poiloi

The China-U.S. Science Expedition recently found a number of rare three-dimensional dinosaur footprints when they were investigating and researching dinosaur footprints in the Lianhuabao Village of Qijiang County, southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality.

Experts said the discovery of the three-dimensional dinosaur footprints helps scientist understand the way dinosaurs walk. At present, experts are further investigating and researching these footprints.

The group of dinosaur footprints was found in Lianhuabao Village in 2003 and is currently the largest from the cretaceous period. There are more than 300 dinosaur footprints, including concave and convex footprints, distributed in an area of 140 square meters and they belong to the Ankylosaurus, Anatosaurus and Theropoda.

During their research, the experts found that some well-preserved convex dinosaur footprints have three toes, with a mound-shaped metatarsal print at the heel and a hoof-shaped claw print at each toe. The footprints are half a meter long and are much longer than those found in the past which were only a few centimeters long. The study shows that these footprints are really 3D dinosaur footprints that belong to the Hadrosaurus.

Xing Lida, an expert from the science expedition, explained, “There probably was a mud pit where the 3D dinosaur footprints were found. When the Hadrosaurus walked there, it left traces. Afterwards, the pit was filled and formed a mold. Then, we found the interesting footprints.” He added, “We can even clearly see the change of the Hadrosaurus’ toes, from splaying to closing together.”

The return of a smuggled Tang Dynasty (AD 618 – 907) sarcophagus from the United States to China may serve as a good example for international collaboration to curb the rampant pillaging and smuggling of treasures, researchers have said.

The 27-ton stone coffin of Tang empress Wu Huifei (AD 699-737) arrived at the Shaanxi History Museum on Thursday, four years after it was smuggled out of the country.

The sarcophagus is 4 meters long, 2 meters wide and 2 meters high. It features flowers and maiden figures in relief. Robbers stole it from Wu’s tomb in the southern suburbs of Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi province, in 2006.

“It is a rare cultural relic with high scientific, historical and artistic value,” said Liu Daiyun, director of the research department of the Shaanxi provincial archaeological research institute.

Xi’an police found out about the sarcophagus in February 2006 during an investigation over a tomb robbery. They seized a computer containing a number of its pictures in a suspect’s house and local archaeologists soon identified the relic’s origin.

After two years of investigations, police discovered the sarcophagus had been smuggled out of China and sold to a businessman in the US for $1 million, police sources said.

“We contacted the businessman through mediators and told him we had to get the relic back. If necessary, we would seek help from Interpol,” said Han Yulin, head officer of the heritage investigation team of Xi’an’s public security bureau.

“After three rounds of negotiations, he agreed to return the relic to China unconditionally.”

The sarcophagus was shipped back on March 16 from Virginia and arrived in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, on April 17.

“Although this is not the first time smuggled antiques have been returned through legal means, it is still encouraging,” said Tan Ping, head of the museum and cultural relics department of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH).

The pillaging of Chinese antiques is a serious problem in China. Chinese art analysts have blamed a thriving global market for the relics as the reason behind widespread tomb robberies.

“Pillaging at archaeological sites and smuggling of relics have become rampant in recent years,” SACH deputy director Tong Mingkang said last Saturday, which was China’s Cultural Heritage Day.

Driven by high profits, a number of people have put numerous looted and smuggled Chinese artifacts on sale in foreign countries, Tong said.

Foreign museums have a collection of about “1.64 million Chinese relics”, Tan said, adding that it was impossible to provide an exact figure for those relics in the hands of private collectors.

SACH has reiterated its objection to any auction or purchase of smuggled Chinese cultural relics.

Tan said China continues to seek the return of its looted relics through “legal or diplomatic means”.

To that effect, the country has reached agreements with 11 countries including Peru, India, Italy and the US to impose import restrictions on relics.

These restrictions will reduce the economic incentive behind the pillaging, said Professor Li Boqian, an archaeologist at Peking University.

“If looters cannot send the items to buyers in the United States or other foreign countries, they are less likely to risk raiding an archaeological site,” Li said.

The professor also stressed the importance of local police efforts in fighting the problem.

“Xi’an police set a good example by keeping a close eye on the looting of antiques,” Li said.

China has retrieved nearly 4,000 antiques through legal and diplomatic means since 1998, SACH archives showed.

Kaka and Diego Maradona’s son-in-law tweeted their loved ones. Sepp Blatter tweeted his enthusiasm for South Africa. Cristiano Ronaldo said he didn’t have time for tweeting because he was too busy training.

The popular social networking and microblogging service Twitter, whose short messages are known as “tweets”, has wrapped its growing tentacles around the World Cup with a vengeance.

Users include the German Football Association (DFB), which has been giving fans an inside look at the German national football team via Twitter.

“The players are gradually waking up. Shortly after 3 am, this morning the team was back in their hotel,” read a DFB tweet on the morning after the team’s 4-0 thrashing of Australia on Sunday.

While DFB tweets are rather sedate, the Latin Americans’, as might be expected, are more passionate. “I love you,” Brazilian superstar Kaka tweeted his wife, Caroline. Earlier, she had texted him the message, “You’re the love of my life.”

Argentine footballer Sergio Aguero, who is Maradona’s son-in-law, also tweeted loved ones back home. “Had a great birthday but miss my family,” Aguero wrote.

As the World Cup got under way, Uruguay’s goal-getter Diego Forlan tweeted: “We’re Uruguay. All Urus have long awaited this day. Let’s enjoy it.” His message ended with 14 exclamation points.

Ronaldo, however, has had to disappoint his many Twitter followers: “Because of all the preparations, I’ve hardly been able to tweet,” the Portuguese heartthrob tweeted.

Some national team coaches have put their foot down hard on social networking. England boss Fabio Capello has banned his players from using either Twitter or Facebook, as has his no-nonsense Spanish counterpart, Vicente del Bosque. The Mexicans have also been slapped with a tweet ban and Chile’s coach, Marcelo Bielsa, has even forbidden his charges from surfing the Internet at night.

Meanwhile, the coach of the Netherlands, Bert van Marwijk, banned his squad from using Twitter after winger Eljero Elia appeared to insult Moroccans in a live video stream of himself and team-mate Ryan Babel.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter, meanwhile, has discovered the benefits of cyber-babble.

“We are on the verge of the first FIFA World Cup in which social networking sites will play a major role in enabling all those interested in football to share their impressions. I am also very happy to share my own experience of FIFA World Cup 2010 with the worldwide fans,” tweeted Blatter, 71.

Within days, Blatter’s Twitter account had gathered more than 20,000 followers. Blatter has so far tweeted about which stadium he was in, that he is against banning the loud plastic trumpets, called vuvuzelas, and about how moved he has been by the football atmosphere in South Africa.

Thousands of fans are also sending their World Cup impressions via Twitter, making the 2010 World Cup one of the top-10 Twitter topics.

“The sound of vuvuzelas is the only noise that can also be heard in space,” one user tweeted.

“I’ve fallen in love in South Africa,” A female World Cup tourist from London chirped,

The veritable stampede of messages has caused unprecedented traffic on Twitter. Site operators warned at the opening of the World Cup that load times could be longer and outages were even possible.

Welcome to Writers Voices Community. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!