Leading Off
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Via ArsTechnica, I’ve recently linked to this newly discovered cave painting that is dated nearly 44,000 years ago in Indonesia, well, this site breaks down what the painting actually depicts with some terrific detail (i.e. photographs) and definitely worth clicking over if this is your thing:
The figures could represent human hunters clad in skins or masks. Aubert and his colleagues, however, say they look more like therianthropes: human-animal hybrids that show up in cultures around the world, including in 15,500-year-old paintings in the Lascaux caves of France and a 40,000-year-old carved figure from Germany.
Whether they’re human, animal, or a bit of both, the hunters are facing prey animals of monstrous or mythological proportions. In real life, an anoa stands about 100cm (39.4 inches) tall, and an Indonesian wild pig stands only 60cm (23.6 inches) tall. On the wall of Liang Bulu’Sipong 4, though, the creatures loom many times larger than the hunters arrayed against them. It looks like a scene out of a legend, not a dry record of another day’s hunting.
And its presence suggests that Liang Bulu’Sipong 4 may have been a sacred, or at least important, place to the people who once lived in the area. Archaeologists found no trace of the usual debris of human life—stone tools, discarded bones, and cooking fires—anywhere in the cave or in the much larger chamber beneath it. That’s no wonder: Liang Bulu’Sipong 4 is set in a cliff 20 meters above the valley floor, and one doesn’t simply walk in
Lady Raider Basketball
Lady Raiders 115, UTSA 58. The recap is here and it was a lot of points. UConn transfer Lexi Gordon had 31 points, on 12 of 16, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and a heck of a game. Brittany Brewer had 22 points, 6 rebounds, 7 blocks (which is so totally dumb). Chrislyn Carr had 21 points, 2 boards, and 6 assists. Conference plays starts on Friday night, as the Lady Raiders host Iowa State.
Led by 31 from @Lexi_g34, the Lady Raider offense exploded for 115 points–the most in 39 years–in the win over UTSA.
Texas Tech finished its nonconference schedule undefeated for the first time in eight seasons.
🔴#M2M | #WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/ufXCarCf5n
— Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) December 29, 2019
Texas Tech Basketball
Why Nimari Burnett Signed in November. Stock Risers’ Jake Weingarten writes about what made Napa’s Nimari Burnett commit to and sign with Texas Tech:
“Coach Beard and Ulric [Maligi] helped change my commitment period to become earlier by being real. They have a vision and a plan for me and they want to execute that plan. They want to win, they are proven to win and they produce pros which is ultimately one of my goals. The culture is unreal there and they are as real as it gets.”
By committing to the Red Raiders, he’d become the programs highest-ranked recruit of all-time. For Burnett it was all about finding a place that will develop him into the best player possible, he found that with Chris Beard’s program.
“Texas Tech is a program on the rise because they produce pros, win at the highest level, the player development is second to none, and the culture is exceptional. Everything about it, is real.”
There is more there, so go check it out.
Texas Tech Football
Grading National Signing Day (Thus Far). Rivals’ Sam Spiegelman grades each team with this bit about Texas Tech:
In his first full recruiting cycle as the Red Raiders’ head man, Matt Well’s team inked 18 of the team’s 20 commitments. That includes big pick-ups like three-star Loic Fouonji, which was a highly contested recruiting battle with SMU and Texas. Additionally, Ja’Lynn Polk and Tahj Brooks are quality in-state gets on the offensive side of the ball.
Two who didn’t sign were three-star wide receiver Quin Bright, who announced he would sign in February, and three-star defensive end Philip Blidi, who still may be evaluating other options. With seven spots up for the taking, Texas Tech already boasts a class on the cusp of the top 40 and should ascend with the right dominos falling into place in February.
Grade: C-
I guess for now, C- seems fine and I really don’t care about someone else’s opinion, Spiegelman’s grades seem to be based more on feel and less on anything empirical, which again, is fine.