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Ancient food source may offer neuroprotectionNutritional supplementation with Spirulina, a nutrient-rich, blue-green algae, appeared to provide neuroprotective support for dying motor neurons in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, University of South Florida neuroscientists have found. Although more research is needed, they suggest that a spirulina-supplemented diet may provide clinical benefits for ALS patients. A spirulina dietary supplement was shown to delay the onset of motor symptoms and disease progression, reducing inflammatory markers and motor neuron death in a G93A mouse model of ALS. Spirulina, an ancient food source used by the...

The Aztec Christmas Flower The Poinsettia was introduced from Mexico in the early 1800s by Joel Roberts Poinsett. Franciscan friars had been using them in their Christmas decorations. The poinsettia’s star-shaped leaf was said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem. The red leaves (yes, they are leaves) represented the blood of Jesus. Legends had arisen of a young girl and miracles occurring with the plant. Long before that the Aztecs had used them to make dyes and medication. They also used them in their human-sacrifice rituals, the leaves being a reminder of those who were sacrificed. Interesting to ponder that...

Archaeologists have found a mass grave in Mexico that may hold the skeletal remains of the Aztecs who fought conquistador Hernan Cortes. The unusual burial was found in a ruined pyramid in downtown Mexico City. It holds the carefully arrayed skeletons of at least 49 adult Indians who were buried in the remains of a pyramid razed by the Spaniards during the 1521 conquest of the Aztec capital. The pyramid complex, in the city's Tlatelolco square, was the site of the last Indian resistance to the Spaniards during the months-long battle for the city. Archaeologist Salvador Guilliem, the leader of...

Ok, first off, I really don't write vanities, I even searched for help on how to write them so I am trying not to do this wrong. Also this is not a topic that one needs to get wrapped up about. Just mere questions. This first one is just a point of information but it is not easily answered. 1. Has there ever been a feast day for the Holy Lance or Holy Spear (and Nails even I've believed I have also seen) (the spear meaning the one that pierced the side of Our Savior crucified)? I read about this...

Jose Juarez is a shaman, a Mesoamerican healer from a village in Mexico. He owns a botanica, called New Age Store Leecatzin, in Clifton's Botany Village. In the background an Aztec drawing represents life, strength and prosperity, with a reminder to rem A shaman helps clients with a variety of problemsAlbert Ponce had a broken spirit. Life for the 25-year-old Clifton resident had recently hit a bumpy patch. He couldn't land a job working in an office. He didn't want to settle for a retail job, or working in a factory; he wanted to make use of his business...

Mexican archaeologists unearth ruins of Aztec palace The Associated PressPublished: June 10, 2008 MEXICO CITY: Mexican archaeologists said Monday they have unearthed the remains of an Aztec palace once inhabited by the emperor Montezuma in the heart of what is now downtown Mexico City. During a routine renovation project on a Colonial-era building, experts uncovered pieces of a wall as well as a basalt floor believed to have been part of a dark room where Montezuma meditated, archaeology team leader Elsa Hernandez said. Montezuma's palace complex — known as the Casas Nuevas, or New Houses to distinguish them from his...

Aztec Math Decoded, Reveals Woes of Ancient Tax Time Brian Handwerk for National Geographic NewsApril 3, 2008 Today's tax codes are complicated, but the ancient Aztecs likely shared your pain. To measure tracts of taxable land, Aztec mathematicians had to develop their own specialized arithmetic, which has only now been decoded. By reading Aztec records from the city-state of Tepetlaoztoc, a pair of scientists recently figured out the complicated equations and fractions that officials once used to determine the size of land on which tributes were paid. Two ancient codices, written from A.D. 1540 to 1544, survive from Tepetlaoztoc. They...

AZTEC'S annual UFO Conference is this weekend. Featured speakers are: Stan Friedman Duane Tudahl Timothy Good Ted Phillips Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr. Dennis Balthaser ( emcee ) Scott Ramsey Ken Storch James P. Carrion As you can see--there are some HEAVY DUTY HEAVY HITTERS IN THE GROUP. Their bio's follow Title: "Flying Saucers and Science" Brief Bio Nuclear Physicist-Lecturer Stanton T. Friedman grew up in Linden, NJ, spent 2 years at Rutgers University, and then received his BSc.and MSc. Degrees in physics from the University of Chicago in 1955 and 1956. He was employed for 14 years as a...

AP Exclusive: Aztec leader's tomb found By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer Sat Aug 4, 3:23 AM ET He was emperor at the apogee of the Aztec civilization, the last to complete his rule before the Spanish Conquest. But Ahuizotl's tomb has never been found. No Aztec ruler's funeral chamber ever has. But Mexican archaeologists believe that has finally changed. Using ground-penetrating radar, they have detected underground chambers that could contain the remains of Ahuizotl, who ruled the Aztecs when Columbus landed in the New World. The find could provide an extraordinary window into Aztec civilization at its peak. Ahuizotl...

Archaeologists have discovered what they think are ruins of an Aztec pyramid razed by vengeful Spanish conquerors in what is now one of Mexico City's most crime-ridden districts. Construction workers unearthed ancient walls in the busy Iztapalapa neighbourhood in June, and government archaeologists said on Wednesday they believe they may be part of the main pyramid of the Aztec city, destroyed by conquistador Hernan Cortes in the 16th century. Iztapalapa, now infamous for violent crime and drug dealing, has grown into a sprawling, poor district of the capital, obscuring the ruins. "We knew the general location but couldn't explore because...

MEXICO CITY - Archaeologists diving into a lake in the crater of a snowcapped volcano found wooden scepters in the shape of lightning bolts that match the description by Spanish priests and conquerors writing 500 years ago about offerings to the Aztec rain god. The lightning bolts — along with cones of copal incense and obsidian knives — were found during scuba-diving expeditions in one of the twin lakes of the extinct Nevado de Toluca volcano, at more than 13,800 feet above sea level. Scientists must still conduct tests to determine the age of the findings, but the writings after...

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Archeologists have discovered the remains of two dozen children in Mexico apparently sacrificed by priests who slashed their throats and offered their blood to the rain god Tlaloc, researchers said Tuesday. The discovery at a former Toltec settlement indicates child sacrifice predated the Aztecs, an advanced civilization conquered by the Spain in the 16th century and was fairly commonplace. Dating to about AD 950 to 1150, the bones of the children were found on the outskirts of the Toltec archeological zone Tula, said Luis Gamboa, an archeologist for the National Institute of Anthropology and History. The...

The Aztec library UFO SYMPOSIUM fundraiser got off to it's usual start Friday evening with the MEET N GREET dinner--this time in the library closed for the evening. After the dinner, the event's main guest speakers traveled to the different tables for small group chats. Disappointingly, Travis Walton (movie FIRE IN THE SKY was about his experience) was late and will evidently arrive Sunday for his morning presentation. FEATURED SPEAKERS THIS YEAR INCLUDE: Stalwart Roswell resident and researcher Dennis Balthaser--who has been at all 10 Aztec Symposiums. Dennis has done over 350 TV, radio and other media interviews on the...

Mexican archeologists find largest Aztec figure By Gunther Hamm Fri Oct 13, 7:39 PM ET MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican archeologists unveiled the largest Aztec idol ever discovered on Friday and said it could be a door to a hidden chamber at a ruined temple under the heart of Mexico City. The Aztecs, a warlike and deeply religious people who built numerous monumental works, ruled an empire stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean and encompassing much of modern-day central Mexico. The 12.4 tonne stone slab, 46 feet in surface area, was partially uncovered this month at...

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican archeologists have made the most significant Aztec find in decades, unearthing a 15th century altar and a huge stone slab at a ruined temple in the throbbing heart of Mexico City. The works were uncovered last weekend at the Aztec empire's main Templo Mayor temple, near the central Zocalo square, which was used for worship and human sacrifice. It was the most meaningful find since electricity workers stumbled upon an eight-tonne carving of an Aztec goddess at the same site in 1978. "It is a very important discovery, the biggest we have made in 28...

I don't know how many of you are fans of archeology, let alone that of Meso-America, but there are certainly those of you interested in the politically-correct whitewashing of terrorism. How are the two subjects related? Let me explain. The whitewashing of current-day terrorism is advocated by the same ilk, those who would rewrite the modern-day cause of terrorist atrocities, as well as those who would rewrite, for example, the pre-Columbian history of Mexico. I recently watched a History Channel "documentary" which either 1) rationalized the Aztec tribe's insatiable appetite for human sacrifice on the grounds that they were "deeply...

CALPULALPAN, Mexico (Reuters) - Skeletons found at an unearthed site in Mexico show Aztecs captured, ritually sacrificed and partially ate several hundred people travelling with invading Spanish forces in 1520. Skulls and bones from the Tecuaque archaeological site near Mexico City show about 550 victims had their hearts ripped out by Aztec priests in ritual offerings, and were dismembered or had their bones boiled or scraped clean, experts say. The findings support accounts of Aztecs capturing and killing a caravan of Spanish conquistadors and local men, women and children travelling with them in revenge for the murder of Cacamatzin, king...

Published January 22, 2006 [ From the Lansing State Journal ] Mexican painting has both Christian, Aztec influencesUnearthed mural shows melding of cultures(Photo by Associated Press) Flying into view: This image of a bird is part of the 16-yard-long mural at an excavation in Mexico City. By Mark Stevenson Associated Press Salvador Guilliem dangles on a narrow beam over the sunken remains of a mural painted by Indians shortly after the Spanish conquest. Guilliem, an archaeologist, points out the newly excavated red, green and ochre flourishes in one of the earliest paintings to show the mixing of the two cultures....

TEOTIHUACAN, Mexico (Reuters) - Bargain-hungry shoppers flocked to a new Wal-Mart-owned store half a mile from ancient Mexican pyramids on Thursday, ending a bitter fight by opponents who said U.S.-style consumerism would mar the ruins. "This is progress," said shopper Jesus Cabrera, who like many neighbors welcomed the store for the low prices and jobs it brings. "People need the well-being of their families more than they need culture."

SAN DIEGO --- Two years ago, officials at California's second-largest college banned a bare-chested, spear-wielding character nicknamed "Monty Montezuma" from representing the school at sports events. Now, in an unusual twist in the annals of racial sensitivity on campus, a divided San Diego State University is on the verge of giving the mascot a makeover and restoring him to his cheerleading duties. This week, despite cries of racism in some quarters, students and alumni are expected to overwhelmingly approve a newly renamed "Aztec warrior," complete with a historically accurate costume, nontoxic face paint and, yes, a spear.But few expect the...