplished from the void of space through electricity. From the spiritual reality called the Nirguna Brahman (the unconditioned Brahman without attributes) emanates everything. During the deluge, this spiritual reality goes to sleep. Take the case of a wrestler. When he is asleep his strength is not evident. But when we see him wrestling with an opponent we realise how strong he is. Similarly, during the time of creation, the spiritual reality is revealed to perform manifold functions. From the Nirguna Brahman comes a flow of energy to perform such functions . Brahmaa came into being as a part of this flow. Since he was all tapas all concentration, he could grasp all the Vedas with his extraordinary power. He created the world with their sound. The Vedas are infinite and so too creation takes forms that are countless.
The great sage Bharadvaja kept chanting the Vedas over three lifetimes. Paramesvara appeared before him and said to him: "I will grant you a fourth life. What will you do during it ? "The sage replied: "I will keep chanting the Vedas again." It is not possible to learn the Vedas in the entirety even over many, many lifetimes. Paramesvara took pity on Bharadvaja for all his efforts to accomplish a task that was impossible to accomplish. Wanting to change his mind, Paramesvara caused three great mountains to appear, took a handful of earth and said to the sage: "The Vedas you have learned all these years are like this handful of earth. What you have yet to learn is vast, like these mountains.
The story of Bharadvaja occurs in the Kathaka of the Vedas. We learn from it that the Vedas are so infinite. The classification into the four Vedas and the one thousand or so recensions was a later development. Brahmaa came into being, his heart was filled with all Vedic sound. The Vedas showed him the way to perform his function of creation. He recognized that the sound of the Vedas pervaded everywhere. To him occur all Vedas. Only some mantras have revealed themselves to the sages and these constitute the Vedas that are our heritage.
At the time of chanting a mantra we usually mention the rishi associated with it, its chandas or metre and the name of the deity invoked. The sages learned the mantras with the power of concentration acquired through austerities. They were bestowed with celestial ears, so they could hear the mantras in space. It is said in the science of yoga that if our heart- space becomes one with the transcendent outward space we will be able to listen to the sounds in it. Only those who have attained the state of undifferentiated oneness of all can perceive them. It is in this way that the seers became aware of the mantras and made them known to the world. It must be remembered that they did not create them. They brought us immeasurable blessings by making the mantras known too us. If someone offers us water form the Ganga (Ganga-tirtha,Gangajal) we receive it, prostrating ourselves before him.
The man did not of course create the Ganga, but all the same reverence him in recognition of the fact that the must have travelled a thousand miles to bring us the few drops of the holy water. We cannot adore the seers sufficiently for their having made us the gift of the mantras which are beyond the grasp of our ears. That is why before canting a mantra we hold the sacred feet of the rishi concerned with our head.
"Om Shanti Shanti Shanti"](https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s851x315/1939835_583934235030430_1349369366_n.jpg?oh=4d3cf015193113358ac267b6ced55452&oe=5509389A&__gda__=1427861927_d7e38cda0ed192281fc00908eb3fb4d1)
