Why did the Catalhoyuk people make doors in the roof?

Catalhoyuk home witha door in the roof

Catalhoyuk was a  large Neolithic proto city settlement in southern Anatolia. It is a remarkable example  which existed from approximately 7500 BC to 5700 BC. The city was abandoned for unknown reasons before the Bronze age commenced. It is one of the few of the earliest known cities in the world.

The inhabitants lived in mud-brick houses that were crammed together in an agglutinative manner. No footpaths or streets were used between the dwellings, which were clustered in a honeycomb-like maze. Most were accessed by holes in the ceiling, with doors reached by ladders and stairs. The rooftops were effectively streets. The ceiling openings also served as the only source of ventilation, allowing smoke from the houses' open hearths and ovens to escape. Houses had plaster interiors characterized by squared-off timber ladders or steep stairs. Each main room served for cooking and daily activities. The main rooms contained raised platforms that may have been used for a range of domestic activities. Side rooms were used as storage, and were accessed through low openings from main rooms. Although no identifiable temples have been found, the graves, murals, and figurines suggest that the people of Catalhoyuk had a religion rich in symbols. Rooms with concentrations of these items may have been temples. The inhabitants were worshipers of the mother goddess. In upper levels of the site, it becomes apparent that the people gaining skills in agriculture and the domestication of animals and fruit were harvested from trees in the surrounding hills. However, hunting continued to be a major source of food for the community. Pottery and tools appear to have been major industries Tools were probably both used and also traded. This is where the oldest pottery known from Anatolia has been found. The oldest pottery was fired, unpainted and unglazed and had a very simple bag shaped form.

A question that shall trouble a modern observer about this civilization is the use of a home with a very difficult door opening in the roof rather than on the side that is far more convenient, safer from the elements and intruders and easier to construct. What could be the reason for such an opening?

One possibility is that these dwelling were made by a people who lived in pits dug inside the earth prior to making such homes. In pit homes, precisely this type of roof openings are required. The question then arises – are there any examples of pit dwelling from around the time? The answer is yes and this takes us to the Pre Harappan civilization in North-west India. Bhirrana is a small village located in in the Indian state of Haryana. It belongs to the Indus Valley Civilisation dating from around 7500 BC too.  The site is situated about 220 km to the northwest of New Delhi.

The Bhirrana excavations have revealed the remains of the Harappan culture right from its nascent stage, i.e. Hakra Wares Culture to a full-fledged Mature Harappan city. Prior to the excavation of Bhirrana, no Hakra Wares culture, predating the Early Harappan had been exposed in any Indian site. For the first time, the remains of this culture have been exposed at Bhirrana. This culture is characterised by structures in the form of subterranean dwelling pits, cut into the natural soil. The walls and floor of these pits were plastered with the yellowish alluvium of the Saraswati valley. The artefacts of this period comprised a copper bangle, a copper arrowhead, bangles of terracotta, beads of carnelian, lapis lazuli, bone point, stone saddle etc.. The pottery is very rich and like their Anatolian contemporaries these early pre Harappans too were worshipers of Mother Goddess. A connection between and a common root of both these ancient people is very possible.

Image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Catal_H%C3%BCy%C3%BCk_Restoration_B.jpg

Sumerian not a Linguistic Isolate but an Austric Language - Archaic Tamil

Some seven years ago when I wrote a blog post (and also an ezine article)on the Sumerian language, describing why I thought that it was not a linguistic isolate but belonged to the Austric group of languages, some linguistic historians scoffed at the suggestion. It seems they were so seeped in existing theories that they did not want to open their mind to new thoughts as is common in many areas of knowledge since ancient times. The old post is here

http://alienaccount.blogspot.in/2006/09/tracing-origin-of-ancient-sumerians.html

Since this post several new studies have emerged that have described the close similarities between Sumerian and Archaic Tamil. The modern form of that language is still spoken by millions in southern India and its archaic version is well documented. The Similarities between Sumerian and Archaic Tamil are not just ephemeral but clear. Not just words are similar but entire sentences and one would have to be blind not to see that both languages belong to a common group. There are several references and discussions on it on the net now that an interested reader can find for example,

http://www.araichchi.com/Sumeria/Sumeria_Linguistics.html

An older study by Muttarayan  has provided hundreds of lexical correspondences and other linguistic data supporting the family relationship between Sumerian and Dravidian languages.(Muttarayan, K. L., J. Tamil Stud., 1975, 7, 41–61.)Recently this author has discovered that there are several older studies comparing Tamil and Sumerian that have been ignored by the main stream scholars. There is a need now for a rigorous compilation of all these older works into a comprehensive comparison.

Tamil, especially Archaic Tamil although classified in a different Dravid group is either a more developed subset or has a close relationship with the Austric/Australoid group of languages as different from the Indo-European group.. Although upon further reflection some of the statements of the original article need revision however its central assertion that Sumerian is not an isolated language but rather belongs to the Austric group of languages appears to be verified. it may be pointed out that blog posts are not written as carefully as scholarly articles but that does not mean that none of them contain any valuable information. They can serve to articulate an idea that may later be pursued with the thoroughness and referencing required for a peer reviewed journal article.

Thus the original deduction of this author stands vindicated that ancient Sumerian was not an isolated language but rather belonged to the Austric group of languages.This language has been identified as Archaic Tamil

Men came from Mars and Women from Venus

There were reports in the media recently that conditions were conducive for creation of life on Mars at one time and that life may have come to earth from that planet. I was reminded of the old adage that Men are from mars and the Women from Venus. However, it is not necessary to limit one’s imagination to just Mars or Venus once one has read and understood the theory of Panspermia (or its modification Pansmeria) described in several posts of this blog. The posts describe in detail how it is possible for bacteria in hibernation to arrive on Earth from virtually any part of the universe, from far away galaxies and even other galaxies over millions and billions of years. Within these bacteria are the genetic codes for all life forms that exist on earth and those that are yet to appear. Bacteria even carry the gene of advanced life forms on a planet because they can be infected by viruses carrying break away genes from advanced life forms. 

The genetic make up of bacteria is such as can be modified easily, and once modified replicate as they multiply by duplication rather than sexual reproduction that tends to eliminate such modification during reproduction. It does seem that it is at the level of bacteria and viruses that creation of new life forms takes place and it is an ongoing process, with most new variation rejected but few becoming a part of the genetic pool of life in the universe. It is only when a gene is integrated in a higher life form that it can be perpetuated near endlessly because of a continuous rejection of erroneous mutations through the process of sexual reproduction

Deleting some old Posts

I do not visit this blog frequently nowadays while my attention is focused on another blog. However, I hope that my interest will be rekindled sooner or later and there would be more new posts. It has been retained because many of its posts are relevant and were ahead of their times when published. However, on a review today I discovered that there were also a few that were a bit too speculative and did not match up with the other posts. therefore three of them were deleted today. In the meantime if any reader wishes to enter a query or comment on any of the earlier posts, please do so I shall know through an email alert and respond quickly.

http://someitemshave.blogspot.com

New name and New Look

Today I visited this blog and gave it a new name and a new look that is easier on the mind and eyes. I do not post much in this blog nowadays but it has valuable material that was gathered through strenuous work at one time, therefore it has been preserved. The new title ' Darwinism Revisited' attempts to explain what that blog contains. It attempts to explain how life was created on our wonderful planet based om modern scientific thinking. It does not necessarily negate what is contained in the scriptures but views these merely recorded in metaphors as suitable for the times in which they were composed.

Bacteria, the foundation of life

Bacteria are often maligned as the causes of human and animal disease. However that is true only for some bacteria. In fact bacteria are the basis for life. Without them no life at all would have been possible on our planet. Bacteria is a plural word. The singular for this word is “bacterium. They have one chromosome of double-stranded DNA in a ring and most are friendly. Only a few cause disease. But then what life form is there including plants and animals, a few of whom do not cause problems. Bacteria are life because they can multiply by duplication. However, they do not multiply by mating as higher life forms do. In the process, occasionally there are genetic mutations that are preserved, creating new genes. In higher life forms most chance mutations are eliminated by matching between male and female genes during multiplications.

Thus bacteria are at the foundation of creation of life forms. This is where creation of new life forms begins.The genes of more advanced creatures including humans are identical to bacterial genes and that is the source from which they have been derived. Bacteria can transfer their genes to other life forms through a variety of natural processes. Bacterial genes are enclosed in a cell wall but within that wall they do not have a protective nucleus to protect the genes further thus making the modification of bacterial genes much easier than the genes in cells of higher life forms. A type of bacteria called cynobacteria, the basic cell type of plants is responsible for producing oxygen. Without them oxygen breathing life forms would not have been possible.

Although bacteria do not carry out sexual multiplication they do appear to enjoy sex of a different kind and are in fact quite promiscuous. They have appendages called pilli. This hollow, hair like structures made of protein allow bacteria to attach to other cells. A specialized pilus, the sex pilus, allows the transfer of plasmid DNA from one bacterial cell to another. They must enjoy the process, otherwise why would they do it? That is how they transfer antibiotic immunity from one bacteria to another. Bacteria can acquire new genes by taking up DNA molecules (e.g., a plasmid) from their surroundings or from other bacteria.

Bacteria respond to variations in their environment by altering their gene expression pattern; thus, they express different enzymes depending on the carbon sources and other nutrients available to them as well as toxins in the environment that can damage them. Bacterial gene regulation is extremely efficient and  the bacterial genome is highly organized. Bacteria appear to adopt perfectly to a variety of environments, and they are ready to respond to whatever environmental changes they encounter by employing elegant and complex regulatory mechanisms.Higher life forms that emerge from the synthesis of such bacteria thus emerge already adopted to the environment, even that of new planets.

A modern theory of creation called Panspermia postulates that life has arrived on earth by a transfer of bacteria from outer space. How this transfer takes place and how bacterial genes set in motion the creation of life forms is discussed in this blog. The particular adaptation and postulates of this blog have been given the name pansmeria.

To read more about the role bacteria play in life and its creation check out an older post of this blog at http://alienaccount.blogspot.in/2006/09/microbes-beginning-of-life.html 

On a philosophical view of the pain that bacteria cause see:
http://someitemshave.blogspot.in/2015/07/bacteria-source-of-life-and-pain.html

Hi

An Explanation:

One may wish to enquire why the contents of this blog have been presented as fiction rather than Science. The reason is although large portions of the posts are treated scientifically, there are portions that are not yet backed by hard science. To write it as a scientific article would have required much more rigor. As fiction one may take liberties. Some of the speculations of Pansmeria have now become part of Scientific Panspermia (since 2006). I believe other parts too would become part of science with time. Some small sections may will undoubtedly be proved to be erroneous or in need of modification. However these changes shall not in the main change the hypothesis. Much more speculative liberty has been taken in the historical sections dealing with some early civilizations.

The second question that a reader may ask is why post the matter as if from the mouth of an Alien. The reason is that there is deliberate writing and an inspired one. With inspired writing one becomes an instrument of a higher force. I cannot say with certainty what the source of inspiration was. Perhaps it was an advanced being of the universe who cannot travel easily to earth, but his thoughts can, provided there is someone to receive them willingly.

Pansmeria

This blog contains the story of human creation and some of the earliest human attempts at creating a civilized society. The story is written as if through the mouth of an Alien. A new word Pansmeria (the smeria part is pronounced as in sumeria in honour of one of the first leading human civilisations on earth). The pansmeria theory may be regarded as a variation (this author's elaboration and interpretation) of the widely known theory of Panspermia.

In order to appreciate it the posts have to read in the chronological order. Blogger posts the latest post first so they have to be read bottom up beginning with the first post of 2006 posted on Sept 14th.You can do that easily by clicking on the drop down menu to the left. Click on 2006, then click on September and the list of posts will be displayed, then click on September 14 first and so on.

Enjoy.