Obsidian use in Mesoamerica - Obsidian use in Mesoamerica Obsidian was an important part of the material culture of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Its uses, value, production, trade, sources, and analysis are all important aspects of the study of cultures in this region. Practical and Ritual Obsidian Use Almost no site in Mesoamerica is without obsidian, called "Itztli" in the Nahuatl language. It was an item that had both frequent, common uses and ritual use. Obsidian was available to all households and was found in hunting, agriculture, and many other everyday situations. Examples of possible obsidian tools are knives, lance and dart points, prismatic blades sometimes used for woodworking or shaving, bone working tools, bifaces, retouched flakes, and spearheads for ritual warfare. Blades have been found in situ with rabbit, rodent, and mollusk.
Mesoamerica - Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico through Central America which produced a set of culturally related civilizations before the discovery of the New World by Columbus. Mesoamerican is a general adjective to refer to that group of Pre-Columbian cultures. Some common shared Mesoamerican traits include intensive agriculture based heavily on maize corn; worship of a set of deities including a rain god, a sun god, a feathered-serpent god (Quetzalcoatl); a Vigesimal numbering system; the use of a 260 day ritual calendar in addition to the solar year calendar; the construction of temples elevated atop stepped pyramids; a ritual ball-game; and various other artistic and cultural conventions. Mesoamerican civilizations included the Olmec, Maya, Mixtec, Zapotec, Huastec, Tarascan, Teotihuacan, Totonac, Toltec, and the Aztec. In.
Sword - material most common is wood covered by leather, fish skin or metal wiring. The parts of a sword are remarkably consistent between cultures. The basic intent and physics of swordsmanship is fairly constant. This kind of weapon has been in use from the Bronze Age when the construction of long metal blades was possible for the first time. Early swords were made of solid bronze or copper; these were hard, but quite brittle. Not until iron could be forged did the sword truly become an important weapon. Soon, smiths learned that with a proper amount of coal (specifically the carbon in coal) in the iron, another metal (alloy really) could be produced: steel. Several different ways of swordmaking existed in ancient times. One of the most reputed is pattern welding. Over.
Maya civilization - Kalakmul, as well as Dos Pilas, Uaxactun, Altun Ha, and many other sites in the area. They developed an agriculturally intensive, city-centered empire consisting of numerous independent city-states. The most notable monuments are the pyramids they built in their religious centers and the accompanying palaces of their rulers. Other important archaeological remains include the carved stone slabs usually called stelae (the Maya called them Tetun, or "Tree-stones"), which depict ruler along with heiroglyphic texts describing their genealogy, war victories, and other accomplishments. The Maya participated in long distance trade in Mesoamerica and possibly further lands. Important trade goods included cacao, salt, and obsidian; see also: Obsidian use in Mesoamerica. Art Many consider Maya art of their Classic Era (c. 200 to 900 a.d.) to be the most sophisticated and beautiful of.
Human antiquity in Mesoamerica - Human antiquity in Mesoamerica Scientific opinion regarding human antiquity in Mesoamerica has reflected larger trends in conceptualizing human antiquity in the western hemisphere in general. Within that foundational topic, the establishment of sites demonstrating human antiquity in Mesoamerica has centered on the association of remains and artifacts with geologic strata (context) and on the reliability of the dating of the remains and strata (methodologies). At the beginning of the twentieth century, humans were believed to be very recent post-glacial immigrants to the western hemisphere. Although there was believed to have been anywhere from 20,000 to 60,000 years of post-glacial time in which such immigration could have occurred over the Bering land bridge, the antiquity of human presence in the western hemisphere was popularly fixed at about 5,000 B.P..
Obsidian - Obsidian Top stone is obsidian, below that is pumice and in lower right hand is rhyolite (light color) Obsidian is a type of naturally occurring glass, produced from volcanoes when the right kind of lava cools rapidly, e.g., by flowing into a body of water. It consists mainly of SiO2 (silicon dioxide), 70% or more. Obsidian is mineral-like, but not a true mineral because it is not crystalline. It is otherwise very similar in composition to granite and rhyolite It is sometimes classified instead as a mineraloid. The color of obsidian varies depending on the presence of impurities. Iron and magnesium typically give the obsidian a dark green to black color. The inclusion of small, white, radially clustered crystals of cristobalite in the black glass produce.
Ancient Mesoamerican agriculture - Ancient Mesoamerican Agriculture The origins of agriculture in Mesoamerica date to the Archaic period of Mesoamerican chronology, 8000-2000 BC. During this period many of the hunter gatherer micro-bands in the region began to cultivate wild plants. The cultivation of these plants probably started out as creating known areas of fall back, or starvation foods, near seasonal camps that the band could rely on when hunting was bad, or when there was a drought. The plants could have been brought purposely or by accident. The former could have been done by bringing a wild plant food closer to a camp site or to a frequented area so it was easier to get to or collect. The latter could have happened as certain plant seeds were eaten and not fully digested, causing these.
Trephinning in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica - Trephinning in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica Trephinning or Trepanation, which is also known as trephining, and trepanning, refers to the surgical practice of removing a small of bone from the skull, generally to relieve pressure on the brain. The multiple techniques of trephinning in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica were identical to the art as practiced in the eastern hemisphere. Trephinning involves drilling a hole into a human skull using any of several techniques. If the operation is successful, the bone begins to grow back, beginning at the rims of the hole and growing toward the center of the hole. The new bone growth is shallower than the bone at the rim, enabling scientists to determine whether a person lived following the operation. Evidence of trephinning has been found for populations around the world.
Mesoamerican chronology - Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Paleo-Indian Period 2 Archaic Era 3 Pre-Classic Era 4 Classic Era 5 Post-Classic Era Paleo-Indian Period c. 20,000 BC - 8,000 BC A period of hunterss and gatherers. Archaic Era c. 8,000 BC - 20th century BC The development of agriculture in the region. Permanent villages established. Late in this era, use of pottery and loom weaving becomes common. Pre-Classic Era c. 20th century BC - 2nd century AD The start of nation-states. The first large scale ceremonial architecture, development of cities. The development and flourishing of the Olmec civilization. Early Zapotec and Maya civilization. Classic Era c. mid 2nd century - early 10th century Teotihuacan grows to a metropolis and its.
Kaminaljuyu - City, requested archaeologists Alfred Kidder, Jesse Jennings and Edwin Shook to investigate. Lic. Villacorta gave the site its name Kaminaljuyu from a Quiché word meaning “hills of the dead.” Kaminaljuyu surrounded by civilization The Middle Cultures, sometimes called Miraflores, were the underlying base that made a foundation for later cultures of the Classic Maya to flourish. Cultures of this phase had a stable agricultural community. The remains from this time period are very abundant at Kaminaljuyu. One period of the Middle Culture is the Middle Formative period, which lasted from approximately 800 B.C.E. to 300 B.C.E. Excavations at Kaminaljuyu indicate the communities of the Middle Formative were sedentary and large enough to produce heavy refuse deposits. They grew cotton and practiced loom-weaving and were expert potters. Religious practices that would later.
Opal - correctly termed play of color. Contrarily, opalescence is correctly applied to the milky, turbid appearance of common or potch opal. Potch does not show a play of color. The veins of opal displaying the play of color are often quite thin, and this has given rise to unusual methods of preparing the stone as a gem. An opal doublet is a thin layer of colorful material, backed by a black mineral, such as basalt or obsidian. The darker backing emphasizes the play of color, and results in a more attractive display than a lighter potch. Given the texture of opals, they can be quite difficult to polish to a reasonable lustre. The triplet cut backs the colored material with a dark backing, and then has a cap of clear quartz (rock.
Informix - in a HyperCard-like language known as HyperScript. The original release proved very successful, becoming the #2 spreadsheet, behind Microsoft Excel, although many WingZ users found it to be a superior product. In 1990, WingZ ports started appearing for a number of other platforms, mostly Unix variants. However it suffered from a lack of development and marketing resources, possibly due to a general misunderstanding of the non-server software market. By the early 1990s WingZ had become uncompetitive, and Informix eventually sold it in 1995. Version 7 With the failure in office automation products, Informix refocused on the growing database server market. In 1994, as part of a collaboration with Sequent Computer Systems, Informix released its first Version 7.x release. This involved a major rework of the core engine of the product, supporting.
History of astronomy - believed then. Ancient astronomers were able to differentiate between stars and planets; as stars remain relatively fixed over the centuries, while planets will move an appreciable amount during a comparatively short time. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Ancient History 2 India 3 Mesopotamia 3.1 Sumer 3.2 Chaldea, Babylonia 4 Mesoamerica 4.3 Maya 5 East Asia 5.4 China 6 Ancient Greece 7 Middle Ages 8 The Copernican Revolution 9 Physics marries Astronomy (a longlasting and happy union) 10 Modern Astronomy 11 Cosmology and the Expansion of the Universe 12 New windows into the Cosmos open 13 History of Astronomy Ancient History Early cultures identifed celestial objects with godss and spirits. They related these objects (and their movements) to phenomena such as rain, drought, seasons, and tides. It is generally believed that the.
Gemstone - or desirable are colour, unusual optical phenomena within the stone, an interesting inclusion such as a fossil, rarity and sometimes the shape of the natural crystal. It is unsurprising that diamond is prized highly as a gemstone, since it is the hardest substance known and is able to reflect light with fire and sparkle. Traditionally, gemstones were classified into precious stones and semi-precious stones. Only four types of gemstones were considered precious. They were: Diamond Ruby Sapphire Emerald Nowadays, all gems are considered "precious," although the four original "cardinal gems" are usually - but not always - the most expensive. There are over 130 species of minerals that have been cut into gems with 50 species in common use. These include: Agate Alexandrite and other varieties of chrysoberyl Amethyst Aquamarine and.
General features of Aegean civilization - or for sittings of a royal assize, rather than for popular assemblies. The Cnossian remains contain evidence of an elaborate system of registration, account-keeping and other secretarial work, which perhaps indicates a considerable body of law. The line of the ruling class was comfortable and even luxurious from early times. Fine stone palaces, richly decorated, with separate sleeping apartments, large halls, ingenious devices for admitting light and air, sanitary conveniences and marvellously modern arrangements for supply of water and for drainage, attest this fact. Even the smaller houses, after the Neolithic period, seem also to have been of stone, plastered within. After 1600 B.C. the palaces in Crete had more than one story, fine stairways, bath-chambers, windows, folding and sliding doors, etc. In this later period, the distinction of blocks of.
Guanches - that the true Guanches did not know how to write. In the other islands numerous Semitic traces are found, and in all of them are the rock-signs. From these facts it would seem that the Numidians, travelling from the neighbourhood of Carthage and intermixing with the dominant Semitic race, landed in the Canary Islands, and that it is they who have written the inscriptions at Hierro and Grand Canary. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Political System 2 Clothes and Weapons 3 Funerals 4 Religion Political System The political and social institutions of the Guanches varied. In some islands hereditary autocracy prevailed; in others the government was elective. In Teneriffe all the land belonged to the chiefs who leased it to their subjects. In Grand Canary suicide was regarded as honourable, and.
Dominion War - the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine focused on this war. Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Background 2 First Contact 3 Contact with the Founders 4 Obsidian Order and Tal Shiar attack on the Founder homeworld 5 Founder infiltration and conflict with the Klingons 6 Full-Scale War 6.1 Dominion occupation of Deep Space Nine 6.2 After the recapture of DS9 7 Final Assault and Fall of Cardassia 8 The Aftermath Background In 2369, the Cardassian occupation of the planet Bajor ended, the Cardassians having been driven off by various Bajoran resistance factions. These factions then formed a provisional government to oversee the rebuilding of the planet, which had been ecologically, culturally, and financially devastated by the occupation. One of its first official acts was to ask The.
December 2002 - their objection to Israeli government policies. The Court ruled "the recognition of selective conscientious objection might loosen the links that hold us together as a people." Four Americans (the director, a doctor, the administrator and the pharmacist) at the Baptist hospital in Jibla, Yemen, were killed by Abed Abdul-Razzak Kamal. Kamal was captured and claims he was linked to the extremist Islamic Reform Party. Another member of his alleged cell, Ali al-Jarallah, was arrested for shooting a Yemeni left-wing politician on Sunday. The United Nations Security Council voted 13-0, with two abstentions, to revise the list of goods Iraq is allowed to purchase under the "food-for-oil" program. The list includes flight simulators, communications equipment, high-speed motorboats, and rocket cases, which the United States noted are dual-use technologies. The Security Council also.
Darksun - ocean blue planet, but which has since been stripped of its fertility by uncontrolled use of defiling magic, although a small offshot of magicians called preservers tends to maintain life and ultimately restore the primeval lushness. It is a sun-burnt land forsaken by the gods, water, and hope. Another characteristic of Athas life is its lack of any serious mountain chains and therefore scarcity of metal and stone. Wood, obsidian and bone are used for weapons, tools and structure building. Unique Characteristics Player characters in Darksun are markedly tougher than other campaign settings - most start at third level with attributes on a 4-24 scale as opposed to the normal Dungeons & Dragons 3-18 scale. Most characters also posses some degree of psionic talent, making even the lowest slave suprisingly formidible..
Tarascan - The name Tarascan and the Spanish language equivalent Tarascos come from the Nahuatl name for the people; they refer to themselves as Purépecha. The Tarascans or Purépecha were one of the Pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica. Their capital city was Tzintzuntzán. Tarascan architecture is noted for step-pyramids in the shape of the letter "T". Pre-Columbian Tarascan artisans made feather mosaics making extensive use of hummingbird feathers which were a highly regarded luxury good throughout the region. The Tarascans were never conquered by the Aztec Empire, despite several attempts by the Aztecs to do so, including a fierce war in 1479. After hearing of the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and having the native population much diminished by an epidemic of smallpox, the last native Tarascan king, Tangoxoán II, pledged himself as a.
