Shake it up

So here's an interesting twist on the old "challenge-and-response" theory of civilization. It seems most of the world's civilizations, at least in ancient times, were built near tectonic plate boundaries and fault lines. Why the connection? Such regions have more underground water supplies and richer soil (from volcanoes). But maybe a shake-up now and then isn't a bad thing either.

Meantime, the Shroud of Turin is being tested again for authenticity. It's doubtful anyone will ever prove that is was Jesus' burial shroud. But "authenticity" here just means, is it from the first century? Earlier radiocarbon tests in 1988 indicated that the Shroud came from the 13th century. But such test results can be distorted by contaminants, and there's a lot of scientific skepticism about the 1988 tests. So more tests are coming ....