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As the discussion of swine flu dominates the media, it is worthwhile to look back at some of the other pandemics that have affected the human race throughout history. A pandemic is an illness that spreads from person to person and affects a large, dispersed population. It usually creates an enormous amount of fear among those not affected. The skeleton on the right represents “Doctor Death” from an engraving made in the 1500s, when the Black Death or Bubonic Plague was common in Europe. It was one of the worst pandemics to ever strike on earth, responsible for tens of millions of deaths.

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Titanboa (Titanboa cerrejonensis)

Researchers in Colombia have found fossils of an ancient snake 42-45 feet long, that weighed more than a ton. This huge species of snake, named Titanboa cerrejonensis, lived 58 to 60 million years ago in a warm rainforest setting. So far, fossils from about 24 individual snakes have been discovered. The quest for a Titanboa skull is still underway.

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If you are reading this article, then you are reading something that someone else has written. But have you ever stopped to think that there hasn’t always been a written language? Where and when did humans first start writing? For a long time, people thought that the practice of writing began in ancient Mesopotamia around 3000 B.C.E. This land, along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is what is now modern Iraq.

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About 5000 years ago a different kind of writing was going on in Egypt. Today it looks a lot like code to us, but in fact it is the way they used to write. Their writing consisted of several hundred picture signs instead of an alphabet as we know it. These picture signs are known as hieroglyphs.

Each hieroglyph is a small picture that represents a different word or idea. For instance, a set of wavy lines symbolized “water”. A circle within a circle represented the sun. A man with his hand to his mouth could be the hieroglyph for “eat”, but it could also mean “silent”.

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Many of the images used in Egyptian writing were of familiar plants and animals. These hieroglyphs could be read as the plant or animal itself or as the symbol of an idea.

Here are a few of the symbols we in modern times would likely recognize, and what they meant to the ancient Egyptians:

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Since we’re speaking of hieroglyphs, let’s go back in time, and take a trip to Ancient Egypt. Imagine that you are visiting this land 5,000 years ago where the kings, known as pharaohs, were believed to be gods. These pharaohs lived in palaces, and temples were built to honor them and their ancestors. These temples are the great pyramids of Egypt.

Around 2,550 B.C., King Khufu, the second pharaoh of the fourth dynasty, began building his tomb at Giza. This was the first and largest pyramid of ten that were built at Giza, and it is known as the Great Pyramid.

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My name is Katep and I am the son of a scribe. My father is well educated and regarded with respect. He is a Royal Scribe at the court of the Pharaoh. The government officials require him to write their reports and sometimes their thoughts. He is often sent out into the country to record the volume of the grain harvest or to tally the Pharaoh’s herds of cattle. Other scribes become priests at the temple and they have the sacred task of writing down the magical formulas that guide the dead safely to the gates of the underworld. My father however, says that his favorite pastime is writing down the stories he remembers from his own childhood. I love to hear the tales that he reads aloud to me under the stars while the waves of the river Nile lap the shore.

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Egyptian scribes like Katep’s father, had to study as long as 12 years. They learned arithmetic, reading and writing. But their writing consisted of several hundred picture signs instead of an alphabet as we know it. These picture signs are known as hieroglyphs.

Each hieroglyph is a small picture that represents a different word or idea. For instance, a set of wavy lines symbolized “water”. A circle within a circle represented the sun. A man with his hand to his mouth could be the hieroglyph for “eat”, but it could also mean “silent”.

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Many of the images used in Eyptian writing were of familiar plants and animals. These hieroglyphs could be read as the plant or animal itself or as a symbol of an idea. Here are a few of the symbols we would recognize and what they meant:

• Scarab: sunrise
• Feather: truth, justice, morality
• Circle: eternity
• Cobra: protection against enemies
• Lotus Flower: creation and rebirth
• Palm Frond: age; each notch in the frond represents a year

If you read last week’s edition the Tribune (which we know you did), you learned all about three of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Pyramids of Egypt, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon and The Statue of Zeus at Olympia. It’s now time to learn about the other four.

These four structures are just as amazing and spectacular as the first three and they all have an interesting history. We mentioned last week that you might be familiar with some of the ancient wonders but you probably have not seen any of these structures since only one still stands today.

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Have you ever looked at a building or statue in awe of its size and beauty? Well, thousands of years ago, people were also impressed by amazing structures built by different civilizations.

A list of seven amazing and spectacular structures was originally compiled around the second century BC but the final and complete list was documented in the Middle Ages. This is the list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. You are probably familiar with some of these structures but not all.

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In your mind, imagine how the world used to be. Believe it or not, less than 100 years ago, the streets were filled with horses, not cars. Less than 75 years ago, having a telephone in one’s house was unheard of. Less than 50 years ago, people relied on radios for their news and entertainment-televisions had only just been invented. Even fifteen years ago, the Internet was just being put together, and email was just a dream. How things have changed!

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