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11/13/2003

Sleuthing Old Stuff

The October 31 issue of Science contains three detective stories
involving old things, namely, old trees, a much older mummy
and extremely old fliers. I was drawn to the article “Methuselahs
in Our Midst” by Kevin Krajick not so much by the ages of the
trees but by their locations in the Eastern U. S. For example,
arborist Fred Breglia found gnarly 500-year old red cedars rooted
into a cliff overlooking the Schoharie Creek in New York State.
These old cedars are unimpressive specimens, only 10 inches or
less in diameter. However, Schoharie Creek brought to mind the
1960s and two summers my wife and our two sons spent at
Camp Schoharie in the Catskills in New York.

My wife was one of the camp nurses and she and our sons were
the only gentiles in this Jewish camp. It was quite an enriching
experience for all. I would drive to the camp on Fridays after
work and return home Sunday with enough food to last me until
the next Friday, courtesy of the nice lady in the camp kitchen.
She was the first person I had met who was a survivor of the
Holocaust. Thanks to her, I developed a lifelong taste for bagels
with cream cheese and lox. There were many other memories
such as my wife breaking her leg her very first day in camp!
With a walking cast, she stayed through the summer. (After
many days spent sewing laundry labels on the kids’ clothes she
wasn’t about to come home!)

Krajick’s article also contains a photograph of an ancient beech
tree in Cook Forest in Pennsylvania. Cook Forest reminded me
of another camping experience in the 1950s. A bunch of us
graduate students at the University of Pittsburgh rented a cabin in
Cook Forest and this nurse, who was going for her degree in
nursing education, was invited by some mutual friends to join the
group. It was a most enjoyable few days and, yes, I ended up
marrying that nurse. Strangely, I don’t remember any old trees.

Where does the detective work come into play? Tree rings in old
trees in the Eastern U. S. can reveal something about the severity
of earthquakes. For example, the colossal New Madrid, Missouri
earthquakes in 1811-1812 were so severe that some old trees
were shaken badly enough that they virtually stopped growing
for 50 years before resuming normal growth. One of the biggest
natural disasters for the U.S. in the past century was the Dust
Bowl in the 1930s. Old trees reveal that at least two, even more
severe drought conditions existed several hundred years ago in
other regions of the country. One of these extended droughts is
thought to be the reason for the disappearance of the first English
colony in Virginia in the 1580s. Other studies of tree rings shed
light on long term climate history and global warming trends.

Much older than these trees is the mummy, that of the famed
Alpine Iceman. I’m sure you’ve all seen pictures of the Iceman,
whose remarkably well-preserved body was found frozen in a
glacier back in 1991. The Iceman, called Oetzi (Otzi with an
umlaut over the O), was the subject of controversy inasmuch as
the body was found in the mountains near the border of Austria
and Italy. Both countries claimed Oetzi but it was determined
that the body was found within about a hundred yards of the
border on the Italian side. Today, Oetzi lies in cold storage in a
museum in Bolzano, Italy.

Why the intense interest in Oetzi? He lived and died roughly
5200 years ago and was found with his clothing, tools, arrows
and a knife. As the world’s oldest and best-preserved mummy,
Oetzi provides a valuable window into life back in those
prehistoric times. An arrow blade found in his left shoulder and
wounds on his hands led to the belief that Oetzi died in a fight
with his adversaries. Now an article by Sarah Ives posted on
October 30, 2003 on the National Geographic Web site cites
research by Australian archaeologist Thomas Loy and his
colleagues. They looked at DNA samples of blood found on an
arrow and the knife carried by Oetzi and on his goatskin coat.

The researchers report that the blood on the arrow belonged to
two other individuals, the blood on the knife belonged to a third
individual and the blood on the coat was that of a fourth person.
They conclude that Oetzi was in a battle for his life with a
number of attackers and speculate that he may have been
carrying a wounded comrade whose blood spilled onto his
clothing. Other workers believe it more likely that Oetzi’s death
was part of a ritual sacrifice – always controversy.

Whatever the nature of Oetzi’s demise, others are interested in
Oetzi’s background and early life. Was Oetzi an Austrian who
just wandered over to Italy across the border? Of course, back in
those days more than 5,000 years ago, there was no such border.
The Science article “Origin and Migration of the Alpine Iceman”
addresses this question. The five authors of the paper include
three workers from two universities in Australia and one each
from the Swiss Federal Institute in Switzerland and Colorado
College in Colorado Springs. Oetzi has an international
following!

I won’t attempt to detail the extensive work that went into this
study but it certainly impressed me that these researchers could
show it likely that the Iceman was born in and most likely did not
wander farther than 35-40 miles from his birthplace in his
lifetime. The work places his birthplace and range in Italy, not
Austria. His current resting place in Bolzano seems appropriate.

How did these workers arrive at their findings? They sampled
bits of Oetzi’s teeth, bones and intestinal contents and ran
analyses of the amounts of various isotopes of oxygen, carbon,
and argon and of strontium and lead of a radioactive nature or
origin. They compared these results with similar measurements
and other observations on soil and water samples from the
varying altitudes, geologic formations etc. in the areas
surrounding the location where Oetzi was found. They found
significant differences in the isotope ratios in the different
environments. They deduced what the conditions were when the
tooth enamel was formed in Oetzi’s childhood, for example.
Since the youthful isotope composition is frozen into the enamel,
they could figure out where he spent his childhood.

Now let’s jump from the mouth to the ear and from 5,000 to
hundreds of millions of years ago. Another Science article,
“Peering Into Ancient Ears” by Erik Stokstad, deals with
semicircular canals. These canals in the inner ear are three loops
filled with fluid at right angles to each other. The brain relies on
the motion of the fluid in the loops in detecting and controlling
the motions of the head and neck muscles to keep one’s bearings.
The size of the semicircular canals relative to the size of an
animal gives valuable insight into the agility and balance
capabilities of the animal. Such capabilities come into play, for
example, when a running lion or a diving eagle must keep their
eyes locked steadily on their prey.

Until recently, the field of study of the semicircular canals in old
fossils was rather limited. The reason was quite simple. The
standard way of studying the canals was to fill the inner ears of
the fossil or dead animal with epoxy and then dissolve away the
skull! Well, you can imagine that with priceless ancient fossils
there would be considerable reluctance to sacrifice a skull for a
bit of epoxy. With the development of the CT scan used
routinely in medical circles (had one myself recently), times have
changed. The CT scan and a newly developed micro CT scan
technique have been used to determine semicircular canal
structures without any damage to the skull.

I was especially interested in the results of CT scans on fossils of
one particular creature – the pterosaur. The reptilian pterosaur
ruled the skies long before birds came along. It evolved to
become truly huge, with wingspans sometimes as large as 30
feet! The head was occasionally adorned with very large crests.
Since the first fossils were discovered, there has been the
question as to whether such large fliers could have been agile
enough to swoop down on fish or other prey. The article cites
CT scan work just published in Nature by Lawrence Witmer and
colleagues at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
They have found that the semicircular canals in pterosaurs are
even larger relative to size than in birds. Not only that but the
part of the brain that receives the balance information was also
found to be larger relative to size than in today’s birds.

The researchers conclude that not only were the pterosaurs agile
fliers but also they could stabilize their gaze upon possible prey
much like today’s eagles. While it’s sad that these monumental
fliers are long gone from the scene, I for one am happy not to
have to worry that one of these monsters is up there in the sky
eyeing me as its evening meal!

Allen F. Bortrum



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-11/13/2003-      
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Dr. Bortrum

11/13/2003

Sleuthing Old Stuff

The October 31 issue of Science contains three detective stories
involving old things, namely, old trees, a much older mummy
and extremely old fliers. I was drawn to the article “Methuselahs
in Our Midst” by Kevin Krajick not so much by the ages of the
trees but by their locations in the Eastern U. S. For example,
arborist Fred Breglia found gnarly 500-year old red cedars rooted
into a cliff overlooking the Schoharie Creek in New York State.
These old cedars are unimpressive specimens, only 10 inches or
less in diameter. However, Schoharie Creek brought to mind the
1960s and two summers my wife and our two sons spent at
Camp Schoharie in the Catskills in New York.

My wife was one of the camp nurses and she and our sons were
the only gentiles in this Jewish camp. It was quite an enriching
experience for all. I would drive to the camp on Fridays after
work and return home Sunday with enough food to last me until
the next Friday, courtesy of the nice lady in the camp kitchen.
She was the first person I had met who was a survivor of the
Holocaust. Thanks to her, I developed a lifelong taste for bagels
with cream cheese and lox. There were many other memories
such as my wife breaking her leg her very first day in camp!
With a walking cast, she stayed through the summer. (After
many days spent sewing laundry labels on the kids’ clothes she
wasn’t about to come home!)

Krajick’s article also contains a photograph of an ancient beech
tree in Cook Forest in Pennsylvania. Cook Forest reminded me
of another camping experience in the 1950s. A bunch of us
graduate students at the University of Pittsburgh rented a cabin in
Cook Forest and this nurse, who was going for her degree in
nursing education, was invited by some mutual friends to join the
group. It was a most enjoyable few days and, yes, I ended up
marrying that nurse. Strangely, I don’t remember any old trees.

Where does the detective work come into play? Tree rings in old
trees in the Eastern U. S. can reveal something about the severity
of earthquakes. For example, the colossal New Madrid, Missouri
earthquakes in 1811-1812 were so severe that some old trees
were shaken badly enough that they virtually stopped growing
for 50 years before resuming normal growth. One of the biggest
natural disasters for the U.S. in the past century was the Dust
Bowl in the 1930s. Old trees reveal that at least two, even more
severe drought conditions existed several hundred years ago in
other regions of the country. One of these extended droughts is
thought to be the reason for the disappearance of the first English
colony in Virginia in the 1580s. Other studies of tree rings shed
light on long term climate history and global warming trends.

Much older than these trees is the mummy, that of the famed
Alpine Iceman. I’m sure you’ve all seen pictures of the Iceman,
whose remarkably well-preserved body was found frozen in a
glacier back in 1991. The Iceman, called Oetzi (Otzi with an
umlaut over the O), was the subject of controversy inasmuch as
the body was found in the mountains near the border of Austria
and Italy. Both countries claimed Oetzi but it was determined
that the body was found within about a hundred yards of the
border on the Italian side. Today, Oetzi lies in cold storage in a
museum in Bolzano, Italy.

Why the intense interest in Oetzi? He lived and died roughly
5200 years ago and was found with his clothing, tools, arrows
and a knife. As the world’s oldest and best-preserved mummy,
Oetzi provides a valuable window into life back in those
prehistoric times. An arrow blade found in his left shoulder and
wounds on his hands led to the belief that Oetzi died in a fight
with his adversaries. Now an article by Sarah Ives posted on
October 30, 2003 on the National Geographic Web site cites
research by Australian archaeologist Thomas Loy and his
colleagues. They looked at DNA samples of blood found on an
arrow and the knife carried by Oetzi and on his goatskin coat.

The researchers report that the blood on the arrow belonged to
two other individuals, the blood on the knife belonged to a third
individual and the blood on the coat was that of a fourth person.
They conclude that Oetzi was in a battle for his life with a
number of attackers and speculate that he may have been
carrying a wounded comrade whose blood spilled onto his
clothing. Other workers believe it more likely that Oetzi’s death
was part of a ritual sacrifice – always controversy.

Whatever the nature of Oetzi’s demise, others are interested in
Oetzi’s background and early life. Was Oetzi an Austrian who
just wandered over to Italy across the border? Of course, back in
those days more than 5,000 years ago, there was no such border.
The Science article “Origin and Migration of the Alpine Iceman”
addresses this question. The five authors of the paper include
three workers from two universities in Australia and one each
from the Swiss Federal Institute in Switzerland and Colorado
College in Colorado Springs. Oetzi has an international
following!

I won’t attempt to detail the extensive work that went into this
study but it certainly impressed me that these researchers could
show it likely that the Iceman was born in and most likely did not
wander farther than 35-40 miles from his birthplace in his
lifetime. The work places his birthplace and range in Italy, not
Austria. His current resting place in Bolzano seems appropriate.

How did these workers arrive at their findings? They sampled
bits of Oetzi’s teeth, bones and intestinal contents and ran
analyses of the amounts of various isotopes of oxygen, carbon,
and argon and of strontium and lead of a radioactive nature or
origin. They compared these results with similar measurements
and other observations on soil and water samples from the
varying altitudes, geologic formations etc. in the areas
surrounding the location where Oetzi was found. They found
significant differences in the isotope ratios in the different
environments. They deduced what the conditions were when the
tooth enamel was formed in Oetzi’s childhood, for example.
Since the youthful isotope composition is frozen into the enamel,
they could figure out where he spent his childhood.

Now let’s jump from the mouth to the ear and from 5,000 to
hundreds of millions of years ago. Another Science article,
“Peering Into Ancient Ears” by Erik Stokstad, deals with
semicircular canals. These canals in the inner ear are three loops
filled with fluid at right angles to each other. The brain relies on
the motion of the fluid in the loops in detecting and controlling
the motions of the head and neck muscles to keep one’s bearings.
The size of the semicircular canals relative to the size of an
animal gives valuable insight into the agility and balance
capabilities of the animal. Such capabilities come into play, for
example, when a running lion or a diving eagle must keep their
eyes locked steadily on their prey.

Until recently, the field of study of the semicircular canals in old
fossils was rather limited. The reason was quite simple. The
standard way of studying the canals was to fill the inner ears of
the fossil or dead animal with epoxy and then dissolve away the
skull! Well, you can imagine that with priceless ancient fossils
there would be considerable reluctance to sacrifice a skull for a
bit of epoxy. With the development of the CT scan used
routinely in medical circles (had one myself recently), times have
changed. The CT scan and a newly developed micro CT scan
technique have been used to determine semicircular canal
structures without any damage to the skull.

I was especially interested in the results of CT scans on fossils of
one particular creature – the pterosaur. The reptilian pterosaur
ruled the skies long before birds came along. It evolved to
become truly huge, with wingspans sometimes as large as 30
feet! The head was occasionally adorned with very large crests.
Since the first fossils were discovered, there has been the
question as to whether such large fliers could have been agile
enough to swoop down on fish or other prey. The article cites
CT scan work just published in Nature by Lawrence Witmer and
colleagues at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
They have found that the semicircular canals in pterosaurs are
even larger relative to size than in birds. Not only that but the
part of the brain that receives the balance information was also
found to be larger relative to size than in today’s birds.

The researchers conclude that not only were the pterosaurs agile
fliers but also they could stabilize their gaze upon possible prey
much like today’s eagles. While it’s sad that these monumental
fliers are long gone from the scene, I for one am happy not to
have to worry that one of these monsters is up there in the sky
eyeing me as its evening meal!

Allen F. Bortrum