Machu Picchu older than first believed, scientists say
It's as old as the hills, and now it turns out a world-renowned Inca citadel is even older than previously believed. Scientists say Peru's Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and prime tourist draw for the South American country that was believed to have been built around AD 1438, is at least two decades older. The original date was based chiefly on 16th-century accounts from Spanish conquistadors, but new radiocarbon dating techniques put its founding at least 20 years earlier, according to researchers at Yale University. Anthropology professor Richard Burger, who led the study, said: “The results suggest that the discussion of the development of the Inca empire based primarily on colonial records requires revision.” It's the first time scientific methods have been used to determine the time of Machu Picchu's founding and the length of its occupation, Burger said of the findings, which were published in the journal Antiquity. Using accelerator mass spectrometry, the Yale team reached its conclusion by examining human remains from cemeteries at the site that were recovered during excavations in 1912. Thought to have been built as a palace for Inca emperor Pachacuti, the mountainside collection of stone structures was abandoned around AD 1572 after the Spanish conquests but was returned to global prominence in 1911 by American explorer Hiram Bingham.
`Jurassic Park' plan still a go in Indonesia
Indonesia is pressing ahead with plans for a tourist attraction dubbed “Jurassic Park” despite warnings from the United Nations that it threatens a fragile ecosystem that is home to the legendary Komodo dragon. Authorities in the southeast Asian country's environment ministry insist work to create a “premium tourist spot” on the island of Rinca, part of the Komodo National Park, will continue over objections by the UN's cultural body. A senior official, quoted by Reuters, said the project will have “no impact” on the rare Komodo dragons, which can grow to three metres in length and are noted for their yellow forked tongues.
Social media users branded the project Jurassic Park after images emerged last year of a dragon seemingly confronting a dump truck on the island, which is located in the Flores Sea in the southeast of the archipelago.
Nudists and hikers at odds in England
Latter-day Little Johns are leaving little or nothing to the imagination in England's Sherwood Forest, where a new battle is brewing between hikers and naturists. Walkers and cyclists have complained their enjoyment of the roughly 200-hectare forest in the English Midlands, made famous as the fictional home of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, has been marred by large groups of men “skulking” naked amid the ancient flora and fauna, which includes the 1,000-year-old Major Oak. A lone female cyclist, who was allegedly flashed by a man, has prompted a petition calling on Nottingham council and the RSPB conservation group to crack down on the wanton displays of flesh.