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Understanding the Bach Dang battlefield from recent research results

Understanding the Bach Dang battlefield from recent research results | Archaeology Articles and Books | Scoop.it
The Mongols created the world’s most powerful empire in the thirteenth century, conqueringChina and establishing the Yuan dynasty. Their military power was in doubt, however, after failednaval invasions in Japan and Vietnam.

 

According to historical records, the Vietnamese tacticsused against the Mongolian Armada were designed to prevent them from reaching the mouth of Bach Dang River by using hidden stakes that were driven into the riverbed in secrecy.

 

Using thelarge difference in tides, the Vietnamese successfully lured the enemy fleet into the trap,destroying or capturing perhaps as many as 400 vessels. Since the 1950s, approximately 700years after this watershed event, Vietnamese archaeologists have discovered a number of largewooden stakes in the midst of reclaimed paddy fields along the Bach Dang River. Excavationsand research were conducted which led to the identification of several stake-yard sites believedto be dated to the battle that took place in 1281 C.E., however, no remains of ships have beenidentified to date.

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The Murray Springs Clovis site, Pleistocene extinction, and the question of extraterrestrial impact

ome of the evidence for the recent hypothesis of an extraterrestrial impact that caused late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions [Firestone et al. (2007) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104:16016–16021] was based upon samples collected at Murray Springs, a Clovis archaeological site in southeastern Arizona. Here we describe sampling and analyses of magnetic separates from within, above, and below the lower Younger Dryas boundary (LYDB) black mat at Murray Springs, as well as radiation measurements from the LYDB at Murray Springs and two other well-stratified Clovis sites. The main magnetic fraction at Murray Springs is maghemite. Magnetic microspherules have terrestrial origins but also occur as cosmic dust particles. We failed to find iridium or radiation anomalies. The evidence for massive biomass burning at Murray Springs is addressed and found to be lacking. We could not substantiate some of the claims by Firestone and others, but our findings do not preclude a terminal Pleistocene cosmic event.

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