Key To Lost Inca Language Sitting On A Shelf For 136 Years

The linguistic “Holy Grail” that could reveal the lost language of the Incan empire has just been discovered gathering dust on a library shelf.   How many esteemed scientists, famous authors and exalted men from great universities, for 136 years walked by the nondescript shelf that silently held its priceless contents?  An old, long forgotten book and a woven ball of secretly coded knots made of string awaited only the most worthy of researchers to discover its true value.  

It would take a scientist and an author, a woman and a man to look beyond the Google world, digging up their treasure with trowels made of books and speech.  The Costa Rican team of Philologist Ahiza Vega and Author José León Sánchez after years of researching indigenous peoples in their home country may have exposed the secrets of not only the Incas but other Mesoamerican civilizations as well.  Unlike the Aztecs and the Mayans who left behind impressive stone structures covered in hieroglyphs, the Incas melted into time with no written stone records and no written language.   The indigenous Talamanca people of Costa Rica, whose descendants still reside near the Panama border, also shared the same Incan situation; functioning without an alphabet.   

A skeleton key woven from string is what will unlock the secrets of the Incan language and it was made in Costa Rica.  This codec device known as the Quipu (Khipu) was utilized in many Latin American pre-Columbian societies.  An intricately knotted group of strings or cords, a Quipu was used to record everything that needed to be counted e.g.; numbers of crops, taxes, land ownership, precious metals, census data, etc.  Dr. Gary Urton, Professor of Pre-Columbian Studies at Harvard, postulates after decades of research that the elaborate string-works of the Quipu’s array of intricate knots was based on a 7-bit binary system.  In 2002 Dr. Urton and Carrie Brezine established the Khipu Database Project where various data from the Quipu cord anomalies of color, fiber and knot patterns are stored.  It is becoming more commonly believed that the Quipu knots contain more than just accounting data.  They may also be programmed in a universal language that could have been used throughout the ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica and perhaps even Asia.  Because Quipus were found at the 4600 year old Caral, Peru site and in China, scientists now realize that some accounts of origins and contact, previously thought not to have taken place between ancient civilizations, may have to be revised.  

Despite all of the international research, the essence of the intricately knotted code of the Incan Quipu has still remained hidden, perhaps until last week.  The aforementioned team Vega/Sánchez discovered their “Rosetta Stone” while conducting research amongst mountains of data in the largest library in the world, The Library of Congress in Washington D.C.  Their five-year project has been to uncover information about the written and spoken language of the indigenous Talamanca people of Costa Rica.  Vega and Sánchez were interested in writings from an American geologist named William More Gabb who, in 1873 spent three years in Costa Rica studying the geography, geology and resources of the Talamancan region. Persistent rumors about gold being discovered in Talamanca inspired the Costa Rican government to hire Gabb for the expedition. 

Gabb conducted his research, map making and interacting with the Talamanca people.  He easily learned their language and customs and recorded it all in a detailed book that was quite a treasure trove of cultural information.  However, what has the entire archaeological world on Tilt is the fact, unknown until now, Gabb had hired a Talamancan who still knew the secret language of the Quipu to transform all of his natural history notes and research from his journal into the ancient language of the knotted strings. So 136 years later, the William Gabb book entitled, “On Indian Tribes and Languages of Costa Rica” was sitting right next to the tightly knotted matching Quipu when Vega and Sánchez found it on that library shelf in Washington D.C. not long ago. 

Not quite as heavy as the granite Rosetta Stone, the William Gabb book and Quipu companion nonetheless should plug a gaping hole of lost historical knowledge from the land of the Giant Condors.  It’s hard to wrap a “modern” western head around how advanced the Incan world actually was.  It becomes even more difficult to understand from this same perspective how such a grand empire with its four provincial governors and a king replete with an army could function without a written alphabetical language.  The Incan society stretched about 2485 miles in length, had 18,000 miles of roads, suspension bridges, irrigation canals, a robust economic engine with an artisan trade business in ceramics, gold items and textiles and stunningly designed monumental buildings with a maize and llama-centric food industry.  

How ever they managed their extraordinary success, it all came to a halt for the Incas as well as the entire Latin American cultures including the indigenous populations of Costa Rica who were over matched and subjugated by 400 years of Spanish Conquest and inquisition.  An unfortunate part of this religious/cultural “mind meld” was that the Jesuit missionaries destroyed as many of the Quipus as they could find, believing they were part of Incan pagan worship.   

What remained of the ancient Quipus were approximately 600 of the sacred devices that were hidden under houses and other secret places.  Discovered by archaeologists and thieves, they now reside still indecipherable in museum cases all over the world.  William Gabb was hired to look for Costa Rican gold and actually found something no amount of gold could ever buy-knowledge, history and language.   

With renewed optimism, we now will be waiting impatiently to hear a bit more of the mysteries of past Humankind from the new caretakers of an old book and a ball of knotted strings.

http://incas.homestead.com/quipu/quipu_san_cristobal_rapaz_oyon_video.html (video)

Sources:

http://tiny.cc/qw0sx “Pioneering Contributions of William M. Gabb to the Geology and Mapping of Costa Rica”--Central American Studies Yearbook, Vol 25 number 002, University of Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica, 1999  oscarf@cariari.ucr.ac.cr

http://tiny.cc/fzju1 

http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/urtsig.html 

http://archaeology.about.com/od/americanancientwriting/a/quipu.htm 

http://tiny.cc/anz7g 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_numeral_system   

http://agutie.homestead.com/files/Quipu_B.htm   

Almost Shot and BBQ'd in Costa Rica

International celebrity TV chef Gordon Ramsay barely escaped Costa Rica with his life a few days ago attempting to document the “illegal” commercial fishing practice of “shark finning”, where sharks are caught, fins sliced off, thrown back into the ocean while still alive and allowed to sink to the bottom and slowly die.

The story in the Toronto Sun reports that Ramsay was threatened by gun wielding thugs and even doused with gasoline when the chef/sleuth was discovered observing and recording shark fin operations for his new TV show.  Local Costa Rican police advised Ramsay to leave the country immediately to avoid being killed or barbecued (which he did and he wasn‘t).  Shark finning is one of Costa Rica’s biggest “Hall of Shame” practices that has yet to be brought under control.

Fed by an unlimited cash flow from China, the demand for shark fins (used in shark fin soup) has continued and even increased with the economic upswing that country is experiencing.  In China, shark fin soup is a delicacy and has been served at weddings and social events for centuries because of the belief that it has health and fertility benefits .  The influence of the Yuan apparently reaches far enough into the Costa Rican government that the wasteful eco-damaging and cruel practice continues unabated mainly in the city of Puntarenas.  The following is a quote from the Toronto Sun story which may have originated from Simon Lewis of the Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1343055/Jamie-Oliver-Gordon-Ramsay-Heston-Blumenthal-villains-fishing-world.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was doused in gasoline and held at gunpoint as he tried to uncover the dark world of illegal shark fin trading for a new TV show.
The Hell’s Kitchen star was shooting scenes for a British program Big Fish Fight when he confronted gangsters in Costa Rica who had slaughtered thousands of sharks to sell their sought-after fins.
But Ramsay was left terrified when the gang kept their guns trained on him and his TV crew before throwing fuel over him. He was later advised by local police to flee the country for his own safety.
The chef tells Britain’s Daily Mail, “It’s a multibillion-dollar industry, completely unregulated. We traced some of the biggest culprits to Costa Rica. These gangs operate from places like forts, with barbed-wire and gun towers.
“At one, I managed to shake off the people keeping us away, ran up some stairs to a rooftop and looked down to see thousands of fins, drying on rooftops for as far as the eye could see. When I got back downstairs, they tipped a barrel of petrol over me.

“Back at the wharf, there were people pointing rifles at us to stop us filming. A van pulled up and these seedy characters made us stand against a wall. The police came and advised us to leave the country. They said, ’If you set one foot in there, they’ll shoot you.’”

http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/tv/2011/01/03/16738641-wenn-story.html

The only way this destructive practice will stop is through massive doses of negative international exposure. Costa Rica depends upon it’s great reputation as an eco-friendly haven for millions of tourists who flock here every year to experience the spectacular natural wonders that it offers.  Hopefully the Costa Rican government and its new president Laura Chinchilla will feel enough shame to begin a genuinely serious police effort to thwart shark finning.

If not, the abundance of the Costa Rican super rich fishing grounds will continue to degrade since sharks are Apex species and serve a fundamental role in the maintenance of the health of all oceans.  Take a look at the following stories and watch the videos to learn what’s happening to our sharks because of a bowl of soup:

http://www.ecowalkthetalk.com/blog/2010/06/19/so-just-what-is-shark-fin-soup/

http://www.sharkwater.com/

Mother Earth

As more of the half-truths, deceptions and hypocrisy continue to be exposed surrounding the "Global Warming Scam", there is a danger of overreaction.

Some of us have become so outraged at the Fear-based "Sky is Falling-give-us-your-money-so-we-can-fix-it-because-we-are-scientists" speeches that were fed to us about Greenhouse Gasses, Rising Planet Temps, Receding Arctic Ice and Polar Bear Extinction, that we throw up our hands in disgust when the truth is exposed.

Ironically, it was trusted, learned men who fudged data and attempted cover-ups that became embarrassingly public.  Do we therefore assume that our Planet must be healthy enough so that we, as Earth's Caretakers are no longer needed? Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Although Man as a species may not be killing the planet in the dramatic, fear based ways some doomsday experts would like us to believe, we are changing and destroying ecosystems that give us Life in many ways.  In Costa Rica a man named Henry Kantrowitz sees Earth as a living Mother that we have been given the responsibility of protecting.

As a Naturalist, Henry lives his life within the philosophy he cherishes but restrains from self righteous rants even to "rant deserving" people he sees killing creatures he loves.  Read his open letter below to see how Henry Kantrowitz does battle for people's minds in the war we must all win.


"Ancient Mother Earth,
We don't own her, we are a part of her. Her pulse can be watched as the waves approach the shore. Each wave is a sign she is still alive. We see the beauty in her life blood which is precious to her and to us. Water keeps us both alive. After all she is called the water planet. Her arteries keep flowing over much of her body. We need them as much as she does. 

Without her arteries (our rivers) we can't continue nor can she.
As she continues to develop she needs to stretch and exercise her tremendous muscles frequently. We get scared but she really isn't purposely trying to hurt us with her tremors. She needs to do this to grow and change, just like we need to grow and change as we get older and hopefully more evolved. I think she is trying to tell us we need to grow and change with her not conquer her.

We take her for granted and think she is stronger than she really appears. She seems to have survived every crisis so far. She has adapted well for her age and continues to go strong, or is she?
I have noticed over time her health is degenerating. Her arteries are getting more and more clogged; So clogged, that we can't drink her life giving blood without a purifier. 

She has become clogged in every one of her major arteries throughout her body, with huge formations of cholesterol and plaque (our garbage and pollutants).
Her massive lungs, our forests, are being reduced at a phenomenal rate and are taking on so much work that she has a hard time breathing, as so do we in our cities. Her cilia hairs (forest trees) are being cut down and are dying from air pollution.
 
Mother Earth has yet another problem; she has a fever that is on the slow rise. This too is an indicator that she is not feeling so well. Her cooling system is beginning to deteriorate. Huge chunks of her structure are breaking off and melting away. Even her aura ( the ozone layer) comes and goes in some areas. We now witness huge gaps of her aura causing large parts of her immune system to break apart. As a result excessive ultra violet light waves penetrate our system which injures our fellow inhabitants (plants and animals) and our own skin and eyes as well.  we need to learn not to cause such problems in the first place.
 
Mother Earth has taken care of us since our beginning. Now that we have grown up, shouldn't we take some responsibility and take care of her? Here are several life changes that can help save her and us, so we can all live happily ever after.
 
Conserve her life blood (water) don't waste it or pollute it, use biodegradable detergents and cleaners.
Practice the Three R's, Recycle, Buy Returnable bottles, Reuse plastic water bottles and resealable plastic bags
Don't buy products overly wrapped with plastic and/or Styrofoam.
Don't use aluminum wrap. Much aluminum is mined in the tropics and causes catastrophic pollution in the rivers that flow through the rain forests.
 
Mother Nature would prefer if you would eat organic foods and drink shade grown/organic coffee to keep her arteries clean from pesticides, herbicides and artificial fertilizers. You and I will be healthier and so will she.
Help stop air pollution, get out and walk or bicycle instead of hopping in your pollution producing car, it's good for Mother Nature and the air you breath too.

We all need to take responsibility to care for Mother Nature and to pass on her good health to the next generation. Place this letter on your refrigerator, which I hope is energy efficient, to remind you daily how you can make a difference."
Henry Kantrowitz
Interpretive Naturalist
Conservationist

Fess Parker died this week. He was 85 years old. The growing number of U.S. expats in Costa Rica may recall a little of the Fess Parker phenomenon of their childhood. His legacy will forever be based on his T.V. portrayal of a real life American hero, Daniel Boone.

Could Fess Parker have ever known how many millions of little boys, including me and my brother, all across the U.S. in the magic years that were the 1950s, would forever carry his 6 foot 6 inch tall image in their dreams and childhood memories along with coonskin hats, flintlock rifles and rubber bowie knives?

It’s a mixed blessing for an actor, to be cast in such a perfect role because who would want to hire Daniel Boone for anything else? We knew that he wasn’t real but what we saw every week inside that Glade polished furniture-sized box sitting in our living rooms became synthesized into our essence---helped make us internally, what we grew up to be.

The timing of the 1950s television heroes, like Davy Crockett was perfect---no home computers, video games or cable T.V.---nothing to distract from the world of good guys and bad, right and wrong, good and evil. We had many to choose from; The Lone Ranger and Tonto, Bat Masterson, The Rifleman, Maverick, Paladin, Cheyenne, The Swamp Fox, Zorro, Mighty Mouse, Superman, Hopalong Cassidy, James T. West and Wyatt Earp and others.

The Daniel Boone series was a Walt Disney produced show so it was Fess Parker, dressed in buckskin and coonskin cap, riding a tall horse, who led the Disneyland opening day parade July 17th, 1955 in temperatures over a “Global Warming” 100 degrees.

Along with his T.V. sidekick Buddy Ebsen, the pair performed a production of “Old Betsy” in front of ABC cameras that were covering the event live at “the happiest place on earth”. Here’s a link to see the actual singing and dancing live number (bonus points if you know who the man in the white suit is-FYI, he'll be 98 years old on July 17th) ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvKV37VbJYk 

For me, the Fess Parker/Daniel Boone primary experience led to hours of wonderful adventure stories of Hawkeye, the skilled “Native American” who could move through a forest without a sound, never leaving a trace, in the Leatherstocking series of books by James Fenimore Cooper.

Many years later, we even tasted some of Parker's own estate bottled wine at his beautiful vineyards in Central California one unforgettable afternoon. We didn’t see Daniel Boone that day but we spotted his coonskin cap embossed in gold on every bottle.
Rest in Peace Fess Parker.

Joan Rivers-Hostage In Costa Rica

The veteran (no, I did not say Battle-axe) U.S. comedienne, Joan Rivers was denied her seat on a New York bound Continental flight in Costa Rica this week 

After successfully passing through numerous security checkpoints, a discrepancy was noticed at the final gate before boarding the plane.  Someone had mistakenly typed in a wrong first name on her ticket/boarding pass. 

The 76 year old Rivers and her $645 designer shoes were now all alone in the middle of Central America, with little money, speaking no Spanish and no one knowing who she was. 

Fortunately for her, Rivers happened to be stuck in one of the most friendly, caring, beautiful countries in the world.                                        

The saga of Joan Rivers in Costa Rica can be a great learning tool for anyone planning a visit to the Land of Pura Vida.  http://bit.ly/kH8Q1

What Is It?

If you live in a place other than Costa Rica, you might not know what this is. 

Hint:  Not all of them are in this condition and sometimes their purpose is just as efficiently served by a tree or telephone pole or a particularly located piece of ground. 

CLASSIC CHRISTMAS MOVIES 2009

1) "The Bishop's Wife" (1947)-Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven plus so many more veteran actors fill the screen.

Cary Grant is an Angel sent down in response to a prayer from the Bishop (Niven) for help in raising funds for a new cathedral.

The Bishop gets more help than he bargained for however, as the Angel becomes entwined in his work on the cathedral and his family situation.

2) "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947)-What was it about this year that gave birth to such a pair of Christmas Gems?
This movie stars Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood, John Payne and Kris Kringle himself, Edmund Gwenn.  When a nice old man keeps insisting that he's Santa Claus, he gets thrown in an insane asylum.

A young lawyer (Payne) risks his career and love interest (O'Hara) to defend Kris in a court case that grabs the attention of the whole country.

3) "Elf"- Stars Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, Bob Newhart and Edward Asner.  This movie continues its staying power every year.

It can now be safely stated that Elf has joined the ranks of genuine Christmas Classics.  Buddy the Elf (Ferrell) is a very tall human raised by Papa Elf (Newhart) at the North Pole from an infant after he crawled into Santa's (Asner) Magical Sack of Toys on a Christmas Eve toy run.

Since he doesn't really fit in (literally), Buddy is sent to New York city on a mission to find his real father (Caan), and the adventure begins.

These are 3 of the 10 Holiday movies on the Jacosun Classic Christmas Movie list.

As a bonus, links are provided to seldom seen, sometimes bizarre, Christmas T.V. Specials which aired in some cases only one time;  like "The Star Wars Holiday Special" from 1978 or "Santa Clause Conquers the Martians" from 1964 which is so horrible that it has become a Cult Classic and made it as #10 on our Best list.

To read about and actually experience The Most Entertaining Christmas Movie Classics of all time, go to Jacosun.com.