Yonaguni

Yonaguni (与那国島, Yonaguni-shima^?), or ドゥナンチマ Dunan-chima in the local language, is the name of the westernmost island of Japan, as well as the language spoken there (see Yonaguni language). The native name for the island, Dunan, is cognate with the element Yona- in the Japanese name. The Yonaguni or Yonaguni uma is a breed of horse native to the southwest islands of Japan, specifically Yonaguni Island. ... Image File history File links Description: Map of Yonaguni Island, Japan. ... Image File history File links Description: Map of Yonaguni Island, Japan. ... Yonaguni is a language spoken by around 1800 people on the island of Yonaguni, in Japan, just east of Taiwan. ...

The Yonaguni monument

Main article: Yonaguni#Seabed structures

This island has recently become well known for massive sunken rock and stone structures known as the Yonaguni monument which surround the island. If man-made, the monument is likely an ancient temple complex, antedating all known buildings^[1]. It would also be evidence of a prior civilization once located many meters above the Ice Age shoreline. However, it could be merely a geological curiosity where conditions have been just right to create squared off megalithic blocks reminiscent of Stonehenge and Easter Island. If so, a sufficient explanation for the lack of debris and rubble falling to the floor around the find needs to be developed in full. For the breed of horse, see Yonaguni (horse). ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... Megalithic tomb, Mane Braz, Brittany A megalith is a large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument either alone or with other stones. ... For other uses, see Stonehenge (disambiguation). ... motto: ( Rapa Nui ) Also called Te Pito O Te Henua (Ombligo del mundo) (Navel of the world) Capital Hanga Roa Area  - City Proper  163. ...

Divers also congregate on the island in winter due to the large population of hammerhead sharks found in nearby waters. It was diving to scout for a good place to observe the sharks which led to the discovery of the "monument", a part of which is two closely spaced pillars which rise to within eight feet of the surface. Study of the curiosity is hampered by a significant ocean current sufficient to exhaust divers if they swim in the opposite direction. Species See text. ...

Located at the bottom of the arc of the Ryukyu Islands separating the (marginal) East China Sea from the Pacific Ocean proper, Yonaguni would have been much larger when the ocean was 39 m (100 ft) shallower circa 10,000 BCE as the last Ice Age ended.

Map of East China Sea. ... Map of East China Sea. ... Location of Ryukyu Islands The Ryukyu Islands, in Japanese called the Nansei Islands ) are a chain of Japanese islands in the western Pacific Ocean at the eastern limit of the East China Sea. ... A marginal sea is a part of ocean partially enclosed by land such as islands, archipelagos, or peninsulas. ... The East China Sea is a marginal sea and part of the Pacific Ocean. ... Look up M, m in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ...

Geography

Yonaguni lies 125 kilometers (78 mi) from the east coast of Taiwan at the end of the Ryukyu Islands chain. The island has an area of 28.88 km² (11.2 sq mi), a population around 1700, an annual mean air temperature of 23.9° C, and annual precipitation of 3000 mm. All islands are under jurisdiction of the town of Yonaguni, Yaeyama Gun, Okinawa and has three towns: Sonai, Kubura and Higawa. It was incorporated under the control of the Ryūkyū royal court in 1610. km redirects here. ... A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ... Location of Ryukyu Islands The Ryukyu Islands, in Japanese called the Nansei Islands ) are a chain of Japanese islands in the western Pacific Ocean at the eastern limit of the East China Sea. ... Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of SI unit of surface area square metre, one of the SI derived units. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ... A town (町 chō) is a local administrative unit in Japan. ... Yaeyama (八重山郡; -gun) is a district located in Okinawa, Japan. ... “Okinawa” redirects here. ... Location of Ryukyu Islands. ... // Events January 7 - Galileo Galilei discovers the Galilean moons of Jupiter. ...

History

Yonaguni was part of the continent until the last ice age. In the 12th century, it was incorporated to the Ryūkyū Kingdom until the 17th century and then incorporated into the Japanese han of Satsuma. By 1879, the island was formally incorporated into Japan. Until the early 20th century, Yonaguni was part of the larger Yaeyama village, which included the neighboring Yaeyama islands, but then became an independent village in 1948. From 1945 to 1972, it was occupied by the United States and was then returned to Japan to form a part of Okinawa Prefecture. Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... The main building of Shuri Castle The flag of the Ryukyu Kingdom (1875-1879) The RyÅ«kyÅ« Kingdom (Ryukyuan: 琉球王国, Traditional Chinese: then officially 琉球國) was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the RyÅ«kyÅ« Islands from the 14th century to the 19th century. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Han ) were the fiefs of feudal clans of Japan that were created by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and existed until their abolition in 1871, three years after the Meiji Restoration. ... Satsuma (薩摩国; -no Kuni) was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima prefecture on the island of Kyushu. ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... “Okinawa” redirects here. ...

Seabed structures

Sunken structures

The seabed contains what appear to be ruins of a previous glacial age and traces of terrestrial flora, fauna and stalactites that form only on the surface. These seem to be ruins to some theorists. Were they to be man-made they would be among the oldest man made structures at some 10,000 years old. For the breed of horse, see Yonaguni (horse). ... Image File history File links Description: The Lost Kingdom of Mu, Yonaguni, Japan. ... Image File history File links Description: The Lost Kingdom of Mu, Yonaguni, Japan. ... The seabed (also sea floor, seafloor, or ocean floor) is the bottom of the ocean. ... Water droplet coming out of the central canal of a stalactite A stalactite (Greek stalaktites, (Σταλακτίτης), from the word for drip and meaning that which drips) is a type of speleothem(secondary mineral) that hangs from the ceiling or wall of limestone caves. ...

The fame of Yonaguni island began in 1985, when a Japanese marine explorer, Kihachiro Aratake, by chance discovered a set of very singular seemingly architectonic structures allegedly belonging to an ancient civilization and previously unknown in archaeology and history. Shortly thereafter, a group of scientists directed by Masaaki Kimura (木村政昭), of the University of the Ryūkyūs, confirmed the existence of the vestiges. They appear, at least superficially, to be comparable to the pyramids of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Mexico, and Peru. Some also speculate that several of the seemingly natural features could in fact be man made, such as the discovery of what some called a "face" on the side of one of the monuments. To date, there is no archaeological evidence to prove this. Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... In philosophy, Architectonic (or archetectonic) is used to mean the scientific systematisation of all knowledge. ... This July 2007 does not cite any references or sources. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, and parts of eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and southwest Iran. ...

On May 4, 1998, a part of the island was destroyed by a submarine earthquake. is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of stored energy in the Earths crust that creates seismic waves. ...

Several analyses indicated that a certain structure, which measured 120 m in length, 40 m wide and 20–25 m high, was 8000 years old. Were this to be man-made it would be much older than the first constructions of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China. This antiquity has created disagreement among historians and archaeologists since it goes against the accepted chronological history of humanity. Several noted writers, including John Anthony West and geologist Robert Schoch argue that under inspection, the "ruins" turn out to be largely explicable by ocean erosion and coral reef settlements. Professor Kimura still maintains that the structure is manmade however. Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, and parts of eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and southwest Iran. ... Dr Robert M. Schoch is an American geologist and academic with an especial interest in pyramid monuments around the world. ... Some of the biodiversity of a coral reef, in this case the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. ...

Most geologists familiar with the area also maintain that the structures are mere geologic processes of natural origin and consistent with other known geological formations.^{[citation needed]} They point to the fact that local rocks above the surface have right angle cleavages, and that aquatic flora and fauna have simply smoothed out much of the surface of the rocks. However the photographs available on the Internet show (with a varying degree of clarity) parts of the structure with precise geometrical shapes, in varying complexity. Although this may be taken as a strong hint of human presence, some natural formations, such as the Giant's Causeway, or natural staircase structures on Old Rag Mountain^[2], present similar shapes. No tools have been found at the site, which could positively identify human settlement. ^{[citations needed]} However anticipations based on current understanding might not always shed much light on unchartered ares of history - natural, human or otherwise. For other uses, see Giants Causeway (disambiguation). ... Old Rag Mountain, or just Old Rag, is a mountain in Madison County, Virginia. ... A modern hammer is directly descended from ancient hand tools A tool or device is a piece of equipment which typically provides a mechanical advantage in accomplishing a physical task, or provides an ability that is not naturally available to the user of a tool. ...

At the time that it would have been constructed, the affected area of Yonaguni composed a land bridge between the islands of Taiwan, Ryūkyū, and Japan with Asia in the days of the ice age. The level of the sea was lower than at present because of the ice accumulated in the temperate zones. Geologist Teruaki Oshii suggests they have been constructed before the end of the glacial era. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Location of Ryukyu Islands. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... The Geologist by Carl Spitzweg A geologist is a contributor to the science of geology, studying the physical structure and processes of the Earth and planets of the solar system (see planetary geology). ...

In addition to scientific explanations, other esoteric theories are that Yonaguni was part of the legendary ancient civilizations of Mu (Lemuria), whose fate it shared with Atlantis or Thule, as an ancient advanced civilization which sank into the sea. Another theory is that the Yonaguni structures fit in with the claims made by some biblical creationists regarding the presence of advanced civilizations prior to a global catastrophe, resulting in the destruction of many such civilizations. Underwater structures controversially identified as remnants of Mu, near Yonaguni, Japan Mu is the name of a hypothetical vanished continent. ... Lemuria is the name of a hypothetical lost land variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. ... Picture of Platos description of Atlantis Atlantis (Greek: , Island of Atlas) is the name of a legendary island first mentioned in Platos dialogues Timaeus and Critias. ... Thule as Tile on the Carta Marina by Olaus Magnus. ... Creationism is generally the belief that the universe was created by a deity, or alternatively by one or more powerful and intelligent beings. ...

Ice Age relevance

It is prudent to realize that during the height of any Ice Age period ocean levels drop as much as 400 feet, drastically altering shorelines. Such a drop could account for a vast repository of corresponding mythos and legend throughout the world referencing great floods. Civilizations could theoretically have grown up along shorelines only to be washed out by the rising sea levels. A well-compiled reference for such stories can be found at [talkorigins.org]. Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ...

References

1. ^ http://www.robertschoch.net/Enigmatic%20Yonaguni%20Underwater%20RMS%20CT.htm
2. ^ http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2000/of00-263/of00-263.pdf

See also

• Okinawa
• Graham Hancock
• Robert Schoch
• Atlantis

This article is about the prefecture. ... Graham Hancock Graham Hancock (born 1951) is a British writer and journalist. ... Dr Robert M. Schoch is an American geologist and academic with an especial interest in pyramid monuments around the world. ... Picture of Platos description of Atlantis Atlantis (Greek: , Island of Atlas) is the name of a legendary island first mentioned in Platos dialogues Timaeus and Critias. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Yonaguni

• Yonaguni travel guide from Wikitravel
• An Enigmatic Ancient Underwater Structure off the Coast of Yonaguni Island, Japan by Robert M. Schoch
• Yonaguni dive site with underwater structures
• Photos of the structure
• Photos of the structure
• Yonaguni photos - DivingObsession.com: scuba diving info and underwater photos
• Satellite image - Google Maps
• look at some alternative photos to those commonly shown on http://www.geoberg.de/foto/laender.php ==> click on "yonaguni japan"

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