Some Virtual Prehistory for Earth Science Week

October 14-20, 2018 is Earth Science Week. It includes National Fossil Day, October 17, and International Archaeology Day, October 20. The short 15 years of Second Life's existence is barely likely to have given us any layers of prehistory to peel back.

However, if one earth day is equivalent to six SL night/day cycles (3 hrs Day and 1hr night), then perhaps we should be thinking of SL as more like 90 years old ... And yet, if this is a world where a small town or forest can spring up in a few minutes, time is even more accelerated and so it's only right to speak in terms of it having a 'prehistory'.

There are posts to be written about how we can do 'digital archaeology' on our mainland sims, to discover 'what was here before', and I like to get into that as part of having an immersive experience here. There is also much to be explored inworld that preserves a sense of SL history, like the Temple of the Prim in Kwaito.

Continents came into being in a certain order, moved about, settled, were changed again in ways not dissimilar to those on planet earth. Explorers can still happen upon the odd prim from 2006, like lost relics. But it is also part of the 'sense of place' that aeons of continuity is 'built in' to the virtual world. Textures can carry hundreds of years in their cracked and worn patinas. Ancient temples and ruins are places where our avatars love to linger. Virtual architecture can simulate passing time.

It was only a matter of time before I'd want to hunt for fossils here. Some choice specimens are on display at my Virtual Topohilia Lab in the Mars Tower at Sedge.

Other signs of prehistoric life on the grid are far too big to bring back to the lab, but they must be the first port of call on any paleontological itinerary.

Firstly, three huge dinosaur skeletons are presented, museum style, on their own island in protected waters at Brenner, Sansara.

These giants were created by ahkenatan Grommet, way back when prims ruled (hundreds of them in the case of these bones). Their relatively isolated location keeps them in a space where they can be viewed from all angles and they fill the skyline.

Secondly, rather more stuck where it fell, is the partially submerged skeleton of Leviathan at Ahab's Haunt.

Like any water break in shallow seas, it has become an atoll. The ribcage is so vast you can fly a plane through it and it now shelters a tranquil harbour. Also remote, and best approached by sea or air, the skeleton provides an ideal location for passing sailors to make port, explore, relax and enjoy wonderful sunrises.

Finally, in our itinerary, there's a little known fossil that can be seen by anyone daring enough to brave The Wastelands. Like Leviathan, the skeleton has been repurposed for its architectural value.

The petrified and heat-baked bones look rusty and could be mistaken for pieces of abandoned machinery. Looking closer, you can pick out jutting ribs and barrel-like vertebrae, where it has created a dimple in the clay and some shelter for avatars in the war-torn landscape.

All these locations are thrilling because they feed the story-making parts of our imaginations, hinting that something happened here long before us and will be here long after our transient avatars have left. Perhaps we need these touchstones of permanance in a virtual world where a whole city can be de-rezzed in a few seconds.

SLURLS
Temple of the Prim: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kwaito/146/107/180
Virtual Topophilia Lab: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sedge/180/159/3515
ahkenatan Grommet's dinosaurs: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Brenner/176/158/26
Leviathan skeleton: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ahab's%20Haunt/118/139/22
Wastelands skeleton: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Wastelands/205/199/71