On the Eastern and Western Cultures as Reflected in Differences in Food Culture

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

黄卓; 张海南

2015-01-01

When talking about differences between Eastern and Western culture,we should first think of the eating cultural differences.There are many differences in Eastern and Western food cultures,in this paper it will introduce the different food concepts,the different eating goals,the different eating habits,etc. A comparison study of Chinese and Western food culture still makes sense through the analysis of cultural differences between Chinese and Western food,we can understand their own cultural traditions in China and the West.At the same time it is able to carry out improvement and innovation of Chinese culture. Throughout the comparisons,coupled with the differences of the concept of Western food culture,objects,methods,ownership and nature,it studies these differences,identifies areas for mastery of the place,promotes cultural exchange.Thus it enables China to the world,and to make the world know China better.

Western Military Culture and Counterinsurgency:

African Journals Online (AJOL)

francois

with a threat both abroad and within their homeland societies. Civilians fulfil a ..... we have now with the use of force and forces is their persistent structuring ... advanced equipment remains the main feature of Western military culture. Western.

Chinese Culture of Learning from Western Teachers’Viewpoint

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

邹旭

2014-01-01

While more and more teachers from Western culture teach in China, research on the different cultures of learning in China's teaching context and Western teachers’views on the Chinese culture of learning and teaching have been rarely conduct-ed. This essay discusses the implications of cultural differences of learning between China and the West, particularly Western teachers’viewpoint on Chinese culture of learning. The conclusion suggests that it is of great importance to be aware that culture is just one of many factors that determine individual learning, and teachers are supposed to avoid stereotyping and simplistic views with regard to culture of learning, though general trends and patterns may exist among a certain type of culture.

From an Ancient Tradition to the Present. Chinese Cultural Heritage Resource Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ching Fang; Lee, Amy

This cultural heritage resource guide has been prepared as a tool for teachers to help promote better understanding of Chinese students in the New York City public schools. China has an ancient history and a rich cultural tradition, and people all over the world have recognized China as one of the world's greatest civilizations. The earliest…

The Influences of Western Food Culture on Contemporary Chinese Food Culture

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

张林

2017-01-01

Food, an essential prerequisite for existence, plays an irreplaceable role in the development of society and in the progress of human beings. Chinese food culture has a long and bril iant history, but under the huge impacts of the western civilization, it has been greatly influenced. From these study, the positive influences of the western food culture on the contemporary Chinese food culture can be clearly seen, which also have promoted the diverse developments of Chinese dietary culture.

Medical humanities as expressive of Western culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Hooker, Claire; Noonan, Estelle

2011-12-01

In this paper we articulate a growing awareness within the field of the ways in which medical humanities could be deemed expressive of Western cultural values. The authors suggest that medical humanities is culturally limited by a pedagogical and scholarly emphasis on Western cultural artefacts, as well as a tendency to enact an uncritical reliance upon foundational concepts (such as 'patient' and 'experience') within Western medicine. Both these tendencies within the field, we suggest, are underpinned by a humanistic emphasis on appreciative or receptive encounters with 'difference' among patients that may unwittingly contribute to the marginalisation of some patients and healthcare workers. While cultural difference should be acknowledged as a central preoccupation of medical humanities, we argue that the discipline must continue to expand its scholarly and critical engagements with processes of Othering in biomedicine. We suggest that such improvements are necessary in order to reflect the cultural diversification of medical humanities students, and the geographical expansion of the discipline within non-Western and/or non-Anglophone locations.

The Architecture of Physical Culture in Ancient Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leon Debevec

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the interaction between the culture of the body and architectural creativity in Ancient Greece. This interaction is rooted in a concern for personal and group security, the basis of which was physical fitness, as well as in the immersion of Greek reality in religion, which depicted gods and goddesses in perfect human bodies. Together with a developed feeling for the community, these two aspects stimulated the design of a special architecture devoted to physical culture. Baths, gymnasiums, palaestras, stadiums, hippodromes and theatres are original flashes of Greek architectural genius. They are golden ‘vessels’ devoted to the admiration of beauty, agility and the expressive power of the body – virtues which paved the way to a godlike semblance for every Greek.

“The History and Culture of the Western Siberian Tatars”: Some Notes about the Book

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z.A. Tychinskikh

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article presents a collective monograph “The History and Culture of the Western Siberian Tatars” published in 2015 by Sh. Marjani Institute of History of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences. This book is the first academic work, which integrated and multidimensionally accumulated almost all materials (of demography, genetics, linguistics, history, ethnography and ethnosociology available in modern science related to the formation and development of the Turkic-Tatar population of Western Siberia from ancient times to the early 21st century. The monograph is distinguished by the ethnoterritorial approach: the authors focus on the entire Turkic-Tatar population of Western Siberia, which was formed in different historical periods and includes two main components – population called in ethnographic science the “Siberian Tatars” and the group of Tatars who migrated (mainly from the Volga region to the Siberian region during the 16th–20th centuries. The book contains a large number of illustrations, which were collected during the expeditions of the authors in the rural settlements of the Tatars of Western Siberia, during archaeological excavations, in numerous archives and museums in Russia. Many photos are presented for the first time.

A right to health: medicine as Western cultural imperialism?

Science.gov (United States)

Matheson, Donna

2009-01-01

Western medicine is intrinsically tied with modern Western culture, and as such is foreign to many African cultures. Relying on personal observations from working in Angola as a physiotherapist as well as secondary research, the author explores the divide between Angolan culture and medical practices which are deeply rooted in scientific research. Most strikingly, the author finds that concepts of evidence-based medicine as well as individual human or patients' rights contain aspects foreign to Angolan culture. Illustrative examples are given of differences in attitudes towards finances and religion in relation to medicine. Finally, the author proposes that factors such as poverty and illiteracy can play an important role in differences in practices and customs commonly seen as being strictly tied to culture. Although medicine does carry with it components of Western culture, there may be positive components of medicine that non-Westerners would like to adopt. This article suggests that Westerners and Angolans can combine beneficial aspects of Angolan culture with medicine to improve health care for the people of Angola.

When technology, science and culture meet: insights from ancient Chinese technology

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yeung Chung

2017-10-01

This paper draws together two important agendas in science education. The first is making science education more inclusive such that students from non-Western or indigenous cultures can benefit from culturally relevant curricula. The second is integrating technology into the curriculum under the umbrella of Science-Technology-Society (STS) education to embrace the social aspects of science, with technology serving as a bridge. The advancement of the first agenda is hindered by the pursuance by both Western and non-Western societies of narrow cultural and practical goals without considering the development of science and technology from a cross-cultural perspective. The second agenda is limited by the misconception that technology is applied science, leading to the exclusion from STS discussions of pre-science or indigenous technologies developed by non-Western cultures. Through selected case studies of the evolution of Chinese traditional technologies and their interaction with science, this paper offers a perspective from the Far East, and argues for situating culturally responsive science education in broader historical and cross-cultural contexts to acknowledge the multi-cultural contributions to science and technology. A form of cross-cultural STS education is advanced, encompassing the cultural basis of technological developments, technology diffusion, interactions of traditional technology with science, and the potential development of traditional or indigenous technologies. This approach provides a bridge between the existing universal science education paradigm promoted in the West and the different forms of multi-cultural education advocated by indigenous science educators. To translate theory into practice, a conceptual framework is proposed in which the essential transdisciplinary knowledge base, curricular goals, and pedagogical approaches are embedded.

Health benefits of ancient grains. Comparison among bread made with ancient, heritage and modern grain flours in human cultured cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Valli, Veronica; Taccari, Annalisa; Di Nunzio, Mattia; Danesi, Francesca; Bordoni, Alessandra

2018-05-01

Nowadays the higher nutritional value of whole grains compared to refined grains is recognized. In the last decade, there has been a renewed interest in the ancient wheat varieties for producing high-value food products with enhanced health benefits. This study compared two ancient grains, two heritage grains, and four modern grains grown in the same agronomic conditions considering not only their chemical characteristics, but also their biological effects. Whole grain flours were obtained and used to make bread. Bread was in vitro digested, the digesta were supplemented to HepG2 cells, and the biological effects of supplementation were evaluated. In addition, cells previously supplemented with the different digested bread types were then exposed to inflammatory agents to evidence possible protective effects of the pre-treatments. Despite the impossibility to discriminate bread made with different grains based on their chemical composition, results herein reported evidence that their supplementation to cultured cells exerts different effects, confirming the potential health benefits of ancient grains. This research represents an advancement for the evaluation of the apparent positive effects of ancient grains and the formulation of cereal-based products with added nutritional value. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

For Western girls only? Postfeminism as transnational culture

OpenAIRE

Dosekun, Simidele

2015-01-01

Much of the literature on post-feminism concerns the “Western” world and variously conceptualizes post-feminism as “Western culture.” This article argues that, as a result, feminist cultural scholars have not sufficiently imagined, theorized or empirically researched the possibility of post-feminism in non-Western cultural contexts. By briefly reviewing what has been said in the literature about post-feminism and the non-West, and by putting this in dialogue with transnational feminist cultur...

The cultural differences in teaching between Chinese and western

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

周颖

2013-01-01

Language and culture are interacting. Learning a language must understand the culture. The lack of cultural knowledge will lead to students’mistakes in daily English,therefore,in English teaching,the cultural differences between Chinese and Western as an important question is put forward. Then,from the cultural differences between Chinese and western,I discuss the reasons for mistakes in daily English and then how to teaching.

The Spiritual Form of Ancient Art and Culture - Bharatanatyam (Visual Art Depicted Using Unique Techniques on Scratchboard (Fine Art Medium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arpitha Parthasarathy

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The most ancient form of dance that is prevailing todays is a form of classical Indian dance, Bharatanatyam. In Sanskrit (and Devanagri, bharatanatyam means "Indian dance", is believed to have divine origin and is of the most ancient form of classical dance. Bharatanatyam is a two thousand-year-old dance form, originally practiced in the temples of ancient India. The art today remains purely devotional even today and this performing art is yet to gain awareness and interest in the western world. This dance form has various implications in improving the higher order thinking in children and provides health benefits in adults apart from cultural preservation. The current study uses scratchboard as a medium to display the artistic movements and emotions. Scratchboard, a fine art is one means by which the visual art is expressed in this current study using sharp tools, namely X-acto 11 scalpel and tattoo needles. This unique medium made up of a masonite hardboard coated with soft clay and Indian ink has been used to not only show the details of the ancient dance form and expression but also to comprehend and transcribe both visual art and fine art. It is for the first time that scratchboard medium has been the innovatively used to show various textures of flower, glistening gold jewels, hand woven silk and the divine expression in the same art ‘devotion’. The current study was carried out in-order to perpetuate, conserve and disseminate these classic forms of visual art and fine art.

Schooling in western culture promotes context-free processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Ventura, Paulo; Pattamadilok, Chotiga; Fernandes, Tânia; Klein, Olivier; Morais, José; Kolinsky, Régine

2008-06-01

Culture has been shown to influence the way people apprehend their physical environment. Cognitive orientation is more holistic in East Asian cultures, which emphasize relationships and connectedness among objects in the field, than in Western cultures, which are more prone to focus exclusively on the object and its attributes. We investigated whether, beyond, or in conjunction with culture, literacy and/or schooling may also have an influence on this cognitive orientation. Using the Framed-Line Test both in Portugal and in Thailand, we compared literate schooled adults with two groups of unschooled adults: one of illiterates and one of ex-illiterates. As in former studies on Western people, Portuguese-schooled literates were more accurate in the absolute task than in the relative task. In contrast, Portuguese illiterates and ex-illiterates were more accurate in the relative task than in the absolute task. Such an effect of schooling was not observed in the Thai groups, all of whom performed better on the relative task. Thus, the capacity to abstract from contextual information does not stem only from passive exposure to the culture or the physical environment of Western countries. Western schooling, as part of or in addition to culture, is a crucial factor.

Apps for Ancient Civilizations

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Stephanie

2011-01-01

This project incorporates technology and a historical emphasis on science drawn from ancient civilizations to promote a greater understanding of conceptual science. In the Apps for Ancient Civilizations project, students investigate an ancient culture to discover how people might have used science and math smartphone apps to make their lives…

A Comparative Study between Chinese and Western Food Culture in Cross-cultural Communication

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

焦体霞

2014-01-01

The differences of food culture play an important role in cross-cultural communication. Learn the cultural rooted causes of food culture between Chinese and Western countries, will promote mutual understanding between people and enjoy different feelings different foods brings, enhance cultural exchange, complement and integration.

Multi-scale ancient DNA analyses confirm the western origin of Michelsberg farmers and document probable practices of human sacrifice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alice Beau

Full Text Available In Europe, the Middle Neolithic is characterized by an important diversification of cultures. In northeastern France, the appearance of the Michelsberg culture has been correlated with major cultural changes and interpreted as the result of the settlement of new groups originating from the Paris Basin. This cultural transition has been accompanied by the expansion of particular funerary practices involving inhumations within circular pits and individuals in "non-conventional" positions (deposited in the pits without any particular treatment. If the status of such individuals has been highly debated, the sacrifice hypothesis has been retained for the site of Gougenheim (Alsace. At the regional level, the analysis of the Gougenheim mitochondrial gene pool (SNPs and HVR-I sequence analyses permitted us to highlight a major genetic break associated with the emergence of the Michelsberg in the region. This genetic discontinuity appeared to be linked to new affinities with farmers from the Paris Basin, correlated to a noticeable hunter-gatherer legacy. All of the evidence gathered supports (i the occidental origin of the Michelsberg groups and (ii the potential implication of this migration in the progression of the hunter-gatherer legacy from the Paris Basin to Alsace / Western Germany at the beginning of the Late Neolithic. At the local level, we noted some differences in the maternal gene pool of individuals in "conventional" vs. "non-conventional" positions. The relative genetic isolation of these sub-groups nicely echoes both their social distinction and the hypothesis of sacrifices retained for the site. Our investigation demonstrates that a multi-scale aDNA study of ancient communities offers a unique opportunity to disentangle the complex relationships between cultural and biological evolution.

Ancient Wisdom, Applied Knowledge for a Sustainable Future

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, K.; Philippe, R. Elde; Dardar, T. M. Elde

2017-12-01

Ancient wisdom informs traditional knowledges that guide Indigenous communities on how to interact with the world. These knowledges and the ancient wisdom have been the life-giving forces that have prevented the complete genocide of Indigenous peoples, and is also the wisdom that is rejuvenating ancient ways that will take the world into a future that embraces the seventh generation philosophy.. Western scientists and agency representatives are learning from the work and wisdom of Native Americans. This presentation will share the ways in which the representatives of two Tribes along the coast of Louisiana have been helping to educate and apply their work with Western scientists.

The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy

CERN Document Server

Evans, James

1998-01-01

The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy combines new scholarship with hands-on science to bring readers into direct contact with the work of ancient astronomers. While tracing ideas from ancient Babylon to sixteenth-century Europe, the book places its greatest emphasis on the Greek period, when astronomers developed the geometric and philosophical ideas that have determined the subsequent character of Western astronomy. The author approaches this history through the concrete details of ancient astronomical practice. Carefully organized and generously illustrated, the book can teach reade

Brief Probein to Differences Between Chinese and Western Food Cultures

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

青岛大学音乐学院，山东 青岛 266000

2016-01-01

Because of the differences in environment and products, different cultures may be formed in east and west, the social characteristics of material and spiritual life integrated embodiment through Chinese and west food cultures. The author focuses on analysis and comparison in cross-cultural differences of diet idea, diet object and way of eating in China and western countries, the deep-seated causation which induces the differences in food cultures is revealed. Under the background of western economic and cultural integration, communication in food cultures increased, which will certain accelerate Chinese food cultures developed and spread al over the world.

5000 years of geometry mathematics in history and culture

CERN Document Server

Scriba, Christoph J

2015-01-01

The present volume provides a fascinating overview of geometrical ideas and perceptions from the earliest cultures to the mathematical and artistic concepts of the 20th century. It is the English translation of the 3rd edition of the well-received German book “5000 Jahre Geometrie,” in which geometry is presented as a chain of developments in cultural history and their interaction with architecture, the visual arts, philosophy, science, and engineering. Geometry originated in the ancient cultures along the Indus and Nile Rivers and in Mesopotamia, experiencing its first “Golden Age” in Ancient Greece. Inspired by the Greek mathematics, a new germ of geometry blossomed in the Islamic civilizations. Through the Oriental influence on Spain, this knowledge later spread to Western Europe. Here, as part of the medieval Quadrivium, the understanding of geometry was deepened, leading to a revival during the Renaissance. Together with parallel achievements in India, China, Japan and the ancient American cultur...

Exploring Ancient Skies An Encyclopedic Survey of Archaeoastronomy

CERN Document Server

Kelley, David H

2005-01-01

Exploring Ancient Skies brings together the methods of archaeology and the insights of modern astronomy to explore the science of astronomy as it was practiced in various cultures prior to the invention of the telescope. The book reviews an enormous and growing body of literature on the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, the Far East, and the New World (particularly Mesoamerica), putting the ancient astronomical materials into their archaeological and cultural contexts. The authors begin with an overview of the field and proceed to essential aspects of naked-eye astronomy, followed by an examination of specific cultures. The book concludes by taking into account the purposes of ancient astronomy: astrology, navigation, calendar regulation, and (not least) the understanding of our place and role in the universe. Skies are recreated to display critical events as they would have appeared to ancient observers - events such as the supernova of 1054, the 'lion horoscope' or the 'Star of Bethlehem.' Exploring An...

PIXE analysis of western han dynasty ancient glasses unearthed in Yangzhou city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Qinghui; Gu Donghong; Gan Fuxi; Zhang Bin; Ma Bo; Cheng Huansheng

2003-01-01

Chemical composition analysis is one of the most important research aspects to provide scientific proof for the technical origin and development of Chinese ancient glass. Proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique is a kind of multi-element quantitative analysis method with high sensitivity and without destruction of samples. Chemical composition of the Western Han dynasty glass garment flakes, which were excavated from Yangzhou city, was analyzed by PIXE, quantitatively. It was found that these glass flakes were attributed to PbO-BaO-SiO 2 glass originated in China. These flakes all consist of a glass core and a corroded outer layer with different thickness. There are relatively higher PbO, P 2 O 5 and CaO, while much lower BaO and SiO 2 in the corroded layers than in the glass cores. The experimental results were discussed

The Aesthetic Standard of Wen: A Comparative Study of Chinese and Western Early Artworks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Wang

2011-12-01

Full Text Available A comparative study of the ancient Chinese and Western artworks over the same period (from approximately 3300 B.C. to 200 B.C shows that the dense and rich decorative patterns on the bronze wares in China represent a strong aesthetic appreciation of patterns/embellishment, while their counterparts in the West demonstrate an aesthetic orientation rooted in science, evident in nude bodies in bronze and marble. It is argued that there was a very obvious essential difference between Chinese and Western aesthetic values, and these divergent aesthetic orientations were present at the origins of the Pre-Qin and ancient Greek arts where they have been absorbed into the foundation of each culture.

When Technology, Science and Culture Meet: Insights from Ancient Chinese Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yeung Chung

2018-01-01

This paper draws together two important agendas in science education. The first is making science education more inclusive such that students from non-Western or indigenous cultures can benefit from culturally relevant curricula. The second is integrating technology into the curriculum under the umbrella of Science-Technology-Society (STS)…

Stars Influence on the Earth in Maya Culture: Stars and Planets in Maya Culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emanuel George Oprea

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The Mesoamerican Culture of Maya’s was one of the ancient and advanced cultures of the American continent and they influenced other Amerindian peoples. The life of Maya people, of the Earth itself and of the Universe is set and constructed around Maya Calendar and has a cyclic character as a direct influence of the stars. Many centuries the Western civilization with the its linear Calendar had not accepted the ideas of the possible influence of the stars and planets to peoples lives. The end of the last century and the beginning of XXI’s had started to demonstrate the opposite. The present work tries to show the process of meeting and intersection of the ancient ideas of Maya civilization and some of new ideas from the modern sciences.

The influence of cultural differences between China and Western countries on cross-cultural communication

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

次仁德吉

2017-01-01

Cross-cultural communication refers to the communication between peoples of different cultural backgrounds. To solve and avoid the cultural conflicts and blocks, it is high time to enhance the actual skills of cross-cultural communication. This paper gives a comparative analysis of the concrete representations of differences between Chinese and western culture in cross-cultural communication. And it gives some communication principles on the cross-cultural communication.

Cultural Policy of Difference in the Representation of Women in Western Media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hassan Bashir

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Hijab is a sign, a sign of cultural differences which has various emergences in different communities. In this article the Islamic veil among Muslims in the West is discussed as an “Islamic Identity” and as a phenomenon of “Cultural Difference” with the Western societies. This sign has represented the Muslim not only as a religious group, a minority which belongs to the East, and a group of people that their culture is different with the dominant culture of the West, but also is different from Westerners how does not accept the culture of veil for women in general. Furthermore, it is emerging different cultural and religious discourses in the Western societies which could be assumed as a challenge to the dominant culture of freedom, liberalism and feminism discourse. This paper aims to clarify the approaches of cultural semiotics, especially, the cultural policy of difference as a new approach to strengthen the neo-orientalism and neo-colonialism approaches and how the discourse of the veil and the otherness is developed in the Western societies. Discourse analysis of various news and reports in Western Media demonstrate the emergence of new methods of discourse on issues related to Islam and Muslims in general and the “Islamic veil” as a special way of life to put the “Islamic Identity” in opposition to the “Western Identity” which is affected by the orientalism discourse on its old and new approaches. This new way of discourse is trying to institutionalize the idea of “I and the other” based on the new understanding of “otherness” and “the cultural policies of difference”.

Soils and cultural layers of ancient cities in the south of European Russia

Science.gov (United States)

Aleksandrovskii, A. L.; Aleksandrovskaya, E. I.; Dolgikh, A. V.; Zamotaev, I. V.; Kurbatova, A. N.

2015-11-01

Antique cities in the south of European Russia are characterized by a considerable thickness of their cultural layers (urbosediments) accumulated as construction debris and household wastes. Under the impact of pedogenesis and weathering in dry climate of the steppe zone, these sediments have acquired the features of loesslike low-humus calcareous and alkaline deposits. They are also enriched in many elements (P, Zn, Ca, Cu, Pb, As) related to the diverse anthropogenic activities. The soils developed from such urbosediments can be classified as urbanozems (Urban Technosols), whereas chernozems close to their zonal analogues have developed in the surface layer of sediments covering long-abandoned ancient cities. Similar characteristics have been found for the soils of the medieval and more recent cities in the studied region. Maximum concentrations of the pollutants are locally found in the antique and medieval urbosediments enriched in dyes, handicrafts from nonferrous metals, and other artifacts. Surface soils of ancient cities inherit the properties and composition of the cultural layer. Even in chernozems that developed under steppe vegetation on the surface of the abandoned antique cities of Phanagoria and Tanais for about 1000—1500 years, the concentrations of copper, zinc, and calcium carbonates remain high. Extremely high phosphorus concentrations in these soils should be noted. This is related to the stability of calcium phosphates from animal bones that are abundant in the cultural layer acting as parent material for surface soils.

Native of the marble in ancient city, Nysa on the Meander of Hellenistic and Roman Period, Aydin- Western Anatolia - Turkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadioglu, M; Kadioglu, Y K

2008-01-01

Nysa, one of the most important cities of Caria in Hellenistic and Roman period, is located on the highway connecting Aydin (ancient name Tralleis) and Denizli, at about three kilometres northwest of Sultanhisar in western Anatolia of Turkey. The archaeological remains of Nysa are located on the slopes on the side of the stream called Tekkecik. The buildings, streets and public squares of the ancient city were supported by vaulted substructures adapted to the topographic conditions. As to the foundation of the city, Strabo relates that three brothers named Athymbros, Athymbrados, and Hydrelos came from Lakedaimon to Caria, and founded there three cities named after themselves. The small rock samples from the building of theatre, stadium, basement of agora and tomb were collected and determined under polarized microscope and confocal Raman spectroscopy to find out the native of these rock sources. The results of these studies reveal that the main rocks of these structures are composed from white colour marble. These marbles have granoblastic texture and are composed of mainly pressure twinned calcite as coarse grain size. The confocal Raman specroscopical studies of reveal that the marble building stone of Nysa city are mainly obtained from Jurassic Cretaceous of Western Anatolia marble

Native of the marble in ancient city, Nysa on the Meander of Hellenistic and Roman Period, Aydin- Western Anatolia - Turkey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kadioglu, M [Ankara University Faculty of Letters Archeological Department Ankara (Turkey); Kadioglu, Y K [Ankara University Engineering Faculty Geol. Eng. Department Ankara (Turkey)], E-mail: kadioglu@humanity.ankara.edu.tr, E-mail: kadi@eng.ankara.edu.tr

2008-07-01

Nysa, one of the most important cities of Caria in Hellenistic and Roman period, is located on the highway connecting Aydin (ancient name Tralleis) and Denizli, at about three kilometres northwest of Sultanhisar in western Anatolia of Turkey. The archaeological remains of Nysa are located on the slopes on the side of the stream called Tekkecik. The buildings, streets and public squares of the ancient city were supported by vaulted substructures adapted to the topographic conditions. As to the foundation of the city, Strabo relates that three brothers named Athymbros, Athymbrados, and Hydrelos came from Lakedaimon to Caria, and founded there three cities named after themselves. The small rock samples from the building of theatre, stadium, basement of agora and tomb were collected and determined under polarized microscope and confocal Raman spectroscopy to find out the native of these rock sources. The results of these studies reveal that the main rocks of these structures are composed from white colour marble. These marbles have granoblastic texture and are composed of mainly pressure twinned calcite as coarse grain size. The confocal Raman specroscopical studies of reveal that the marble building stone of Nysa city are mainly obtained from Jurassic Cretaceous of Western Anatolia marble.

The Influence of Number in Chinese and Western Culture

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Wang Shujun

2015-01-01

Numeral not only has the numerical symbol, but also is the important constituent of language, and it also expresses the rich cultural connotation besides the literal meaning.This article emphatically will carry on the analysis to the mystique and the metaphor between Chinese and Western numeral culture in order to help the people to understand some special numeral culture phenomenon thoroughly in the Trans-Culture exchange process which will make the cultural exchange smoother.

Lipid biomarkers for bacterial ecosystems: studies of cultured organisms, hydrothermal environments and ancient sediments

Science.gov (United States)

Summons, R. E.; Jahnke, L. L.; Simoneit, B. R.

1996-01-01

This paper forms part of our long-term goal of using molecular structure and carbon isotopic signals preserved as hydrocarbons in ancient sediments to improve understanding of the early evolution of Earth's surface environment. We are particularly concerned with biomarkers which are informative about aerobiosis. Here, we combine bacterial biochemistry with the organic geochemistry of contemporary and ancient hydrothermal ecosystems to construct models for the nature, behaviour and preservation potential of primitive microbial communities. We use a combined molecular and isotopic approach to characterize lipids produced by cultured bacteria and test a variety of culture conditions which affect their biosynthesis. This information is then compared with lipid mixtures isolated from contemporary hot springs and evaluated for the kinds of chemical change that would accompany burial and incorporation into the sedimentary record. In this study we have shown that growth temperature does not appear to alter isotopic fractionation within the lipid classes produced by a methanotropic bacterium. We also found that cultured cyanobacteria biosynthesize diagnostic methylalkanes and dimethylalkanes with the latter only made when growing under low pCO2. In an examination of a microbial mat sample from Octopus Spring, Yellowstone National Park (USA), we could readily identify chemical structures with 13C contents which were diagnostic for the phototrophic organisms such as cyanobacteria and Chloroflexus. We could not, however, find molecular evidence for operation of a methane cycle in the particular mat samples we studied.

PIXE study on ancient pottery from Chinese Shanghai area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, H.S.; Zhang, Z.Q.; Song, J.; Gao, M.H.; Zhu, D.; Lin, J.W.; Feng, S.L.

2006-01-01

Shanghai is the largest city in China, and it also has a very long history. Archaeologists have found that six thousand yeas ago, there were ancient people living at Songze, Qingpu County, Shanghai. This paper reports the study of ancient potteries unearthed from the Guangfulin site located at Songjiang, Shanghai. The potteries unearthed from Guangfulin site belonged to two different culture types: the Liangzhu culture type (local culture) and a new culture, which might be derived from elsewhere. PIXE has been used to measure the chemical compositions of samples and factor analysis was used. Experimental results show that the compositions of the pottery from the two phases are different from each other. It means that the raw materials used to make the ancient pottery originate from different places. This results support the idea suggested by archaeologists that a group of ancient people migrated to the Shanghai area from some other place 4000 years ago

The Ancient Greece's roots of Olimpism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bubka Sergej Nazarovich

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The paper focused on the phenomena of sport in Ancient Greece along with history, traditions, religion, education, culture and art. Economic and political conditions are analysed which promote or hamper development of Olympic Games in Ancient Greece. Exceptional stability of Ancient Olympic games during more than eleven centuries are noted as well as their influence on the life of Greek polices of those days. Hellenistic period needs of individual consideration.

New age estimations for the western outer city wall of ancient Tayma (NW Saudi Arabia) based on OSL and radiocarbon data and geomorphologic evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Engel, M.; Klasen, N.; Brückner, H.; Eichmann, R.; Hausleiter, A.; Al-Najem, M. H.; Al-Said, S. F.; Schneider, P. I.

2009-04-01

Since 2004 tremendous progress has been achieved in deciphering the cultural genesis of the Tayma oasis (NW Saudi Arabia), due to the joint investigations of the German Archaeological Institute Berlin (DAI), the General Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Department of Archaeology and Epigraphy, King Saud University Riyadh. Nevertheless, archaeological research is still suffering from a lacking locally-based absolute chronology of buildings. The pattern of ancient constructions at Tayma is dominated by a prominent city wall system surrounding the ancient town center (Qraya) and stretching 15 km around the oasis. Its internal structure indicates several building periods, i.e. phases of wall modification or extension of the entire system. So far, according to silex and carnelian fragments included in the mud bricks and a previous 14C age of charcoal remains from the central excavation district (wall section at Area A), an initial construction date of the wall between the late 3rd and the early 2nd millennium BC seemed likely. At the excavated western outer city wall a new systematic dating approach - combining the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and 14C methods - has been applied to generate a reliable age for the oldest branch of the wall system which nowadays is covered by aeolian sand. The dune deposit is genetically related to the existence of the wall and, therefore, dating its accumulation provides termini ante quem for the construction of the wall. Five OSL dates were generated from the dune deposit providing ages between 4,900 and 3,500 yrs. Two radiocarbon ages support the dating sequence and also contribute to its consistency. By combining the results with geomorphologic evidence we draw the following conclusions: Initial settlement activities at Qraya were accompanied by a regulation of wadi dynamics and the construction of the outer city wall, indicated by the abrupt boundary between the pre-settlement alluvial

From ancient Greek Logos to European rationality

OpenAIRE

APOSTOLOPOULOU GEORGIA

2016-01-01

Because of history, culture, and politics, European identity has its archetypical elements in ancient Greek culture. Ancient Greek philosophy brought Logos to fore and defined it as the crucial problem and the postulate of the human. We translate the Greek term Logos in English as reason or rationality. These terms, however, do not cover the semantic field of Logos since this includes, among other things, order of being, ground, language, argument etc. The juxtaposition of Logos (reason) to m...

Ancient Greek mythology mediated by Latin culture: On Vlastimir Trajković’s arion and Zephyrus returns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milin Melita

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Vlastimir Trajković (b. 1947 is a prominent Serbian composer with a strong inclination towards subjects from ancient Greek mythology. Among his most important achievements may be counted Arion - le nuove musiche per chitarra ed archi (1979 and Zephyrus returns for flute, viola and piano (2003. Two important aspects of those works are discussed in the present article: 1. the line that connects them to ancient Greek culture via French Modernism (Debussy, Ravel, Messiaen and Renaissance poetry and music (Petrarch, Caccini, Monteverdi; 2. modality, which has proved its vitality through long periods of the history of European music, beginning with ancient Greek modes, reaching its high point in the 16th century, and re-emerging at the beginning of the 20th century in different hybrid forms. Trajković is seen as a composer who has shaped his creative identity by exploring the rich musical heritage of the Latin European nations, especially the contributions of Debussy and Ravel.

Moessbauer studies on ancient Chinese pottery of Yangshao Culture Period

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Zhengfang; Zheng Qi; Zheng Yufang; Zhongshan Univ., Guangzhou

1988-01-01

Eleven pieces of ancient Chinese pottery (4770 B.C. - 2960 B.C.) of Yangshao Culture Period collected from the Xi'an area have been studied by means of Moessbauer spectroscopy. The samples were refired up to 1100 0 C in steps of 100 0 C for 2 h in air. The highest temperature up to which the Moessbauer pattern remains basically unchanged can be identified with the original firing temperature. The result indicates that the firing temperatures for most of the sherds were between 900-1000 0 C. The function of the grit contained in the pottery has been discussed. The crimson and reddish painted materials on the surface of sherds have been studied, respectively. The first appearance of pottery can probably be traced back to an even earlier period. (orig.)

Moessbauer studies on ancient Chinese pottery of Yangshao Culture Period

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhengfang, Yu; Qi, Zheng; Yufang, Zheng

1988-02-01

Eleven pieces of ancient Chinese pottery (4770 B.C. - 2960 B.C.) of Yangshao Culture Period collected from the Xi'an area have been studied by means of Moessbauer spectroscopy. The samples were refired up to 1100/sup 0/C in steps of 100/sup 0/C for 2 h in air. The highest temperature up to which the Moessbauer pattern remains basically unchanged can be identified with the original firing temperature. The result indicates that the firing temperatures for most of the sherds were between 900-1000/sup 0/C. The function of the grit contained in the pottery has been discussed. The crimson and reddish painted materials on the surface of sherds have been studied, respectively. The first appearance of pottery can probably be traced back to an even earlier period.

Astrology in Ancient Greek and Roman Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Campion, Nicholas

2018-04-01

time in which the future already existed, at least in potential, and the astrologers' task was to intercede in time, altering the future to human advantage. In this sense, astrology was a form of "participation mystique," in which time and space were conceived of as a single entity, and individual and social benefits were to be derived from engaging with it. There was no one single version of astrology; and there were disputes about what it was and what it could do, for example, whether it could make precise predictions about individual affairs or merely general statements. From the early 4th century it went into a progressive decline, facing challenges from Christianity and the fragmentation of classical culture, especially in Western Europe. It survived in Persia, exerted a powerful influence on Indian astrology, and was transmitted to the Islamic world, from where it was re-imported into the Latin West in the 12th century. A knowledge of astrology's place in Greek and Roman culture is essential for a full understanding of religion, politics, and science in the Greek and Roman worlds, as well as the history of Western science.

Pre-Columbian Population Dynamics and Cultural Development in South Coast Perú as Revealed by Analysis of Ancient DNA

OpenAIRE

Fehren-Schmitz, Lars

2012-01-01

In this paper I report on a study whose principal aim is to understand the development and decline of the southern Peruvian Nasca culture in the upper Río Grande de Nasca drainage, and its cultural and biological affinities to the preceding Paracas culture. Ancient DNA analyses were conducted on over 300 pre-Columbian individuals from various cemeteries in southern Perú, from periods ranging from the Formative Period to the Middle Horizon. Our results show that the Nasca populations are close...

Defining Astrology in Ancient and Classical History

Science.gov (United States)

Campion, Nicholas

2015-05-01

Astrology in the ancient and classical worlds can be partly defined by its role, and partly by the way in which scholars spoke about it. The problem is complicated by the fact that the word is Greek - it has no Babylonian or Egyptian cognates - and even in Greece it was interchangeable with its cousin, 'astronomy'. Yet if we are to understand the role of the sky, stars and planets in culture, debates about the nature of ancient astrology, by both classical and modern scholars, must be taken into account. This talk will consider modern scholars' typologies of ancient astrology, together with ancient debates from Cicero in the 1st century BC, to Plotinus (204/5-270 AD) and Isidore of Seville (c. 560 - 4 April 636). It will consider the implications for our understanding of astronomy's role in culture, and conclude that in the classical period astrology may be best understood through its diversity and allegiance to competing philosophies, and that its functions were therefore similarly varied.

A Comparison of Food in the Chinese and Western Cultures

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

钮贵芳

2005-01-01

<正>Foods cultures are so deeply rooted in Chinese culture that almost everything of Chinese people’s lives is more or less related to them. In the west, foods also have a very important role in people s lives. However, foods in Chinese culture and western culture are different in a few aspects. This paper aims to look into the similarities and differences of the foods in two cultures and tries to give a brief discussion on their differences.

On The Prehistory Of Chinese-Western Comparative Literature

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

杨晓彤; 曹薇

2010-01-01

@@ The earlist prehistory of western comparative literature can be traced back to the Ancient Rome, as the literature of that period (in ancient Latin) intentionally imitated the Ancient Greek literature(in ancient Greek), like the Virgil's Aeneid was an imitation of Homeric epic, so the writers and theorists of Ancient Rome always compare the differences and similarities of the two periods、 nationalities and languages that reflected in literature.

The newly-discovered Late Cretaceous igneous rocks in the Nuocang district: Products of ancient crust melting trigged by Neo-Tethyan slab rollback in the western Gangdese

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Jun-Sheng; Zheng, You-Ye; Gao, Shun-Bao; Zhang, Yong-Chao; Huang, Jian; Liu, Jun; Wu, Song; Xu, Jing; Huang, Liang-Liang

2018-05-01

The newly discovered polymetallic Nuocang Pb-Zn skarn deposit is located in the southern Lhasa subterrane, western Gangdese, Tibet. The orebodies occur primarily at the contact zone between the Angjie Formation and the Linzizong volcanic rocks of Dianzhong Formation (LDF) that are dominated by basaltic andesitic tuff and rhyolite. Zircon U-Pb dating for two granite porphyries yield ages of 72.4 ± 0.2 Ma and 73.4 ± 0.9 Ma, which are different from the ages ( 69-60 Ma) of the LDF in the eastern Gangdese. The basaltic andesite tuff at Nuocang exhibits enrichment of MgO, TiO2, LILE, and LREE, with a relative depletion of SiO2, K2O, HFSE, and HREE, low Sr/Y ratios (32.9-38.0), and weak negative Eu anomalies (mean 0.86). They have 87Sr/86Sr(i) from 0.70695 to 0.70807 and εNd(t) values between -4.3 and -5.9. These features are similar to the Linzizong volcanic rocks of Dianzhong Formation in the Linzhou basin, indicating that they were associated with partial melting of mantle wedge mixing with 25-35% ancient Lhasa terrane basement. The rhyolite and granite porphyry show high SiO2 and K2O, and low Sr/Y ratio (1.2-9.9), enrichment of LILE and LREE and strong depletion of the HFSEs. They have pronounced negative Eu anomalies (mean 0.46), and εHf (t) values of the granite porphyry zircons range from -22.0 to -6.0. All these features suggest that they are the product of anatexis of ancient crustal materials heated by mantle-derived magma, the latter derived from Neo-Tethyan slab dehydration mechanisms. Combined with the previous geochronological and geochemical data, we proposed that the Nuocang district of western Gangdese in the southern Lhasa subterrane contains an ancient block, and the igneous rocks here were triggered by the Neo-Tethyan slab rollback starting at 82 Ma. The western Gangdese contains more ancient continental crustal materials and Late Cretaceous-Eocene Linzizong volcanic rocks and coeval intrusions than in the eastern Gangdese. Thus the western

Western gulf culture-density study-early results

Science.gov (United States)

Mohd S. Rahman; Michael G. Messina; Richard F. Fisher; Alan B. Wilson; Nick Chappell; Conner Fristoe; Larry Anderson

2006-01-01

The Western Gulf Culture-Density Study is a collaborative research effort between Texas A&M University and five forest products companies to examine the effects of early silvicultural treatment intensity and a wide range of both densities and soil types on performance of loblolly pine. The study tests 2 silvicultural intensities, 5 planting densities (200 to 1,200...

Cross-cultural medical education: can patient-centered cultural competency training be effective in non-Western countries?

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Ming-Jung; Yao, Grace; Lee, Keng-Lin; Beach, Mary Catherine; Green, Alexander R

2008-01-01

No evidence addresses the effectiveness of patient-centered cultural competence training in non-Western settings. To examine whether a patient-centered cultural competency curriculum improves medical students' skills in eliciting the patients' perspective and exploring illness-related social factors. Fifty-seven medical students in Taiwan were randomly assigned to either the control (n = 27) or one of two intervention groups: basic (n = 15) and extensive (n = 15). Both intervention groups received two 2-hour patient-centered cultural competency workshops. In addition, the extensive intervention group received a 2-hour practice session. The control group received no training. At the end of the clerkship, all students were evaluated with an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Students in the extensive intervention group scored significantly higher than the basic intervention and control groups in eliciting the patient's perspective (F = 18.38, p social factors (F = 6.66, p = 0.003, eta(2) = 0.20). Patient-centered cultural competency training can produce improvement in medical students' cross-cultural communication skills in non-Western settings, especially when adequate practice is provided.

Colour Perception in Ancient World

Science.gov (United States)

Nesterov, D. I.; Fedorova, M. Yu

2017-11-01

How did the human thought form the surrounding color information into the persistent semantic images of a mythological, pseudoscientific and religious nature? The concepts associated with colour perception are suggested. The existence of colour environment does not depend on the human consciousness. The colour culture formation is directly related to the level of the human consciousness development and the possibility to influence the worldview and culture. The colour perception of a person goes through the stages similar to the development of colour vision in a child. Like any development, the colour consciousness has undergone stages of growth and decline, evolution and stagnation. The way of life and difficult conditions for existence made their own adjustments to the development of the human perception of the surrounding world. Wars have been both a powerful engine of progress in all spheres of life and a great destructive force demolishing the already created and preserved heritage. The surrounding world has always been interesting for humans, evoked images and fantasies in the consciousness of ancient people. Unusual and inexplicable natural phenomena spawned numerous legends and myths which was reflected in the ancient art and architecture and, accordingly, in a certain manifestation of colour in the human society. The colour perception of the ancient man, his pragmatic, utilitarian attitude to colour is considered as well as the influence of dependence on external conditions of existence and their reflection in the colour culture of antiquity. “Natural Science” conducts research in the field of the colour nature and their authorial interpretation of the Hellenic period. Several authorial concepts of the ancient world have been considered.

Fathers in situational crisis: a comparison of Asian and Western cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, Yun-Shan; Verklan, M Terese

2008-09-01

The purpose of this synthesis was to compare the difference between Asian and Western fathers' perceptions of their roles when confronted with situational crises involving their children. Twenty-two studies were reviewed and assigned to one of two categories: the father experiencing a situational crisis related to his child's illness or cultural influences on the paternal role. The results indicated that Asian and Western fathers' perceptions of crises do not differ greatly. It was concluded that there exists a gap in the literature with respect to the knowledge of Asian fathers' situational crisis surrounding their child's illness, their coping strategies when faced with their child's illness, as well as their emotional reactions toward family health. Future research should investigate the single or same-gender father's perceptions and emotional reactions in both Asian and Western cultures.

Taiwanese Medical Students' Narratives of Intercultural Professionalism Dilemmas: Exploring Tensions between Western Medicine and Taiwanese Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Ming-Jung; Gosselin, Katherine; Chandratilake, Madawa; Monrouxe, Lynn V.; Rees, Charlotte E.

2017-01-01

In an era of globalization, cultural competence is necessary for the provision of quality healthcare. Although this topic has been well explored in non-Western cultures within Western contexts, the authors explore how Taiwanese medical students trained in Western medicine address intercultural professionalism dilemmas related to tensions between…

Cultural Novelty and Adjustment: Western Business Expatriates in China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Selmer, Jan

2006-01-01

Western business expatriates in China. Three sociocultural adjustment variables were examined; general, interaction and work adjustment. Although a negative relationship was hypothesized between cultural novelty and the three adjustment variables, results of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis...

history repeats itself : saddam and the ancient mesopotamian royal

African Journals Online (AJOL)

harkhu

ancient Mesopotamia (present day Iraq)2, from the fourth millennium3 until its incorporation into the ..... aspects of Mesopotamian culture that could not be separated from the other. Saddam, on the ..... site of ancient Babylon. Large parts of the ...

Tradition and Creativity. Toward a Study of Intericonicity in Ancient Egyptian Art

OpenAIRE

Laboury, Dimitri

2017-01-01

Although a key-concept in Art historical discourse and reasoning, creativity has almost always been avoided as an issue in the discussion of Ancient Egyptian Art, as if the notion was simply irrelevant in such a context. This surprising phenomenon has clearly deep roots in the history of the western vision of Ancient Egyptian Art (and civilization). Nonetheless, the investigation of some (actually quite rare) cases of true copies in Ancient Egyptian Art reveals that creativity operated within...

Palaeontological evidence for the last temporal occurrence of the ancient western Amazonian river outflow into the Caribbean.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orangel Aguilera

Full Text Available Fossil catfishes from fluvio-lacustrine facies of late Miocene Urumaco, early Pliocene Castilletes and late Pliocene San Gregorio formations provide evidence of a hydrographic connection in what is today desert regions of northern Colombia and Venezuela. New discoveries and reevaluation of existing materials leads to the recognition of two new records of the pimelodid Brachyplatystoma cf. vaillantii, and of three distinct doradid taxa: Doraops sp., Rhinodoras sp., and an unidentified third form. The presence of fossil goliath long-whiskered catfishes and thorny catfishes are indicative of the persistence of a fluvial drainage system inflow into the South Caribbean during the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary, complementary to the previous western Amazonian hydrographic system described from the Middle Miocene Villavieja Formation in central Colombia and Late Miocene Urumaco Formation in northwestern Venezuela. The Pliocene Castilletes and San Gregorio formations potentially represent the last lithostratigraphic units related with an ancient western Amazonian fish fauna and that drainage system in the Caribbean. Alternatively, it may preserve faunas from a smaller, peripheral river basin that was cut off earlier from the Amazon-Orinoco, today found in the Maracaibo basin and the Magdalena Rivers.

Examining Culture's Impact on the Learning Behaviors of International Students from Confucius Culture Studying in Western Online Learning Context

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Haijun; Chang, Bo

2016-01-01

There is a lack of shared understanding of how culture impacts learning in online environment. Utilizing document analysis, the authors in this research study culture's impact on the learning behaviors of student sojourners from Confucius culture studying in Western online learning context. The shared understandings of Confucius culture and…

Attachment in cultural context : Differences in attachment between Eastern and Western Europeans

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Polek, Elzbieta

2008-01-01

Political changes after 1989 and resulting from the European Union enlargement increased emigration from Eastern to Western Europe. In the introductory Chapter 1 the data about migration from the Eastern to Western Europe are presented, as well as the data about cultural, social and economic

Legacy of the Ancient World: An Educational Guide. Understanding Ancient Culture through Art at the Tampa Museum of Art.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitelaw, R. Lynn

Among the many contributions made by Ancient Greeks and Romans to contemporary life, are those which influence art, architecture, literature, philosophy, mathematics and science, theater, athletics, religion, and the founding of democracy. The Tampa Museum of Art's classical collection offers a unique opportunity to learn about Ancient Greeks and…

The construction of the spatio-temporal database of the ancient Silk Road within Xinjiang province during the Han and Tang dynasties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bi, Jiantao; Wang, Xingxing; Luo, Guilin; Zhu, Zuojia

2014-01-01

As the bridge over the Chinese and Western civilization, the ancient Silk Road has made a huge contribution to cultural, economic, political exchanges between China and western countries. In this paper, we treated the historical period of Western Han Dynasty, Eastern Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty as the research time domain, and the Western Regions' countries that were existed along the Silk Road at the mean time as the research spatial domain. Then we imported these data into the SQL Server database we constructed, from which we could either query the attribute information such as population, military force, the era of the Central Plains empire, the significant events taking place in the country and some related attribute information of these events like the happened calendar year in addition to some related spatial information such as the present location, the coordinates of the capital and the territory by inputting the name of the Western countries. At the same time we could query the significant events, government institution in Central Plains and the existent Western countries at the mean time by inputting the calendar year. Based on the database, associated with GIS, RS, Flex, C# and other related information technology and network technology, we could not only browsing, searching and editing the information of the ancient Silk Road in Xinjiang Province during the Han and Tang Dynasties, but preliminary analysing as well. This is the combination of archaeology and modern information technology, and the database could also be a reference to further study, research and practice in the related fields in the future

The construction of the spatio-temporal database of the ancient Silk Road within Xinjiang province during the Han and Tang dynasties

Science.gov (United States)

Bi, Jiantao; Luo, Guilin; Wang, Xingxing; Zhu, Zuojia

2014-03-01

As the bridge over the Chinese and Western civilization, the ancient Silk Road has made a huge contribution to cultural, economic, political exchanges between China and western countries. In this paper, we treated the historical period of Western Han Dynasty, Eastern Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty as the research time domain, and the Western Regions' countries that were existed along the Silk Road at the mean time as the research spatial domain. Then we imported these data into the SQL Server database we constructed, from which we could either query the attribute information such as population, military force, the era of the Central Plains empire, the significant events taking place in the country and some related attribute information of these events like the happened calendar year in addition to some related spatial information such as the present location, the coordinates of the capital and the territory by inputting the name of the Western countries. At the same time we could query the significant events, government institution in Central Plains and the existent Western countries at the mean time by inputting the calendar year. Based on the database, associated with GIS, RS, Flex, C# and other related information technology and network technology, we could not only browsing, searching and editing the information of the ancient Silk Road in Xinjiang Province during the Han and Tang Dynasties, but preliminary analysing as well. This is the combination of archaeology and modern information technology, and the database could also be a reference to further study, research and practice in the related fields in the future.

Mechanisms in ancient Chinese books with illustrations

CERN Document Server

Hsiao, Kuo-Hung

2014-01-01

This book presents a unique approach for studying mechanisms and machines with drawings that were depicted unclearly in ancient Chinese books. The historical, cultural and technical backgrounds of the mechanisms are explained, and various mechanisms described and illustrated in ancient books are introduced. By utilizing the idea for the conceptual design of modern mechanisms, all feasible designs of ancient mechanisms with uncertain members and joints that meet the technical standards of the subjects’ time periods are synthesized systematically. Ancient Chinese crossbows (the original crossbow and repeating crossbows), textile mechanisms (silk-reeling mechanism, spinning mechanisms, and looms), and many other artisan's tool mechanisms are used as illustrated examples.  Such an approach provides a logical method for the reconstruction designs of ancient mechanisms with uncertain structures. It also provides an innovative direction for researchers to further identify the original structures of mechanisms...

Cultural Transmission of Traditional Knowledge in two populations of North-western Patagonia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lozada Mariana

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the present study we have investigated the cultural transmission of two types of traditional plant knowledge in two communities of North-western Patagonia, Argentina. In the Pilcaniyeu community, we studied the transmission of traditional knowledge related to horticultural practices in home-gardens, greenhouses and gardens; while in the community of Cuyin Manzano, we studied wild plant gathering customs. Methods Ethnobotanical fieldwork was conducted by means of semi-structured interviews, in which we investigated which plants are used, at what life history phase was learned, modes of transmission and who the principal transmitters were in childhood and adulthood. In both communities, each of this three aspects related to cultural transmission were categorized and the frequencies of each category were obtained. The total number of species recorded in each community was also calculated. Frequencies were analyzed with the Chi-square test of independence. Results and discussion In both communities, transmission of traditional plant knowledge begins at an early age, as a family custom, in which women play a predominant role. Wild plant use and horticultural knowledge continue to be learned during adulthood. This was particularly registered associated with horticultural learning, which receives greater influence from extension agents who are introducing new practices and technology. This outside influence, which implies novelty, could imply syncretism but also traditional knowledge loss. Conclusion Given the remarkable acculturation processes occurring at present in rural communities of Northwestern Patagonia, it might be of vital importance to document traditional knowledge of ancient practices. Moreover, it could be interesting to share our results with both populations in order to encourage participatory activities within the communities which could enhance traditional knowledge horizontal transmission, particularly among

PLEIADES IN ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA

OpenAIRE

Verderame, L.

2016-01-01

In this paper I will analyse the different features of the Pleiades in the astronomical, astrological, and calendrical interpretation as well as their mythical and cultural background in ancient Mesopotamia. According to cuneiform sources, the Pleiades are among the most important stars. They are simply known in Sumerian as ―the Stars‖ (MUL.MUL), while their Akkadian name, ―the Bristle‖ (zappu), links them to the imagery and the cultural context of the ―Bull of Heaven‖ constellation (Taurus),...

Indifference to dissonance in native Amazonians reveals cultural variation in music perception.

Science.gov (United States)

McDermott, Josh H; Schultz, Alan F; Undurraga, Eduardo A; Godoy, Ricardo A

2016-07-28

by biology remains debated. One widely discussed phenomenon is that some combinations of notes are perceived by Westerners as pleasant, or consonant, whereas others are perceived as unpleasant,or dissonant. The contrast between consonance and dissonance is central to Western music and its origins have fascinated scholars since the ancient Greeks. Aesthetic responses to consonance are commonly assumed by scientists to have biological roots, and thus to be universally present in humans. Ethnomusicologists and composers, in contrast, have argued that consonance is a creation of Western musical culture. The issue has remained unresolved, partly because little is known about the extent of cross-cultural variation in consonance preferences. Here we report experiments with the Tsimane'--a native Amazonian society with minimal exposure to Western culture--and comparison populations in Bolivia and the United States that varied in exposure to Western music. Participants rated the pleasantness of sounds. Despite exhibiting Western-like discrimination abilities and Western-like aesthetic responses to familiar sounds and acoustic roughness, the Tsimane' rated consonant and dissonant chords and vocal harmonies as equally pleasant. By contrast, Bolivian city- and town-dwellers exhibited significant preferences for consonance,albeit to a lesser degree than US residents. The results indicate that consonance preferences can be absent in cultures sufficiently isolated from Western music, and are thus unlikely to reflect innate biases or exposure to harmonic natural sounds. The observed variation in preferences is presumably determined by exposure to musical harmony, suggesting that culture has a dominant role in shaping aesthetic responses to music.

Space Archaeology for military-agricultural colonies (tuntian) on the ancient Silk Road, NW China

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Lei; Wang, Xinyuan; Guo, Huadong; Liu, Chuansheng

2017-04-01

The ancient Silk Road, a pioneering work in the history of human civilization, contributed greatly to the cultural exchange between China and the West. It is the precious cultural heritage should be shared by the whole humanity. Although there were countless archaeological sites along the ancient Silk Road, most of the existing researches just focused on the sites, lacking the overall understanding of the relationships between sites and their supporting environment. Space archaeology provides a new viewpoint for investigating, discovering, reconstructing and documenting the archaeological sites under different scales. The tuntian system was a state-promoted system of military-agricultural colonies, which originated in the Western Han dynasty (206 BC-9 AD). All the imperial dynasties in Chinese history adopted the practice of tuntian to cultivate and guard frontier areas as an important state policy for developing border areas and consolidating frontier defence. This study describes the use of Chinese GF-1 imagery, LS-7 ETM+ data and ASTER GDEMV2 products to uncover an ancient irrigated canal-based tuntian system located in Milan oasis adjacent to the ancient Kingdom of Loulan at the southern margin of the Tarim Basin. The GF-1 and LS-7 data were first processed following atmospheric and geometric correction and enhanced by Gram Schmidt pansharpening. The linear archaeological traces of tuntian irrigation canals were extracted from the morphologically enhanced GF-1 PAN imagery using our proposed automatic method which adopts mathematical morphological processing and Canny edge operator. Compared with the manual extractions, the overall detection accuracy was better than 90%. In addition, the functions of the trunk, primary, secondary and tertiary canals were each analyzed and the spatial extent of Milan's tuntian landscape were analyzed with the help of the NDVI derived from the GF-1 multispectral imagery. The effective irrigated tuntian area was estimated to be 2

Astronomy across cultures the history of non-Western astronomy

CERN Document Server

Xiaochun, Sun

2000-01-01

Astronomy Across Cultures: A History of Non-Western Astronomy consists of essays dealing with the astronomical knowledge and beliefs of cultures outside the United States and Europe. In addition to articles surveying Islamic, Chinese, Native American, Aboriginal Australian, Polynesian, Egyptian and Tibetan astronomy, among others, the book includes essays on Sky Tales and Why We Tell Them and Astronomy and Prehistory, and Astronomy and Astrology. The essays address the connections between science and culture and relate astronomical practices to the cultures which produced them. Each essay is well illustrated and contains an extensive bibliography. Because the geographic range is global, the book fills a gap in both the history of science and in cultural studies. It should find a place on the bookshelves of advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars, as well as in libraries serving those groups.

Mathematics across cultures the history of non-Western mathematics

CERN Document Server

2000-01-01

Mathematics Across Cultures: A History of Non-Western Mathematics consists of essays dealing with the mathematical knowledge and beliefs of cultures outside the United States and Europe. In addition to articles surveying Islamic, Chinese, Native American, Aboriginal Australian, Inca, Egyptian, and African mathematics, among others, the book includes essays on Rationality, Logic and Mathematics, and the transfer of knowledge from East to West. The essays address the connections between science and culture and relate the mathematical practices to the cultures which produced them. Each essay is well illustrated and contains an extensive bibliography. Because the geographic range is global, the book fills a gap in both the history of science and in cultural studies. It should find a place on the bookshelves of advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars, as well as in libraries serving those groups.

Many Bottles for Many Flies: Managing Conflict over Indigenous Peoples’ Cultural Heritage in Western Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Ritter

2006-06-01

Full Text Available This article critically considers the legal regulation of Indigenous people's cultural heritage in Western Australia and its operation within the framework of Australia's federal system of government. The article also sets out the different ways in which Indigenous cultural heritage is conceptualised, including as a public good analogous to property of the crown, an incidental right arising from group native title and as the subject of private contract. The article explores the various notions of 'Indigenous cultural heritage' that exist under Western Australian public law and the significant role of private contractual arrangements. Particular attention is devoted to the uneasy nexus between the laws of native title and heritage in Western Australia.

The Phenomenon of Pathological Dissociation in the Ancient Chinese Medicine Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Fung, Hong Wang

2018-01-01

Dissociative symptoms and disorders have been reported in many different cultures. If pathological dissociation is naturally occurring and related to adverse experiences, such phenomena should have been witnessed and portrayed before the modern age. To investigate whether this is the case, the author made use of the rich ancient Chinese medicine literature and looked for descriptions of pathological dissociation in medical documents written by ancient Chinese medical practitioners. In this paper, the author presents six cases selected from the ancient Chinese medicine literature. The phenomenon of pathological dissociation is observed in these cases. This is the first report of case descriptions of pathological dissociation documented in Chinese cultures before 1900.

Radiocarbon dating of ancient Japanese documents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oda, H.

2001-01-01

History is a reconstruction of past human activity, evidence of which is remained in the form of documents or relics. For the reconstruction of historic period, the radiocarbon dating of ancient documents provides important information. Although radiocarbon age is converted into calendar age with the calibration curve, the calibrated radiocarbon age is still different from the historical age when the document was written. The difference is known as 'old wood effect' for wooden cultural property. The discrepancy becomes more serious problem for recent sample which requires more accurate age determination. Using Tandetron accelerator mass spectrometer at Nagoya University, we have measured radiocarbon ages of Japanese ancient documents, sutras and printed books written dates of which are clarified from the paleographic standpoint. The purpose is to clarify the relation between calibrated radiocarbon age and historical age of ancient Japanese document by AMS radiocarbon dating. This paper reports 23 radiocarbon ages of ancient Japanese documents, sutras and printed books. The calibrated radiocarbon ages are in good agreement with the corresponding historical ages. It was shown by radiocarbon dating of the ancient documents that Japanese paper has little gap by 'old wood effect'; accordingly, ancient Japanese paper is a suitable sample for radiocarbon dating of recent historic period. (author)

SOCIOLOGIC EXAMINATION OF HELLENISTIC ART IN THE LIGHT OF ANCIENT ERA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Aslıhan OZTURK

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In this study, the emergence of Hellenistic Art, historical and social background that constitutive it, important features that put it forward and important artworks in the light of Ancient Era Society and Art general framework will be examined. Hellenistic Art as an Ancient Era Art was existed blending Greek culture and art which are dominant elements of the empire and cultures of conquered lands, progressed as a mixed culture. On the wide geography that Alexander the Great conquered, in time differences showed up in the direction of the beliefs, social structure and sense of art of this region and powerful and effective artworks were revealed taking form of this differences with a common understanding. In this reseach, Hellenistic Art that showed a common understanding belongs to almost whole known World in Ancient Era and its sociologic Fundamentals will be analyzed.

Ancient and modern women in the "Woman's World".

Science.gov (United States)

Hurst, Isobel

2009-01-01

Under the editorship of Oscar Wilde, the "Woman's World" exemplified the popular dissemination of Hellenism through periodical culture. Addressing topics such as marriage, politics, and education in relation to the lives of women in the ancient world, the magazine offered an unfamiliar version of the reception of ancient Greece and Rome in late-Victorian aestheticism, one that was accessible to a wide readership because it was often based on images rather than texts. The classical scholar Jane Ellen Harrison addressed herself to this audience of women readers, discussing the similarities between modern collegiate life and the "woman's world" that enabled Sappho to flourish in ancient Greece. The "Woman's World" thus questions gender stereotypes by juxtaposing ancient and modern women, implicitly endorsing varied models of womanhood.

Views of Ancient Egypt. Teacher's Guide. School Arts: Looking/Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Downs, Linda; Brenner, Carla

This teaching guide discusses ancient Egyptian culture, the lithographs made by Napoleon's scientists in 1798-99 to study and record every aspect of Egypt, the world's subsequent fascination with Egypt, ancient Egyptian architecture, Egyptian writing, and archeologists' illustrations of Egypt. The guide suggests activities for elementary school,…

Birth of Olympic flame: Ancient Greece and European identity (II

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malešević Miroslava

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The anti-Chinese protests that were organized throughout European cities fol­lowing the route of the Olympic torch from Athens to Beijing, and the conflicts that erupted with strong emotions on both sides between the protestors and the Chinese citizens, will without a doubt remain a lasting memory of the 2008 Olympic games. Regardless of these protests' justified motives, there is a visible paradoxical role-switch in the scenes that circled the globe for months: the Olympic torch and Olympic idea, were being defended by China as a highest value and the source of their own past and identity, and attacked by the people (Europeans on whose land that very idea had been created and nurtured for over a hundred years. How should these contradictory images be understood? How did it come to this that the Chinese view themselves as the keepers of the Olympic tradition, that the pride of the Chinese nation, focused in that flame, gets hurt in attempts of European protestors to put it out? The modern Olympic Games, founded in 1896, were one of the echoes of a centuries' long Western European fascination with the Antique. This phenomenon of the Antique admiration has brought about a redefining of the European civilization's past, the abandoning the biblical narrative and the gradual creation of a secular story that we call modern history, in which Greece and Rome have become the main references of origin. The same process influenced the formation of national states that perceive, apart from their own histories, a collective cultural origin in Ancient Greece. Of course, the Galls, Francs or Germans had little in common with ancient Greeks; but modern European nations unite this fictional image of the Antique with the firm belief that it is the source of their cultural identity. For instance, not only did the 18th century French and English believe that they originated from ancient Greece but they managed to successfully 'sell' that story to modern Greeks

Genetic diversity among ancient Nordic populations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Melchior, Linea Cecilie; Lynnerup, Niels; Siegismund, Hans Redlef

2010-01-01

, the success rate varied substantially between sites; the highest rates were obtained with untouched, freshly excavated material, whereas heavy handling, archeological preservation and storage for many years influenced the ability to obtain authentic endogenic DNA. While the nucleotide diversity at two...... the ancient Danes (average 13%) than among extant Danes and Scandinavians ( approximately 2.5%) as well as among other ancient population samples reported. Haplogroup I could therefore have been an ancient Southern Scandinavian type "diluted" by later immigration events. Interestingly, the two Neolithic...... samples (4,200 YBP, Bell Beaker culture) that were typed were haplogroup U4 and U5a, respectively, and the single Bronze Age sample (3,300-3,500 YBP) was haplogroup U4. These two haplogroups have been associated with the Mesolithic populations of Central and Northern Europe. Therefore, at least...

Cheek tooth morphology and ancient mitochondrial DNA of late Pleistocene horses from the western interior of North America: Implications for the taxonomy of North American Late Pleistocene Equus.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christina I Barrón-Ortiz

Full Text Available Horses were a dominant component of North American Pleistocene land mammal communities and their remains are well represented in the fossil record. Despite the abundant material available for study, there is still considerable disagreement over the number of species of Equus that inhabited the different regions of the continent and on their taxonomic nomenclature. In this study, we investigated cheek tooth morphology and ancient mtDNA of late Pleistocene Equus specimens from the Western Interior of North America, with the objective of clarifying the species that lived in this region prior to the end-Pleistocene extinction. Based on the morphological and molecular data analyzed, a caballine (Equus ferus and a non-caballine (E. conversidens species were identified from different localities across most of the Western Interior. A second non-caballine species (E. cedralensis was recognized from southern localities based exclusively on the morphological analyses of the cheek teeth. Notably the separation into caballine and non-caballine species was observed in the Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of ancient mtDNA as well as in the geometric morphometric analyses of the upper and lower premolars. Teeth morphologically identified as E. conversidens that yielded ancient mtDNA fall within the New World stilt-legged clade recognized in previous studies and this is the name we apply to this group. Geographic variation in morphology in the caballine species is indicated by statistically different occlusal enamel patterns in the specimens from Bluefish Caves, Yukon Territory, relative to the specimens from the other geographic regions. Whether this represents ecomorphological variation and/or a certain degree of geographic and genetic isolation of these Arctic populations requires further study.

Panic and Culture: Hysterike Pnix in the Ancient Greek World.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattern, Susan P

2015-10-01

Starting perhaps in the second century BCE, and with Hippocratic precedent, ancient medical writers described a condition they called hysterike pnix or "uterine suffocation." This paper argues that uterine suffocation was, in modern terms, a functional somatic syndrome characterized by chronic anxiety and panic attacks. Transcultural psychiatrists have identified and described a number of similar panic-type syndromes in modern populations, and a plausible theory of how they work has been advanced. These insights, applied to the ancient disease of hysterike pnix, demystify the condition and illuminate the experience of the women who suffered from it. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Attachment in cultural context: Differences in attachment between Eastern and Western Europeans

OpenAIRE

Polek, Elzbieta

2008-01-01

Political changes after 1989 and resulting from the European Union enlargement increased emigration from Eastern to Western Europe. In the introductory Chapter 1 the data about migration from the Eastern to Western Europe are presented, as well as the data about cultural, social and economic differences between Russia, Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland. In this chapter we also introduce A theoretical basis of acculturation and attachment theory. In Chapter 2 we focused on the replicability ...

Ancient Indian Leaps into Mathematics

CERN Document Server

Yadav, B S

2011-01-01

This book presents contributions of mathematicians covering topics from ancient India, placing them in the broader context of the history of mathematics. Although the translations of some Sanskrit mathematical texts are available in the literature, Indian contributions are rarely presented in major Western historical works. Yet some of the well-known and universally-accepted discoveries from India, including the concept of zero and the decimal representation of numbers, have made lasting contributions to the foundation of modern mathematics. Through a systematic approach, this book examines th

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE OF SOCIETY AND THE CONTINUANCE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE OF ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS IN CIAMIS REGENCY (PENGETAHUAN LOKAL MASYARAKAT DAN KELANGSUN-GAN WARISAN BUDAYA NASKAH KUNO DI KABUPATEN CIAMIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ute Lies Siti Khadijah

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract.The manuscript that has been found in Ciamis Regency is 15 manuscripts, and only 3 manuscripts have been inventoried and clearly described the form and content. This proves there are still many ancient manuscripts that have not been identified by the agency or the researchers, so there is no picture of the form or content of the manuscript. Seeing the atti-tude of different owners of the manuscript, and still very minimal efforts to save the ancient man-uscripts physically the possibility of extinction manuscripts that are in the community is very large. One of the activities that support the preservation of cultural heritage is preservation by documenting. The purpose of this research is to know the status and condition of ancient manu-script in order to support documentation activity. The research method used is qualitative with the design of action research. The results showed that (1 Identify the existence of ancient manu-scripts scattered in Kabupaten Ciamis. (2 Identification of ancient manuscripts viewed from a socio-cultural point of view (3 Treatment of local people against ancient manuscripts. The con-clusion of this study is the status and condition of the ancient manuscripts in Ciamis Regency is still apprehensive because people's understanding of the importance of the ancient script for the continuity of cultural heritage is still low. Thus, further actions on the importance of loving the cultural heritage of our own country is needed, one of it documentation activities. Abstrak. Naskah yang sudah berhasil di temukan keberadaannya di Kabupaten Ciamis berjumlah 15 naskah, dan baru 3 naskah yang sudah di inventarisasi dan dideskripsikan bentuk dan isinya secara jelas. Hal ini membuktikan masih banyak naskah-naskah kuno yang belum teridentifikasi keberadaannya oleh dinas ataupun pihak peneliti, sehingga tidak ada pula gam-baran mengenai bentuk ataupun isi naskah tersebut. Melihat sikap pemilik naskah yang berbeda-beda, serta

Aspects of western cultural, Intolerance: on the hermeneutical approach to the Mah–abh–arata

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Dragonetti

2015-01-01

Full Text Available There are frequent manifestations of Western cultural intolerance that prevent a scientific neutral approach to the intellectual achievements of other cultures, and also to appreciate them in their actual value. The authors of this article first refer to examples of this kind of intolerance in the field of Philosophy (which has been the principal object of their last investigations, Religion (Buddhist Atheism, and Linguistics (the «discovery» of Sanskrit language by Western scholars. In the present paper they specifically deal with the hermeneutical approach by Western scholars to the Mah–abh–arata that the authors consider the most important work in World Literature: Intolerance in this matter makes scholars find in the Mah–abh–arata a real «chaos» or conduces them to the obsessive search for the «Ur-Text», giving rise to theories that eliminate large portions of the epic poem considering them interpolations, or negating it all creativity, originality, and even its Indian essence. The last part of the article is dedicated to Krsna, an avatara, i.e. a reincarnation or manifestation, of the Supreme God Visnu. Krsna is seen as «a bizarre figure», «a cynic», «an opportunist», «a charlatan, who declares himself to be the God of Gods». These Western scholars leave completely aside the Indian tradition of almost three thousand centuries that proclaims that Krsna is not a God, but the God of the Hindu people, being adored by many devoted hearts. A simple but important hermeneutical norm has been forgotten: To accept the cultural products created by another culture as they are conceived by it, and without interpreting them according to one’s one cultural criteria based on the own values and beliefs.

Living arrangements in Western Europe: does cultural origin matter?

OpenAIRE

Giuliano, Paola

2006-01-01

Why are there such large differences in living arrangements across Western European countries? Conventional economic analyses have not been successful in explaining differences in living arrangements and particularly the dramatic increase in the fraction of young adults living with their parents in Mediterranean Europe. This paper presents a cultural interpretation. I argue that the sexual revolution of the 1970s - by liberalizing parental attitudes - had a differential impact on living arran...

You and Man in the Western World. A Cultural Approach. Eighth Grade Social Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Parsippany - Troy Hills Board of Education, Parsippany, NJ.

GRADES OR AGES: Grade 8. SUBJECT MATTER: Social Studies--You and Man in the Western World. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The guide contains five units: 1) cultural orientation; 2) social studies dimensions in Western Europe; 3) social studies dimensions in Eastern Europe and Soviet Union; 4) social studies dimensions in Latin America; and…

Unlocking the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt.

Science.gov (United States)

Riechers, Maggie

1995-01-01

Describes the work of Egyptologist William Murnane who is recording the ritual scenes and inscriptions of a great columned hall from the days of the pharaohs. The 134 columns, covered with divine imagery and hieroglyphic inscriptions represent an unpublished religious text. Briefly discusses ancient Egyptian culture. Includes several photographs…

Preliminary Study of Ancient Town Protection and Rural Tourism Development of Caoshi Town in Hengdong County, Hunan Province

OpenAIRE

Liu, Tian-zhao; Yang, Zai-tian; Liu Pei-lin

2012-01-01

The typical style and features of mountains and waters in Caoshi Ancient Town, have hitherto been well preserved. Caoshi Ancient Town boasts superior base of the natural eco-environment and deep-rooted background of regional culture, where mountains, waters, shoals, towns and other landscape elements are merged harmoniously, the transportation and geographical conditions have been fundamentally changed. Ancient towns, old temples, ancient forests, ancient wells and ancient piers are unique in...

Dacic Ancient Astronomical Research in Sarmizegetuza

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emanuel George Oprea

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The actual Romanian territory belongs to Carpatho-Danubian Space and to Ancient Europe. The Ancient European Society was a vast cultural entity based on a theocratic, matriarchal society, peaceful and art creating.Temples of Sarmizegetusa have given rise to several theories over time, proven by historians with the most diverse arguments. The largest complex of temples and sanctuaries was founded in Sarmizegetusa Regia, the Dacian’s main fortress and ancient capital of Dacia in the time of King Decebalus. The mysterious form of settlements has led researchers to the conclusion that the locations were astronomical observation shrines. Among the places of Dacian worship in Orastie Mountains the most impressive is the Great Circular Sanctuary, used to perform some celestial observations, and also as original solar calendar. This paper had the purpose to re-discover the Dacian Civilization and Dacian cosmogony based on the accumulated knowledge upon our country’s past.

How Can We Overcome the Dichotomy That Western Culture Has Created between the Concepts of Independence and Dependence?

Science.gov (United States)

Gross, Zehavit

2015-01-01

The purpose of this article, inspired by the works of Martin Buber, is to propose an alternative to the inherent dichotomy of Western culture. It may allow Western culture to transcend its fixed nature towards new directions and to suggest challenging solutions for reshaping the questions--what is the role of man in the world, and what is the…

Cross-cultural evaluations of avatar facial expressions designed by Western and Japanese Designers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koda, Tomoko; Rehm, Matthias; André, Elisabeth

2008-01-01

The goal of the study is to investigate cultural differences in avatar expression evaluation and apply findings from psychological study in human facial expression recognition. Our previous study using Japanese designed avatars showed there are cultural differences in interpreting avatar facial...... expressions, and the psychological theory that suggests physical proximity affects facial expression recognition accuracy is also applicable to avatar facial expressions. This paper summarizes the early results of the successive experiment that uses western designed avatars. We observed tendencies of cultural...

Ancient and Medieval Earth in Armenia

Science.gov (United States)

Farmanyan, S. V.

2015-07-01

Humankind has always sought to recognize the nature of various sky related phenomena and tried to give them explanations. The purpose of this study is to identify ancient Armenians' pantheistic and cosmological perceptions, world view, notions and beliefs related to the Earth. The paper focuses on the structure of the Earth and many other phenomena of nature that have always been on a major influence on ancient Armenians thinking. In this paper we have compared the term Earth in 31 languages. By discussing and comparing Universe structure in various regional traditions, myths, folk songs and phraseological units we very often came across to "Seven Heavens" (Seven heavens is a part of religious cosmology found in many major religions such as Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Christianity (namely Catholicism) and "Seven Earths". Armenians in their turn divided Earth and Heavens into seven layers. And in science too, both the Earth and the Heavens have 7 layers. The Seven Heavens refer to the layers of our atmosphere. The Seven Earths refer to the layers of the Earth (from core to crust), as well as seven continents. We conclude that the perception of celestial objects varies from culture to culture and preastronomy had a significant impact on humankind, particularly on cultural diversities.

Examining Cultural Drifts in Artworks through History and Development: Cultural Comparisons between Japanese and Western Landscape Paintings and Drawings.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristina eNand

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Research on cultural products suggest that there are substantial cultural variations between East Asian and European landscape masterpieces and contemporary members’ landscape artwork (Masuda et al., 2008, and that these cultural differences in drawing styles emerge around the age of 8 (Senzaki et al., 2014. However, culture is not static. To explore the dynamics of historical and ontogenetic influence on artistic expressions, we examined (1 17th to 20th century Japanese and Western landscape masterpieces, and (2 cross-sectional adolescent data in landscape artworks alongside previous findings of elementary school-aged children, and undergraduates. The results showed cultural variations in artworks and masterpieces as well as substantial cultural drifts (Herskovits, 1948 where at certain time periods in history and in development, people’s expressions deviated from culturally default patterns but occasionally returned to its previous state. The bidirectional influence of culture and implications for furthering the discipline of cultural psychology will be discussed.

Examining cultural drifts in artworks through history and development: cultural comparisons between Japanese and western landscape paintings and drawings

Science.gov (United States)

Nand, Kristina; Masuda, Takahiko; Senzaki, Sawa; Ishii, Keiko

2014-01-01

Research on cultural products suggest that there are substantial cultural variations between East Asian and European landscape masterpieces and contemporary members' landscape artwork (Masuda et al., 2008c), and that these cultural differences in drawing styles emerge around the age of 8 (Senzaki et al., 2014b). However, culture is not static. To explore the dynamics of historical and ontogenetic influence on artistic expressions, we examined (1) 17–20th century Japanese and Western landscape masterpieces, and (2) cross-sectional adolescent data in landscape artworks alongside previous findings of elementary school-aged children, and undergraduates. The results showed cultural variations in artworks and masterpieces as well as substantial “cultural drifts” (Herskovits, 1948) where at certain time periods in history and in development, people's expressions deviated from culturally default patterns but occasionally returned to its previous state. The bidirectional influence of culture and implications for furthering the discipline of cultural psychology will be discussed. PMID:25285085

The Challenges of Qualitatively Coding Ancient Texts

Science.gov (United States)

Slingerland, Edward; Chudek, Maciej

2012-01-01

We respond to several important and valid concerns about our study ("The Prevalence of Folk Dualism in Early China," "Cognitive Science" 35: 997-1007) by Klein and Klein, defending our interpretation of our data. We also argue that, despite the undeniable challenges involved in qualitatively coding texts from ancient cultures,…

Choice and dissonance in a European cultural context: the case of Western and Eastern Europeans.

Science.gov (United States)

Kokkoris, Michail D; Kühnen, Ulrich

2013-01-01

Prior research demonstrates that members of collectivistic cultures are less likely to reduce cognitive dissonance after making a choice, compared to members of individualistic cultures. This difference has been attributed to different conceptualizations of choice that derive from different self-construals across cultures. In individualistic cultures, choice leads to stronger commitment to the chosen option compared to collectivistic cultures, because it implicates core aspects of the independent self, such as personal preferences. However, this cultural variation in postchoice dissonance has thus far been studied exclusively by comparing East Asians and North Americans. Building on the assumption that this difference is due to different construals of the self, we conducted an experiment with movie choices using the classic free-choice paradigm to examine differences in dissonance reduction between Western and Eastern Europeans, two populations known to differ with respect to interdependence. The results show that Eastern Europeans are less likely than Western Europeans to reduce postchoice dissonance by spreading their alternatives. Our findings speak to the generalizability of the hypothesis that in cultures differing in independence or interdependence people also differ in the way they construe choice, as well as in the way the act of choosing affects their self-concept.

The Evolution of Al2O3 Content in Ancient Chinese Glasses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Cheng-yu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Based on the evidence from museums, collectors, the dug out of the grave, the evolution of Al2O3 content in Chinese glasses from Western Zhou to Qing dynasty was documented in this paper in detail. It was found that Al2O3 contents in ancient Chinese glasses were relatively higher than those of outside of China in the world. This is the character of the ancient Chinese glasses which is caused by not only the high Al contents in the raw materials but also by the Chinese people’s preference of the milky glasses similar to jade

Reflections of Western Cultural Attitudes toward Iran in the Linguistic Construction of English Journals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Sadat Ghiasian

2009-07-01

Full Text Available This study attempts to introduce two main currents in orientalism, the classic and the modern. The Western attitude toward the Orient, and especially Islam, is analyzed in both currents and the operative factors that lead to modern orientalism are surveyed. The 9th September 2001 event is here considered one of the most important points in modern orientalism. Media are here assumed to play a crucial role in representation of the orientalist and racist attitudes which nowadays focus on cultural differences. Accordingly, the present study surveys reflections of western cultural attitudes toward Iran in the linguistic construction of two British journals, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph and two American ones, Time and Newsweek, after the occurrence of the 9/11 event.

Ancient mitogenomics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ho, Simon Y. W.; Gilbert, Tom

2010-01-01

the technical challenges that face researchers in the field. We catalogue the diverse sequencing methods and source materials used to obtain ancient mitogenomic sequences, summarise the associated genetic and phylogenetic studies that have been conducted, and evaluate the future prospects of the field.......The mitochondrial genome has been the traditional focus of most research into ancient DNA, owing to its high copy number and population-level variability. Despite this long-standing interest in mitochondrial DNA, it was only in 2001 that the first complete ancient mitogenomic sequences were...... obtained. As a result of various methodological developments, including the introduction of high-throughput sequencing techniques, the total number of ancient mitogenome sequences has increased rapidly over the past few years. In this review, we present a brief history of ancient mitogenomics and describe...

An Evaluation of the Historical Importance of Fertility and Its Reflection in Ancient Mythology.

Science.gov (United States)

Behjati-Ardakani, Zohreh; Akhondi, Mohammad Mehdi; Mahmoodzadeh, Homa; Hosseini, Seyed Hasan

2016-01-01

Myths are reflective of human concerns and needs during ancient times. By reviewing them, it turns out that many human problems today, have a historical background. Among the main themes of ancient mythologies, fertility and reproduction have various representations in ancient civilizations. The purpose of this paper was to review myths and common symbols of fertility and reproduction in ancient civilizations and evaluate the reasons of their continuous importance in different cultures. The data in this review study was obtained by scrutinizing the related literature. The gathered data indicated the multiplicity and variety of fertility symbols in ancient myths. Most ancient fertility symbols were inspired by the nature and some of them like earth and water were common in mythology of different civilizations. Therefore, the symbols consolidate the concept of conformity between human reproductive concerns and the nature's necessities.

History of attitudes toward death: a comparative study between Persian and western cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Aramesh, Kiarash

2016-01-01

In his seminal book on the historical periods of Western attitudes toward death, Philippe Aries describes four consecutive periods through which these attitudes evolved and transformed. According to him, the historical attitudes of Western cultures have passed through four major parts described above: "Tamed Death," One's Own Death," "Thy Death," and "Forbidden Death." This paper, after exploring this concept through the lens of Persian Poetic Wisdom, concludes that he historical attitudes of Persian-speaking people toward death have generally passed through two major periods. The first period is an amalgamation of Aries' "Tamed Death" and "One's Own Death" periods, and the second period is an amalgamation of Aries' "Thy Death" and "Forbidden Death" periods. This paper explores the main differences and similarities of these two historical trends through a comparative review of the consecutive historical periods of attitudes toward death between the Western and Persian civilizations/cultures. Although both civilizations moved through broadly similar stages, some influential contextual factors have been very influential in shaping noteworthy differences between them. The concepts of after-death judgment and redemption/downfall dichotomy and practices like deathbed rituals and their evolution after enlightenment and modernity are almost common between the above two broad traditions. The chronology of events and some aspects of conceptual evolutions (such as the lack of the account of permanent death of nonbelievers in the Persian tradition) and ritualistic practices (such as the status of the tombs of Shiite Imams and the absolute lack of embalming and wake in the Persian/Shiite culture) are among the differences.

Communication and relationship satisfaction in Chinese, Western, and intercultural Chinese-Western couples.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiew, Danika N; Halford, W Kim; van de Vijver, Fons J R; Liu, Shuang

2016-03-01

The current study compared Chinese, Western, and intercultural Chinese-Western couples' communication and examined how culture moderates the association of communication with relationship satisfaction. We coded the communication of 33 Western couples, 36 Chinese couples, and 54 intercultural Chinese-Western couples when discussing a relationship problem and when reminiscing about positive relationship events. Couples with Chinese female partners showed fewer positive behaviors and more negative behaviors (as classified in existing Western coding systems) than couples with Western female partners. The male partner's culture had few associations with couples' rates of communication behavior. Relationship satisfaction was associated with low rates of negative behaviors and high rates of most of the positive behaviors across cultural groups, and these associations were more evident in problem discussions than positive reminiscences. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Education in Ancient and the Present Egypt: From 4000 B.C. to A.D. 1983.

Science.gov (United States)

Elwan, Nour Eldin

The discovery and deciphering of the Rosetta stone led to a rediscovery of Egypt's contribution to world culture and civilization. This document outlines the growth of knowledge and education in ancient Egypt and emphasizes the disciplines of science, medicine, art, philosophy, agriculture, and engineering. Ancient Egypt's decline and the…

Ancient DNA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Willerslev, Eske; Cooper, Alan

2004-01-01

ancient DNA, palaeontology, palaeoecology, archaeology, population genetics, DNA damage and repair......ancient DNA, palaeontology, palaeoecology, archaeology, population genetics, DNA damage and repair...

Evidence of ancient DNA reveals the first European lineage in Iron Age Central China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, C Z; Li, C X; Cui, Y Q; Zhang, Q C; Fu, Y Q; Zhu, H; Zhou, H

2007-07-07

Various studies on ancient DNA have attempted to reconstruct population movement in Asia, with much interest focused on determining the arrival of European lineages in ancient East Asia. Here, we discuss our analysis of the mitochondrial DNA of human remains excavated from the Yu Hong tomb in Taiyuan, China, dated 1400 years ago. The burial style of this tomb is characteristic of Central Asia at that time. Our analysis shows that Yu Hong belonged to the haplogroup U5, one of the oldest western Eurasian-specific haplogroups, while his wife can be classified as haplogroup G, the type prevalent in East Asia. Our findings show that this man with European lineage arrived in Taiyuan approximately 1400 years ago, and most probably married a local woman. Haplogroup U5 was the first west Eurasian-specific lineage to be found in the central part of ancient China, and Taiyuan may be the easternmost location of the discovered remains of European lineage in ancient China.

Did the ancient Egyptians migrate to ancient Nigeria?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jock M. Agai

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Literatures concerning the history of West African peoples published from 1900 to 1970 debate�the possible migrations of the Egyptians into West Africa. Writers like Samuel Johnson and�Lucas Olumide believe that the ancient Egyptians penetrated through ancient Nigeria but Leo�Frobenius and Geoffrey Parrinder frowned at this opinion. Using the works of these early�20th century writers of West African history together with a Yoruba legend which teaches�about the origin of their earliest ancestor(s, this researcher investigates the theories that the�ancient Egyptians had contact with the ancient Nigerians and particularly with the Yorubas.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: There is an existing ideology�amongst the Yorubas and other writers of Yoruba history that the original ancestors of�the Yorubas originated in ancient Egypt hence there was migration between Egypt and�Yorubaland. This researcher contends that even if there was migration between Egypt and�Nigeria, such migration did not take place during the predynastic and dynastic period as�speculated by some scholars. The subject is open for further research.

THE CULTURE OF COEXISTENCE AND PERCEPTION OF THE OTHER IN THE WESTERN BALKANS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sibel Akova

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Throughout the 550 year Ottoman rule over the Balkan lands, where even today internal dynamics threaten peace and justice, how and through what means the Ottoman Empire achieved consistency, security and peace is a question to which a number of political scientists, sociologists, communication scientists and history researchers have sought an answer. The most interesting point of the question is that the peoples of the Balkans, a living museum comprising a number of different ethnic groups and religious beliefs, have reached the point where the culture of coexistence has been internalised and dynamics have moved from the conflict of identities to cultural integration. The Balkans are a bridge to the East from Europe and indeed to the West from Turkey, incorporating a patchwork political and cultural geography, the geopolitical location and a richness of culture and civilization, being one of the areas attracting the attention of researchers from different disciplines and capturing the imagination of the peoples of the world throughout history. Balkan studies are almost as difficult as climbing the peaks in the areas and meaningful answers cannot be reached by defining the area on a single parameter such as language, culture or traditions, while the phenomenon of the other can also be observed within the culture of coexistence in this intricate and significant location. Different ethnic groups with different cultures, such as the Southern Slavs (Bosniaks, Montenegrans, Serbs, Croats and Slovenes as well as Turks, Albanians, Bulgarians, Balkan Jews, Balkan Romany and Wallachians (Romanians and Greeks. Although these peoples may have different religious beliefs, in the ethnically rich Balkan region, religion, language, political and cultural differences are vital in the formation of a mosaic, making the discourse of coexistence possible and creating common values and loyalties, breaking down differences. The Serbian and Montenegrin peoples

[The methods of Western medicine in on ancient medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Ban, Deokjin

2010-06-30

The treatise On Ancient Medicine attests that questions of method were being debated both in medicine and in philosophy and is important evidence of cross-discipline methodological controversy. The treatise On Ancient Medicine is the first attempt in the history of Greek thought to provide a detailed account of the development of a science from a starting point in observation and experience. The author of it criticizes philosophical physicians who attempt to systematized medicine by reducing it to the interaction of one or more of the opposites hot, cold, wet, and dry, factors. He regards the theory of his opponents as hypothesis(hypothesis). Medicine has long been in possession of both an archē and a hodos, a principle and a method, which have enabled it to make discoveries over a long period of time. As far as method is concerned, the traditional science of medicine attained the knowledge of the visible by starting from observation and experience, but it recommended the use of reasoning and analogies with familiar objects as a means of learning about the invisible. It also utilized inference from the visible to the visible(epilogismos) and inference from the visible to the invisible(analogismos). The use of analogy as a means of learning about the obscure was also part of the common heritage of early philosophy and medicine. But the author's use of the analogical method distinguishes it from Empedocles' well-known analogy comparisons of the eye to a lantern and the process of respiration to the operations of a clepsydra. According to the author, traditional science of medicine used functional analogy like wine example and cheese example to know the function of humors within the body and utilized structured analogy like a tube example and a cupping instrument example to acknowledge an organ or structure within the body. But the author didn't distinguish between the claim that medicine has a systematic method of making discoveries and very different claim that it

Research on the Ancient Mongolian Place-Name Along the Silk Road

Science.gov (United States)

Nashunwuritu; Baiyinbateer; Duoxi

2016-06-01

"Silk Road" is an ancient commercial trade channel connecting China with Asia, Africa and Europe and a major link of the economy, politics and culture of the East and West as well. In the 13th Century, with the westward expedition of Mongolian, the communication and integration of culture among different countries was accelerated, which led to many Mongolian place-names scattered in the countries along the silk-road, such as Khwarezmia, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Kipchak, Persian, involving today's Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Serbia, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India and many other countries and regions. The place-name is a kind of important factor that can represent the changes of culture, economic in history. We analyzed the current place-names in different countries or regions with different language to find out ancient Mongolian place-names, and marked the names on the digital map. Through the changes and transition of the place-name, we explored the development of Mongolian language changes itself, Mongolian blends with other languages, and furtherly reveal information of culture exchange.

RESEARCH ON THE ANCIENT MONGOLIAN PLACE-NAME ALONG THE SILK ROAD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nashunwuritu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available “Silk Road” is an ancient commercial trade channel connecting China with Asia, Africa and Europe and a major link of the economy, politics and culture of the East and West as well. In the 13th Century, with the westward expedition of Mongolian, the communication and integration of culture among different countries was accelerated, which led to many Mongolian place-names scattered in the countries along the silk-road, such as Khwarezmia, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Kipchak, Persian, involving today's Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Serbia, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India and many other countries and regions. The place-name is a kind of important factor that can represent the changes of culture, economic in history. We analyzed the current place-names in different countries or regions with different language to find out ancient Mongolian place-names, and marked the names on the digital map. Through the changes and transition of the place-name, we explored the development of Mongolian language changes itself, Mongolian blends with other languages, and furtherly reveal information of culture exchange.

Child and Ancient Man: How to Define Their Commonalities and Differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Oesterdiekhoff, Georg W

2016-09-01

Developmental psychology is not only a psychology of development from childhood to old age but a psychology of human development in world history. Eighty years of cross-cultural empirical research findings indicate that the adolescent stage of formal operations evolved late in history and is not a universal development of adult humans across cultures and history. Correspondingly, preoperational or concrete operational stages describe adult psychological stages in past or premodern cultures, as Jean Piaget and some of his followers have mentioned. Developmental psychology is likewise a historical or anthropological psychology capable of describing humans in premodern cultures. The article develops a general anthropological or psychological theory answering the many questions that arise from the correspondences between (modern) children and ancient adults. On this psychological basis, the new structural genetic theory program is capable of explaining, better than previous approaches, the history of humankind from prehistory through ancient to modern societies, the history of economy, society, culture, religion, philosophy, sciences, morals, and everyday life. The accomplishment of this task was once demanded of some classical founders of psychology, sociology, history, and ethnology but was largely avoided by the postwar generations of authors for political and ideological reasons.

Role of Cultural Inspiration with Different Types in Cultural Product Design Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Shi-Jian; Dong, Ye-Nan

2017-01-01

Inspiration plays an important role in the design activities and design education. This paper describes "ancient cultural artefacts" as "cultural inspiration," consisting of two types called "cultural-pictorial inspiration" (CPI) and "cultural-textual inspiration" (CTI). This study aims to test the important…

Myth Today: the Traditional Understanding of Myth in Critical Theories of Society and the Usefulness of Vernant's Concept of Ancient Greek Mythology for Contemporary Cultural Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jože Vogrinc

2004-12-01

Full Text Available There is no shortage of speaking about »myths« in contemporary popular culture, and often ancient Greek myths are evoked. »Myth«, however, is usually taken to mean a widely distributed story or belief which is inexact, false and/or fabricated – typically, to manipulate the multitude. In critical theories of society after Marx there are hints of different, theoretically more productive accounts of modern heritage or modern correspondences with Greek mythology. Marx himself has influenced cultural theorists with his account of the relationship between Greek mythology and Greek art as given in his Grundrisse. In his view, mythology serves as the arsenal and foundation of art because in mythology »nature and social forms are already reworked in an unconsciously artistic way by the popular imagination«. This account, together with a hint that there exist (in newspapers modern correspondences with such a relationship, has led to various theoretical elaborations of contemporary popular culture and ideology (e.g. in A. Gramsci, R. Williams, L. Althusser, P. Macherey etc.. None of them, however, retains »myth« as a concept; the word, when used, refers to ideology. Even R. Barthes, who developed a semiological concept of myth, did not refer to its Greek cultural meaning but used it explicitly as a tool for analysing the ideological manipulation of popular culture. C. Lévi-Strauss in social anthropology in general and J.-P. Vernant in the anthropology of ancient worlds have, on the other hand, developed the structural analysis of myths as essential to a culture without reducing it disparagingly to ideology. In our view, it should be possible to transpose Vernant's treatment of myth as a variable and shifting popular account of topics vital to its consumers to the study of today's popular culture and media.

Knife - Holders in Ancient Egyptian Tombs (Religious and Artistic Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

dr.Rasha Omran

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Studying ancient Egyptian tombs have long been an important source of information regarding many aspects of Egyptian religion. Walls of New Kingdom tombs are often decorated with plenty of painted religious scenes. While they were primarily private structures containing images selected by the person who expected to be housed there for eternity, the funerary monuments also reflect religious beliefs. While numerous researches focused on many of the religious scenes depicted on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs, no one focused on the knife - holders' scenes. Hence, the current study focused on knife - holders scenes depicted on the walls of both royal and private tombs dating back to the New Kingdom at Thebes. The current study was undertaken to shed light on the meaning and the function of knife in Ancient Egypt. To study the role of the knife-holders in Ancient Egypt. To spot light on the actions and behaviors and locations of the knife-holders in Ancient Egyptian civilization. To spot light on the representations of the knife-holders on the walls of the ancient Egyptians tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens as well as the private tombs at western Thebes. To focus on the shapes and positions of the Knife-holders in Ancient Egypt. To explain the difference between Knife - Holders and Demons. To achieve the objectives of the study, the required data were collected from periodicals, references presenting Knife Holders scenes. Preserving the scenes of knife - holders on the walls of the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens dating back to the New Kingdom as well as the private tombs at western Thebes that contributed to the interpretation of all the data gathered from literature. The preliminary results indicated that the term (Knife-Holders is an expression which indicates to tomb-guardians, demons or minor divinities. These minor deities were subordinate to the major gods and goddesses. They

Insights into Modern Human Prehistory Using Ancient Genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Melinda A; Fu, Qiaomei

2018-03-01

The genetic relationship of past modern humans to today's populations and each other was largely unknown until recently, when advances in ancient DNA sequencing allowed for unprecedented analysis of the genomes of these early people. These ancient genomes reveal new insights into human prehistory not always observed studying present-day populations, including greater details on the genetic diversity, population structure, and gene flow that characterized past human populations, particularly in early Eurasia, as well as increased insight on the relationship between archaic and modern humans. Here, we review genetic studies on ∼45000- to 7500-year-old individuals associated with mainly preagricultural cultures found in Eurasia, the Americas, and Africa. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Internalization of Western Culture's Thin-Ideal: A Literature Review on Internalization and Individuals with Eating Disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Albertson, Nicole K.

This paper is a review of literature regarding internalization of Western culture's thin-ideal. The media's portrayal of a thin-ideal associates success and beauty with being thin. Research has shown that exposure to the culture's thin-ideal does not necessarily lead to eating pathology, but those who internalize the standard are more likely to…

Cosmologies of the ancient Mediterranean world

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John T. Fitzgerald

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Cosmology is concerned with the order of the universe and seeks to provide an account, not only of that order, but also of the mind or reason behind it. In antiquity, the cosmos was usually understood religiously, such that the cosmologies of the ancient Mediterranean world were either religious in nature or constituted a reaction to a religiously conceived understanding of the structures of the universe. The oldest form in which ancient cosmologies occur is myth, which, owing to its elasticity as a form, enabled them to be appropriated, adapted and used by different groups. In addition, different cosmologies co-existed within the same ancient culture, each having an authoritative status. This article provides an introductory overview of these cosmological myths and argues that a comparative approach is the most fruitful way to study them. Emphasis is given to certain prominent cosmological topics, including theogony (the genesis of the divine or the relationship of the divine to the cosmos, cosmogony (the genesis of the cosmos, and anthropogony (the origin of humans within the cosmos. Although these myths vary greatly in terms of content and how they envision the origin of the cosmos, many of them depict death as part of the structure of the universe.

Armenian Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Mickaelian, Areg M.; Farmanyan, Sona V.

2016-12-01

A review is given on archaeoastronomy in Armenia and astronomical knowledge reflected in the Armenian culture. Astronomy in Armenia was popular since ancient times and Armenia is rich in its astronomical heritage, such as the names of the constellations, ancient observatories, Armenian rock art (numerous petroglyphs of astronomical content), ancient and medieval Armenian calendars, astronomical terms and names used in Armenian language since II-I millennia B.C., records of astronomical events by ancient Armenians (e.g. Halley's comet in 87 B.C., supernovae explosion in 1054), the astronomical heritage of the Armenian medieval great thinker Anania Shirakatsi's (612-685), medieval sky maps and astronomical devices by Ghukas (Luca) Vanandetsi (XVII-XVIII centuries) and Mkhitar Sebastatsi (1676-1749), etc. For systemization and further regular studies, we have created a webpage devoted to Armenian archaeoastronomical matters at Armenian Astronomical Society (ArAS) website. Issues on astronomy in culture include astronomy in ancient Armenian cultures, ethnoastronomy, astronomy in Armenian religion and mythology, astronomy and astrology, astronomy in folklore and poetry, astronomy in arts, astrolinguistics and astroheraldry. A similar webpage for Astronomy in Armenian Culture is being created at ArAS website and a permanent section "Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture" has been created in ArAS Electronic Newsletter. Several meetings on this topic have been organized in Armenia during 2007-2014, including the archaeoastronomical meetings in 2012 and 2014, and a number of books have been published. Several institutions are related to these studies coordinated by Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO) and researchers from the fields of astronomy, history, archaeology, literature, linguistics, etc. are involved.

History in black african-americans in search of an ancient past

CERN Document Server

Shavit, Yaacov

2001-01-01

The development of Afrocentric historical writing is explored in this study which traces this recording of history from the Hellenistic-Roman period to the 19th century. Afrocentric writers are depicted as searching for the unique primary source of "culture" from one period to the next. Such passing on of cultural traits from the "ancient model" from the classical period to the origin of culture in Egypt and Africa is shown as being a product purely of creative history.

Ancient Resistome.

Science.gov (United States)

Olaitan, Abiola Olumuyiwa; Rolain, Jean-Marc

2016-08-01

Antibiotic resistance is an ancient biological mechanism in bacteria, although its proliferation in our contemporary world has been amplified through antimicrobial therapy. Recent studies conducted on ancient environmental and human samples have uncovered numerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes. The resistance genes that have been reported from the analysis of ancient bacterial DNA include genes coding for several classes of antibiotics, such as glycopeptides, β-lactams, tetracyclines, and macrolides. The investigation of the resistome of ancient bacteria is a recent and emerging field of research, and technological advancements such as next-generation sequencing will further contribute to its growth. It is hoped that the knowledge gained from this research will help us to better understand the evolution of antibiotic resistance genes and will also be used in drug design as a proactive measure against antibiotic resistance.

Pros and cons of methylation-based enrichment methods for ancient DNA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Seguin-Orlando, Andaine; Gamba, Cristina; Der Sarkissian, Clio

2015-01-01

samples, where both DNA fragmentation and deamination have been limited. This work represents an essential step toward the characterization of ancient methylation signatures, which will help understanding the role of epigenetic changes in past environmental and cultural transitions....

Nursery cultural practices to achieve targets: A case study in western larch irrigation

Science.gov (United States)

Anthony S. Davis; Robert F. Keefe

2011-01-01

Nursery cultural practices are used to help growers achieve pre-determined size and physiological targets for seedlings. In that regard, irrigation is used to accelerate or slow growth and as a trigger for changing growth phase. In a case study highlighting the effects of irrigation on seedling development, western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.) seedlings were grown...

Mingadhuga Mingayung: Respecting Country through Mother Mountain's Stories to Share Her Cultural Voice in Western Academic Structures

Science.gov (United States)

McKnight, Anthony

2015-01-01

The cultural invasion of Yuin Country in Australia not only colonized the Yuin people and Yuin Country itself, but also contributed to non-Aboriginal people's continual colonized journey of disconnecting self from Mother Earth. Cultural awareness is a process driven by Western theories informed by the colonial dualism that functions on separation…

A preliminary research on characteristics of rare-earth elements in ancient pottery of neolithic age in Su Wan area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Shuyu; Lin Shuqin; Peng Zicheng; Liu Fangxin; Zhang Jingguo

1995-01-01

The content of rare-earth elements in the three ancient ruins of pottery of the Neolithic age along Yangtze River is analyzed by means of Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence Spectrometry. It is shown that the distribution of rare-earth elements varies with the sites where the ancient pottery samples were unearthed. Therefore the analysis of the content of the rate-earth elements may help explore the ancient pottery production sites and the route of the ancient culture exchange

The rise of eating disorders in Japan: issues of culture and limitations of the model of "westernization".

Science.gov (United States)

Pike, Kathleen M; Borovoy, Amy

2004-12-01

As the first non-Western nation in contemporary history to become a major industrialized economic power, Japan is central to the debate on cultural relativism in psychiatric nosologies, and the study of eating disorders in Japan contributes to the complex discussion of the impact of culture and history on the experience, diagnosis and treatment of such disorders (R. Gordon 2001; Palmer 2001). Without question, the rise in eating disorders in Japan correlated with increasing industrialization, urbanization, and the fraying of traditional family forms following World War II. While the case of Japan confirms that the existence of eating disorders appears to be linked with these broader social transformations, it also points to the importance of specific cultural and historical factors in shaping the experience of eating disorders. In this article, we explore two particular dimensions of culture in contemporary Japan: (1) gender development and gender role expectations for females coming of age; and (2) beauty ideals and the role of weight and shape concerns in the etiology of eating disorders. Our analysis of these dimensions of culture, and the data accruing from empirical and qualitative research, reveal limitations to the model of "Westernization" and call for a more culturally sensitive search for meaning in both describing and explaining eating disorders in Japan today.

[Spread of Chinese variolation art to the western world and its influence].

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, S; Zhang, D

2000-07-01

Smallpox inoculation or variolation is a great invention of medicine in ancient China. In this paper, we introduced the process of spread of smallpox inoculation technique from China to western world (mainly to England), and reviewed the royal experiment of smallpox inoculation on human being and its influence on the prevention of smallpox in western countries. The spread and practice of smallpox inoculation in western world was an important event in the history of intercommunication between eastern and western medicines, which is worth emphasizing and further studying.

Identifying the Conditions for Rural Sustainability through Place-Based Culture: Applying the CIPM and CDPM Models into Meibei Ancient Village

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Lin

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Transitional rural China faces more serious challenges in its sustainable development. How to regain the vital momentum of those historically and culturally preeminent villages, among over 680,000 administrative villages in total, has become the pressing agenda for all the stakeholders, due to the fact that these villages have huge potential to be the leverage for successful rural transition and new urbanization in China. This paper therefore tries to diagnose and identify the current situation of those villages from a cultural perspective by taking the Meibei ancient village as the case. By applying the proposed Cultural Inverted Pyramid Model (CIPM and Cultural Dual Pyramid Model (CDPM with seven layers, i.e., root/vision, value, symbol, hero, ritual, lifestyle, and governance & management, Meibei’s development mechanism has been systematically explored from a cultural perspective through the comparison between its past prosperity and present challenges. It is found that the great merit of Meibei’s past prosperity lied in the organic integration of cultural elements in all the layers through the five development dimensions, i.e., economic, social, institutional, environmental and cultural dimensions. The empirical study proves that CIPM is a useful tool for diagnosing and identifying the current situation of the village, while CDPM is an effective instrument for planning and designing a culture-embedded and improved place for the future. Unless Meibei can recreate a new cultural ecosystem with resilience fitting to its existed heritage with cultural excellence and tourism promotion, the village cannot catch up with its past prosperity. Finally, this paper calls for more in-depth culture-oriented research to improve the CIPM and CDPM paradigm to allow for the realization of rural sustainability, particularly from the perspectives of policy options and academic concerns.

Ancient Israelite and African proverbs as advice, reproach, warning, encouragement and explanation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David T. Adamo

2015-11-01

Full Text Available With few exceptions, the majority of biblical scholars (Euroamericans and Africans concentrate on comparing ancient Israelite proverbs with the so-called ancient Near Eastern proverbs. Despite the importance of proverbs in Sub-Saharan Africa it is doubly unfortunate that the majority of African biblical scholars did not think it wise to compare proverbs from ancient Israel with Sub-Saharan African proverbs. It is also a double tragedy that young people in Sub-Saharan Africa are ignorant of proverbs because they have refused to learn them because they think them archaic. Proverbs in both ancient Israel and in Africa are similar in function and classification. Thus, they serve as advice, reproach, warning, encouragement and further explanation of some facts. They have great value and importance, such as giving a sense of identity, community, culture, respect for authority and elders, sacredness of everything under the sun and a sense of hospitality and others.

Cityscapes and Monuments of Western Asia Minor. Memories and Identities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Eva; Poulsen, Birte

, finally, more than half a millennium of Roman rule. Identities are voiced through several media and visible at many levels of the ancient societies. So are the places of memory – the Lieux de Mémoire – and the studies presented here provide new insights into how human beings chose, deliberately...... and various identities. The present volume publishes 25 contributions written by scholars specializing in the history and archaeology of western Asia Minor. New and well-known material – literary, epigraphical, numismatic, and archaeological – is presented and analyzed through the twin lenses of memory...... and identity. The contributions cover more than 1000 years of cultural diversity during changing political systems, from the Lydian and Persian hegemony in the Archaic period through Athenian supremacy and Persian satrapal rule in the Classical period, then autocratic kingship in Hellenistic times until...

On the cultural guises of cognitive dissonance: the case of easterners and westerners.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoshino-Browne, Etsuko; Zanna, Adam S; Spencer, Steven J; Zanna, Mark P; Kitayama, Shinobu; Lackenbauer, Sandra

2005-09-01

Cognitive dissonance and effects of self-affirmation on dissonance arousal were examined cross-culturally. In Studies 1 and 2, European Canadians justified their choices more when they made them for themselves, whereas Asian Canadians (Study 1) or Japanese (Study 2) justified their choices more when they made them for a friend. In Study 3, an interdependent self-affirmation reduced dissonance for Asian Canadians but not for European Canadians. In Study 4, when Asian Canadians made choices for a friend, an independent self-affirmation reduced dissonance for bicultural Asian Canadians but not for monocultural Asian Canadians. These studies demonstrate that both Easterners and Westerners can experience dissonance, but culture shapes the situations in which dissonance is aroused and reduced. Implications of these cultural differences for theories of cognitive dissonance and self-affirmation are discussed.

The Great Pyramid Builders: An Integrated Theme on Ancient Egypt

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Brian

2008-01-01

This article describes a themed classroom project designed to teach about the culture and civilization of ancient Egypt. In preparing the project, it is noted that teachers should remember that different learning styles, including activities that provide meaningful experiences, are appropriate in accommodating the various ways children learn.…

Ancient genomes

OpenAIRE

Hoelzel, A Rus

2005-01-01

Ever since its invention, the polymerase chain reaction has been the method of choice for work with ancient DNA. In an application of modern genomic methods to material from the Pleistocene, a recent study has instead undertaken to clone and sequence a portion of the ancient genome of the cave bear.

Plato and Play: Taking Education Seriously in Ancient Greece

Science.gov (United States)

D'Angour, Armand

2013-01-01

In this article, the author outlines Plato's notions of play in ancient Greek culture and shows how the philosopher's views on play can be best appreciated against the background of shifting meanings and evaluations of play in classical Greece. Play--in various forms such as word play, ritual, and music--proved central to the development of…

Examination of Chinese Gambling Problems through a Socio-Historical-Cultural Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samson Tse

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this review is to highlight emerging trends about Chinese people and gambling addiction over the last 15 years, and to provide a discourse on the potential link between gambling and Chinese culture and history. The authors reported on the phenomenon of gambling among Chinese people using relevant research studies and reports and traditional Chinese literature. Chinese people have elevated levels of gambling addiction compared to their Western counterparts. These elevated rates are coupled with the rapid expansion of gambling venues within the Pan-Pacific region. While there is an accumulated body of research on Chinese and gambling, a systematic cultural analysis of Chinese gambling is still under development. We undertook a brief comparison between two ancient civilizations, China and Rome, in order to gain better understanding about gambling among Chinese people. To effectively deal with gambling addictions among Chinese people, it is imperative to develop culturally responsive interventions.

Ancient migratory events in the Middle East: new clues from the Y-chromosome variation of modern Iranians.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viola Grugni

Full Text Available Knowledge of high resolution Y-chromosome haplogroup diversification within Iran provides important geographic context regarding the spread and compartmentalization of male lineages in the Middle East and southwestern Asia. At present, the Iranian population is characterized by an extraordinary mix of different ethnic groups speaking a variety of Indo-Iranian, Semitic and Turkic languages. Despite these features, only few studies have investigated the multiethnic components of the Iranian gene pool. In this survey 938 Iranian male DNAs belonging to 15 ethnic groups from 14 Iranian provinces were analyzed for 84 Y-chromosome biallelic markers and 10 STRs. The results show an autochthonous but non-homogeneous ancient background mainly composed by J2a sub-clades with different external contributions. The phylogeography of the main haplogroups allowed identifying post-glacial and Neolithic expansions toward western Eurasia but also recent movements towards the Iranian region from western Eurasia (R1b-L23, Central Asia (Q-M25, Asia Minor (J2a-M92 and southern Mesopotamia (J1-Page08. In spite of the presence of important geographic barriers (Zagros and Alborz mountain ranges, and the Dasht-e Kavir and Dash-e Lut deserts which may have limited gene flow, AMOVA analysis revealed that language, in addition to geography, has played an important role in shaping the nowadays Iranian gene pool. Overall, this study provides a portrait of the Y-chromosomal variation in Iran, useful for depicting a more comprehensive history of the peoples of this area as well as for reconstructing ancient migration routes. In addition, our results evidence the important role of the Iranian plateau as source and recipient of gene flow between culturally and genetically distinct populations.

Ancient Human Genome Sequence of an Extinct Palaeo-Eskimo

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Morten; Li, Yingrui; Lindgreen, Stinus

2010-01-01

We report here the genome sequence of an ancient human. Obtained from approximately 4,000-year-old permafrost-preserved hair, the genome represents a male individual from the first known culture to settle in Greenland. Sequenced to an average depth of 20x, we recover 79% of the diploid genome...... possible phenotypic characteristics of the individual that belonged to a culture whose location has yielded only trace human remains. We compare the high-confidence SNPs to those of contemporary populations to find the populations most closely related to the individual. This provides evidence...

Emphasizing Local Features for Effective Environmental Education: Environmental Attitudes of Elementary School Students Living in Ancient Halicarnassus (Turkey)

Science.gov (United States)

Bas, Meltem; Teksoz, Gaye Tuncer; Ertepinar, Hamide

2011-01-01

Ancient Halicarnassus, the site of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, has become famous since the 1980s as one of the major tourism centers of Turkey. Although the contribution of Ancient Halicarnassus to Turkey's economy increases as the number of tourists visiting the area increases, the area's historical, cultural and environmental values have…

Kala-tau Hill as a Medieval Monument of Archaeology and Epigraphy in the Western Urals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabdrafikov I.M.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: To provide a description of Starokalmashevo hillfort and the Starokalmashevo gravestone with an Arabic epitaph found in the mid-20th century in close proximity to the site of ancient settlement. They are here described not only as monuments of the Middle Ages, but also as objects of historical heritage testifying to the continuous process of ethno-culturogenesis in the Western Cis-Urals up to modern times. Research materials: The author considers the issues of medieval history, ethno- and cultural genesis of the Western Cis-Urals in light of the example of the Starokalmashevo hillfort, located on the hill of Kala-tau (Chekmagushevsky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan, as well as the Starokalmashevo gravestone. The author provides a complex description of these archaeological and cultural monuments and points out the importance of preserving these objects as an integral part of the local population and the entire Volga-Ural region’s collective historical memory. Research novelty: The author presents new materials, including the stories of community elders about the origin of the above-mentioned archaeological sites. He analyzes the inscriptions on the tombstone, including its new reading, and draws a conclusion about the continuity of the population of this territory for a sustained period.

Plato the Pederast: Rhetoric and Cultural Procreation in the Dialogues.

Science.gov (United States)

Ervin, Elizabeth

1993-01-01

Examines Plato's Dialogues by reading them through two cultural lenses: the role of eros in classical Greece and its analogous relationship to language and rhetoric; and the educational function of eros within the ancient institution of pederasty. Shows how the cultural values of ancient Greece manifested themselves in Plato's erotic educational…

Fast, accurate and automatic ancient nucleosome and methylation maps with epiPALEOMIX

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hanghøj, Kristian; Seguin, Andaine; Schubert, Mikkel

2016-01-01

of CTCF binding regions can be used to help data authentication. Our work, including epiPALEOMIX, opens for further investigations of ancient epigenomes through time especially aimed at tracking possible epigenetic changes during major evolutionary, environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural shifts....

Standing at the Gateway to Europe - The Genetic Structure of Western Balkan Populations Based on Autosomal and Haploid Markers

Science.gov (United States)

Kovacevic, Lejla; Tambets, Kristiina; Ilumäe, Anne-Mai; Kushniarevich, Alena; Yunusbayev, Bayazit; Solnik, Anu; Bego, Tamer; Primorac, Dragan; Skaro, Vedrana; Leskovac, Andreja; Jakovski, Zlatko; Drobnic, Katja; Tolk, Helle-Viivi; Kovacevic, Sandra; Rudan, Pavao; Metspalu, Ene; Marjanovic, Damir

2014-01-01

Contemporary inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula belong to several ethnic groups of diverse cultural background. In this study, three ethnic groups from Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bosniacs, Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Serbs - as well as the populations of Serbians, Croatians, Macedonians from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegrins and Kosovars have been characterized for the genetic variation of 660 000 genome-wide autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms and for haploid markers. New autosomal data of the 70 individuals together with previously published data of 20 individuals from the populations of the Western Balkan region in a context of 695 samples of global range have been analysed. Comparison of the variation data of autosomal and haploid lineages of the studied Western Balkan populations reveals a concordance of the data in both sets and the genetic uniformity of the studied populations, especially of Western South-Slavic speakers. The genetic variation of Western Balkan populations reveals the continuity between the Middle East and Europe via the Balkan region and supports the scenario that one of the major routes of ancient gene flows and admixture went through the Balkan Peninsula. PMID:25148043

Standing at the gateway to Europe--the genetic structure of Western balkan populations based on autosomal and haploid markers.

Science.gov (United States)

Kovacevic, Lejla; Tambets, Kristiina; Ilumäe, Anne-Mai; Kushniarevich, Alena; Yunusbayev, Bayazit; Solnik, Anu; Bego, Tamer; Primorac, Dragan; Skaro, Vedrana; Leskovac, Andreja; Jakovski, Zlatko; Drobnic, Katja; Tolk, Helle-Viivi; Kovacevic, Sandra; Rudan, Pavao; Metspalu, Ene; Marjanovic, Damir

2014-01-01

Contemporary inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula belong to several ethnic groups of diverse cultural background. In this study, three ethnic groups from Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bosniacs, Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Serbs - as well as the populations of Serbians, Croatians, Macedonians from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegrins and Kosovars have been characterized for the genetic variation of 660 000 genome-wide autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms and for haploid markers. New autosomal data of the 70 individuals together with previously published data of 20 individuals from the populations of the Western Balkan region in a context of 695 samples of global range have been analysed. Comparison of the variation data of autosomal and haploid lineages of the studied Western Balkan populations reveals a concordance of the data in both sets and the genetic uniformity of the studied populations, especially of Western South-Slavic speakers. The genetic variation of Western Balkan populations reveals the continuity between the Middle East and Europe via the Balkan region and supports the scenario that one of the major routes of ancient gene flows and admixture went through the Balkan Peninsula.

Art Activities about Mesopotamia, Egypt and Islam. Hands-On Ancient People.

Science.gov (United States)

Merrill, Yvonne Y.

This book features objects of the Mesopotamian, the Egyptian, and Islamic cultures. In exploring important contributions in ancient art, the book presents visuals that are interpretations of authentic artifacts, usually in museum collections, or illustrations from archaeological publications and articles. Historical items (n=55+) have been adapted…

Freshwater diatomite deposits in the western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Alan R.; Frank, David G.; Founie, Alan

2006-01-01

Freshwater diatomite deposits in the Western United States are found in lake beds that formed millions of years ago. These diatom-rich sediments are among the Nation's largest commercial diatomite deposits. Each deposit contains billions of tiny diatom skeletons, which are widely used for filtration, absorption, and abrasives. New studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are revealing how ancient lakes in the Western States produced such large numbers of diatoms. These findings can be used by both land-use managers and mining companies to better evaluate diatomite resources in the region.

ARMENIAN ARCHAEOASTRONOMY AND ASTRONOMY IN CULTURE

OpenAIRE

Mickaelian, Areg; Farmanyan, Sona

2016-01-01

A review is given on archaeoastronomy in Armenia and astronomical knowledge reflected in the Armenian culture. Astronomy in Armenia was popular since ancient times and Armenia is rich in its astronomical heritage, such as the names of the constellations, ancient observatories, Armenian rock art (numerous petroglyphs of astronomical content), ancient and medieval Armenian calendars, astronomical terms and names used in Armenian language since II-I millennia B.C., records of astronomical events...

Retroviral DNA Sequences as a Means for Determining Ancient Diets.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica I Rivera-Perez

Full Text Available For ages, specialists from varying fields have studied the diets of the primeval inhabitants of our planet, detecting diet remains in archaeological specimens using a range of morphological and biochemical methods. As of recent, metagenomic ancient DNA studies have allowed for the comparison of the fecal and gut microbiomes associated to archaeological specimens from various regions of the world; however the complex dynamics represented in those microbial communities still remain unclear. Theoretically, similar to eukaryote DNA the presence of genes from key microbes or enzymes, as well as the presence of DNA from viruses specific to key organisms, may suggest the ingestion of specific diet components. In this study we demonstrate that ancient virus DNA obtained from coprolites also provides information reconstructing the host's diet, as inferred from sequences obtained from pre-Columbian coprolites. This depicts a novel and reliable approach to determine new components as well as validate the previously suggested diets of extinct cultures and animals. Furthermore, to our knowledge this represents the first description of the eukaryotic viral diversity found in paleofaeces belonging to pre-Columbian cultures.

Genome-wide nucleosome map and cytosine methylation levels of an ancient human genome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Jakob Skou; Valen, Eivind; Velazquez, Amhed Missael Vargas

2014-01-01

Epigenetic information is available from contemporary organisms, but is difficult to track back in evolutionary time. Here, we show that genome-wide epigenetic information can be gathered directly from next-generation sequence reads of DNA isolated from ancient remains. Using the genome sequence...... data generated from hair shafts of a 4000-yr-old Paleo-Eskimo belonging to the Saqqaq culture, we generate the first ancient nucleosome map coupled with a genome-wide survey of cytosine methylation levels. The validity of both nucleosome map and methylation levels were confirmed by the recovery...

Historical and cultural recreational and tourist resources of the Odessa region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. I. Nikolaeva

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The article substantiates that historical and cultural objects can be decisive in shaping the demand for recreational resources. The peculiarity of the tourist and excursion potential of the region is determined by numerous sights of different times (monuments of the Paleolithic and Neolithic age, ancient culture, culture of the Scythians and Sarmatians, other ancient peoples are concentrated here with famous historical and cultural reserves, architectural monuments and museums. These are the famous in the world Odessa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, the famous Potemkin Stairs, Ukrainian Venice - Vilkovo city, fortress of the XII-XV centuries. in Belgorod - Dnestrovsky, excavations of the ancient cities of Tire and Nikon, monuments of religious architecture in the cities of Odessa, Izmail, Reni, Kiliya and much more.

Cultural Differences between Chinese and Western Countries in Advertisements%从广告语看中西文化差异

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

石成蓉

2007-01-01

Cultural difference can be found in many aspects, this paper deals with the differences between Chinese culture and English culture in the perspective of advertisements. Advertising is an important part of people's life. Advertisements in a certain country attract certain consumers, so they reflect the unique culture in the given country. This paper will focus on four aspects to illustrate the cultural difference between China and Western countries found in advertising creation and advertising language aimed to help people understand cultural difference in the trend of globalization and accelerate the cross-cultural communication.

77 FR 37730 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Nomads and Networks: The...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-22

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 7928] Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby... objects to be included in the exhibition ``Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan...

77 FR 7229 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Nomads and Networks: The...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-10

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 7794] Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby... objects to be included in the exhibition ``Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan...

Is food-related lifestyle (FRL) able to reveal food consumption patterns in non-western cultural environments? Its adaptation and application in urban China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunert, Klaus G.; Perrea, Toula; Zhou, Yanfeng

Research related to food-related behaviour in China is still scarce, one reason being the fact that food consumption patterns in East Asia do not appear to be easily analyzed by models originating in Western cultures. The objective of the present work is to examine the ability of the Food Related...... for the conceptual meaningfulness and applicability of FRL in non-Western food culture environments, when appropriately adapted....

Rape and Adultery in Ancient Greek and Yoruba Societies | Olasope ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In Athens and other ancient cultures, a woman, whatever her status and whatever her age or social class, was, in law, a perpetual minor. Throughout her life, she was in the legal control of a guardian who represented her in law. Rape, as unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman, warranted a capital charge in the ...

Literacy in Ancient Greece: The Evidence from History and Archaeology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hollis, Karyn

In examining the nature of literacy in ancient Athens, this paper reviews the work of key modern scholars and their positions in the debates concerning the development of literacy in Greece, the oral culture preceeding this, and the technology that enabled it to occur. Following an introduction surveying the viewpoints of Rhys Carpenter, L. H.…

From Gibraltar through Levant and from Maghreb through the Southern Latin European Countries or about culture and management in the Mediterranean Sea Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amedeo ISTOCESCU

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Bordering the southern coast of Europe, the eastern part of the Middle East and northern Africa, representing the most appropriate environment for the development of cultural, social and economic of the maritime regions, influencing decisively the culture and the entire life of the inhabitants in a lot of bordering countries, ensuring the achievement of a natural maritime transportation way between eastern Levantine character and western pragmatism of our ancient continent, or between Maghreb, and the Latin world, especially in southern Europe, the Mediterranean Sea has an another treasure, yet poorly known and only partially recovered, with a history of over six thousands of years, with people proud of their history, culture, customs and traditions with unique cities, impressive by the mixture of cultures and races, its islands

A study on provenance relation between Jiaotanxia ancient Guan porcelain and Qingliangsi ancient Ru porcelain by NAA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Rongwu; Feng Songlin; Huang Zhongxiang; Jia Xiuqin

2004-01-01

11 samples of ancient Chinese Ru porcelain from Qingliangsi kiln, 23 samples of ancient Chinese Guan porcelain from Jiaotanxia kiln and 4 samples of modern archaized Guan porcelain were obtained to determine the contents of elements in each of them by neutron activation analysis (NAA). The NAA data were further analyzed using fuzzy cluster analysis to obtain the fuzzy cluster trend diagrams for the bodies' samples and the glazes samples respectively. The analysis shows that the raw material origins of the Jiaotanxia ancient Chinese Guan porcelain bodies samples are very concentrated; those of the Qingliangsi ancient Chinese Ru porcelain bodies samples are a little dispersed; those of ancient Chinese Guan porcelain glazes samples are relatively concentrated; those of ancient Chinese Ru porcelain glazes samples are dispersed; and the origins of the raw material of ancient Chinese Guan porcelain glazes samples are obviously different from those of ancient Chinese Ru porcelain glazes samples. The bodies samples and glazes samples of Jiaotanxia ancient Chinese Guan porcelain and those of Qingliangsi ancient Chinese Ru porcelain have some difference but can be compared with each other. (authors)

[Comparative research into the process of forming the theory of constitution in ancient western medicine and that of four trigrams constitution in Korean medicine and contents of two theories of constitution].

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Joo-Hong

2009-06-01

After conducting comparative research into the process of forming the Theory of Constitution in Ancient Western Medicine and that of Four Trigrams Constitution(Sasang Constitution) in Korean Medicine and contents of two Theories of Constitution in terms of medical history, both theories were found to be formed by an interaction between philosophy and medicine, followed by a combination of the two, on a philosophical basis. The Theory of Constitution in Ancient Western Medicine began with the Theory of Four Elements presented by Empedocles, followed by the Theory of Four Humors presented by Hippocrates and the Theory of Four Temperaments by Galenos, forming and developing the Theory of Constitution. After the Middle Ages, there was no significant advance in the Theory of Constitution by modern times ; however, it developed into the theory of constitution type of Kretschmer and others after the 19th century and into the scientific theory of constitution based on genetics presented by Garrod and others early in the 20th century. The Theory of Four Trigrams Constitution began with the Theory of Constitution in Huangdi Neijing, followed by developments and influences of existing medicine called beginning, restoration, and revival periods and DongeuisoosebowonSaSangChoBonGwon based on the original philosophy of Four Trigrams presented by Lee Je-ma, which is found in GyeokChiGo, DongMuYuGo and so on, ultimately forming and developing into the Theory of Four Trigrams Constitution in Dongeuisoosebowon. Recently, a lot of research is being conducted into making it objective in order to achieve reproducibility in diagnosis and so forth of Four Trigrams Constitution.

Communication Patterns in Adult-Infant Interactions in Western and Non-Western Cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Heidi; And Others

1988-01-01

Analyzes the early communication structure in adult-child interactions with two- to six-month old babies in Western (West Germany, Greece) and non-Western (Yanomami, Trobriand) societies. Discusses universal international verbal and non-verbal structures reflecting intuitive parenting programs. (FMW)

The study of human Y chromosome variation through ancient DNA.

Science.gov (United States)

Kivisild, Toomas

2017-05-01

High throughput sequencing methods have completely transformed the study of human Y chromosome variation by offering a genome-scale view on genetic variation retrieved from ancient human remains in context of a growing number of high coverage whole Y chromosome sequence data from living populations from across the world. The ancient Y chromosome sequences are providing us the first exciting glimpses into the past variation of male-specific compartment of the genome and the opportunity to evaluate models based on previously made inferences from patterns of genetic variation in living populations. Analyses of the ancient Y chromosome sequences are challenging not only because of issues generally related to ancient DNA work, such as DNA damage-induced mutations and low content of endogenous DNA in most human remains, but also because of specific properties of the Y chromosome, such as its highly repetitive nature and high homology with the X chromosome. Shotgun sequencing of uniquely mapping regions of the Y chromosomes to sufficiently high coverage is still challenging and costly in poorly preserved samples. To increase the coverage of specific target SNPs capture-based methods have been developed and used in recent years to generate Y chromosome sequence data from hundreds of prehistoric skeletal remains. Besides the prospects of testing directly as how much genetic change in a given time period has accompanied changes in material culture the sequencing of ancient Y chromosomes allows us also to better understand the rate at which mutations accumulate and get fixed over time. This review considers genome-scale evidence on ancient Y chromosome diversity that has recently started to accumulate in geographic areas favourable to DNA preservation. More specifically the review focuses on examples of regional continuity and change of the Y chromosome haplogroups in North Eurasia and in the New World.

"East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet" Work engagement and workaholism across Eastern and Western cultures

OpenAIRE

Hu, Q; Schaufeli, Wilmar; Taris, T.W; Hessen, D.J; Hakanen, J; Salanova, M; Shimazu, A

2014-01-01

This article compares the mean levels of work engagement and workaholism across two cultures (East Asia and Western Europe) by using a latent variable approach. Data were collected in Western Europe in the Netherlands (N = 10,162), Spain (N = 3,481), and Finland (N = 3,472) and in East Asia in China (N = 2,977) and in Japan (N =2,520). It was assumed that, based on cultural differences, in individualistic and Christian Europe work is associated with self-enhancement and personal development, ...

Silla Art and the Silk Road

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kwangshik Choe

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Western and Indian features found in Silla art, whether they came from the Western border regions of China or through a connection with China, it is recognized that there was both a direct and indirect a relationship between Silla, the West, and India. Many scholars have been interested in these aspects, conducting various studies as these factors played a large part in defining the origin of ancient culture and the process of harmonization between cultures. Through the Silk Road scholars are able to identify how Western cultures and civilizations were introduced to the Silla Dynasty. As the Korean peninsula has been a nexus for exchange between the East and the West, this paper aims to understand the meaning of the “Silk Road” and examines the actual state of cultural exchange at this historical site. Through artifacts excavated from Hwangnamdae-ch’ong (especially glass products, it has been determined that the Western and Western bordering countries of China culturally influenced the art of Silla. They also clearly prove that Buddhist sculptures from India and the Western bordering countries of China had a great impact on Silla art as well. Through these findings, it can be confirmed that from ancient times the influence of many cultures including China, the West, and the Western bordering countries of China had an impact on Korean culture. Particularly, Indian Buddhism which flowed into China and the Korea peninsula participated in the development of Silla culture and also played a significant role in the formation of traditional Korean culture.

Study on provenance of ancient pottery excavated from Huating Ruins, Xinyi County by INAA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Anwu; Wang Changsui; Chi Jinqi; Satoshi Koshimizu; Kazai Manabu; Kushihara Koichi

1997-01-01

The ancient pottery excavated from Huating Ruins, Xinyi Country, Jiangsu Province, was measured and studied by INAA. The data were manipulated by multivariate statistic analysis, such as cluster and factor analysis. It has been shown that the specimens can be divided into two groups, which are related to Liangzhu Culture area and Dawenkou Culture area respectively. The result seems to support the viewpoint that the pottery specimens of Liangzhu Culture from Huating Ruins belong to war trophies

Manuscript Cultures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

What do Mesoamerica, Greece, Byzantium, Island, Chad, Ethiopia, India, Tibet, China and Japan have in common? Like many other cultures of the world, they share a particular form of cultural heritage: ancient handwritten documents. In 2007, scholars from some20 countries around the world gathered...... at the University of Copenhagen for a workshop on manuscripts to compare notes. This event led to the publication of this volume, which brings together16 articles on philological, cultural, and material aspects of manuscripts in search for a common ground across disciplines and cultures....

Evidences for the view of the importance of Hepu seaport in ancient China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guan Yongjing; Xiong Zhaoming; Ruan Xiangdong; Wang Huijuan; Terrasi, Filippo

2013-01-01

Two ancient tombs considered belonging to the Han Dynasty (206 BC to AD 220), were excavated in Hepu, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. According to the style of cultural relics, some excavated artifacts did not come from the region. If the age of the tombs can be confirmed as belonging to the Han Dynasty, the exotic artifacts present significant evidence to suggest that that Hepu is one of the oldest seaports on China’s ancient maritime trading route. Two wood samples were sent for 14 C dating at CIRCE, Italy. The results of these measurements are presented and the related chronology is discussed. Considering the previous results from a pottery workshop and an excavated sea wharf, the interpretation of Hepu as one of the oldest seaports in ancient China and the important role it played is presented.

Mapping The Ancient Maya Landscape From Space

Science.gov (United States)

Sever, Tom; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The Peten region of northern Guatemala is one of the last places on earth where major archeological sites remain to be discovered. It was in this region that the Maya civilization began, flourished, and abruptly disappeared. Remote sensing technology is helping to locate and map ancient Maya sites that are threatened today by accelerating deforestation and looting. Thematic Mapper and IKONOS satellite and airborne Star3-I radar data, combined with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, are successfully detecting ancient Maya features such as cities, roadways, canals, and water reservoirs. Satellite imagery is also being used to map the bajos, which are seasonally flooded swamps that cover over 40% of the land surface. The use of bajos for farming has been a source of debate within the professional community for many years. But the recent detection and verification of cultural features within the bajo system by our research team are providing conclusive evidence that the ancient Maya had adapted well to wetland environments from the earliest times and utilized them until the time of the Maya collapse. The use of the bajos for farming is also an important resource for the future of the current inhabitants who are experiencing rapid population growth. Remote sensing imagery is also demonstrating that in the Preclassic period (600 BC- AD 250), the Maya had already achieved a high organizational level as evidenced by the construction of massive temples and an elaborate inter-connecting roadway system. Although they experienced several setbacks such as droughts and hurricanes, the Maya nevertheless managed the delicate forest ecosystem successfully for several centuries. However, around AD 800, something happened to the Maya to cause their rapid decline and eventual disappearance from the region. The evidence indicates that at this time there was increased climatic dryness, extensive deforestation, overpopulation, and widespread warfare. This raises a question that

Archaeo- and Cultural Astronomy in Armenia

Science.gov (United States)

Farmanyan, Sona V.; Mickaelian, Areg M.

2015-08-01

We present a general overview on Armenian Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture to mention and summarize some activities and related organizations involved. Armenia is rather rich in archaeoastronomy and culture, including calendars, rock art, mythology, etc. Archaeoastronomical issues in Armenia include: Zodiac Constellations (believed to be introduced for the first time in the Armenian Highland); Ancient Observatories; Armenian Rock Art; Ancient Armenian Calendar and other (medieval) calendars; Astronomical Terms and Names; Records of Astronomical Events by ancient Armenians; Anania Shirakatsi’s (612-685) Astronomical Heritage; Medieval Sky Maps and Astronomical Devices. During the recent years, we have organized a number of meetings, where archaeoastronomy was involved: Joint European and National Astronomy Meeting (JENAM-2007), Special Session #6: “Archaeoastronomy” (2007), ArAS VIII Annual Meeting “Astronomy and Society”, Session “Archaeoastronomy” (2009), Archaeoastronomical meeting “Astronomical Heritage in the National Culture” dedicated to Anania Shirakatsi’s 1400th anniversary (2012), Meeting “Relation of Astronomy to other Sciences, Culture and Society” (RASCS), Sessions“Archaeoastronomy” and “Astronomy in Culture” (2014). Along with Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO), there are several other institutions related to Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture: Institute of History, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Institute of Literature, Institute of Language, Matenadaran (Institute of Ancient Manuscripts). We have introduced a section “Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture” in the newsletter of Armenian Astronomical Society (ArAS). This is to strengthen ArAS activities and to widen our knowledge in this area, to encourage and establish collaborations with other scientists related to these subjects; historians, archaeologists, ethnographers, philologists, linguists, artists and other

Ancient Chinese Fangzhongshu (Sexual Skills and Methods Therapy for Premature Ejaculation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong Zhu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Premature ejaculation (PE is a common male sexual dysfunction that can have significant effects on a couple’s relationship. Behavioral therapy and psychotherapy are both safe and effective methods of treating PE. Ancient Chinese fangzhongshu (sexual skills and methods, which reflects a summary of expert experiences in sexology, contains many therapies for sexual dysfunction that are similar to those used in behavioral therapy or psychotherapy. A brief introduction dealing with the latest definitions of PE and treatment strategies drawn from behavioral therapy and psychotherapy is provided. Typical therapies for PE from ancient Chinese fangzhongshu are listed and briefly analyzed in order to define their domain of applicability and instructions for use. Ancient Chinese fangzhongshu contains many effective and safe therapies for PE. It should be incorporated into modern medical practice after critical analysis, and its scientific aspects should be promoted as a way of improving reproductive health, both to benefit individuals affected by PE and to promote traditional Chinese culture. Based on an analysis of the condition of the individual patient, one or multiple therapies guided by fangzhongshu can be expected to have an effect on the patient. Ancient Chinese fangzhongshu is of great value and should to be popularized and applied as a remedy for PE.

Princess Ru and Papyrus - Stereotypes on ancient Egypt in graphic novels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vera Vasiljević

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The decipherment of the hieroglyphic script in 1822 marked a fundamental change in the views on ancient Egypt and due to the scientific research the knowledge on the subject substantially increased ever since. Despite the wide accessibility of the results of Egyptological studies, the image of Egypt in the popular culture often contains older conceptions, and some of them, like the myth of ancient and immense wisdom, are turned into stereotypes used in certain popular media. The paper deals with their presence in graphic novels. The origins of the stereotypes are reviewed and the reasons for their persistence analysed. I argue that the sterotypes on Egypt in graphic novels became early on a codified part of the communication whithin the "comic book culture" (M. Pustz, and therefore indispensable in this medium. As representatives of different genres in the graphic novels, the series on adventures Papyrus by Lucien De Gieter, and the comic books Princess Ru by !or"e Loba#ev and Hatshepsut by Nikola Kokan Mitrović were chosen for the analysis.

School Violence in Taiwan: Examining How Western Risk Factors Predict School Violence in an Asian Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ji-Kang; Astor, Ron Avi

2010-01-01

The current study explores whether theorized risk factors in Western countries can be used to predict school violence perpetration in an Asian cultural context. The study examines the associations between risk factors and school violence perpetration in Taiwan. Data were obtained from a nationally representative sample of 14,022 students from…

Personal choice: a blessing or a burden, or both? A cross-cultural investigation on need for closure effects in two Western and two East-Asian societies.

Science.gov (United States)

Roets, Arne; Soetens, Barbara; Au, Evelyn W M; Yanjun, Guan

2014-06-01

The present study investigates the role of dispositional need for closure (NFC) in how individuals within a particular culture perceive and appreciate choice. Data sets from the US (283 adults), Europe (263 adults and 427 students), China (218 adults and 309 students) and Singapore (258 students) were collected. The results showed that in Western cultures, people perceived choice in a linear way as either a burden or a blessing, whereas in Chinese culture, such opposition between perspectives did not appear, and individuals generally saw choice as both burden and blessing simultaneously. In Western cultures, high dispositional NFC was strongly associated with viewing choice-as-a-burden, whereas Chinese respondents with a high NFC perceived choice as a blessing and a burden simultaneously. The Singaporean results were similar to the Western pattern. These findings are discussed in terms of the NFC literature and cultural differences in dialectic versus differentiation thinking styles. © 2013 International Union of Psychological Science.

The Western Representation of Modern China: Orientalism, Culturalism and Historiographical Criticism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Martínez-Robles

2008-05-01

Full Text Available The West's perception of China as a historical entity has evolved over the centuries. China has gone from a country of miracles and marvels in the medieval world and a refined and erudite culture in early modern Europe, to become a nation without history or progress since the Enlightenment of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The first historians of China were, in fact, representatives of the great Western empires at the end of the 19th century and their work perceives China from epistemological positions that clearly form part of the Orientalist and colonial thought that was characteristic of the period. History written throughout the 20th century, despite the efforts made to overcome the prejudices of the past, was unable to distance itself completely from some of the resources used in representation or the stereotypes that the Western world had come to accept about China and East Asia since the Enlightenment. Only in recent decades has a critical historiography appeared to denounce the problems inherent in the discourse produced on China, and even this has failed to address them fully.

Nuclear analytical methods on ancient Thai rice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Won-in, K.; Thongleurm, C.; Dararutana, P.

2013-01-01

For more than half of humanity, rice is life. Rice is a grain which has shaped the history, culture, diet and economy of billions of people in Asia. In Thailand, it is the essence of life. Archaeological evidence revealed that rice had been planted in northeastern area of Thailand more than 5,500 years ago which is earlier than in China and India. The ancient rice grains were found in various archaeological sites in Thailand such as Nakhon Nayok, Suphan Buri and Prachin Buri Provinces. In this work, the ancient black rice from Nakhon Nayok Province was elementally analyzed using scanning electron microscope coupled with energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, proton induced X-ray emission spectroscopy and micro-beam energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy was also used to study the chemical composition and bio-molecular structure. The grains were oblique in shape with a rough surface. Three major elements (Si, Ca and Al) and other trace elements were detected. The IR spectra provided some information about the presence of molecular bonds. (author)

Suicide and parasuicide in ancient personal testimonies.

Science.gov (United States)

van Hooff, A J

1993-01-01

Attitudes toward suicide have not always been the same as they are today, and understanding the ideas of other cultures and times could enable us to reexamine contemporary conceptions of self-killing. Greek and Roman personal testimonies were examined to investigate the thesis that ancients did not see suicide as caused by psychic or emotional forces. Indeed, though the documents of antiquity give us a closer look into personal motives, they demonstrate that even would-be self-killers themselves wished to regard suicide as a rational act of volition.

Ancient DNA reveals lack of continuity between neolithic hunter-gatherers and contemporary Scandinavians

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malmström, Helena; Gilbert, M Thomas P; Thomas, Mark G

2009-01-01

of the two cultures in Scandinavia has been cited as an argument against population replacement between the Mesolithic and the present [7, 8]. Through analysis of DNA extracted from ancient Scandinavian human remains, we show that people of the Pitted Ware culture were not the direct ancestors of modern......]. Furthermore, our data are consistent with the view that the eastern Baltic represents a genetic refugia for some of the European hunter-gatherer populations....

Agriculture in Ancient and its influence on Development of Agronomics and Welfare of the States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

В. В. Шелепов

2011-02-01

Full Text Available On the basis of literary sources history of origin and development of agriculture is rotined in Ancient. The first Civilizations arose up on fat streamside lands of the large rivers: Nile, Euphrates, tiger, Inda, Ganga and other Earths and plenty of water are fertile during an overflow, a warm climate allowed to Ancient civilizations to grow 2-3 harvests in a year. For the receipt of high harvests, a man had to study the modes of overflow of the rivers, look after heavenly bodies, determine the areas of scopes and terms of leadthrough of the field works. The decision of these questions resulted in the origin of agronomics, astronomy, mathematics. Large harvests were instrumental in the origin of peculiar, enriching of the states, to development of trade and culture on the whole. Riches of country and overpopulation resulted in the origin of wars which one states perished as a result of, second – blossomed. Scientists consider that a high culture, intensive exploitation of soils and aggressiveness of man, brought the most Ancient Civilizations over to the ecological crisis and their elimination.

Spirit Boxes: Expressions of Culture.

Science.gov (United States)

DeMuro, Ted

1984-01-01

After studying the culture and art of the ancient civilizations of South America, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Egypt, secondary level art students made spirit boxes as expressions of the various cultures. How to make the boxes and how to prepare the face molds are described. (RM)

Specific expression patterns and cell distribution of ancient and modern PAG in bovine placenta during pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Touzard, Eve; Reinaud, Pierrette; Dubois, Olivier; Guyader-Joly, Catherine; Humblot, Patrice; Ponsart, Claire; Charpigny, Gilles

2013-10-01

Pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs) constitute a multigenic family of aspartic proteinases expressed in the trophoblast of the ruminant placenta. In Bos taurus, this family comprises 21 members segregated into ancient and modern phylogenetic groups. Ancient PAGs have been reported to be synthesized throughout the trophoblastic cell layer whereas modern PAGs are produced by binucleate cells of cotyledons. The aim of this study was to investigate modern and ancient PAGs during gestation in cotyledonary and intercotyledonary tissues. To obtain convincing and innovative results despite the high sequence identity shared between PAGs, we designed specific tools such as amplification primers and antibodies. Using real-time RT-PCR, we described the transcript expression of 16 bovine PAGs. Overall, PAGs are characterized by an increase in their expression during gestation. However, we demonstrated a segregation of modern PAGs in cotyledons and of ancient PAGs in the intercotyledonary chorion, except for the ancient PAG2 expressed in cotyledons. By raising specific antibodies against the modern PAG1 and ancient PAG11 and PAG2, we established the expression kinetics of the proteins using western blotting. Immunohistochemistry showed that PAGs were produced by specific cellular populations: PAG1 by binucleate cells in the whole trophoblastic layer, PAG11 was localized in binucleate cells of the intercotyledonary trophoblast and the chorionic plate of the cotyledon, while PAG2 was produced in mononucleate cells of the internal villi of the cotyledon. These results revealed a highly specific regulation of PAG expression and cell localization as a function of their phylogenetic status, suggesting distinct biological functions within placental tissues.

Pros and cons of methylation-based enrichment methods for ancient DNA

Science.gov (United States)

Seguin-Orlando, Andaine; Gamba, Cristina; Sarkissian, Clio Der; Ermini, Luca; Louvel, Guillaume; Boulygina, Eugenia; Sokolov, Alexey; Nedoluzhko, Artem; Lorenzen, Eline D.; Lopez, Patricio; McDonald, H. Gregory; Scott, Eric; Tikhonov, Alexei; Stafford,, Thomas W.; Alfarhan, Ahmed H.; Alquraishi, Saleh A.; Al-Rasheid, Khaled A. S.; Shapiro, Beth; Willerslev, Eske; Prokhortchouk, Egor; Orlando, Ludovic

2015-01-01

The recent discovery that DNA methylation survives in fossil material provides an opportunity for novel molecular approaches in palaeogenomics. Here, we apply to ancient DNA extracts the probe-independent Methylated Binding Domains (MBD)-based enrichment method, which targets DNA molecules containing methylated CpGs. Using remains of a Palaeo-Eskimo Saqqaq individual, woolly mammoths, polar bears and two equine species, we confirm that DNA methylation survives in a variety of tissues, environmental contexts and over a large temporal range (4,000 to over 45,000 years before present). MBD enrichment, however, appears principally biased towards the recovery of CpG-rich and long DNA templates and is limited by the fast post-mortem cytosine deamination rates of methylated epialleles. This method, thus, appears only appropriate for the analysis of ancient methylomes from very well preserved samples, where both DNA fragmentation and deamination have been limited. This work represents an essential step toward the characterization of ancient methylation signatures, which will help understanding the role of epigenetic changes in past environmental and cultural transitions. PMID:26134828

Sundanese ancient manuscripts search engine using probability approach

Science.gov (United States)

Suryani, Mira; Hadi, Setiawan; Paulus, Erick; Nurma Yulita, Intan; Supriatna, Asep K.

2017-10-01

Today, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become a regular thing for every aspect of live include cultural and heritage aspect. Sundanese ancient manuscripts as Sundanese heritage are in damage condition and also the information that containing on it. So in order to preserve the information in Sundanese ancient manuscripts and make them easier to search, a search engine has been developed. The search engine must has good computing ability. In order to get the best computation in developed search engine, three types of probabilistic approaches: Bayesian Networks Model, Divergence from Randomness with PL2 distribution, and DFR-PL2F as derivative form DFR-PL2 have been compared in this study. The three probabilistic approaches supported by index of documents and three different weighting methods: term occurrence, term frequency, and TF-IDF. The experiment involved 12 Sundanese ancient manuscripts. From 12 manuscripts there are 474 distinct terms. The developed search engine tested by 50 random queries for three types of query. The experiment results showed that for the single query and multiple query, the best searching performance given by the combination of PL2F approach and TF-IDF weighting method. The performance has been evaluated using average time responds with value about 0.08 second and Mean Average Precision (MAP) about 0.33.

Ancient Greek with Thrasymachus: A Web Site for Learning Ancient Greek.

Science.gov (United States)

Barker, Alison

2001-01-01

Discusses a project that was begun as an attempt by two teachers of Ancient Greek to provide supplementary materials to accompany "Thrasymachus," a first-year textbook for learning ancient Greek. Provides a brief history and description of the project, the format of each chapter, a chronology for completion of materials for each chapter in the…

Ancient genomics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Der Sarkissian, Clio; Allentoft, Morten Erik; Avila Arcos, Maria del Carmen

2015-01-01

throughput of next generation sequencing platforms and the ability to target short and degraded DNA molecules. Many ancient specimens previously unsuitable for DNA analyses because of extensive degradation can now successfully be used as source materials. Additionally, the analytical power obtained...... by increasing the number of sequence reads to billions effectively means that contamination issues that have haunted aDNA research for decades, particularly in human studies, can now be efficiently and confidently quantified. At present, whole genomes have been sequenced from ancient anatomically modern humans...

Cultural change after migration: Circumcision of girls in Western migrant communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnsdotter, Sara; Essén, Birgitta

2016-04-01

This paper reviews the current knowledge on cultural change after migration in the practice of female circumcision, also named genital cutting or mutilation. Explorative studies show trends of radical change of this practice, especially the most extensive form of its kind (type III or the 'Pharaonic' type). The widespread interpretation that Islam would require circumcision of girls is questioned when, for example, Somalis meet other Muslim migrants, such as Arab Muslims, who do not circumcise their daughters. The few criminal court cases for circumcision of girls that have taken place in Western countries corroborate the conclusion that substantial change in the practice has occurred among migrants. In this literature review, an absence of reports is identified from healthcare providers who have witnessed circumcision after migration. Concurrently, a substantial knowledge exists on how to take care of already circumcised women and girls, and there is a system of recommendations in place regarding best practices for prevention. There is a great potential for healthcare providers to encourage this development towards general abandonment of circumcision of girls. The challenge for the future is how to incorporate culturally sensitive efforts of prevention on the one hand, and the examination of suspicious cases of illegal circumcision on the other. We recommend using--in a cautious way--the existing routines for identifying child abuse in general. Experiences from African contexts show that failure to generate significant change of the harmful practices/tradition may be due to the lack of multidisciplinary collaboration in different sectors of the society. In Western societies, the tendency toward abandonment of the practice could be reinforced by professionals who work toward better inclusion of men and women originally from countries where circumcision is practised. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Ancient Genomics and the Peopling of the Southwest Pacific

Science.gov (United States)

Skoglund, Pontus; Posth, Cosimo; Sirak, Kendra; Spriggs, Matthew; Valentin, Frederique; Bedford, Stuart; Clark, Geoffrey; Reepmeyer, Christian; Petchey, Fiona; Fernandes, Daniel; Fu, Qiaomei; Harney, Eadaoin; Lipson, Mark; Mallick, Swapan; Novak, Mario; Rohland, Nadin; Stewardson, Kristin; Abdullah, Syafiq; Cox, Murray P.; Friedlaender, Françoise R.; Friedlaender, Jonathan S.; Kivisild, Toomas; Koki, George; Kusuma, Pradiptajati; Merriwether, D. Andrew; Ricaut, Francois-X.; Wee, Joseph T. S.; Patterson, Nick; Krause, Johannes; Pinhasi, Ron; Reich, David

2017-01-01

The appearance of people associated with the Lapita culture in the South Pacific ~3,000 years ago1 marked the beginning of the last major human dispersal to unpopulated lands. However, the relationship of these pioneers to the long established Papuans of the New Guinea region is unclear. We report genome-wide ancient DNA data from four individuals from Vanuatu (~3100-2700 years before present) and Tonga (~2700-2300 years before present), and co-analyze them with 778 present-day East Asians and Oceanians. Today, indigenous peoples of the South Pacific harbor a mixture of ancestry from Papuans and a population of East Asian origin that does not exist in unmixed form today, but is a match to the ancient individuals. Most analyses have interpreted the minimum of twenty-five percent Papuan ancestry in the region today as evidence that the first humans to reach Remote Oceania, including Polynesia, were derived from population mixtures near New Guinea, prior to the further expansion into Remote Oceania2–5. However, our finding that the ancient individuals had little to no Papuan ancestry implies later human population movements that spread Papuan ancestry through the South Pacific after the islands’ first peopling. PMID:27698418

Historical ecology meets conservation and evolutionary genetics: a secondary contact zone between Carabus violaceus (Coleoptera, Carabidae populations inhabiting ancient and recent woodlands in north-western Germany

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Matern

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Only very few cases have documented that an increase in connectivity after a period of fragmentation in ecological time has had an effect on the distribution, genetic structure and morphology of stenotopic species. In this study we present an example of clinal variability in a woodland ground beetle as a result of changes in the connectivity of a landscape during the last two centuries. The study area hosts both the nominate form C. violaceus s. str. and the subspecies C. v. purpurascens, which is ranked as a distinct species by some authors. We studied 12 Carabus violaceus populations from a 30 km transect of ancient and recent forests in north-western Germany. We analyzed three polymorphic enzyme loci, classified the elytron sculpture and measured the shape of the aedeagus tip of the specimens. C. violaceus showed secondary gradients both in allozyme markers and morphometric characters in our study area. A genetic differentiation of 16% between the populations is high but lies within the range of intraspecific variability in habitat specialists of the genus Carabus. Populations had no significant deficit of heterozygotes. We found many hybrid populations in terms of morphological properties. This study highlights the conservation value of ancient woodland and the consequences of landscape connectivity and defragmentation on the genetic setting of a ground beetle. Moreover, it shows that differences in the external shape of male genitalia do not prevent gene flow within the genus Carabus. Thus, the establishment of species status should not exclusively be based on this property.

Tamil merchant in ancient Mesopotamia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malliya Gounder Palanichamy

Full Text Available Recent analyses of ancient Mesopotamian mitochondrial genomes have suggested a genetic link between the Indian subcontinent and Mesopotamian civilization. There is no consensus on the origin of the ancient Mesopotamians. They may be descendants of migrants, who founded regional Mesopotamian groups like that of Terqa or they may be merchants who were involved in trans Mesopotamia trade. To identify the Indian source population showing linkage to the ancient Mesopotamians, we screened a total of 15,751 mitochondrial DNAs (11,432 from the literature and 4,319 from this study representing all major populations of India. Our results although suggest that south India (Tamil Nadu and northeast India served as the source of the ancient Mesopotamian mtDNA gene pool, mtDNA of these ancient Mesopotamians probably contributed by Tamil merchants who were involved in the Indo-Roman trade.

Survey, Settlement, and Population History at the Ancient Maya Site of Pacbitun, Belize

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Healy, Paul F.; Helmke, Christophe G.B.; Awe, Jaime J.

2007-01-01

Survey and excavations of mounds on the outskirts of the site of Pacbitun in western Belize provide insights to the ancient Maya settlement pattern at this medium-sized regional center. This research employed two methods: analysis of structural remains from four separate 1000 m transect surveys...... to have been about 5000-6000 persons. This population estimate is compared with several coeval lowland Maya centers, and found to be reasonable for a medium-sized, Late Classic Maya center....

Symbolic 'Lived Spaces' in Ancient Greek Lyric and the Heterotopia of the Symposium

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heirman, J.; Heirman, J.; Klooster, J.

2013-01-01

This paper looks at the presentation of space in ancient Greek lyric poetry of the seventh through the fifth century BCE and its ideological function in the cultural-historical context. This poetry, by authors including Sappho, Solon and Pindar, comes after the Homeric epics about Troy and Odysseus

East is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet: Work engagement and workaholism across Eastern and Western cultures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hu, Q.; Schaufeli, Wilmar; Taris, Toon; Hessen, Dave; Hakanen, J.J.; Salanova, M.; Shimazu, Akihito

2014-01-01

This article compares the mean levels of work engagement and workaholism across two cultures (East Asia and Western Europe) by using a latent variable approach. Data were collected in Western Europe in the Netherlands (N = 10,162), Spain (N = 3,481), and Finland (N = 3,472) and in East Asia in China

Tracking the multi-stage exhumation history of the western Chinese Tianshan by Apatite Fission Track (AFT) dating - Implications for the preservation of epithermal deposits in ancient orogenic belt

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yannan; Cai, Keda

2017-04-01

The western Chinese Tianshan, located in the southern domain of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), was originally constructed by multiple accretion-collision processes in the Paleozoic, and was superimposed by complex intracontinental tectonic evolution in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic. Understanding the timing and mechanism of the latter geological processes is critical to unravel the preservation conditions of the epithermal deposits in the western Chinese Tianshan. This work presents new apatite fission track (AFT) data for three mountain ranges of the western Chinese Tianshan to track their exhumation history. Our AFT data gave a wide range of ages from 76.8 ± 5.5 Ma to 182.3 ± 9.9 Ma, and the mean confined fission track lengths are between 9.8 ± 0.5 μm and 12.3 ± 0.2 μm. The new data, in combination with the thermal history modeling，enable us to attribute the exhumation history to three primary stages, including Early Permian (300-280 Ma), Late Triassic-Early Cretaceous (230-130 Ma), and Late Oligocene-Early Miocene (30-20 Ma). The first stage may be caused by the terrane accretion-collision in the late Paleozoic. The second stage was likely related to the closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean during the Mesozoic. The last one is regarded as the result of the collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasia Plate in the Cenozoic. The extraordinary exhumation processes of these three major mountain ranges might have been responsible for sediment supply to the corresponding intra-mountain basins in the western Chinese Tianshan, and the particularly mountain-basin coupling evolution is ascribed to an essential condition for the preservation of epithermal deposits in ancient orogenic belt.

Classification of burial rituals of the cemeteries without burial mounds in regions of the Tsarevskoe ancient settlement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nedashkovsky Leonard F.

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Article is dedicated to analysis of burial rituals of the Golden Horde cemeteries without burial mounds in surroundings of the Tsarevskoe ancient settlement. 51 burials (19.9% of total number in mausoleums or in crypts can be attributed as burials of the Golden Horde aristocracy. In the graves found without burial mounds the most wide-spread were of western, south-western and north-western (which could be considered as azimuth deviation from western orientations (they comprise 94.9% of all burials, which are peculiar to the majority of the urban Muslim population of the Golden Horde. However it must be considered that 56 from these burials (21.9% of total number are burials of necropolis of the population of Old Russian settlement of the Vodyanskoe site. Comparing the aristocratic (in mausoleums and crypts burials without burial mounds in the Lower Volga, it is possible conclude that their percentage was significantly higher in the region of the Tsarevskoe settlement, than in other regions; these data allow to assume here the greatest density of residence of settled elite of the Golden Horde. The smallest share of Muslim burials in coffins in the Lower Volga (44.9% and the maximal one of burials with grave goods (13.6% recorded in the region of the Tsarevskoe site. Burial grounds in the region of the Tsarevskoe ancient settlement were in vicinity of the settlements, that is clearly testified about the degree of territorial closeness of cemeteries of settled population of the Golden Horde with urban and rural settlements of the considered period.

Religion and Culture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sabih, Joshua

group breaks totally with the existing Arabic Bible translations that they were in the habit of using. In this translation, the previously strenuous relationship between culture and religion is flattened in a binary sets of oppositions between an unaltered Devine message preserved in ancient Bible...... translation of the Holy Scriptures, and address how an originally-American Christian group re-constructs the relationship of religion –universality of one truth and its embodiment in one community of faith – and culture; and specifically, Arabic culture. Culture, in its manifold forms -Jehovah’s witnesses...

Cat Taming in the Western Mediterranean. Issues, Problematics and Unpredictability in the Light of Bio-archaeological Approaches to a Museum Specimen

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Miccichè

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The vast wealth of cultural artifacts and ancient biological samples can today be investigated using a great variety of methods and technologies. The result is a growing diffusion of studies on DNA, isotopes and morphometrics, and the exponential growth of publications and bio-archaeological discoveries of inestimable value for different areas of interpretation, such as phylogeny, history and archaeology. This paper describes the morphological and molecular study of a rare specimen of Felis from an Early Bronze Age horizon. The report offers the opportunity for a brief discussion on cat taming, on the origin of this practice and on the archaeological importance of this specimen for the reconstruction of taming practices in the Western Mediterranean Basin.

Globalisation and western music historiography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romanou Katy

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Globalisation of musicology and music history aims to fuse the divisions created during Western music’s acme, and is referred to as “post-European historical thinking”. Therefore, “post” and “pre” European historical thinking have much in common. One aspect of this process of fragmentation was that music history was separated from theory and that Western Music Histories succeeded General Music Histories (a development described in some detail in the article. Connecting global music history with “post-European” historical thinking is one among numerous indications of Western awareness that European culture has reached some sort of a terminal phase. Concurrently, countries that have been developing by following Western Europe as a prototype, are leading today some past phase of Western development, which, with the ideas of cultural relativism prevailing, are not considered inferior.

Sun-Earth Day 2005: Ancient Observatories: Timeless Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Thieman, J. R.; Cline, T.; Lewis, E.; Hawkins, I.; Odenwald, S.; Mayo, L.

2005-05-01

The NASA Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum (SECEF) annually promotes an event called Sun-Earth Day. For Sun-Earth Day 2005 SECEF has selected a theme called "Ancient Observatories: Timeless Knowledge. This year's Sun-Earth Day theme is your ticket to a fascinating journey through time as we explore centuries of sun watching by a great variety of cultures. From ancient solar motion tracking to modern solar activity monitoring the Sun has always occupied an important spot in mankind's quest to understand the Universe. Sun-Earth Day events usually are centered on the spring equinox around March 21, but this year there has already been a webcast from the San Francisco Exploratorium and the Native American ruins at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico on the day of winter solstice 2004. There will be another webcast on March 20 live from Chichen Itza, Mexico highlighting the solar alignment that makes a serpent appear on one of the ancient pyramids. The website http://sunearthday.nasa.gov has been developed to provide the necessary resources and opportunities for participation by scientists and educators in giving school or general public programs about Sun-Earth Day. The goal is to involve as much of the student population and the public in this event as possible and to help them understand the importance of the Sun for ancient and modern peoples. Through engaging activities available on the website, classrooms and museums can create their own event or participate in one of the opportunities we make available. Scientists, educators, amateur astronomers, and museums are invited to register on the website to receive a free packet of materials about Sun-Earth Day for use in making presentations or programs about the event. Past and future Sun-Earth Days will be discussed as well.

A change in landscape: Lessons learned from abandonment of ancient Wari agricultural terraces in Southern Peru.

Science.gov (United States)

Londoño, Ana C; Williams, Patrick Ryan; Hart, Megan L

2017-11-01

Ancient agricultural terrace practices have survived for millennia, sustaining populations through extreme climatic shifts and political regime changes. In arid regions with abrupt relief such as Southern Peru, agricultural terracing is undergoing a resurgence, as has seen revitalization of once abandoned terrace and hydraulic systems. Wari terraces at Cerro Baul provide clues to past cultural practices. They also document sustainable farming practices by using resilient land management techniques which can help combat desertification and degradation of arable lands. Three abandoned Wari terrace systems were mapped using microtopographic methods, the erosion patterns examined, the states of preservation compared, and then the design contrasted with modern terracing practices in the Moquegua Valley. In order to negate the harmful effects of desertification, rehabilitation and reconstruction of these terraces using ancient knowledge and techniques may be necessary. Rehabilitation must be conducted with consideration for preservation of cultural patrimony that may be encountered within the terrace treads or riser structures. With future climatic shifts impacting vulnerable dryland areas more than others, the ability to resiliently respond to these changes may be found in the lessons learned from ancient farming techniques such as the Wari. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early Sámi visual artists - Western fine art meets Sámi culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tuija Hautala-Hirvioja

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Johan Turi (1854–1936, Nils Nilsson Skum (1872–1951 and John Savio (1902–1938 were among the first Sámi visual artists. The production of their art work occurred between the 1910s and the early 1950s. Sámi aesthetics had its basis in folklore, i.e., handicraft or duodji, which did not follow the principle of art for art’s sake but combined beauty and practicality. Art was part of community life. Not until the 1970s was the word daidda, which is Finnish in origin and which means “art”, adopted into the Sámi language. Turi and Skum became famous through their books. They drew and wrote in order to pass the traditional knowledge of their people on to succeeding generations. They also wanted to introduce Sámi life and culture to non-Sámi people. One typical feature of their work is that they depicted Sáminess in a realistic way and sought to strengthen and preserve the Sámi identity through their art. In Turi and Skum’s work, both the documentation of community life and their own personal expression were strongly present and equally important; for this reason their pictures and texts have both practical and aesthetic dimensions. They did not attend school and were self-taught artists. The third pioneer of Sámi visual arts was John Savio, who, unlike the other two, attended secondary school and studied visual arts both independently and under the guidance of a mentor. He expressively combined Western ways of depiction with Sámi subjects. My article examines what made these early Sámi artists change over from Sámi handicraft, duodji, to Western visual arts, how they used Western pictorial conventions in dealing with their Sámi subjects, and the significance of their art for Sámi identity and culture. They lived and worked under cross pressure: the first few decades of the 20th century were characterized by racial theories that denigrated Sámi people, and the period following World War II was marked by demands for

Balancing Acts Between Ancient and Modern Cities: The Ancient Greek Cities Project of C. A. Doxiadis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mantha Zarmakoupi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the inception and development of the Ancient Greek Cities (AGC research project (1963–77 of Constantinos A. Doxiadis and addresses the novelty of its methodological approach to the study of classical urbanism. With the AGC project, Doxiadis launched a comprehensive study of the ancient Greek built environment to provide an overview of the factors involved in its shaping. The project produced 24 published volumes — the first two laying out the historical and methodological parameters of the ensuing 22 monographs with case studies — as well as 12 unpublished manuscripts, and through international conferences initiated a wider dialogue on ancient cities beyond the classical Greek world. It was the first interdisciplinary study that attempted to tackle the environmental factors, together with the social and economic ones, underpinning the creation, development and operation of ancient Greek cities. Doxiadis’s innovative approach to the analysis of the ancient city was indebted to his practice as an architect and town planner and was informed by his theory of Ekistics. His purpose was to identify the urban planning principles of ancient Greek settlements in order to employ them in his projects. This paper examines the concept and methodology of the AGC project as well as the ways in which Doxiadis used the study of ancient cities in relation to his contemporary urban/architectural agendas, and explains this important moment in the historiography of ancient Greek urbanism.

Cultural planning and Chaos Theory in Cyberspace: some notes on a Digital Cultural Atlas Project for Western Sydney

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elaine Lally

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This article explores the intersection between digital technologies and cultural planning. New information technologies ought to enable more powerful planning strategies. Yet a common seductive vision of planning is mirrored by utopian claims for cyberculture, which often fall short of the hoped-for reality. We suggest that one problem is the linear thinking common to mainstream planning and digital thinking, which leads to a cumulative lack of fit with the non-linear (chaotic world of social action. We draw on chaos and complexity theory to reframe planning problems and develop more creative digital strategies in a specific location, Western Sydney, using and adapting Geographic Information Systems.

Foreign Devils and God-Worshipers: Western Mercenaries and Cross-Cultural Realism During the Taiping Rebellion

Science.gov (United States)

2017-05-25

activities of Ever-Victorious Army and nominal superior to Ward and Gordon. The discussions between Li and his superiors and other members of the...and Mandarins, 52–54. 99 Jonathan D. Spence, To Change China: Western Advisers in China, 1620-1960 (Boston: Little Brown, 1969), 69–70. 100 Ibid...self-regulation, and intercultural interaction) and avoid future disruptions in the relationship (cultural reasoning). Toward this, Li was advised by

Traditional and western medicine: cultural beliefs and practices of South African Indian Muslims with regard to stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Bham, Zaheerah; Ross, Eleanor

2005-01-01

To investigate the beliefs of caregivers and traditional healers within the South African Indian Muslim community regarding the etiology and treatment of stroke and the persons likely to be consulted in this regard. A descriptive case study design was employed which incorporated two groups and was located within a qualitative paradigm. Data were collected within the homes of caregivers and the consulting rooms of traditional healers. Ten caregivers of persons who had sustained strokes and 10 traditional healers were interviewed. Individual interviews were held with participants. Responses to semi-structured interview schedules were analyzed using thematic content analysis and descriptive statistics. For both groups, religion and faith in God played a pertinent role in beliefs regarding etiology of illnesses such as stroke. Caregivers used a combination of traditional and Western medicine approaches. For traditional healers, treatment was based on the premise of restoring the balance between hot and cold in the body, which had been placed in disequilibrium by the stroke. Participants expressed disillusionment with referrals to Western healthcare professionals whose treatment was often regarded as culturally inappropriate. They also emphasized the integral role played by family members in the treatment of illness and disease. Results have implications for: culturally sensitive management of stroke patients in the South African Indian Muslim community; collaboration between Western and traditional healers; involvement of families in the remediation process; and further research.

Teaching the Western.

Science.gov (United States)

Lenihan, John H.

2002-01-01

Discusses the content of a course on the genre of western films that was utilized as a film study and a U.S. cultural history credit. Describes in detail the film, "Winchester '73," and addresses other films utilized in the course. States that the course also focuses on the development of the western genre. (CMK)

Culture and cooperation: cooperative learning in Asian Confucian heritage cultures. The case of Viet Nam

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nguyen, P.M.

2008-01-01

The study is concerned with the influence of western educational approaches upon non-western societies and cultural groups. In applying western educational approaches, often a detailed consideration of its consequences to the culture and heritage of a non-western civilization is neglected. This is

Socio-cultural determinants of anticipated acceptance of an oral cholera vaccine in Western Kenya

OpenAIRE

SUNDARAM, N.; SCHAETTI, C.; CHAIGNAT, C.-L.; HUTUBESSY, R.; NYAMBEDHA, E. O.; MBONGA, L. A.; WEISS, M. G.

2012-01-01

SUMMARY Determinants of anticipated acceptance of an oral cholera vaccine (OCV) were studied in urban and rural communities of Western Kenya. An explanatory model interview administered to 379 community residents assessed anticipated vaccine acceptance at various prices from no cost to full-cost recovery, socio-cultural features of cholera and social characteristics. Nearly all (99%) residents indicated willingness to accept a no-cost OCV, 95% at a price of US$ 0?8, 73% at US$ 4?2 and 59% at ...

Categories of Experience: A Paradigm for the Study of Contemporary World Cultures at Western State College of Colorado.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Robert

1992-01-01

Presents a framework used at Western State College to teach an interdisciplinary general education course. The framework helps students organize a large volume of material about Contemporary World Cultures according to a taxonomy of human experience, including artistic/literary expression; thought and belief; relationships/associations with…

Discourses of culture and illness in South African mental health care and indigenous healing, Part I: Western psychiatric power.

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Jeffery; Wilbraham, Lindy

2003-12-01

This discourse analytic study explores constructions of culture and illness in the talk of psychiatrists, psychologists and indigenous healers as they discuss possibilities for collaboration in South African mental health care. Versions of 'culture', and disputes over what constitutes 'disorder', are an important site for the negotiation of power relations between mental health practitioners and indigenous healers. The results of this study are presented in two parts. Part I explores discourses about western psychiatric/psychological professionalism, tensions in diagnosis between cultural relativism and psychiatric universalism, and how assertion of 'cultural differences' may be used to resist psychiatric power. Part II explores how discursive constructions of 'African culture' and 'African madness' work to marginalize indigenous healing in South African mental health care, despite repeated calls for collaboration.

Ancient DNA analysis suggests negligible impact of the Wari Empire expansion in Peru's central coast during the Middle Horizon

OpenAIRE

Valverde, G.; Romero, M.; Espinoza, I.; Cooper, A.; Fehren-Schmitz, L.; Llamas, B.; Haak, W.

2016-01-01

The analysis of ancient human DNA from South America allows the exploration of pre-Columbian population history through time and to directly test hypotheses about cultural and demographic evolution. The Middle Horizon (650?1100 AD) represents a major transitional period in the Central Andes, which is associated with the development and expansion of ancient Andean empires such as Wari and Tiwanaku. These empires facilitated a series of interregional interactions and socio-political changes, wh...

A guide to ancient protein studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hendy, Jessica; Welker, Frido; Demarchi, Beatrice

2018-01-01

Palaeoproteomics is an emerging neologism used to describe the application of mass spectrometry-based approaches to the study of ancient proteomes. As with palaeogenomics (the study of ancient DNA), it intersects evolutionary biology, archaeology and anthropology, with applications ranging from....... Additionally, in contrast to the ancient DNA community, no consolidated guidelines have been proposed by which researchers, reviewers and editors can evaluate palaeoproteomics data, in part due to the novelty of the field. Here we present a series of precautions and standards for ancient protein research...

Living with the world heritage. An ethnographic study of the ancient city of Nessebar, Bulgaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luleva Ana

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Since the mid-1950s the Ancient city of Nessebar has had the status of national cultural heritage; in 1983 it was inscribed in the World heritage list of UNESCO. The article makes an attempt to study the regimes of using of and living in the city - world cultural heritage in two different political and economic contexts. The pressure of the tourism industry on the value, which was visible even in the years of the late state socialism, became irresistible after 1989 in the context of the liberalised market economy, the interests of the private investors and the accepted as part of the "normal" market order corrupt practices of the institutions that are responsible for the safeguarding and management of the cultural heritage. The ethnographic study argues that intertwined in a Gordian knot around the central question for the residents of the ancient city of Nessebar, viz. the occupation of the city, which has been declared a world heritage site, are issues like trust and distrust in the institutions, the experience of abiding by formal and informal rules for operation with private property, the notions of social justice, local identity, the use of the cultural heritage as symbolic capital by different social actors and its transformation into economic one, with the conflicting interconnection between tourist industry and cultural heritage.

New Voices Ancient Words: Language Immersion Produces Fluent Speakers, Stronger Personal and Cultural Identities

Science.gov (United States)

Pease, Janine

2004-01-01

Across Indian Country, people can hear voices speaking ancient words, in a Cochiti extended family in New Mexico, a Navajo community school on the Arizona desert, a Native Hawaiian kindergarten, a Salish/Kootenai summertime ceremony, on the North Dakota plains, and in a Blackfeet math classroom in Montana. Unlike other language instruction…

Infants prefer the musical meter of their own culture: a cross-cultural comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Soley, Gaye; Hannon, Erin E

2010-01-01

Infants prefer native structures such as familiar faces and languages. Music is a universal human activity containing structures that vary cross-culturally. For example, Western music has temporally regular metric structures, whereas music of the Balkans (e.g., Bulgaria, Macedonia, Turkey) can have both regular and irregular structures. We presented 4- to 8-month-old American and Turkish infants with contrasting melodies to determine whether cultural background would influence their preferences for musical meter. In Experiment 1, American infants preferred Western over Balkan meter, whereas Turkish infants, who were familiar with both Western and Balkan meters, exhibited no preference. Experiments 2 and 3 presented infants with either a Western or Balkan meter paired with an arbitrary rhythm with complex ratios not common to any musical culture. Both Turkish and American infants preferred Western and Balkan meter to an arbitrary meter. Infants' musical preferences appear to be driven by culture-specific experience and a culture-general preference for simplicity. Copyright 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

ΛΗΤΩ • LETO. The great goddess of the East in the West

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cabrejas Enric

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The author of the article, based on the onomastic analysis of ancient Greek, Roman and Celtic myths, consisting of taxonomically different implications of the etymological and genetic unity of the Indo-European languages, continues to justify the hypothesis (that was raised at first in his book “Karuo – Iberian secret” about the existence and interaction of two (Western and of Eastern ancient Iberian cultures which became the forerunner of the European cultural conglomerate formation.

Identifying source populations for the reintroduction of the Eurasian beaver, Castor fiber L. 1758, into Britain: evidence from ancient DNA.

Science.gov (United States)

Marr, Melissa M; Brace, Selina; Schreve, Danielle C; Barnes, Ian

2018-02-09

Establishing true phylogenetic relationships between populations is a critical consideration when sourcing individuals for translocation. This presents huge difficulties with threatened and endangered species that have become extirpated from large areas of their former range. We utilise ancient DNA (aDNA) to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of a keystone species which has become extinct in Britain, the Eurasian beaver Castor fiber. We sequenced seventeen 492 bp partial tRNAPro and control region sequences from Late Pleistocene and Holocene age beavers and included these in network, demographic and genealogy analyses. The mode of postglacial population expansion from refugia was investigated by employing tests of neutrality and a pairwise mismatch distribution analysis. We found evidence of a pre-Late Glacial Maximum ancestor for the Western C. fiber clade which experienced a rapid demographic expansion during the terminal Pleistocene to early Holocene period. Ancient British beavers were found to originate from the Western phylogroup but showed no phylogenetic affinity to any one modern relict population over another. Instead, we find that they formed part of a large, continuous, pan-Western European clade that harbored little internal substructure. Our study highlights the utility of aDNA in reconstructing population histories of extirpated species which has real-world implications for conservation planning.

Ancient genomes revisit the ancestry of domestic and Przewalski's horses.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaunitz, Charleen; Fages, Antoine; Hanghøj, Kristian; Albrechtsen, Anders; Khan, Naveed; Schubert, Mikkel; Seguin-Orlando, Andaine; Owens, Ivy J; Felkel, Sabine; Bignon-Lau, Olivier; de Barros Damgaard, Peter; Mittnik, Alissa; Mohaseb, Azadeh F; Davoudi, Hossein; Alquraishi, Saleh; Alfarhan, Ahmed H; Al-Rasheid, Khaled A S; Crubézy, Eric; Benecke, Norbert; Olsen, Sandra; Brown, Dorcas; Anthony, David; Massy, Ken; Pitulko, Vladimir; Kasparov, Aleksei; Brem, Gottfried; Hofreiter, Michael; Mukhtarova, Gulmira; Baimukhanov, Nurbol; Lõugas, Lembi; Onar, Vedat; Stockhammer, Philipp W; Krause, Johannes; Boldgiv, Bazartseren; Undrakhbold, Sainbileg; Erdenebaatar, Diimaajav; Lepetz, Sébastien; Mashkour, Marjan; Ludwig, Arne; Wallner, Barbara; Merz, Victor; Merz, Ilja; Zaibert, Viktor; Willerslev, Eske; Librado, Pablo; Outram, Alan K; Orlando, Ludovic

2018-04-06

The Eneolithic Botai culture of the Central Asian steppes provides the earliest archaeological evidence for horse husbandry, ~5500 years ago, but the exact nature of early horse domestication remains controversial. We generated 42 ancient-horse genomes, including 20 from Botai. Compared to 46 published ancient- and modern-horse genomes, our data indicate that Przewalski's horses are the feral descendants of horses herded at Botai and not truly wild horses. All domestic horses dated from ~4000 years ago to present only show ~2.7% of Botai-related ancestry. This indicates that a massive genomic turnover underpins the expansion of the horse stock that gave rise to modern domesticates, which coincides with large-scale human population expansions during the Early Bronze Age. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Aiding the Interpretation of Ancient Documents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roued-Cunliffe, Henriette

How can Decision Support System (DSS) software aid the interpretation process involved in the reading of ancient documents? This paper discusses the development of a DSS prototype for the reading of ancient texts. In this context the term ‘ancient documents’ is used to describe mainly Greek...... tool it is important first to comprehend the interpretation process involved in reading ancient documents. This is not a linear process but rather a recursive process where the scholar moves between different levels of reading, such as ‘understanding the meaning of a character’ or ‘understanding...

Genetic characteristics and migration history of a bronze culture population in the West Liao-River valley revealed by ancient DNA.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hongjie; Zhao, Xin; Zhao, Yongbin; Li, Chunxiang; Si, Dayong; Zhou, Hui; Cui, Yinqiu

2011-12-01

In order to study the genetic characteristics of the Lower Xiajiadian culture (LXC) population, a main bronze culture branch in northern China dated 4500-3500 years ago, two uniparentally inherited markers, mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome single-nucleotide polymorphisms (Y-SNPs), were analyzed on 14 human remains excavated from the Dadianzi site. The 14 sequences, which contained 13 haplotypes, were assigned to 9 haplogroups, and Y-SNP typing of 5 male individuals assigned them to haplogroups N (M231) and O3 (M122). The results indicate that the LXC population mainly included people carrying haplogroups from northern Asia who had lived in this region since the Neolithic period, as well as genetic evidence of immigration from the Central Plain. Later in the Bronze Age, part of the population migrated to the south away from a cooler climate, which ultimately influenced the gene pool in the Central Plain. Thus, climate change is an important factor, which drove the population migration during the Bronze Age in northern China. Based on these results, the local genetic continuity did not seem to be affected by outward migration, although more data are needed especially from other ancient populations to determine the influence of return migration on genetic continuity.

Culture and social class.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyamoto, Yuri

2017-12-01

A large body of research in Western cultures has demonstrated the psychological and health effects of social class. This review outlines a cultural psychological approach to social stratification by comparing psychological and health manifestations of social class across Western and East Asian cultures. These comparisons suggest that cultural meaning systems shape how people make meaning and respond to material/structural conditions associated with social class, thereby leading to culturally divergent manifestations of social class. Specifically, unlike their counterparts in Western cultures, individuals of high social class in East Asian cultures tend to show high conformity and other-orientated psychological attributes. In addition, cultures differ in how social class impacts health (i.e. on which bases, through which pathways, and to what extent). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rhetoric Tradition and Democracy: Isocrates’ Role in Ancient Greek Political Idea. Start Point of Western Political Philosophy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shokri Mehdi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Political participation and the public education that have always been deployed to support the incipient progress of the civic life are revived in the modern political discourses. It has been believed that the age of pre-Socrates was the age of the Sophists whose acrid fallacy works occupied the political sphere, a malaise in government. However, speaking non-traditionally in the modern pedagogical system, there were some pre-Socratic thinkers and political philosophers/orators who’s works are the backbone of modern discourse on this matter. It will be examined whether any part of the classical rhetoric apparatus can be recovered and put to a good practice in the modern education and modern political participation. This point will be illustrated, furthermore, in this paper by alleging the importance of rhetoric, its role in Ancient Greek Democracy, and its influence on the modern concepts of power and democracy, as a continual element in a historical-political life. The further consideration is whether there was any democratic Polis existed in Ancient Athens and then, if there was, what characteristics it consisted of. Moreover, whether such concept can or should be considered in modern political discourses. In this sense, the liberal, non-dogmatic strain of the sophistry of Isocrates tradition urges us to indicate that the findings of this educational principles are, if not necessary, but adjutant complementary metes to our modern political knowledge of the states. In the end, it is inquired to see comparatively that how the tradition of rhetorical art and the concept of power in the Ancient Greek society have pertained to the modern democratic elements and whether we are able to empower this influential element in modern states.

Medicine in Ancient Assur

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arbøll, Troels Pank

This dissertation is a microhistorical study of a single individual named Kiṣir-Aššur who practiced medicine in the ancient city of Assur (modern northern Iraq) in the 7th century BCE. The study provides the first detailed analysis of one healer’s education and practice in ancient Mesopotamia...

Monarchical Activities of the Yoruba Kings of South Western Nigeria: A Cultural Heritage in Printmaking Visual Documentary.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emmanuel Bankole Oladumiye

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Printmaking is a visual documentary media of art which was used as a medium of expression in analyzing myth and mythology monarchical activities of the Yorubas in South Western Nigeria in this study. The  monarchical activities of the Yoruba Kings, is  the cultural heritage and legacy that people do guide jealously and considered to be of high cultural value. The Yoruba Kings of South Western Nigeria are traditional entity which passed through the rites of installing kings for the throne fore fathers as a leader with symbol of authority between the people and the spirit world. The kings in Yoruba kingdom is so much respected that they are seen as divine and representative of God on earth and they are exalted into the position of deity because of his monarchical duties to his subjects at large. The funfairs that accompany the monarch roles  are worth documenting using printmaking as vehicle of visual and historical expression of myths and mythologies demonstrating African culture which stands out as sacred. The discourse also relies on oral testimonies written and archival documents. The materials used for the execution of the prints are rubber, wood, plate, offset printing inks and glass which records the events as an alternative to the use of photographic documentation. The research examine the philosophy behind the monarchical roles of the Yoruba Kings in print visuals based on the cultural heritage of the Yoruba people it employs an exploratory qualitative methods rely on literature review.

The eye and its diseases in Ancient Egypt

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, S. Ry

1997-01-01

Ophthalmology, History of ophthalmology, eyes in the Ancient Egypt, eye disease in Ancient Egypt, porotic hyperostosis, mummification......Ophthalmology, History of ophthalmology, eyes in the Ancient Egypt, eye disease in Ancient Egypt, porotic hyperostosis, mummification...

Socio-cultural determinants of anticipated acceptance of an oral cholera vaccine in Western Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Sundaram, N; Schaetti, C; Chaignat, C-L; Hutubessy, R; Nyambedha, E O; Mbonga, L A; Weiss, M G

2013-03-01

Determinants of anticipated acceptance of an oral cholera vaccine (OCV) were studied in urban and rural communities of Western Kenya. An explanatory model interview administered to 379 community residents assessed anticipated vaccine acceptance at various prices from no cost to full-cost recovery, socio-cultural features of cholera and social characteristics. Nearly all (99%) residents indicated willingness to accept a no-cost OCV, 95% at a price of US$ 0·8, 73% at US$ 4·2 and 59% at US$ 8·4. Logistic regression models analysed socio-cultural determinants of anticipated OCV acceptance. Prominence of non-specific symptoms for cholera was negatively associated with acceptance. A cholera-specific symptom (thirst), self-help referring to prayer, income and education were positively associated. In the high-cost model, education was no longer significant and reliance on herbal treatment was a significant determinant of vaccine non-acceptance. Findings suggest high motivation for OCVs, if affordable. Socio-cultural determinants are better predictors of anticipated acceptance than socio-demographic factors alone.

Ancient Chinese Precedents in China

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Geddis, Robert

1999-01-01

... classics from ancient china. The assumption is that since China's political and military leaders state openly that their strategy is based on traditional Chinese strategic concepts, a study of ancient classics on strategy...

Dwarfs in ancient Egypt.

Science.gov (United States)

Kozma, Chahira

2006-02-15

Ancient Egypt was one of the most advanced and productive civilizations in antiquity, spanning 3000 years before the "Christian" era. Ancient Egyptians built colossal temples and magnificent tombs to honor their gods and religious leaders. Their hieroglyphic language, system of organization, and recording of events give contemporary researchers insights into their daily activities. Based on the record left by their art, the ancient Egyptians documented the presence of dwarfs in almost every facet of life. Due to the hot dry climate and natural and artificial mummification, Egypt is a major source of information on achondroplasia in the old world. The remains of dwarfs are abundant and include complete and partial skeletons. Dwarfs were employed as personal attendants, animal tenders, jewelers, and entertainers. Several high-ranking dwarfs especially from the Old Kingdom (2700-2190 BCE) achieved important status and had lavish burial places close to the pyramids. Their costly tombs in the royal cemeteries and the inscriptions on their statutes indicate their high-ranking position in Egyptian society and their close relation to the king. Some of them were Seneb, Pereniankh, Khnumhotpe, and Djeder. There were at least two dwarf gods, Ptah and Bes. The god Ptah was associated with regeneration and rejuvenation. The god Bes was a protector of sexuality, childbirth, women, and children. He was a favored deity particularly during the Greco-Roman period. His temple was recently excavated in the Baharia oasis in the middle of Egypt. The burial sites and artistic sources provide glimpses of the positions of dwarfs in daily life in ancient Egypt. Dwarfs were accepted in ancient Egypt; their recorded daily activities suggest assimilation into daily life, and their disorder was not shown as a physical handicap. Wisdom writings and moral teachings in ancient Egypt commanded respect for dwarfs and other individuals with disabilities. Copyright (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The characterization of Helicobacter pylori DNA associated with ancient human remains recovered from a Canadian glacier.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Treena Swanston

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative bacterium that colonizes the stomach of nearly half of the world's population. Genotypic characterization of H. pylori strains involves the analysis of virulence-associated genes, such as vacA, which has multiple alleles. Previous phylogenetic analyses have revealed a connection between modern H. pylori strains and the movement of ancient human populations. In this study, H. pylori DNA was amplified from the stomach tissue of the Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi individual. This ancient individual was recovered from the Samuel Glacier in Tatshenshini-Alsek Park, British Columbia, Canada on the traditional territory of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and radiocarbon dated to a timeframe of approximately AD 1670 to 1850. This is the first ancient H. pylori strain to be characterized with vacA sequence data. The Tatshenshini H. pylori strain has a potential hybrid vacA m2a/m1d middle (m region allele and a vacA s2 signal (s region allele. A vacA s2 allele is more commonly identified with Western strains, and this suggests that European strains were present in northwestern Canada during the ancient individual's time. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the vacA m1d region of the ancient strain clusters with previously published novel Native American strains that are closely related to Asian strains. This indicates a past connection between the Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi individual and the ancestors who arrived in the New World thousands of years ago.

Culture and cooperation: cooperative learning in Asian Confucian heritage cultures. The case of Viet Nam

OpenAIRE

Nguyen, P.M.

2008-01-01

The study is concerned with the influence of western educational approaches upon non-western societies and cultural groups. In applying western educational approaches, often a detailed consideration of its consequences to the culture and heritage of a non-western civilization is neglected. This is both the case of a multicultural classroom where students come from different backgrounds and the case of homogeneous classroom in non-western countries where the western teaching and learning appro...

Followers of Confucianism or a New Generation? Learning Culture of Mainland Chinese: In Pursuit of Western-Based Business Education Away from Mainland China

Science.gov (United States)

Rajaram, Kumaran

2013-01-01

The mainland Chinese learning culture has evolved due to the rapid changes in the economic, political, cultural and demographic demands. The changing characteristics of the Chinese students' learning behavioral styles and preferences, as well as the challenges faced in pursuit of Western-based education, are discussed with suggested…

Aesthetic Preferences for Eastern and Western Traditional Visual Art: Identity Matters.

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Yan; Yang, Taoxi; Lin, Xiaoxiong; Fang, Yuan; Wang, Yi; Pöppel, Ernst; Lei, Quan

2016-01-01

Western and Chinese artists have different traditions in representing the world in their paintings. While Western artists start since the Renaissance to represent the world with a central perspective and focus on salient objects in a scene, Chinese artists concentrate on context information in their paintings, mainly before the mid-19th century. We investigated whether the different typical representations influence the aesthetic preference for traditional Chinese and Western paintings in the different cultural groups. Traditional Chinese and Western paintings were presented randomly for an aesthetic evaluation to Chinese and Western participants. Both Chinese and Western paintings included two categories: landscapes and people in different scenes. Results showed a significant interaction between the source of the painting and the cultural group. For Chinese and Western paintings, a reversed pattern of aesthetic preference was observed: while Chinese participants gave higher aesthetic scores to traditional Chinese paintings than to Western paintings, Western participants tended to give higher aesthetic scores to traditional Western paintings than to Chinese paintings. We interpret this observation as indicator that personal identity is supported and enriched within cultural belongingness. Another important finding was that landscapes were more preferable than people in a scene across different cultural groups indicating a universal principle of preferences for landscapes. Thus, our results suggest that, on the one hand, the way that artists represent the world in their paintings influences the way that culturally embedded viewers perceive and appreciate paintings, but on the other hand, independent of the cultural background, anthropological universals are disclosed by the preference of landscapes.

The transferability of Western concepts to other cultures: validation of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire in a Saudi Arabic context.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmood, Syed Imran; Daim, Syed Abdul; Borleffs, Jan C C; Heijne-Penninga, Marjolein; Schönrock-Adema, Johanna

2015-04-01

The importance of medical education research in Saudi Arabia has been acknowledged increasingly and a lot of concepts used have been derived from the Western world. The question arises, however, whether Western concepts and questionnaires are transferable to societies with different cultures. The aim of this study was to investigate the instrument structure and the reliability of the Arabic version of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire-medium (ZKPQ-m). Three statistical methods with decreased amount of strictness were used to analyse our data: Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Procrustes rotation and Principal Component Analysis. Our outcomes did not confirm the original instrument structure. Instead, we found four interpretable components: Emotional Instability, Impulse-seeking, Activeness and Self-Control. However, the amount of explained variance was not very high and the internal consistencies ranged from unsatisfactory to only moderate. The data showed a high percentage of respondents agreeing with more than three items of the Infrequency scale, which may be attributable to the collectivistic culture in Saudi Arabia. We did not succeed in replicating the ZKPQ structure in the Arabic context. Social desirability, a common characteristic in collectivistic cultures, may have reduced the replicability of the internal structure of the ZKPQ-m. Different methods to measure concepts in collectivistic cultures may help to get round social desirability.

The modern enterprise – successor of business organization forms in ancient Rome and medieval Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anca Pacala

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years, researchers and practitioners are increasingly interested in the role and influence of the forms of business organization on the economy and society. Interpretations of the role of companies in the modern period, ranging from enthusiastic support (as the most important invention of capitalism, an explanation of the Western civilization’s expansion to moderate and often critical positions, where the company is seen as a solution, not necessarily optimal, to market imperfections. On the other hand, we often ponder upon the explanation of political, administrative and infrastructural success of ancient Rome: the state or the enterprise (the private initiative? Closer to our time, we rediscover with amazement that the "dark" Middle Ages are not at all dark and lacking in progress, at least in terms of capitalist organization and logic. The development of trade in the two poles of medieval Europe (the Mediterranean and the BaltoScandinavian area, of industry and trade in the North-Western quadrant (Flanders and neighbouring regions, was concurrent with the improvement of organizational forms of business, with the diversity and flexibility of entrepreneurial or even corporate frameworks. Of course, the study of historical sources (ancient or medieval cannot provide direct answers or solutions to the questions of modern society, because the challenges of today are rather different to those of the past. On the other hand, understanding history can help companies to build a more complete and a wiser enterprise functionality and role in the modern society, to reformulate the questions and to find new solutions. Our paper, with a clear juridical perspective on economic history, focuses on the organization of firms in ancient Rome and medieval Europe, tries to provide examples, useful interpretations and diverse solutions to the problems of contemporary society and economy.

Physical activity in culturally and linguistically diverse migrant groups to Western society: a review of barriers, enablers and experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Caperchione, Cristina M; Kolt, Gregory S; Mummery, W Kerry

2009-01-01

A close examination of epidemiological data reveals burdens of disease particular to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrants, as these individuals adjust to both culture and modernization gaps. Despite the increased risk of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, overweight/obesity and cardiovascular disease, individuals from CALD groups are less likely to be proactive in accessing healthcare or undertaking preventative measures to ensure optimal health outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to review literature that outlines the barriers, challenges and enablers of physical activity in CALD groups who have recently migrated to Western society, and to identify key strategies to increase physical activity participation for these individuals. Electronic and manual literature searches were used to identify 57 publications that met the inclusion criteria. Findings from the review indicate that migration to Western societies has a detrimental effect on the health status and health behaviours of CALD groups as they assimilate to their new surroundings, explore different cultures and customs, and embrace a new way of life. In particular, there is evidence that physical inactivity is common in migrant CALD groups, and is a key contributing risk factor to chronic disease for these individuals. Challenges and barriers that limit physical activity participation in CALD groups include: cultural and religious beliefs, issues with social relationships, socioeconomic challenges, environmental barriers, and perceptions of health and injury. Strategies that may assist with overcoming these challenges and barriers consist of the need for cultural sensitivity, the provision of education sessions addressing health behaviours, encouraging participation of individuals from the same culture, exploration of employment situational variables, and the implementation of 'Health Action Zones' in CALD communities. This information will inform and support the development of culturally

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in ancient Greece: The Obtuse Man of Theophrastus.

Science.gov (United States)

Victor, Marcelo M; S da Silva, Bruna; Kappel, Djenifer B; Bau, Claiton Hd; Grevet, Eugenio H

2018-06-01

We present an ancient Greek description written by the philosopher Theophrastus in his classic book ' Characters' comparable with modern attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The arguments are based in one chapter of this book-The Obtuse Man-presenting features of a character closely resembling the modern description of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. In a free comparative exercise, we compared Theophrastus descriptions with modern Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms. The sentences describing The Obtuse Man written by Theophrastus are similar to several symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and he would probably be currently diagnosed with this disorder as an adult. To our knowledge, this is the oldest description compatible with the current conception of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults in the Western literature. Differently than the moralistic view of ancient Greece regarding those symptoms, the medical attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder conception may be advantageous to patients since it might reduce prejudice and allow individuals to seek treatment.

News from the west: ancient DNA from a French megalithic burial chamber.

Science.gov (United States)

Deguilloux, Marie-France; Soler, Ludovic; Pemonge, Marie-Hélène; Scarre, Chris; Joussaume, Roger; Laporte, Luc

2011-01-01

Recent paleogenetic studies have confirmed that the spread of the Neolithic across Europe was neither genetically nor geographically uniform. To extend existing knowledge of the mitochondrial European Neolithic gene pool, we examined six samples of human skeletal material from a French megalithic long mound (c.4200 cal BC). We retrieved HVR-I sequences from three individuals and demonstrated that in the Neolithic period the mtDNA haplogroup N1a, previously only known in central Europe, was as widely distributed as western France. Alternative scenarios are discussed in seeking to explain this result, including Mesolithic ancestry, Neolithic demic diffusion, and long-distance matrimonial exchanges. In light of the limited Neolithic ancient DNA (aDNA) data currently available, we observe that all three scenarios appear equally consistent with paleogenetic and archaeological data. In consequence, we advocate caution in interpreting aDNA in the context of the Neolithic transition in Europe. Nevertheless, our results strengthen conclusions demonstrating genetic discontinuity between modern and ancient Europeans whether through migration, demographic or selection processes, or social practices. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

古今中西之間--陳垣與20世紀中國史學%Between the Ancient and the Present and between China and the West：Prof. Chen Yuan and Chinese Historiography in the 20 th Century

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

陳智超

2010-01-01

Every historian should answer two questions related to each other, i. e. what is the relationship between history and reality and what is that between historiography and reality. Moreover, Chinese historians should answer other two questions also re-lated to each other, namely what is the relationship between China and the West and what is that between Chinese culture and Western culture. Based on their own outlook on the ancient and the present as well as on China and the West, every conscious Chinese historian of the 20 th century was bound to cherish a definite sense of responsi-bility and determined what role they played and what way they chose when taking on this responsibility. The present paper expounds Prof. Chen Yuan’ s answers to the above questions andhis practice concerned with them in the four stages of his lifetime.

Ancient Biomolecules and Evolutionary Inference

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cappellini, Enrico; Prohaska, Ana; Racimo, Fernando

2018-01-01

Over the last decade, studies of ancient biomolecules-particularly ancient DNA, proteins, and lipids-have revolutionized our understanding of evolutionary history. Though initially fraught with many challenges, the field now stands on firm foundations. Researchers now successfully retrieve nucleo...

Ancient Item Spoilage Ritual Used in Nomadic Burial Rite

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beisenov Arman Z.

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The article considers the findings of items in ancient burials which were intentionally spoiled prior to deposition in graves. This tradition was widely spread both in terms of chronology and geography, and therefore cannot be attributed to any individual cultures or regions. The authors present new information on the ritual obtained during an investigation of Borsyk burial mound of the Middle Sarmatian period located in West Kazakhstan. The central grave of barrow 6 contained a heavily damaged bronze cauldron. The grave was looted in antiquity. Individual scattered bones of a human skeleton and minor gold foil adornments from the ceremonial dress of a nobleman were discovered in the grave. The authors suggest that the cauldron was intentionally deformed by the participants of an ancient mortuary and memorial ritual. According to the principal hypothesis concerning the essence of this ritual, spoilage of the items was related to the idea of assign the items with “different” and “transcendent” properties, which resulted from the necessity of burying the owner. Cauldrons played an important role in the life of steppe leaders. The authors assume a sacral nature of the use of cauldrons in the culture of steppe peoples associated with feasts, battles, and sacred hunting. Perhaps, there was a tradition of burying cauldrons together with their owners after spoiling the items in view of the concept of the other world and the role of a heroic leader therein.

Cultural macroevolution on neighbor graphs : vertical and horizontal transmission among Western North American Indian societies.

Science.gov (United States)

Towner, Mary C; Grote, Mark N; Venti, Jay; Borgerhoff Mulder, Monique

2012-09-01

What are the driving forces of cultural macroevolution, the evolution of cultural traits that characterize societies or populations? This question has engaged anthropologists for more than a century, with little consensus regarding the answer. We develop and fit autologistic models, built upon both spatial and linguistic neighbor graphs, for 44 cultural traits of 172 societies in the Western North American Indian (WNAI) database. For each trait, we compare models including or excluding one or both neighbor graphs, and for the majority of traits we find strong evidence in favor of a model which uses both spatial and linguistic neighbors to predict a trait's distribution. Our results run counter to the assertion that cultural trait distributions can be explained largely by the transmission of traits from parent to daughter populations and are thus best analyzed with phylogenies. In contrast, we show that vertical and horizontal transmission pathways can be incorporated in a single model, that both transmission modes may indeed operate on the same trait, and that for most traits in the WNAI database, accounting for only one mode of transmission would result in a loss of information.

We will eat disgusting foods together – evidence of the cultural basis of Western entomophagy-disgust from an insect tasting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Niels Holm; Lieberoth, Andreas

2017-01-01

Insects are a highly sustainable and nutritional source of protein, and, thus, incorporating insects in to Western food culture would address major global challenges such as global warming, deforestation, and obesity. Consumer studies show, however, that Westerners’ willingness to eat insect...

The Spirit of Western Business Ethics and Its Revelation

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Qi wei

2008-01-01

The development of socialist market economy needs the power support provided by western business ethics. To build the culture ofmodern business ethics in our country, we need absorb the useful spirit of business ethics from western business culture and use for reference. Basedon the analysis of the main spirit of Western business ethics, this paper puts forward that we must stress the role of business, establish an appropriateattitude towards profits, and mold a 'rational spirit of modem business in the process of building modem business culture in our country.

Endogenous change: on cooperation and water in ancient history

Science.gov (United States)

Pande, S.; Ertsen, M.

2013-04-01

We propose and test the theory of endogenous change based on historical reconstructions of two ancient civilizations, Indus and Hohokam, in two water scarce basins, the Indus basin in the Indian subcontinent and the Lower Colorado basin in Southwestern United States. The endogenous institutional change sees changes in institutions as a sequence of equilibria brought about by changes in "quasi-parameters" such as rainfall, population density, soil and land use induced water resource availability. In the historical reconstructions of ancient civilizations, institutions are proximated by the scale of cooperation be it in the form of the extent of trade, sophisticated irrigation network, a centrally planned state or a loosely held state with a common cultural identity. The "quasi-parameters" either change naturally or are changed by humans and the changes affect the stability of cooperative structures over time. However, human influenced changes in the quasi-parameters itself are conditioned on the scale of existing cooperative structures. We thus provide insights into the quantitative dimensions of water access by ancient populations and its co-evolution with the socioeconomic and sociopolitical organization of the human past. We however do not suggest that water manipulation was the single most significant factor in stimulating social development and complexity - clearly this has been shown as highly reductionist, even misleading. The paper cautiously contributes to proximate prediction of hydrological change by attempting to understand the complexity of coupled human-hydrological systems.

Ancient and Current Chaos Theories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Güngör Gündüz

2006-07-01

Full Text Available Chaos theories developed in the last three decades have made very important contributions to our understanding of dynamical systems and natural phenomena. The meaning of chaos in the current theories and in the past is somewhat different from each other. In this work, the properties of dynamical systems and the evolution of chaotic systems were discussed in terms of the views of ancient philosophers. The meaning of chaos in Anaximenes’ philosophy and its role in the Ancient natural philosophy has been discussed in relation to other natural philosophers such as of Anaximander, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Empedocles, Leucippus (i.e. atomists and Aristotle. In addition, the fundamental concepts of statistical mechanics and the current chaos theories were discussed in relation to the views in Ancient natural philosophy. The roots of the scientific concepts such as randomness, autocatalysis, nonlinear growth, information, pattern, etc. in the Ancient natural philosophy were investigated.

Ancient coastal transportation system along the Western Saurashtra coast: Evidence from Navibandar

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gaur, A.S.; Sundaresh; Tripati, S.

to the market by bullock carts and vice versa. In addition, bullock-cart marks were noticed on the rocky surface for a long distance up to the coast, Figure 3. Remains of a road on the western bank of the estuary of River Bhadar at Navibandar...

Reasons for relativism: Feyerabend on the 'Rise of Rationalism' in ancient Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Heit, Helmut

2016-06-01

This paper argues that essential features of Feyerabend's philosophy, namely his radicalization of critical rationalism and his turn to relativism, could be understood better in the light of his engagement with early Greek thought. In contrast to his earlier, Popperian views he came to see the Homeric worldview as a genuine alternative, which was not falsified by the Presocratics. Unlike socio-psychological and externalist accounts my reading of his published and unpublished material suggests that his alternative reconstruction of the ancient beginnings of the Western scientific tradition motivate and justify his moderate Protagorean relativism. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Talking about the Difference between Chinese and Western Rite in Food and Cloth

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

赵晓霞

2014-01-01

In recent days, with more and more frequent exchanges and communications between China and western countries, their different culture, including different rites is involved in each other. Some people think that western things are definitely much better than Chinese things, so they imitate them from every aspect. It is not good for them to do so because some western things fit for westerners more than for Chinese people. This paper endeavors to illustrate that Chinese people should properly ab-sorb western culture through briefly introducing food and cloth culture in China and Western countries.

Global Communication and Cultural Desensitisation: Repackaging Western Values for Non-Western Markets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahmoud M. Galander

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Global communication is widely perceived as an instrument to disseminate Western values in the developing world. The “Wheel of Fortune” and “Who Wants to be a Millionnaire” licensed to Malaysian Television stations, though the language and the word puzzles were localised, carried the same format of the original (American show. They promote consumerism, gambling and the images of usury, the style of wealth accumulation forbidden in Islam. For the Malaysian audience whose priorities are those of contentment, modesty and humility, such emphasis on material desires breeds internal contradictions that may lead the audience to succumb to the new Western values.

Authenticity in ancient DNA studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gilbert, M Thomas P; Willerslev, Eske

2006-01-01

Ancient DNA studies represent a powerful tool that can be used to obtain genetic insights into the past. However, despite the publication of large numbers of apparently successful ancient DNA studies, a number of problems exist with the field that are often ignored. Therefore, questions exist as ...

An investigation into the ancient abortion laws: comparing ancient Persia with ancient Greece and Rome.

Science.gov (United States)

Yarmohammadi, Hassan; Zargaran, Arman; Vatanpour, Azadeh; Abedini, Ehsan; Adhami, Siamak

2013-01-01

Since the dawn of medicine, medical rights and ethics have always been one of mankind's concerns. In any civilisation, attention paid to medical laws and ethics depends on the progress of human values and the advancement of medical science. The history of various civilisations teaches that each had its own views on medical ethics, but most had something in common. Ancient civilisations such as Greece, Rome, or Assyria did not consider the foetus to be alive and therefore to have human rights. In contrast, ancient Persians valued the foetus as a living person equal to others. Accordingly, they brought laws against abortion, even in cases of sexual abuse. Furthermore, abortion was considered to be a murder and punishments were meted out to the mother, father, and the person performing it.

Urology and the scientific method in ancient Egypt.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordetsky, Jennifer; O'Brien, Jeanne

2009-03-01

To examine the practice of urology in ancient Egypt using various sources, including the Edwin Smith and Ebers Papyri. The sources of knowledge of ancient Egyptian medicine include medical papyri, paleopathology, art, and hieroglyphic carvings. A brief overview of the medical system in ancient Egypt was completed, in addition to an examination of the training and specialization of the physician in the ancient world. Urologic diseases treated in ancient Egypt and some of the first documented urologic surgeries are presented. Finally, we studied the role of the physician-priest and the intertwined use of religion and magic in ancient Egyptian medicine. The same medical conditions urologists treat in the office today were methodically documented thousands of years ago. Medical papyri show evidence that the ancient Egyptians practiced medicine using a scientific method based on the clinical observation of disease. This has been exemplified by the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, a collection of surgical cases that gives a diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis for each ailment, and the discovery of medical specialization in ancient Egypt, giving us perhaps the world's first urologists. Intertwined with the scientific method was also the rich mysticism and religion of ancient Egypt, which were integral components of the healing process. We present an overview of the practice of urology in ancient Egypt, in terms of both pharmacologic and surgical intervention, as well as with a look into the religion of medicine practiced at that time.

Ancient DNA from Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) of South-Western China Reveals Genetic Diversity Loss during the Holocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheng, Gui-Lian; Barlow, Axel; Cooper, Alan; Hou, Xin-Dong; Ji, Xue-Ping; Jablonski, Nina G; Zhong, Bo-Jian; Liu, Hong; Flynn, Lawrence J; Yuan, Jun-Xia; Wang, Li-Rui; Basler, Nikolas; Westbury, Michael V; Hofreiter, Michael; Lai, Xu-Long

2018-04-06

The giant panda was widely distributed in China and south-eastern Asia during the middle to late Pleistocene, prior to its habitat becoming rapidly reduced in the Holocene. While conservation reserves have been established and population numbers of the giant panda have recently increased, the interpretation of its genetic diversity remains controversial. Previous analyses, surprisingly, have indicated relatively high levels of genetic diversity raising issues concerning the efficiency and usefulness of reintroducing individuals from captive populations. However, due to a lack of DNA data from fossil specimens, it is unknown whether genetic diversity was even higher prior to the most recent population decline. We amplified complete cyt b and 12s rRNA, partial 16s rRNA and ND1 , and control region sequences from the mitochondrial genomes of two Holocene panda specimens. We estimated genetic diversity and population demography by analyzing the ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences alongside those from modern giant pandas, as well as from other members of the bear family (Ursidae). Phylogenetic analyses show that one of the ancient haplotypes is sister to all sampled modern pandas and the second ancient individual is nested among the modern haplotypes, suggesting that genetic diversity may indeed have been higher earlier during the Holocene. Bayesian skyline plot analysis supports this view and indicates a slight decline in female effective population size starting around 6000 years B.P., followed by a recovery around 2000 years ago. Therefore, while the genetic diversity of the giant panda has been affected by recent habitat contraction, it still harbors substantial genetic diversity. Moreover, while its still low population numbers require continued conservation efforts, there seem to be no immediate threats from the perspective of genetic evolutionary potential.

Ancient DNA from Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca of South-Western China Reveals Genetic Diversity Loss during the Holocene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gui-Lian Sheng

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The giant panda was widely distributed in China and south-eastern Asia during the middle to late Pleistocene, prior to its habitat becoming rapidly reduced in the Holocene. While conservation reserves have been established and population numbers of the giant panda have recently increased, the interpretation of its genetic diversity remains controversial. Previous analyses, surprisingly, have indicated relatively high levels of genetic diversity raising issues concerning the efficiency and usefulness of reintroducing individuals from captive populations. However, due to a lack of DNA data from fossil specimens, it is unknown whether genetic diversity was even higher prior to the most recent population decline. We amplified complete cytb and 12s rRNA, partial 16s rRNA and ND1, and control region sequences from the mitochondrial genomes of two Holocene panda specimens. We estimated genetic diversity and population demography by analyzing the ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences alongside those from modern giant pandas, as well as from other members of the bear family (Ursidae. Phylogenetic analyses show that one of the ancient haplotypes is sister to all sampled modern pandas and the second ancient individual is nested among the modern haplotypes, suggesting that genetic diversity may indeed have been higher earlier during the Holocene. Bayesian skyline plot analysis supports this view and indicates a slight decline in female effective population size starting around 6000 years B.P., followed by a recovery around 2000 years ago. Therefore, while the genetic diversity of the giant panda has been affected by recent habitat contraction, it still harbors substantial genetic diversity. Moreover, while its still low population numbers require continued conservation efforts, there seem to be no immediate threats from the perspective of genetic evolutionary potential.

Beginnings-The Kidney and Nephrology in Ancient Mesopotamian Culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Eknoyan, Garabed

2016-05-01

A defining period in the history of civilization occurred in ancient Mesopotamia. While some of Mesopotamian contributions to knowledge (writing, mathematics, astronomy) have been recognized, those made to medicine are just beginning to be studied and appreciated. The medicine of the time developed in a theocratic society where local gods controlled all aspects of life and their healers were learned scribes who established the priestly medicine of old. For their use of prayers and incantations as a component of therapy Mesopotamian medicine has been belittled and relegated to magic. In fact, the Mesopotamian healers established the basic medical skills of observation, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment and, over time, systematically produced an expanding corpus of medical knowledge that had not existed theretofore. The kidney as an organ, the components of the urogenital tract, some signs and symptoms of renal diseases, and the art of urinalysis were first conceptualized, studied, and codified in Mesopotamia. In doing so, the Mesopotamians set the foundations of rational medicine that would follow after the introduction of the phonetic alphabet and the Socratic method of questioning and debate to stimulate critical analysis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cross-cultural Lifelong Learning

OpenAIRE

2010-01-01

Globalisation, internationalisation, multiculturalism, immigration, and growing number of cross-cultural encounters are colorising the everyday life both in Western and Eastern parts of the world. However, in most cases, lifelong learning is normally studied in and around a certain condensed culture or from the dominant Western perspective. Thus it is important to ask how we should rebuild our conceptions of 'culture' or 'learning' in the context of these global cross-cultural trends, or how ...

Niimina Ahubiya: Western Mono Song Genres

OpenAIRE

Loether, Christopher

1993-01-01

Although Native American communities may lose their ancestral language or other aspects of their traditional culture, music seems to be more resistant to the continual onslaught of the dominant Euro-American culture. Even today, traditional music remains a vital part of Native American communities throughout the United States. In this article I examine one aspect of the musical traditions of the Western Mono, specifically the different types of songs, and their functions within Western Mono s...

Beyond the Cosmological: Numerical Scenarios underneath Ancient Annular Architectural Structures

Science.gov (United States)

Ranieri, M.

2009-08-01

``Cecì est la regle du carré et du cercle. Pour toutes choses, la circonférence (tcheou) est en usage, et les figures circulaire et carrée sont employées. L'officier dit ta-tsiang (grand charpentier, titre du Tcheou-li) prend ses mesures. Le compass et le règle sont apprêtés. Tantot on rompt le carré et on fait un cercle. Tantot on brise le cercle et on fait un carré. Au milieu d'un carré, quand on fait un cercle, on appelle cette figure cercle-carré. Au milieu d'un cercle, quand on fait un carré, on appelle cette figure carré-cercle.'' (Tcheou-Pei-Souan-King, book one, trad. E.Biot, Journal Asiatique, Juin 1841 p. 614 Circles and squares, as geometrical representations of the cosmos, are frequent in ancient cultures, mainly with the earth represented by the square and the sky by the circle. Quite many are the circular or circle-and-square architectures of the past that are to be interpreted as related to the cosmologies of the cultures to which they belong. In this paper we focus on those relevant annular geometries (CQC) where the square inscribable into the external circumference in turn perfectly circumscribes the internal one. Beyond the possible cosmological significances, a CQC geometry bears underneath a strict numerical structure that can be put in relation to the length-units used by the builders. Results are presented of CAD (Computer Aided Drawing) analyses performed on the plans of ancient structures where the CQC geometry was suspected to exist. A large repertory of such structures has been found, from Nuragic Sardinia to Mesoamerica including Minoans, Greeks, Romans and others. In many cases the found length-units coincide with known ancient units. The large variety presented at CAC 2000 cannot be shown in this paper for reasons of space and only a smaller but significant selection is presented.

Science and Library in the Ancient Age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hasan Sacit Keseroğlu

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Science assumes its contemporary identity as a result of the stages of magic, religion and reason. The religious stage starts with the invention of writing and this stage leaves its place to reason with Thales in Ancient Greece. Knowledge eludes from religious beliefs. Ways to reach accurate, reliable and realistic knowledge are sought, along with the answer for what knowledge is. Therefore, beginning of the science is taken into consideration together with science and philosophy. The purpose of this study is to approach knowledge and science of the ancient age in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Ancient Greece in general terms and to determine the relationship between the knowledge produced in those places and libraries established. The hypothesis has been determined as “Egypt and Mesopotamia at the starting point of the history of science and science, and libraries in Ancient Greece have developed parallelly to each other.” The scope of the study has been limited to Mesopotamia, Egypt and Ancient Greece; and Ancient Greece has been explained, with descriptive method, in the frame of the topics of Ionia, Athens, Hellenistic Period and Rome. Many archives and libraries have been established in the ancient age. The difference between an archive and a library has been mentioned first, and then, various libraries have been introduced such as Nineveh in Mesopotamia, Alexandria in Ancient Greece and many others in Egypt. It has been clearly distinguished that there had been a very tight relationship between knowledge production and library, especially with the Library of Alexandria.

Paleo-Environmental Reconstruction Using Ancient DNA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Mikkel Winther

The aim of this thesis has been to investigate and expand the methodology and applicability for using ancient DNA deposited in lake sediments to detect and determine its genetic sources for paleo-environmental reconstruction. The aim was furthermore to put this tool into an applicable context...... solving other scientifically interesting questions. Still in its childhood, ancient environmental DNA research has a large potential for still developing, improving and discovering its possibilities and limitations in different environments and for identifying various organisms, both in terms...... research on ancient and modern environmental DNA (Paper 1), secondly by setting up a comparative study (Paper 2) to investigate how an ancient plant DNA (mini)-barcode can reflect other traditional methods (e.g. pollen and macrofossils) for reconstructing floristic history. In prolongation of the results...

AN INTERESTING CASE OF ANCIENT SCHWANNOMA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Binu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION : Schwannoma is a common benign tumour of nerve sheath. Degenerating type of schwannoma is called ancient schwannoma. Ancient schwannomas of scalp are rare and are often misdiagnosed as sebaceous cyst or dermoid cyst. CASE REPORT : We present a thirty two year old male presented with scalp swel ling of eight years duration. X - ray showed no intracranial extension. He underwent excision of the tumour and histopathology was reported as ancient schwannoma. DISCUSSION : Histopathologically , ancient schwannomas charecterised by cellular Antoni type A ar eas and less cellular Antoni type - B areas. 9 th , 7 th , 11 th , 5 th and 4 th cranial nerves are often affected and may be associated with multiple neuro fibramatosis (Von - Recklinghausen’s disease. Impact : Case is presented for its rarity and possible pre - operative misdiagnosis

Urinalysis in Western culture: a brief history.

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, J A

2007-03-01

Today physicians use urine to diagnose selective conditions but from ancient times until the Victorian era, urine was used as the primary diagnostic tool. Laboratory medicine began with the analysis of human urine, which was called uroscopy and today is termed urinalysis. Uroscopy was the mirror of medicine for thousands of years. From a liquid window through which physicians felt they could view the body's inner workings. Numerous, somewhat accurate, physiologic theories arose from uroscopy. Then the importance of urinary diagnosis became exaggerated, and increasingly complex, until physicians required only the presence of urine, not patients, to diagnose disease. Uroscopy then escaped medical control, becoming first a home health aid and then a tool of uneducated practitioners. Thomas Brian led a medical rebellion against all uses of uroscopy and published the Pisse Prophet, a book that devastated uroscopy.

Place-based Pedagogy and Culturally Responsive Assessment in Hawai`i: Transforming Curriculum Development and Assessment by Intersecting Hawaiian and Western STEM

Science.gov (United States)

Chinn, P. W. U.

2016-12-01

Context/Purpose: The Hawaiian Islands span 1500 miles. Age, size, altitude and isolation produced diverse topographies, weather patterns, and unique ecosystems. Around 500 C.E. Polynesians arrived and developed sustainable social ecosystems, ahupua`a, extending from mountain-top to reef. Place-based ecological knowledge was key to personal identity and resource management that sustained 700,000 people at western contact. But Native Hawaiian students are persistently underrepresented in science. This two-year mixed methods study asks if professional development (PD) can transform teaching in ways that support K12 Native Hawaiian students' engagement and learning in STEM. Methods: Place-based PD informed by theories of structure and agency (Sewell, 1992) and cultural funds of knowledge (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992) explicitly intersected Hawaiian and western STEM knowledge and practices. NGSS and Nā Hopena A`o, general learner outcomes that reflect Hawaiian culture and values provided teachers with new schemas for designing curriculum and assessment through the lens of culture and place. Data sources include surveys, teacher and student documents, photographs. Results: Teachers' lessons on invasive species, water, soils, Hawaiian STEM, and sustainability and student work showed they learned key Hawaiian terms, understood the impact of invasive species on native plants and animals, felt stronger senses of responsibility, belonging, and place, and preferred outdoor learning. Survey results of 21 4th graders showed Native Hawaiian students (n=6) were more interested in taking STEM and Hawaiian culture/language courses, more concerned about invasive species and culturally important plant and animals, but less able to connect school and family activities than non-Hawaiian peers (n=15). Teacher agency is seen in their interest in collaborating across schools to develop ahupua`a based K12 STEM curricula. Interpretation and Conclusion: Findings suggest PD

European research platform IPANEMA at the SOLEIL synchrotron for ancient and historical materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertrand, L.; Languille, M.A.; Cohen, S.X.; Robinet, L.; Josse, W.; Gervais, C.; Leroy, S.; Bernard, D.; Le Pennec, E.; Doucet, J.; Schoder, S.

2011-01-01

IPANEMA, a research platform devoted to ancient and historical materials (archaeology, cultural heritage, palaeontology and past environments), is currently being set up at the synchrotron facility SOLEIL (Saint-Aubin, France; SOLEIL opened to users in January 2008). The new platform is open to French, European and international users. The activities of the platform are centred on two main fields: increased support to synchrotron projects on ancient materials and methodological research. The IPANEMA team currently occupies temporary premises at SOLEIL, but the platform comprises construction of a new building that will comply with conservation and environmental standards and of a hard X-ray imaging beamline today in its conceptual design phase, named PUMA. Since 2008, the team has supported synchrotron works at SOLEIL and at European synchrotron facilities on a range of topics including pigment degradation in paintings, composition of musical instrument varnishes, and provenancing of medieval archaeological ferrous artefacts. Once the platform is fully operational, user support will primarily take place within medium-term research projects for 'hosted' scientists, PhDs and post-docs. IPANEMA methodological research is focused on advanced two-dimensional/ three-dimensional imaging and spectroscopy and statistical image analysis, both optimized for ancient materials. (authors)

Achondroplasia among ancient populations of mesoamerica and South America: Iconographic and Archaeological Evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Isaza, Carolina; Pachajoa, Harry

2012-01-01

Introduction: Achondroplasia is the most frequent form of short-limb dwarfism. Affected individuals exhibit short stature caused by rhizomelic shortening of the limbs, characteristic facies with frontal bossing and mid-face hypoplasia, genu varum, and trident hand. Although the etiology of this disease was reported in 1994, evidence of this disease in ancient populations has been found in populations of ancient Egypt (2500 BC) and it has been documented in ancient American populations. Objective: To analyze the presence of individuals with achondroplasia in the Mayan state society of Mexico and Guatemala, during the Classical (100- 950 AC ) and Post-Classical (950 - 1519 AC ) periods; likewise, in the hierarchical-chieftain society of Tumaco-la Tolita (300 BC - 600 AC ) from the Colombia-Ecuador Pacific coast, and the Moche state society (100 - 600 AC ) from the northern coast of Peru. Methods: Iconographic and clinical-morphological studies of some of the most important artistic representations of individuals of short stature in these three cultures. Conclusion: We present the hypothesis that the individuals with short stature were somehow associated with the political and religious power elite. PMID:24893194

Microbial diversity of western Canadian subsurface coal beds and methanogenic coal enrichment cultures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Penner, Tara J.; Foght, Julia M. [Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada); Budwill, Karen [Carbon and Energy Management, Alberta Innovates-Technology Futures, 250 Karl Clark Road, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)

2010-05-01

Coalbed methane is an unconventional fuel source associated with certain coal seams. Biogenic methane can comprise a significant portion of the gas found in coal seams, yet the role of microbes in methanogenesis in situ is uncertain. The purpose of this study was to detect and identify major bacterial and archaeal species associated with coal sampled from sub-bituminous methane-producing coal beds in western Canada, and to examine the potential for methane biogenesis from coal. Enrichment cultures of coal samples were established to determine how nutrient amendment influenced the microbial community and methane production in the laboratory. 16S rRNA gene clone libraries were constructed using DNA extracted and amplified from uncultured coal samples and from methanogenic coal enrichment cultures. Libraries were screened using restriction fragment length polymorphism, and representative clones were sequenced. Most (> 50%) of the bacterial sequences amplified from uncultured coal samples were affiliated with Proteobacteria that exhibit nitrate reduction, nitrogen fixation and/or hydrogen utilization activities, including Pseudomonas, Thauera and Acidovorax spp., whereas enrichment cultures were dominated by Bacteroidetes, Clostridia and/or Lactobacillales. Archaeal 16S rRNA genes could not be amplified from uncultured coal, suggesting that methanogens are present in coal below the detection levels of our methods. However, enrichment cultures established with coal inocula produced significant volumes of methane and the archaeal clone libraries were dominated by sequences closely affiliated with Methanosarcina spp. Enrichment cultures incubated with coal plus organic nutrients produced more methane than either nutrient or coal supplements alone, implying that competent methanogenic consortia exist in coal beds but that nutrient limitations restrict their activity in situ. This report adds to the scant literature on coal bed microbiology and suggests how microbes may be

Geoarchaeological research of the mid-age Ilyas Bey complex buildings with ground penetrating radar in Miletus, Aydin, Western Anatolia, Turkey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kadioglu, S [Ankara University, Eng. Fac. Geophysical Engineering Department, 06100 Ankara (Turkey); Kadioglu, Y K [Ankara University, Eng. Fac. Geological Engineering Department, 06100 Ankara (Turkey); Akyol, A A [Ankara University, Baskent Vac. High Sch. Prog. of Restoration and Cons., Ankara (Turkey)], E-mail: kadioglu@eng.ankara.edu.tr, E-mail: kadi@eng.ankara.edu.tr, E-mail: akyol@ankara.edu.tr

2008-07-01

The ancient Miletus which were one of the most important city of ancient Iona, are today of great value from cultural standpoint of Turkey. Miletus, situated near the village of Balat in the present district of Soke was founded on a peninsula, approximately 2.5 km long. In the Byzantine period, the city boundaries were quite reduced. In 1424 Miletus was taken inside of the Ottoman Empire and was completely abandoned in the 17th century. Ancient Miletus excavation studies were first begun in 1899 by in Berlin Museum and interrupted during the World War I. At present, the extensive restoration works in Ilyas Bey Complex has applied as a project since 2006. Ilyas Bey Complex that includes Mosque, Medresah and baths situated on the archaeological area in ancient Miletus. Impressive Mosque built in 1404 by Ilyas Bey, Emir of Menteseogullari founded in 1279 and the complex was named after him, is one of the most remarkable buildings of mid-age Miletus. There are two main purposes of the study are (1) to determine archaeological remains of the study area underneath Ilyas Bey Complex and (2) to define the nature of main rock unit and their sources in the vicinity or Aegean region. After preliminary archaeometrical studies, acquired GPR profile data paralleled each other in Ilyas Bey Mosque and its around, Medresah Courtyard and inner Courtyard of the Mosque. After processing 2D parallel GPR profiles, we constructed 3D data volume by lining processed 2D profiles up to correlate remain signatures from each profile for each studied area. It was obtained transparent 3D visualisation of GPR data by assigning a new colour scale for the amplitude range and by constructing a new opacity function instead of the linear opacity function. Therefore we could successfully image the archaeological remains in an interactive transparent 3D volume and its sub-volumes, starting at different depth levels or limited profiles. The archaeometrical (geological and mineralogical, petrographical

Geoarchaeological research of the mid-age Ilyas Bey complex buildings with ground penetrating radar in Miletus, Aydin, Western Anatolia, Turkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadioglu, S; Kadioglu, Y K; Akyol, A A

2008-01-01

The ancient Miletus which were one of the most important city of ancient Iona, are today of great value from cultural standpoint of Turkey. Miletus, situated near the village of Balat in the present district of Soke was founded on a peninsula, approximately 2.5 km long. In the Byzantine period, the city boundaries were quite reduced. In 1424 Miletus was taken inside of the Ottoman Empire and was completely abandoned in the 17th century. Ancient Miletus excavation studies were first begun in 1899 by in Berlin Museum and interrupted during the World War I. At present, the extensive restoration works in Ilyas Bey Complex has applied as a project since 2006. Ilyas Bey Complex that includes Mosque, Medresah and baths situated on the archaeological area in ancient Miletus. Impressive Mosque built in 1404 by Ilyas Bey, Emir of Menteseogullari founded in 1279 and the complex was named after him, is one of the most remarkable buildings of mid-age Miletus. There are two main purposes of the study are (1) to determine archaeological remains of the study area underneath Ilyas Bey Complex and (2) to define the nature of main rock unit and their sources in the vicinity or Aegean region. After preliminary archaeometrical studies, acquired GPR profile data paralleled each other in Ilyas Bey Mosque and its around, Medresah Courtyard and inner Courtyard of the Mosque. After processing 2D parallel GPR profiles, we constructed 3D data volume by lining processed 2D profiles up to correlate remain signatures from each profile for each studied area. It was obtained transparent 3D visualisation of GPR data by assigning a new colour scale for the amplitude range and by constructing a new opacity function instead of the linear opacity function. Therefore we could successfully image the archaeological remains in an interactive transparent 3D volume and its sub-volumes, starting at different depth levels or limited profiles. The archaeometrical (geological and mineralogical, petrographical

On Ancient Babylonian Algebra and Geometry

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

ber system prevalent during the ancient Mesopotamian civilization. In this article, we study the ... civilization provides a better insight into the thought processes of the ancient Babylonian mathematicians. In this context, consider the following ...

Ancient Biomolecules and Evolutionary Inference.

Science.gov (United States)

Cappellini, Enrico; Prohaska, Ana; Racimo, Fernando; Welker, Frido; Pedersen, Mikkel Winther; Allentoft, Morten E; de Barros Damgaard, Peter; Gutenbrunner, Petra; Dunne, Julie; Hammann, Simon; Roffet-Salque, Mélanie; Ilardo, Melissa; Moreno-Mayar, J Víctor; Wang, Yucheng; Sikora, Martin; Vinner, Lasse; Cox, Jürgen; Evershed, Richard P; Willerslev, Eske

2018-04-25

Over the last decade, studies of ancient biomolecules-particularly ancient DNA, proteins, and lipids-have revolutionized our understanding of evolutionary history. Though initially fraught with many challenges, the field now stands on firm foundations. Researchers now successfully retrieve nucleotide and amino acid sequences, as well as lipid signatures, from progressively older samples, originating from geographic areas and depositional environments that, until recently, were regarded as hostile to long-term preservation of biomolecules. Sampling frequencies and the spatial and temporal scope of studies have also increased markedly, and with them the size and quality of the data sets generated. This progress has been made possible by continuous technical innovations in analytical methods, enhanced criteria for the selection of ancient samples, integrated experimental methods, and advanced computational approaches. Here, we discuss the history and current state of ancient biomolecule research, its applications to evolutionary inference, and future directions for this young and exciting field. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Biochemistry Volume 87 is June 20, 2018. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Letter to the editor: Genetics and the archaeology of ancient Israel.

Science.gov (United States)

Brody, Aaron J; King, Roy J

2013-12-01

This letter is a call for DNA testing on ancient skeletal materials from the southern Levant to begin a database of genetic information of the inhabitants of this crossroads region. In this region, during the Iron I period traditionally dated to circa 1200-1000 BCE, archaeologists and biblical historians view the earliest presence of a group that called itself Israel. They lived in villages in the varied hill countries of the region, contemporary with urban settlements in the coastal plains, inland valleys, and central hill country attributed to varied indigenous groups collectively called Canaanite. The remnants of Egyptian imperial presence in the region lasted until around 1150 BCE, postdating the arrival of an immigrant group from the Aegean called the Philistines circa 1175 BCE. The period that follows in the southern Levant is marked by the development of territorial states throughout the region, circa 1000-800 BCE. These patrimonial kingdoms, including the United Kingdom of Israel and the divided kingdoms of northern Israel and Judah, coalesced varied peoples under central leadership and newly founded administrative and religious bureaucracies. Ancient DNA testing will give us a further refined understanding of the individuals who peopled the region of the southern Levant throughout its varied archaeological and historic periods and provide scientific data that will support, refute, or nuance our sociohistoric reconstruction of ancient group identities. These social identities may or may not map onto genetic data, but without sampling of ancient DNA we may never know. A database of ancient DNA will also allow for comparisons with modern DNA samples collected throughout the greater region and the Mediterranean littoral, giving a more robust understanding of the long historical trajectories of regional human genetics and the genetics of varied ancestral groups of today's Jewish populations and other cultural groups in the modern Middle East and Mediterranean

Mummification in the Ancient and New World.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosso, Ana Maria

2014-01-01

In the Ancient and New World there was a custom to preserve the corpse in a natural and artificial way. Since Paleolithic man believed in an afterlife and even in Mesoamerica and the Andes cultures, care and ceremony were practiced to the burial of the dead in an ancestral cult. Mortuary rituals were developed in Pre-dynastic Egypt (4500-3100 BC) but apparently they had begun before in America, c. 5000 BC. Mummies served for assisting the soul to survive and for preventing the dead from frightening the livings. Incas arrived at a point of perfection in these practices after other Andean cultures but we should not forget their older predecessors, the Chinchorro culture on the arid coast of the Atacama Desert. Different steps in the technique can be distinguished in both worlds: natural desiccation covered by animal skins, methods to protect the body skin and flesh removal, replacement with clay; black, red or mud-coated corpses, evisceration, body cavity treatment, cleansing and anointing the interior, brain removal, mummified bodies, corpses covered with natron, before being washed and bandaged or wrapped. It will be necessary to carefully check dates, techniques and periods in the two zones to establish exactly the evolution of the methods applied.

Western medical ethics taught to junior medical students can cross cultural and linguistic boundaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margolis Stephen A

2004-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Little is known about teaching medical ethics across cultural and linguistic boundaries. This study examined two successive cohorts of first year medical students in a six year undergraduate MBBS program. Methods The objective was to investigate whether Arabic speaking students studying medicine in an Arabic country would be able to correctly identify some of the principles of Western medical ethical reasoning. This cohort study was conducted on first year students in a six-year undergraduate program studying medicine in English, their second language at a medical school in the Arabian Gulf. The ethics teaching was based on the four-principle approach (autonomy, beneficence, non-malfeasance and justice and delivered by a non-Muslim native English speaker with no knowledge of the Arabic language. Although the course was respectful of Arabic culture and tradition, the content excluded an analysis of Islamic medical ethics and focused on Western ethical reasoning. Following two 45-minute interactive seminars, students in groups of 3 or 4 visited a primary health care centre for one morning, sitting in with an attending physician seeing his or her patients in Arabic. Each student submitted a personal report for summative assessment detailing the ethical issues they had observed. Results All 62 students enrolled in these courses participated. Each student acting independently was able to correctly identify a median number of 4 different medical ethical issues (range 2–9 and correctly identify and label accurately a median of 2 different medical ethical issues (range 2–7 There were no significant correlations between their English language skills or general academic ability and the number or accuracy of ethical issues identified. Conclusions This study has demonstrated that these students could identify medical ethical issues based on Western constructs, despite learning in English, their second language, being in the third

Cultural Cognition in Usability Evaluation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clemmensen, Torkil; Hertzum, Morten; Hornbæk, Kasper Anders Søren

2009-01-01

We discuss the impact of cultural differences on usability evaluations that are based on the thinking-aloud method (TA). The term ‘cultural differences' helps distinguish differences in the perception and thinking of Westerners (people from Western Europe and US citizens with European origins...... and evaluator. In conclusion, we point to the importance of matching the task presentation to users' cultural background, the different effects of thinking aloud on task performance between Easterners and Westerners, the differences in nonverbal behaviour that affect usability problem detection, and, finally...

Cultural Cognition in Usability Evaluation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clemmensen, Torkil; Hertzum, Morten; Hornbæk, Kasper Anders Søren

2009-01-01

We discuss the impact of cultural differences on usability evaluations that are based on the thinking-aloud method (TA). The term ‘cultural differences’ helps distinguish differences in the perception and thinking of Westerners (people from Western Europe and US citizens with European origins...... and evaluator. In conclusion, we point to the importance of matching the task presentation to users’ cultural background, the different effects of thinking aloud on task performance between Easterners and Westerners, the differences in nonverbal behaviour that affect usability problem detection, and, finally...

Trepanation in Ancient China.

Science.gov (United States)

Hobert, Leah; Binello, Emanuela

2017-05-01

Trepanation, the process of making a burr hole in the skull to access the brain, is an ancient form of a primitive craniotomy. There is widespread evidence of contributions made to this practice by ancient civilizations in Europe, Africa, and South America, where archaeologists have unearthed thousands of trepanned skulls dating back to the Neolithic period. Little is known about trepanation in China, and it is commonly believed that the Chinese used only traditional Chinese medicine and nonsurgical methods for treating brain injuries. However, a thorough analysis of the available archeological and literary evidence reveals that trepanation was widely practiced throughout China thousands of years ago. A significant number of trepanned Chinese skulls have been unearthed showing signs of healing and suggesting that patients survived after surgery. Trepanation was likely performed for therapeutic and spiritual reasons. Medical and historical works from Chinese literature contain descriptions of primitive neurosurgical procedures, including stories of surgeons, such as the legendary Hua Tuo, and surgical techniques used for the treatment of brain pathologies. The lack of translation of Chinese reports into the English language and the lack of publications on this topic in the English language may have contributed to the misconception that ancient China was devoid of trepanation. This article summarizes the available evidence attesting to the performance of successful primitive cranial surgery in ancient China. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Can cognitive dissonance methods developed in the West for combatting the 'thin ideal' help slow the rapidly increasing prevalence of eating disorders in non-Western cultures?

Science.gov (United States)

Witcomb, Gemma L; Arcelus, Jon; Chen, Jue

2013-12-01

Eating disorders are common, life-threatening conditions in Western countries, but until relatively recently they were regarded as uncommon in non-Western cultures. However, the prevalence of eating disorders in many of the more affluent non-Western countries is rising rapidly as community members, particularly young women, internalize the 'thin ideal' that has been widely promoted by the international media. This review discusses the factors involved in the development of eating disorders in non-Western settings with a particular emphasis on the influences of urbanization, modernization, Westernization, and the resulting changes in women's roles. The cognitive dissonance programs developed in Western countries that have proven successful in countering the negative effects of the thin idea are described and their potential application to East Asia and other non-Western countries are discussed.

Dispersal time for ancient human migrations: Americas and Europe colonization

Science.gov (United States)

Flores, J. C.

2007-07-01

I apply the recently proposed intermittence strategy to investigate the ancient human migrations in the world. That is, the Americas colonization (Bering-bridge and Pacific-coast theories) and Neanderthal replacement in Europe around 45000 years before the present. Using a mathematical equation related to diffusion and ballistic motion, I calculate the colonization time in all these cases in good agreement with archeological data (including Neolithic transition in Europe). Moreover, to support these calculations, I obtain analytically the effective speed of colonization in Europe veff=0.62 [km/yr] and related to the Aurignacian culture propagation.

Children's activities and their meanings for parents: a mixed-methods study in six Western cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Harkness, Sara; Zylicz, Piotr Olaf; Super, Charles M; Welles-Nyström, Barbara; Bermúdez, Moisés Ríos; Bonichini, Sabrina; Moscardino, Ughetta; Mavridis, Caroline Johnston

2011-12-01

Theoretical perspectives and research in sociology, anthropology, sociolinguistics, and cultural psychology converge in recognizing the significance of children's time spent in various activities, especially in the family context. Knowing how children's time is deployed, however, only gives us a partial answer to how children acquire competence; the other part must take into account the culturally constructed meanings of activities, from the perspective of those who organize and direct children's daily lives. In this article, we report on a study of children's routine daily activities and on the meanings that parents attribute to them in six Western middle-class cultural communities located in Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United States (N = 183). Using week-long time diaries kept by parents, we first demonstrate similarities as well as significant differences in children's daily routines across the cultural samples. We then present brief vignettes--"a day in the life" --of children from each sample. Parent interviews were coded for themes in the meanings attributed to various activities. Excerpts from parent interviews, focusing on four major activities (meals, family time, play, school- or developmentally related activities), are presented to illustrate how cultural meanings and themes are woven into parents' organization and understanding of their children's daily lives. The results of this mixed-method approach provide a more reliable and nuanced picture of children's and families' daily lives than could be derived from either method alone.

Endocrinology in ancient Sparta.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsoulogiannis, Ioannis N; Spandidos, Demetrios A

2007-01-01

This article attempts to analyze the crucial link between the plant Agnus castus and human health, particularly hormonal status, with special reference to the needs of the society of ancient Sparta. The ancient Spartans used Agnus both as a cure for infertility and as a remedy to treat battle wounds. These special properties were recognized by the sanctuary of Asclepios Agnita, which was located in Sparta, as well as by medical practitioners in Sparta during the classical, Hellenistic and Roman ages.

Establishing the validity of domestication genes using DNA from ancient chickens

Science.gov (United States)

Girdland Flink, Linus; Allen, Richard; Barnett, Ross; Malmström, Helena; Peters, Joris; Eriksson, Jonas; Andersson, Leif; Dobney, Keith

2014-01-01

Modern domestic plants and animals are subject to human-driven selection for desired phenotypic traits and behavior. Large-scale genetic studies of modern domestic populations and their wild relatives have revealed not only the genetic mechanisms underlying specific phenotypic traits, but also allowed for the identification of candidate domestication genes. Our understanding of the importance of these genes during the initial stages of the domestication process traditionally rests on the assumption that robust inferences about the past can be made on the basis of modern genetic datasets. A growing body of evidence from ancient DNA studies, however, has revealed that ancient and even historic populations often bear little resemblance to their modern counterparts. Here, we test the temporal context of selection on specific genetic loci known to differentiate modern domestic chickens from their extant wild ancestors. We extracted DNA from 80 ancient chickens excavated from 12 European archaeological sites, dated from ∼280 B.C. to the 18th century A.D. We targeted three unlinked genetic loci: the mitochondrial control region, a gene associated with yellow skin color (β-carotene dioxygenase 2), and a putative domestication gene thought to be linked to photoperiod and reproduction (thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor, TSHR). Our results reveal significant variability in both nuclear genes, suggesting that the commonality of yellow skin in Western breeds and the near fixation of TSHR in all modern chickens took place only in the past 500 y. In addition, mitochondrial variation has increased as a result of recent admixture with exotic breeds. We conclude by emphasizing the perils of inferring the past from modern genetic data alone. PMID:24753608

Establishing the validity of domestication genes using DNA from ancient chickens.

Science.gov (United States)

Girdland Flink, Linus; Allen, Richard; Barnett, Ross; Malmström, Helena; Peters, Joris; Eriksson, Jonas; Andersson, Leif; Dobney, Keith; Larson, Greger

2014-04-29

Modern domestic plants and animals are subject to human-driven selection for desired phenotypic traits and behavior. Large-scale genetic studies of modern domestic populations and their wild relatives have revealed not only the genetic mechanisms underlying specific phenotypic traits, but also allowed for the identification of candidate domestication genes. Our understanding of the importance of these genes during the initial stages of the domestication process traditionally rests on the assumption that robust inferences about the past can be made on the basis of modern genetic datasets. A growing body of evidence from ancient DNA studies, however, has revealed that ancient and even historic populations often bear little resemblance to their modern counterparts. Here, we test the temporal context of selection on specific genetic loci known to differentiate modern domestic chickens from their extant wild ancestors. We extracted DNA from 80 ancient chickens excavated from 12 European archaeological sites, dated from ∼ 280 B.C. to the 18th century A.D. We targeted three unlinked genetic loci: the mitochondrial control region, a gene associated with yellow skin color (β-carotene dioxygenase 2), and a putative domestication gene thought to be linked to photoperiod and reproduction (thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor, TSHR). Our results reveal significant variability in both nuclear genes, suggesting that the commonality of yellow skin in Western breeds and the near fixation of TSHR in all modern chickens took place only in the past 500 y. In addition, mitochondrial variation has increased as a result of recent admixture with exotic breeds. We conclude by emphasizing the perils of inferring the past from modern genetic data alone.

Semantic 3D Modeling Based on CityGML for Ancient Chinese-Style Architectural Roofs of Digital Heritage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Li

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Ancient Chinese-style architecture has received increased attention during the last century as a segment of cultural heritage and is of great significance, specifically in regard to the process of digitizing and modeling these buildings to preserve and protect this heritage. Because the roof form reflects the age of the structure, the structural character and the historical culture of the ancient building, constructing a refined model for the roof is a primary aspect of the 3D modeling procedure. To avoid cumbersome traditional modeling approaches that use geometry units, such as points, lines and triangles, a flexible semantic method is proposed in this study to improve modeling efficiency and reduce the professional requirements. In this method, a two-level semantic decomposition of the roof is presented according to the characteristics of ancient Chinese-style architecture. The structural level reveals the basic components that determine its structural shape, and the decorative level refers to the attached components that influence the exterior appearance. The assembly validity of the decomposed elements and the combined diversity of the integrated entities are ensured by topological constraints and derived transformations of the semantic components. This proposed method was implemented by utilizing CityGML (City Geography Markup Language via the ADE (Application Domain Extension mechanism and was tested by modeling the principal buildings included in the Palace Museum.

Cross-Cultural Differences in Beliefs and Practices that Affect the Language Spoken to Children: Mothers with Indian and Western Heritage

Science.gov (United States)

Simmons, Noreen; Johnston, Judith

2007-01-01

Background: Speech-language pathologists often advise families about interaction patterns that will facilitate language learning. This advice is typically based on research with North American families of European heritage and may not be culturally suited for non-Western families. Aims: The goal of the project was to identify differences in the…

[The concept of man and alcoholism in ancient Peru].

Science.gov (United States)

Mariátegui, J

1985-12-01

In the ancient Peru, particularly in the Inca Empire, the review of alcohol use and abuse must be made according to the ethnohistorical and cultural context with special emphasis on ideological and customary aspects. The outstanding research sources of alcohol consume types and characteristics are: a) The examination of chronicles of the Spanish Conquest and related papers on a textual criticism; b) The study of language from its semantic scope; and c) The archaeological and ethnological testimony. The only alcoholic beverage existing in the Inca's times was "chicha", mainly that of corn fermentation which was used under the ceremonial, ritual and convivial modalities. The pathological drinking types are clearly defined in the lexicon of the Pre-Columbian Peru prevailing languages, mainly Quechua. The social control of drinking overindulgence was evident and the repressive and punitive measures were similar to those of the great ancient civilizations. The image conveyed by most of the chroniclers as to alcohol excessive drinking among Inca people belongs to the trauma of Conquest which suppressed the psychopolitical and sociocultural control that supported their universe of values generating all sort of misbehaviors and selfdestructive types of toxic consume.

Pages of the phytomorphology history in the monuments of material culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viktor Yu. Barshteyn

2012-03-01

Full Text Available It was reviewed Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome sources of plants morphology, plant morphology knowledge in Renaissance age – scientific works of Andrea Cesalpino, Joachim Jungius, Marcello Malpighi and plant morphology formation as the separate branch of science due to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe scientific works and its reflection in the monuments of material culture.

Reactions to Western Values as Reflected in African Novels.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Ella

1987-01-01

Earlier African novels, addressed to a Western audience, defend the traditional culture of the authors and attack the hypocrisy of the West. Later novels, written after 1960, are addressed to an African audience, and present balanced appraisals of Western culture and religion. Discusses rhetorical devices and other aspects of African novels. (BJV)

Blending genetics and sociocultural historical inquiry: ethics, culture, and human subjects protection in international cross cultural research.

Science.gov (United States)

Sampson, Deborah A; Caldwell, Dennis; Taylor, Andre D; Taylor, Jacquelyn Y

2013-03-01

In this paper, we examine the implementation and difficulties when conducting genetics research in a rural, traditional West African culture within the frame of the United States' grounded research ethics. Research challenges are highlighted by Western researchers following U.S. Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines and practices in a non-Western country. IRB concepts are culture bound in Western ideals that may not have synchronicity and compatibility with non-Western cultures. Differences in sociocultural norms, traditions, language, and geography were influencing factors that can affect application of IRB principles. Suggestions for change are offered, which will potentially aid researchers considering application of IRB requirements when conducting research in non-Westernized, non-industrialized countries.

Life in Ruins

Science.gov (United States)

Sartorius, Tara Cady

2011-01-01

When artists are inspired to travel in Europe to study art and history of the Western world, Italy is a good place to start. With its ancient architecture, rich cultural heritage, and superb works of art, Italy has been the quintessential center of Western art history for centuries. It was the good fortune of Alabama-based artist and teacher…

Application of neutron activation analysis in study of ancient ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Guoxia; Zhao Weijuan; Gao Zhengyao; Xie Jianzhong; Huang Zhongxiang; Jia Xiuqin; Han Song

2000-01-01

Trace-elements in ancient ceramics and imitative ancient ceramics were determined by neutron activation analysis (NAA). The NAA data are then analyzed by fuzzy cluster method and the trend cluster diagram is obtained. The raw material sources of ancient ceramics and imitative ancient ceramics are determined. The path for improving quality of imitative ancient ceramics is found

Comparative scaffolding and gap filling of ancient bacterial genomes applied to two ancient Yersinia pestis genomes

Science.gov (United States)

Doerr, Daniel; Chauve, Cedric

2017-01-01

Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of the bubonic plague, a disease responsible for several dramatic historical pandemics. Progress in ancient DNA (aDNA) sequencing rendered possible the sequencing of whole genomes of important human pathogens, including the ancient Y. pestis strains responsible for outbreaks of the bubonic plague in London in the 14th century and in Marseille in the 18th century, among others. However, aDNA sequencing data are still characterized by short reads and non-uniform coverage, so assembling ancient pathogen genomes remains challenging and often prevents a detailed study of genome rearrangements. It has recently been shown that comparative scaffolding approaches can improve the assembly of ancient Y. pestis genomes at a chromosome level. In the present work, we address the last step of genome assembly, the gap-filling stage. We describe an optimization-based method AGapEs (ancestral gap estimation) to fill in inter-contig gaps using a combination of a template obtained from related extant genomes and aDNA reads. We show how this approach can be used to refine comparative scaffolding by selecting contig adjacencies supported by a mix of unassembled aDNA reads and comparative signal. We applied our method to two Y. pestis data sets from the London and Marseilles outbreaks, for which we obtained highly improved genome assemblies for both genomes, comprised of, respectively, five and six scaffolds with 95 % of the assemblies supported by ancient reads. We analysed the genome evolution between both ancient genomes in terms of genome rearrangements, and observed a high level of synteny conservation between these strains. PMID:29114402

Discerning cultural identification from a thinly sliced behavioral sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamamura, Takeshi; Li, Liman Man Wai

2012-12-01

This research examined whether individual differences in cultural identification can be discerned at zero acquaintance. This issue was examined in Hong Kong, where the idiosyncrasy of cultural identification is a salient social-psychological issue. The participants were able to perceive accurately the targets' identification with Western culture from a video clip and from a still image. Findings also indicated that a stereotype of Western cultural identity (i.e., extraversion and particular hairstyle) facilitated these perceptions. Specifically, (a) the participants with a stronger stereotype were more accurate in perceiving Western cultural identification, (b) the targets who were experimentally manipulated to appear extraverted were rated as more strongly identifying with Western culture, and (c) the participants relatively unfamiliar with these stereotypes did not correctly perceive Western cultural identification. Implications of these findings on research on multiculturalism are also discussed.

[English translation of the title of ancient Chinese medical books and documents].

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Fang; Shao, Xin; Zhang, Pei-Hai

2008-11-01

The title of a book is, generally, the high concentration of the writer's intention and the theme of content. Translate the title of an ancient Chinese medical book or document accurately and plainly is meaningful for exhibiting the style of the book, also for promoting the international communication of TCM. The principle should be followed is to choose the translating terms accurately to reveal the theme of content and express the cultural connotation of the book perfectly.

Intercultural communication: Differences between Western and Asian perspective

OpenAIRE

Dang, Linh

2016-01-01

The thesis focused differences in intercultural communication from Western and Asian perspective. The goal of this thesis was to find the differences and similarities in business communication between Western and Asian culture. The theoretical part of this thesis was titled as intercultural communication. Definition of intercultural communication, culture’s influence on perception, obstacles in intercultural communication and inter-cultural communication competences were covered in this...

Cultural Connections: Lion Funerary Monument

Science.gov (United States)

School Arts: The Art Education Magazine for Teachers, 2004

2004-01-01

This article describes the Grecian "Lion Funerary Monument" dating back to about 350 BC. Significant historical, cultural, and artistic elements of the ancient monument are highlighted. Details about the artist based on the monument itself are also described and questions to consider are provided.

Armenian Cultural Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Farmanyan, S. V.; Mickaelian, A. M.

2015-07-01

Cultural Astronomy is the reflection of sky events in various fields of nations' culture. In foreign literature this field is also called "Astronomy in Culture" or "Astronomy and Culture". Cultural astronomy is the set of interdisciplinary fields studying the astronomical systems of current or ancient societies and cultures. It is manifested in Religion, Mythology, Folklore, Poetry, Art, Linguistics and other fields. In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to this sphere, particularly international organizations were established, conferences are held and journals are published. Armenia is also rich in cultural astronomy. The present paper focuses on Armenian archaeoastronomy and cultural astronomy, including many creations related to astronomical knowledge; calendars, rock art, mythology, etc. On the other hand, this subject is rather poorly developed in Armenia; there are only individual studies on various related issues (especially many studies related to Anania Shirakatsi) but not coordinated actions to manage this important field of investigation.

The Comparison Between Nmf and Ica in Pigment Mixture Identification of Ancient Chinese Paintings

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Y.; Lyu, S.; Hou, M.; Yin, Q.

2018-04-01

Since the colour in painting cultural relics observed by our naked eyes or hyperspectral cameras is usually a mixture of several kinds of pigments, the mixed pigments analysis will be an important subject in the field of ancient painting conservation and restoration. This paper aims to find a more effective method to confirm the types of every pure pigment from mixture on the surface of paintings. Firstly, we adopted two kinds of blind source separation algorithms, which are independent component analysis and non-negative matrix factorization, to extract the pure pigment component from mixed spectrum respectively. Moreover, we matched the separated pure spectrum with the pigments spectra library built by our team to determine the pigment type. Furthermore, three kinds of data including simulation data, mixed pigments spectral data measured in laboratory, and the spectral data of an ancient painting were chosen to evaluate the performance of the different algorithms. And the accuracy was compared between the two algorithms. Finally, the experimental results show that non-negative matrix factorization method is more suitable for endmember extraction in the field of ancient painting conservation and restoration.

THE COMPARISON BETWEEN NMF AND ICA IN PIGMENT MIXTURE IDENTIFICATION OF ANCIENT CHINESE PAINTINGS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Liu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Since the colour in painting cultural relics observed by our naked eyes or hyperspectral cameras is usually a mixture of several kinds of pigments, the mixed pigments analysis will be an important subject in the field of ancient painting conservation and restoration. This paper aims to find a more effective method to confirm the types of every pure pigment from mixture on the surface of paintings. Firstly, we adopted two kinds of blind source separation algorithms, which are independent component analysis and non-negative matrix factorization, to extract the pure pigment component from mixed spectrum respectively. Moreover, we matched the separated pure spectrum with the pigments spectra library built by our team to determine the pigment type. Furthermore, three kinds of data including simulation data, mixed pigments spectral data measured in laboratory, and the spectral data of an ancient painting were chosen to evaluate the performance of the different algorithms. And the accuracy was compared between the two algorithms. Finally, the experimental results show that non-negative matrix factorization method is more suitable for endmember extraction in the field of ancient painting conservation and restoration.

The effects of smoking norms and attitudes on quitting intentions in Malaysia, Thailand and four Western nations: a cross-cultural comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosking, Warwick; Borland, Ron; Yong, Hua-Hie; Fong, Geoffrey; Zanna, Mark; Laux, Fritz; Thrasher, James; Lee, Wonkyong Beth; Sirirassamee, Buppha; Omar, Maizurah

2009-01-01

This research investigated the influence of smoking attitudes and norms on quitting intentions in two predominantly collectivistic countries (Malaysia and Thailand) and four predominantly individualistic Western countries (Canada, USA, UK and Australia). Data from the International Tobacco Control Project (N = 13,062) revealed that higher odds of intending to quit were associated with negative personal attitudes in Thailand and the Western countries, but not in Malaysia; with norms against smoking from significant others in Malaysia and the Western countries, but not in Thailand; and with societal norms against smoking in all countries. Our findings indicate that normative factors are important determinants of intentions, but they play a different role in different cultural and/or tobacco control contexts. Interventions may be more effective if they are designed with these different patterns of social influence in mind.

Natural and anthropogenic drivers of cultural change on Easter Island: Review and new insights

Science.gov (United States)

Rull, Valentí

2016-10-01

Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is a remote Pacific island known for its megalithic statues, the moai, built by an ancient culture which disappearance is still debated. Theories claiming for either self-destruction (ecocide) of this ancient culture or an eventual genocide after the European contact have been the most popular. Anthropogenic drivers have been traditionally preferred as causes of this major cultural shift, whereas climatic changes have been dismissed or underrated. However, the latest findings suggest that the topic is more complex than formerly thought and demand a more holistic perspective. This paper reviews the main paleoclimatic, paleoecological, archaeological and historical evidence of the major Rapanui cultural shift leading to the end of the moai-building civilization and uses an integrated approach to analyze its timing and potential causes. The disappearance of the ancient Eastern Island culture that erected the moai was a dramatic cultural shift with significant changes in lifestyle, socio-political organization, religious performance, art and also in the geographical settlement of the cultural core of the Rapanui society. The ancient society, represented by the so called Ancient Cult (or moai cult) was centered on the Rano Raraku crater, to the east of the island, whose soft volcanic rocks (tuff) where suitable for moai carving. This society was replaced by the Birdman-Cult society, based on Rano Kao, to the westernmost end of the island. The assumed date for such shift is uncertain ranging between mid-16th and late-18th centuries. It is suggested that such geographical change, as well as the associated societal transformations, may have been the result of a combination of climatic, ecological and cultural drivers and events. The latest paleoecological reconstructions show that the Rano Raraku catchment was deforested by AD 1450 and the lake inside dried out by AD 1550 owing to an intense climatic drought. This would have caused a landscape

77 FR 59701 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Wari: Lords of the...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-28

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 8046] Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the following... ``Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United...

Broken connections of wetland cultural knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Middleton, Beth A.

2016-01-01

As global agriculture intensifies, cultural knowledge of wetland utilization has eroded as natural resources become more stressed, and marginal farmers move away from the land. The excellent paper by Fawzi et al. (2016) documents a particularly poignant case of traditional knowledge loss among the Marsh Arab women of Iraq. Through interviews, the authors document the breakdown of skill transfer from the older to younger generation of women. The authors link the loss of their cultural knowledge with the loss of wetlands in the region. Women no longer can help provide for their families using wetland products, and along with that, their ancient knowledge of plant usage is lost. These ancient skills included medicinal uses, and reed harvesting for weaving and water buffalo fodder. As, the majority of the Mesopotamian Marshes have dried, this way of life is being forgotten (Fawzi et al. 2015). The global tragedy is that while the careful alliance of wetlands and people have sustained human cultures for millennia, degraded wetlands lose their ability to provide these services (Maltby 1980).

The familiar strangeness of ancient names and the Law of the public use of Slovene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maja Sunčič

2004-12-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the alien or familiar quality of ancient names in the naming of Slovene enterprises in view of the Law of the Public Use of Slovene (LPUS and a detailed study by Alenka Gložančev. While the law tries to banish all non-Slovene elements from public use with a special focus on the naming of enterprises, it surprisingly overlooks the issue of ancient names in public use, focusing primarily on English ones. Gložančev rightly points out that foreign names represent the key issue for the language-conscious public, whereas other, more important language questions are largely ignored. The LPUS and the study by Gložančev focus on English words and names, which are considered to be highly undesirable despite globalisation and Slovenia's accession to the European Union in May 2004. The use of ancient names, which are by definition foreign, in the naming of enterprises and venues proves to be a much more difficult issue, since ancient names are often dissociated from the context or signify nothing familiar to the consumer. Can it be expected that, in the name of defending the Slovene language and cultural heritage, the restrictions enforced by the LPUS on the use of foreign names will contribute to the disappearance of antiquity from contemporary everyday life?

Geologically ancient DNA: fact or artefact?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hebsgaard, Martin Bay; Phillips, Matthew J.; Willerslev, Eske

2005-01-01

Studies continue to report ancient DNA sequences and viable microbial cells that are many millions of years old. In this paper we evaluate some of the most extravagant claims of geologically ancient DNA. We conclude that although exciting, the reports suffer from inadequate experimental setup and...

Can cognitive dissonance methods developed in the West for combatting the ‘thin ideal’ help slow the rapidly increasing prevalence of eating disorders in non-Western cultures?

Science.gov (United States)

Witcomb, Gemma L.; Arcelus, Jon; Chen, Jue

2013-01-01

Summary Eating disorders are common, life-threatening conditions in Western countries, but until relatively recently they were regarded as uncommon in non-Western cultures. However, the prevalence of eating disorders in many of the more affluent non-Western countries is rising rapidly as community members, particularly young women, internalize the ‘thin ideal’ that has been widely promoted by the international media. This review discusses the factors involved in the development of eating disorders in non-Western settings with a particular emphasis on the influences of urbanization, modernization, Westernization, and the resulting changes in women's roles. The cognitive dissonance programs developed in Western countries that have proven successful in countering the negative effects of the thin idea are described and their potential application to East Asia and other non-Western countries are discussed. PMID:24991176

The conscious of Nightmares in ancient China

OpenAIRE

西林, 眞紀子

2006-01-01

The analaysis concerns Nightmares in ancient China. People in ancient China were very afraid of Nightmares. Nightmares are described in the『春秋左氏傳』etc. The exocis Nightmares is described in the『周禮』. The ceremony "難" of exocis Nightmares in the『禮記』. In the characters Meng (夢) had the conscious of Nightmares in ancient China. The analaysis is about the characters 'Meng', about the characters of the relationship 'Meng'

New Trends in the Chinese Diet: Cultural Influences on Consumer Behaviour

Science.gov (United States)

Cicia, Gianni; Grunert, Klaus G.; Krystallis, Athanasios K.; Zhou, Yanfeng; Cembalo, Luigi; Verneau, Fabio; Caracciolo, Francesco

2016-01-01

China is one of the most dynamic regions in the world in terms of economic growth and development. Such development has inevitably influenced the structure and habits of Chinese society. Whilst the economic condition of the middle class and high-income segment has steadily improved, cultural changes are also under way: ancient Chinese traditions now include major elements from other cultures, most notably the West. The above scenario is the background to this paper. A structured research-administered survey was developed to investigate the changes in the Chinese consumer food culture: 500 urban participants were randomly selected from six reference cities, covering geographically almost the whole country. This study aims not only to analyze the propensity of consumers to include food products from other countries in their ancient Chinese culinary culture, but also represents an initial attempt to perform a market segmentation of Chinese consumers according to their degree of cultural openness towards non-Chinese food, taking into account socio-demographic, cognitive and psychographic variables. PMID:27800438

New Trends in the Chinese Diet: Cultural Influences on Consumer Behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Del Giudice, Teresa; Cicia, Gianni; Grunert, Klaus G; Krystallis, Athanasios K; Zhou, Yanfeng; Cembalo, Luigi; Verneau, Fabio; Caracciolo, Francesco

2016-04-19

China is one of the most dynamic regions in the world in terms of economic growth and development. Such development has inevitably influenced the structure and habits of Chinese society. Whilst the economic condition of the middle class and high-income segment has steadily improved, cultural changes are also under way: ancient Chinese traditions now include major elements from other cultures, most notably the West. The above scenario is the background to this paper. A structured research-administered survey was developed to investigate the changes in the Chinese consumer food culture: 500 urban participants were randomly selected from six reference cities, covering geographically almost the whole country. This study aims not only to analyze the propensity of consumers to include food products from other countries in their ancient Chinese culinary culture, but also represents an initial attempt to perform a market segmentation of Chinese consumers according to their degree of cultural openness towards non-Chinese food, taking into account socio-demographic, cognitive and psychographic variables.

Echoes of the ancient skies the astronomy of lost civilizations

CERN Document Server

Krupp, E C

2003-01-01

""It should be read by anyone even remotely interested in the long saga of the universe's profound and lasting influence on mankind's development."" - New Scientist""A grand book."" - Publishers Weekly""Dr. Krupp teaches us once more to look up at the stars and marvel."" - Ray BradburyThe intriguing world of archaeoastronomy - the study of ancient peoples' observations of the skies and the impact of what they saw on their cultural evolution - is the focus of this eminently readable and authoritative survey. Author E. C. Krupp, an astronomer, is the director of the Griffith Observatory in Los

Revisioning Premodern Fine Art as Popular Visual Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Duncum, Paul

2014-01-01

Employing the concept of a rhetoric of emotions, European Premodern fine art is revisioned as popular culture. From ancient times, the rhetoric of emotion was one of the principle concepts informing the theory and practice of all forms of European cultural production, including the visual arts, until it was gradually displaced during the 1700s and…

Fundamentals and applications of neutron imaging. Applications part 8. Application of neutron imaging to inspection of art objects and ancient artifacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsubayashi, Masahito; Masuzawa, Fumitake

2007-01-01

Neutron radiography is an imaging technique which provides images similar to X-ray radiography and is often used to study ancient artifacts and art objects because the measurements are non-destructive. While metallic elements contained in ancient artifacts, namely gold, silver, mercury, copper, tin, lead, or iron, have X-ray mass attenuation coefficient much higher than light elements composing organic substances, for neutron attenuation the coefficient values are entirely opposite. The method is particularly useful for examination of the internal structure and composition of cultural object made of organic materials inside the metallic vessel. Here some of the research results using JAEA-JRR3M facility are presented: sutras in a cylindrical copper tube, the interior structure of Buddha statues, bone materials in metallic bottles, bronze mirrors, ancient jars and textiles. (S. Ohno)

Narrative and Cultural History in the Hippocratic Treatise On Ancient Medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Romani Mistretta

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the ‘history of medicine’ outlined by the author of the Hippocratic treatise On Ancient Medicine, in order to reflect on the relationship between medicine and narrative in Classical Greece. At the outset of the work, the author provides an account of the beginnings of his discipline, conceiving of medicine’s history as a continuum of research and findings that unravel the nature of the human body and the cause of diseases. As this paper shows, the physician-narrator assigns to his craft a crucial role in fostering the birth and progress of human civilization. The rhetorical goals of the historical account are, as I argue, attained through a subtle narrative strategy. In fact, the narrator locates the origins of medicine within a teleological framework, marked by strong emphasis on the heuristic method that characterizes the past, the present, and the future of medical knowledge at once.

Reconstructing ancient genomes and epigenomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Orlando, Ludovic Antoine Alexandre; Gilbert, M. Thomas P.; Willerslev, Eske

2015-01-01

DNA studies have now progressed to whole-genome sequencing for an increasing number of ancient individuals and extinct species, as well as to epigenomic characterization. Such advances have enabled the sequencing of specimens of up to 1 million years old, which, owing to their extensive DNA damage...... and contamination, were previously not amenable to genetic analyses. In this Review, we discuss these varied technical challenges and solutions for sequencing ancient genomes and epigenomes....

THE LEVANT: ZONE OF CULTURE OR CONFLICT?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samir El-Youssef

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Palestinian novelist Samir El-Youssef writes that the question in the title of this essay, “is the Levant a zone of conflict or culture?” is an ironic one indeed. Anyone with a token knowledge of the Levant, argues El-Youssef, knows that these lands are of both conflict and culture; the problem dwells in the fact that the people of the Levant need to be reminded that theirs is a land of great culture that deserves recognition and valorization as such. The author was born and brought up in Rashidiyyé—a Palestinian refugee camp in Southern Lebanon. Rashidiyyé, writes El-Youssef, was and still is as bad as a refugee camp could get. Yet, a mere fifteen minutes walk from the camp stood the ancient Phoenician port-city of Tyr; a harbour town housing the awesome vestiges of one of the greatest, most pacifist, most benevolent builders of civilization.  El-Youssef concludes that "the refugee camp (in its indigence, and the ancient city (in all its glory, standing side by side, are a stark example of the Levant being both a land of conflict and culture."

A cross-cultural comparison of children's imitative flexibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Clegg, Jennifer M; Legare, Cristine H

2016-09-01

Recent research with Western populations has demonstrated that children use imitation flexibly to engage in both instrumental and conventional learning. Evidence for children's imitative flexibility in non-Western populations is limited, however, and has only assessed imitation of instrumental tasks. This study (N = 142, 6- to 8-year-olds) demonstrates both cultural continuity and cultural variation in imitative flexibility. Children engage in higher imitative fidelity for conventional tasks than for instrumental tasks in both an industrialized, Western culture (United States), and a subsistence-based, non-Western culture (Vanuatu). Children in Vanuatu engage in higher imitative fidelity of instrumental tasks than in the United States, a potential consequence of cultural variation in child socialization for conformity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The effects of smoking norms and attitudes on quitting intentions in Malaysia, Thailand, and four Western nations: A cross-cultural comparison

Science.gov (United States)

Hosking, Warwick; Borland, Ron; Yong, Hua-Hie; Fong, Geoffrey; Zanna, Mark; Laux, Fritz; Thrasher, James; Lee, Wonkyong; Sirirassamee, Buppha; Omar, Maizurah

2015-01-01

This research investigated the influence of smoking attitudes and norms on quitting intentions in two predominantly collectivistic countries (Malaysia and Thailand) and four predominantly individualistic Western countries (Canada, USA, UK, and Australia). Data from the International Tobacco Control Project (N = 13,062) revealed that higher odds of intending to quit were associated with negative personal attitudes in Thailand and the Western countries, but not in Malaysia; with norms against smoking from significant others in Malaysia and the Western countries, but not in Thailand; and with societal norms against smoking in all countries. Our findings indicate that normative factors are important determinants of intentions, but they play a different role in different cultural and/or tobacco control contexts. Interventions may be more effective if they are designed with these different patterns of social influence in mind. PMID:20186642

Cultural management and government role

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edalat Nemati

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Culture plays an important role on human lives and it has been in four ancient civilizations of China, Iran, Egypt and Greece. The civilization achievements are normally categorized in two different groups of material and immaterial. Practical experience of the material, social objective is called as a civilization and the mental aspect of spiritual experiences, spiritual and personal is called culture. The purpose of this research is to find a framework for cross-cultural management. First, we define the cultural planning and we review the existing cultural examples in Iranian society and try to provide an overall analysis. The paper also investigates the role of government on creating adaptive culture within the society and explains that government must act as leadership in creating value added culture.

Violence the Western way.

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, B E

1997-10-01

Despite the quiet revolution in response to changing conceptualizations of gender in psychoanalysis, the Western has remained the domain of aggressive phallic masculinity. The iconic imagery of the Western, when combined with its narrative trajectory, is used to tell stories of violent encounters between men. The acceptance of the genre, and its duplication by other cultures and film makers, indicates that the Westerns' imagery and moral solutions tap into some basic deep structures of anxiety and pleasure in violence between men. As long as societies require subtle sublimations of aggressive and violent drives, it is likely that men will seek imaginary regressive experiences to discharge frustrations.

[Ancient Greek in modern language of medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Marković, Vera

2007-01-01

In order to standardize language of medicine, it is essential to have a good command of ancient Greek and Latin. We cannot deny a huge impact of ancient Greek medicine on medical terminology. Compounds of Greek origin related to terms for organs, illnesses, inflammations, surgical procedures etc. have been listed as examples. They contain Greek prefixes and suffixes transcribed into Latin and they have been analysed. It may be concluded that the modern language of medicine basically represents the ancient Greek language transcribed into Latin.

Nanjing’s Cultural Exchanges with Foreign Countries

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

1996-01-01

AS an ancient capital city,Nanj-ing has a long history of cul-tural exchanges with foreigncountries.The ruler of the Kingdom ofEastern Wu(222-280 A.D.)sent en-voys to over 100 states in Hainan andSoutheast Asian islands.Some of thestates paid return visits.For instance,in243 the ruler of Funan(present-dayCambodia)sent a musical group to theEastern Wu King,who then built aFunan Music Hall for court maids tolearn Funan music and dances.Dur-ing the Southem Dynasties(420-589A.D.)exchanges with foreign countriesincreased and Funan sent envoysto Jianye and Jiankang(present-dayNanjing)over 30 times.Ancient SriLanka,which was known as the LionState in ancient China,Tianzhu(an-cient India).Persia,the Korean Penin-

Pre-Columbian population dynamics in coastal southern Peru: A diachronic investigation of mtDNA patterns in the Palpa region by ancient DNA analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Fehren-Schmitz, Lars; Reindel, Markus; Cagigao, Elsa Tomasto; Hummel, Susanne; Herrmann, Bernd

2010-02-01

Alternative models have been proposed to explain the formation and decline of the south Peruvian Nasca culture, ranging from migration or invasion to autochthonous development and ecological crisis. To reveal to what extent population dynamic processes accounted for cultural development in the Nasca mainland, or were influenced by them, we analyzed ancient mitochondrial DNA of 218 individuals, originating from chronologically successive archaeological sites in the Palpa region, the Paracas Peninsula, and the Andean highlands in southern Peru. The sampling strategy allowed a diachronic analysis in a time frame from approximately 800 BC to 800 AD. Mitochondrial coding region polymorphisms were successfully analyzed and replicated for 130 individuals and control region sequences (np 16021-16408) for 104 individuals to determine Native American mitochondrial DNA haplogroups and haplotypes. The results were compared with ancient and contemporary Peruvian populations to reveal genetic relations of the archaeological samples. Frequency data and statistics show clear proximity of the Nasca populations to the populations of the preceding Paracas culture from Palpa and the Peninsula, and suggest, along with archaeological data, that the Nasca culture developed autochthonously in the Rio Grande drainage. Furthermore, the influence of changes in socioeconomic complexity in the Palpa area on the genetic diversity of the local population could be observed. In all, a strong genetic affinity between pre-Columbian coastal populations from southern Peru could be determined, together with a significant differentiation from ancient highland and all present-day Peruvian reference populations, best shown in the differential distribution of mitochondrial haplogroups. 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

108 WESTERN INFLUENCE ON CHINESE AND NIGERIAN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ike Odimegwu

extinction of indigenous languages and cultures of many societies in ... Ogirisi: a new journal of African studies vol 9 2012. 109 ... Odinye & Odinye: Western Influence on Chinese & Nigerian Cultures. 110 .... The Ibo People and the Europeans.

Development of safety culture - A Chinese traditional cultural perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Weihong . E-mail zhouwh@lanps.com

2002-01-01

Living in a social community, the culture of an enterprise is certainly under the influence of that society. Safety culture of nuclear utilities is the core of the enterprise culture. As a formal expression as defined in INSAG 3 and 4 by IAEA, it as a matter of fact originated from the summing up of the experiences of western nuclear industry, particularly after such epoch-making accidents of Three Miles Island and Chernobyl. In view of the geographical culture theory, whether or not this conception of western industrial culture will be absorbed and assimilated by Chinese Nuclear Industry is a challenging issue. This is because, on the one hand, Nuclear Power is comparatively speaking a newly developing industry in China and, on the other hand, China has enjoyed an uninterrupted history of traditional culture over five thousand years. In other words, whether the new and alien values will conflict with or be constructively assimilated by our traditional mindset is a critical question to be answered in any development program of safety culture. (author)

Deep sequencing of RNA from ancient maize kernels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fordyce, Sarah Louise; Avila Arcos, Maria del Carmen; Rasmussen, Morten

2013-01-01

The characterization of biomolecules from ancient samples can shed otherwise unobtainable insights into the past. Despite the fundamental role of transcriptomal change in evolution, the potential of ancient RNA remains unexploited - perhaps due to dogma associated with the fragility of RNA. We hy...... maize kernels. The results suggest that ancient seed transcriptomics may offer a powerful new tool with which to study plant domestication....

The provenance investigation on ancient chinese Ru porcelains by NAA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Zhengyao; Wang Jie; Chen Songhua

1997-01-01

The 28 samples of glazes and bodies of ancient Chinese Ru porcelains are analyzed by neutron activation. The 36 element contents in each sample are determined. The neutron activation analysis (NAA) data are analyzed by fuzzy cluster. The trend cluster diagram is obtained. The result shows that the ancient Chinese Ru porcelains were most probably from the same raw material source though they were from different time, fired in different kilns and in different colors. The near provenance relation between ancient Jun porcelain and ancient Ru porcelain is preliminarily analyzed. The two modern Ru porcelains approximate to ancient Ru porcelains, one becomes estranged from ancient Ru porcelains. Jingdezhen porcelain is unconcerned with Ru porcelains

Ancient Egyptian Medicine: A Systematic Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samuel Adu-Gyamfi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Our present day knowledge in the area of medicine in Ancient Egypt has been severally sourced from medical papyri several of which have been deduced and analyzed by different scholars. For educational purposes it is always imperative to consult different literature or sources in the teaching of ancient Egypt and medicine in particular. To avoid subjectivity the author has found the need to re-engage the efforts made by several scholars in adducing evidences from medical papyri. In the quest to re-engage the efforts of earlier writers and commentaries on the medical papyri, we are afforded the opportunity to be informed about the need to ask further questions to enable us to construct or reconstruct both past and modern views on ancient Egyptian medical knowledge. It is this vocation the author sought to pursue in the interim, through a preliminary review, to highlight, comment and reinvigorate in the reader or researcher the need for a continuous engagement of some pertinent documentary sources on Ancient Egyptian medical knowledge for educational and research purposes. The study is based on qualitative review of published literature. The selection of those articles as sources was based on the focus of the review, in order to purposively select and comment on articles that were published based either on information from a medical papyrus or focused on medical specialization among the ancient Egyptians as well as ancient Egyptian knowledge on diseases and medicine. It was found that the Egyptians developed relatively sophisticated medical practices covering significant medical fields such as herbal medicine, gynecology and obstetrics, anatomy and physiology, mummification and even the preliminary form of surgery. These practices, perhaps, were developed as remedies for the prevailing diseases and the accidents that might have occurred during the construction of their giant pyramids. It must be stated that they were not without flaws. Also, the

Ancient Greek in modern language of medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marković Vera

2007-01-01

Full Text Available In order to standardize language of medicine, it is essential to have a good command of ancient Greek and Latin. We cannot deny a huge impact of ancient Greek medicine on medical terminology. Compounds of Greek origin related to terms for organs, illnesses, inflammations, surgical procedures etc. have been listed as examples. They contain Greek prefixes and suffixes transcribed into Latin and they have been analyzed. It may be concluded that the modern language of medicine basically represents the ancient Greek language transcribed into Latin.

Suicide in ancient Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Laios, K; Tsoukalas, G; Kontaxaki, M-I; Karamanou, M; Androutsos, G

2014-01-01

The theme of suicide appears several times in ancient Greek literature. However, each such reference acquires special significance depending on the field from which it originates. Most of the information found in mythology, but the suicide in a mythological tale, although in terms of motivation and mental situation of heroes may be in imitation of similar incidents of real life, in fact is linked with the principles of the ancient Greek religion. In ancient drama and mainly in tragedies suicide conduces to the tragic hypostasis of the heroes and to the evolution of the plot and also is a tool in order to be presented the ideas of poets for the relations of the gods, the relation among gods and men and the relation among the men. In ancient Greek philosophy there were the deniers of suicide, who were more concerned about the impact of suicide on society and also these who accepted it, recognizing the right of the individual to put an end to his life, in order to avoid personal misfortunes. Real suicides will be found mostly from historical sources, but most of them concern leading figures of the ancient world. Closer to the problem of suicide in the everyday life of antiquity are ancient Greek medicines, who studied the phenomenon more general without references to specific incidents. Doctors did not approve in principal the suicide and dealt with it as insane behavior in the development of the mental diseases, of melancholia and mania. They considered that the discrepancy of humors in the organ of logic in the human body will cause malfunction, which will lead to the absurdity and consequently to suicide, either due to excessive concentration of black bile in melancholia or due to yellow bile in mania. They believed that greater risk to commit suicide had women, young people and the elderly. As therapy they used the drugs of their time with the intention to induce calm and repression in the ill person, therefore they mainly used mandragora. In general, we would say

What is the Right Temperature Sensitivity for Foraminiferal Mg/ca Paleothermometry in Ancient Oceans?

Science.gov (United States)

Eggins, S.; Holland, K.; Hoenisch, B.; Spero, H. J.; Allen, K. A.

2013-12-01

Mg/Ca seawater thermometry has become a cornerstone of modern paleoceanography. Laboratory experiments, seafloor core-top samples, plankton trap and tow collected materials all indicate consistent temperature sensitivity (9-10% increase in Mg/Ca per °C) for a full range of modern planktic foraminifer species. While these results demonstrate the overall robustness of Mg/Ca paleothermometry for the modern ocean, it is an empirical tool for which there is limited understanding of its bio-physio-chemical basis and its applicability to ancient oceans. We have undertaken experimental cultures of Orbulina universa, Globigerinoides sacculifer and Globigerinoides ruber (pink) across a range of seawater compositions (temperature, carbonate chemistry and Mg/Casw) that encompass modern and ancient Paleogene and Cretaceous ocean compositions (Mg/Casw 0.25x to 2x modern and pCO2 = 200 to 1500 ppmv). Our results reveal that the sensitivity of the Mg/Ca-thermometer for planktic foraminifers reduces significantly with Mg/Casw, rather than remaining constant as has been widely assumed or, increasing at lower Mg/Casw as proposed recently by Evans and Müller (2012). These results indicate that the modern sensitivity of 9-10% increase in Mg/Ca per °C cannot yet be applied to obtain reliable relative temperature change estimates to ancient oceans. These results further suggest that variations in foraminiferal Mg/Ca compositions in ancient oceans with lower Mg/Casw may correspond to larger temperature variations than in the modern ocean. Evans D. and Müller W., Paleoceanography, vol. 27, PA4205, doi:10.1029/2012PA002315, 2012

75 FR 38589 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “The Origins of Writing in...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-02

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice: 7074] Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``The Origins of Writing in the Ancient Middle East'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the... included in the exhibition ``The Origins of Writing in the Ancient Middle East,'' imported from abroad for...

Twins in Ancient Greece: a synopsis.

Science.gov (United States)

Malamitsi-Puchner, Ariadne

2016-01-01

This brief outline associates twins with several aspects of life in Ancient Greece. In Greek mythology twins caused ambivalent reactions and were believed to have ambivalent feelings for each other. Very often, they were viewed as the representatives of the dualistic nature of the universe. Heteropaternal superfecundation, which dominates in ancient myths, explains on one hand, the god-like qualities and, on the other hand, the mortal nature of many twins. An assumption is presented that legends referring to twins might reflect the territorial expansions of Ancient Greeks in Northern Mediterranean, around the Black Sea, in Asia Minor, as well as North East Africa. In conclusion, in Greek antiquity, twins have been used as transitional figures between myth and reality.

Ancient DNA from European Early Neolithic Farmers Reveals Their Near Eastern Affinities

Science.gov (United States)

Haak, Wolfgang; Balanovsky, Oleg; Sanchez, Juan J.; Koshel, Sergey; Zaporozhchenko, Valery; Adler, Christina J.; Der Sarkissian, Clio S. I.; Brandt, Guido; Schwarz, Carolin; Nicklisch, Nicole; Dresely, Veit; Fritsch, Barbara; Balanovska, Elena; Villems, Richard; Meller, Harald; Alt, Kurt W.; Cooper, Alan

2010-01-01

In Europe, the Neolithic transition (8,000–4,000 b.c.) from hunting and gathering to agricultural communities was one of the most important demographic events since the initial peopling of Europe by anatomically modern humans in the Upper Paleolithic (40,000 b.c.). However, the nature and speed of this transition is a matter of continuing scientific debate in archaeology, anthropology, and human population genetics. To date, inferences about the genetic make up of past populations have mostly been drawn from studies of modern-day Eurasian populations, but increasingly ancient DNA studies offer a direct view of the genetic past. We genetically characterized a population of the earliest farming culture in Central Europe, the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK; 5,500–4,900 calibrated b.c.) and used comprehensive phylogeographic and population genetic analyses to locate its origins within the broader Eurasian region, and to trace potential dispersal routes into Europe. We cloned and sequenced the mitochondrial hypervariable segment I and designed two powerful SNP multiplex PCR systems to generate new mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal data from 21 individuals from a complete LBK graveyard at Derenburg Meerenstieg II in Germany. These results considerably extend the available genetic dataset for the LBK (n = 42) and permit the first detailed genetic analysis of the earliest Neolithic culture in Central Europe (5,500–4,900 calibrated b.c.). We characterized the Neolithic mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity and geographical affinities of the early farmers using a large database of extant Western Eurasian populations (n = 23,394) and a wide range of population genetic analyses including shared haplotype analyses, principal component analyses, multidimensional scaling, geographic mapping of genetic distances, and Bayesian Serial Simcoal analyses. The results reveal that the LBK population shared an affinity with the modern-day Near East and Anatolia, supporting a major

Ancient DNA from European early neolithic farmers reveals their near eastern affinities.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wolfgang Haak

Full Text Available In Europe, the Neolithic transition (8,000-4,000 B.C. from hunting and gathering to agricultural communities was one of the most important demographic events since the initial peopling of Europe by anatomically modern humans in the Upper Paleolithic (40,000 B.C.. However, the nature and speed of this transition is a matter of continuing scientific debate in archaeology, anthropology, and human population genetics. To date, inferences about the genetic make up of past populations have mostly been drawn from studies of modern-day Eurasian populations, but increasingly ancient DNA studies offer a direct view of the genetic past. We genetically characterized a population of the earliest farming culture in Central Europe, the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK; 5,500-4,900 calibrated B.C. and used comprehensive phylogeographic and population genetic analyses to locate its origins within the broader Eurasian region, and to trace potential dispersal routes into Europe. We cloned and sequenced the mitochondrial hypervariable segment I and designed two powerful SNP multiplex PCR systems to generate new mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal data from 21 individuals from a complete LBK graveyard at Derenburg Meerenstieg II in Germany. These results considerably extend the available genetic dataset for the LBK (n = 42 and permit the first detailed genetic analysis of the earliest Neolithic culture in Central Europe (5,500-4,900 calibrated B.C.. We characterized the Neolithic mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity and geographical affinities of the early farmers using a large database of extant Western Eurasian populations (n = 23,394 and a wide range of population genetic analyses including shared haplotype analyses, principal component analyses, multidimensional scaling, geographic mapping of genetic distances, and Bayesian Serial Simcoal analyses. The results reveal that the LBK population shared an affinity with the modern-day Near East and Anatolia, supporting

Cultural Arts in the Southwest.

Science.gov (United States)

Cross, Kate

1998-01-01

Presents a pottery project for eighth-grade students based on a study of ancient and modern forms of Pueblo Indian pottery of the Southwest United States. Details the process for creating either carved, red clay, or painted white clay pottery typical of these cultural groups. Relates student reactions to the project. (DSK)

Comparison of Oil Content and Fatty Acids Profile of Western Schley, Wichita, and Native Pecan Nuts Cultured in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera-Rangel, L R; Aguilera-Campos, K I; García-Triana, A; Ayala-Soto, J G; Chavez-Flores, D; Hernández-Ochoa, L

2018-01-01

Two different extraction processes, Soxhlet and ultrasound, were used to obtain the oil extracts of Western Schley, Wichita, and Native pecan nuts cultured in Chihuahua, Mexico. The aspects evaluated in this study were the extraction yield of the processes and fatty acids' profile of the resulting extracts. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify and determine the composition percentage of fatty acids present in pecan nuts oils extracted. The results obtained show that higher oil extraction yields were obtained by Soxhlet method with hexane (69.90%) in Wichita varieties. Wichita, Western Schley, and Native pecan nuts from Chihuahua are rich in PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) and MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids) and have low levels of SFA (saturated fatty acids). The predominant fatty acid present in all pecan nuts oils was linoleic acid followed by oleic acid. Myristic acid, palmitic acid, and linolenic acid were also identified in representative quantities. The results from this study suggest that there are statistically significant differences in the chemical composition of the pecan nuts oils extracted from the varieties cultured in Chihuahua, Mexico, and those cultivated in other regions of the world.

Comparison of Oil Content and Fatty Acids Profile of Western Schley, Wichita, and Native Pecan Nuts Cultured in Chihuahua, Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. R. Rivera-Rangel

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Two different extraction processes, Soxhlet and ultrasound, were used to obtain the oil extracts of Western Schley, Wichita, and Native pecan nuts cultured in Chihuahua, Mexico. The aspects evaluated in this study were the extraction yield of the processes and fatty acids’ profile of the resulting extracts. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS was used to identify and determine the composition percentage of fatty acids present in pecan nuts oils extracted. The results obtained show that higher oil extraction yields were obtained by Soxhlet method with hexane (69.90% in Wichita varieties. Wichita, Western Schley, and Native pecan nuts from Chihuahua are rich in PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids and MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids and have low levels of SFA (saturated fatty acids. The predominant fatty acid present in all pecan nuts oils was linoleic acid followed by oleic acid. Myristic acid, palmitic acid, and linolenic acid were also identified in representative quantities. The results from this study suggest that there are statistically significant differences in the chemical composition of the pecan nuts oils extracted from the varieties cultured in Chihuahua, Mexico, and those cultivated in other regions of the world.

Comparison of Oil Content and Fatty Acids Profile of Western Schley, Wichita, and Native Pecan Nuts Cultured in Chihuahua, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera-Rangel, L. R.; Aguilera-Campos, K. I.; García-Triana, A.; Ayala-Soto, J. G.; Chavez-Flores, D.

2018-01-01

Two different extraction processes, Soxhlet and ultrasound, were used to obtain the oil extracts of Western Schley, Wichita, and Native pecan nuts cultured in Chihuahua, Mexico. The aspects evaluated in this study were the extraction yield of the processes and fatty acids' profile of the resulting extracts. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify and determine the composition percentage of fatty acids present in pecan nuts oils extracted. The results obtained show that higher oil extraction yields were obtained by Soxhlet method with hexane (69.90%) in Wichita varieties. Wichita, Western Schley, and Native pecan nuts from Chihuahua are rich in PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) and MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids) and have low levels of SFA (saturated fatty acids). The predominant fatty acid present in all pecan nuts oils was linoleic acid followed by oleic acid. Myristic acid, palmitic acid, and linolenic acid were also identified in representative quantities. The results from this study suggest that there are statistically significant differences in the chemical composition of the pecan nuts oils extracted from the varieties cultured in Chihuahua, Mexico, and those cultivated in other regions of the world. PMID:29610686

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction and imaging of ancient Chinese bronzes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, M.L.; Dunand, D.C.; Casadio, F.; Schnepp, S.; Almer, J.; Haeffner, D.R.

2006-01-01

High-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction and imaging experiments were performed at the Advanced Photon Source on two ancient Chinese bronzes from the Art Institute of Chicago with the goal to nondestructively study their microstructure. The first object, a bronze fragment from an early Western Zhou dynasty vessel (Hu, 11th/10th century B.C.), was investigated with spatially-resolved diffraction to reveal the depth and composition of the surface corrosion layer as well as the composition and grain size of the underlying bronze core. The second object, a bronze dagger-axe (Ge, 3rd/2nd century B.C.) with a silver-inlaid sheath, was studied under both diffraction and imaging conditions. It was found to have been cast as a single object, answering longstanding scholars' questions on whether the ceremonial object concealed an interior blade. (orig.)

Chinese Confucian culture and the medical ethical tradition.

OpenAIRE

Guo, Z

1995-01-01

The Confucian culture, rich in its contents and great in its significance, exerted on the thinking, culture and political life of ancient China immense influences, unparalleled by any other school of thought or culture. Confucian theories on morality and ethics, with 'goodness' as the core and 'rites' as the norm, served as the 'key notes' of the traditional medical ethics of China. The viewpoints of Confucianism on benevolence and material interests, on good and evil, on kindheartedness, and...

Looks of Love and Loathing: Cultural Models of Vision and Emotion in Ancient Greek Culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas L. Cairns

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The paper considers the intersection of cultural models of emotion, specifically love and envy, with folk and scientific models of vision in Greek antiquity. Though the role of the eyes in the expression of these emotions can intersect with widespread beliefs in vision as a 'haptic', material process, analogous to touch, none the less the emotional concepts resist absorption into a single over-arching theory of the physical effects of seeing and being seen. The specific cultural models of vision ('active', 'passive', and 'interactive' are enlisted in support of cultural models of emotion where they fit, modified where they fit less well, and ignored when they do not fit at all.

Development of an enzyme-linked-immunosorbent-assay technique for accurate identification of poorly preserved silks unearthed in ancient tombs.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Qin; Wu, Xiaofeng; Zheng, Hailing; Zhou, Yang

2015-05-01

We report the preparation of a specific fibroin antibody and its use for the identification of unearthed ancient silk relics. Based on the 12-amino-acid repeat sequence "GAGAGSGAGAGS", which is found in fibroin of the silkworm Bombyx mori, a specific antibody against fibroin was prepared in rabbits through peptide synthesis and carrier-protein coupling. This antibody was highly specific for fibroin found in silk. Using this antibody we have successfully identified four silk samples from different time periods. Our results reveal, for the first time, a method capable of detecting silk from a few milligrams of archaeological fabric that has been buried for thousands of years, confirming that the ancient practice of wearing silk products while praying for rebirth dated back to at least 400 BCE. This method also complements current approaches in silk detection, especially for the characterization of poorly preserved silks, promoting the investigation of silk origins and of ancient clothing cultures.

The population genomics of archaeological transition in west Iberia: Investigation of ancient substructure using imputation and haplotype-based methods.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Martiniano

2017-07-01

Full Text Available We analyse new genomic data (0.05-2.95x from 14 ancient individuals from Portugal distributed from the Middle Neolithic (4200-3500 BC to the Middle Bronze Age (1740-1430 BC and impute genomewide diploid genotypes in these together with published ancient Eurasians. While discontinuity is evident in the transition to agriculture across the region, sensitive haplotype-based analyses suggest a significant degree of local hunter-gatherer contribution to later Iberian Neolithic populations. A more subtle genetic influx is also apparent in the Bronze Age, detectable from analyses including haplotype sharing with both ancient and modern genomes, D-statistics and Y-chromosome lineages. However, the limited nature of this introgression contrasts with the major Steppe migration turnovers within third Millennium northern Europe and echoes the survival of non-Indo-European language in Iberia. Changes in genomic estimates of individual height across Europe are also associated with these major cultural transitions, and ancestral components continue to correlate with modern differences in stature.

"IREP EN KEMET" Wine of Ancient Egypt: Documenting the Viticulture and Winemaking Scenes in the Egyptian Tombs

Science.gov (United States)

Guasch-Jané, M. R.; Fonseca, S.; Ibrahim, M.

2013-07-01

Presented are the research objectives of the project "Irep en Kemet", Wine of Ancient Egypt, and the content of the project's website. This research aims at documenting the complete corpus of wine in ancient Egypt and analysing the data (iconography, textual sources and artefacts) to unveil the importance of the ancient Egyptian wine culture legacy in the Mediterranean region. At this stage, a bibliographical researchable database relevant to wine, viticulture and winemaking in the ancient Egypt has been completed, with 197 entries including articles, books, chapters in book, academic thesis (PhD and MA), essay, abstracts, on-line articles and websites. Moreover, a scene-detail database for the viticulture and winemaking scenes in the Egyptian private tombs has been recorded with 97 entries, some of them unpublished, and the collected data is under study. The titles of the tombs' owners and the texts related to the scenes will be also recorded. A photographic survey of the graves containing images related with viticulture and winemaking will be carried out in order to have the most accurate information on the location and stage of conservation of those images. Our main goal is to provide scholars with a complete, comprehensive archaeological and bibliographical database for the scenes of viticulture and winemaking depicted in the Egyptian private tombs throughout the ancient Egyptian history. The project's website (http://www.wineofancientegypt.com) will include all the collected data, the study and analysis, the project's history and team members, publications as well as the results of our research.

Drought stress variability in ancient Near Eastern agricultural systems evidenced by δ13C in barley grain.

Science.gov (United States)

Riehl, Simone; Pustovoytov, Konstantin E; Weippert, Heike; Klett, Stefan; Hole, Frank

2014-08-26

The collapse and resilience of political systems in the ancient Near East and their relationship with agricultural development have been of wide interest in archaeology and anthropology. Despite attempts to link the archaeological evidence to local paleoclimate data, the precise role of environmental conditions in ancient agricultural production remains poorly understood. Recently, stable isotope analysis has been used for reconstructing site-specific ancient growing conditions for crop species in semiarid and arid landscapes. To open the discussion of the role of regional diversity in past agricultural production as a factor in societal development, we present 1.037 new stable carbon isotope measurements from 33 archaeological sites and modern fields in the geographic area of the Fertile Crescent, spanning the Aceramic Neolithic [10,000 calibrated years (cal) B.C.] to the later Iron Age (500 cal B.C.), alongside modern data from 13 locations. Our data show that drought stress was an issue in many agricultural settlements in the ancient Near East, particularly in correlation with the major Holocene climatic fluctuations, but its regional impact was diverse and influenced by geographic factors. Although cereals growing in the coastal areas of the northern Levant were relatively unaffected by Holocene climatic fluctuations, farmers of regions further inland had to apply irrigation to cope with increased water stress. However, inland agricultural strategies showed a high degree of variability. Our findings suggest that regional differences in climatic effects led to diversified strategies in ancient subsistence and economy even within spatially limited cultural units.

Monitoring the Ancient Countryside: Remote Sensing and GIS at the Chora of Chersonesos (Crimea, Ukraine)

Science.gov (United States)

Trelogan, Jessica; Crawford, Melba; Carter, Joseph

2002-01-01

In 1998 the University of Texas Institute of Classical Archaeology, in collaboration with the University of Texas Center for Space Research and the National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos (Ukraine), began a collaborative project, funded by NASA's Solid Earth and Natural Hazards program, to investigate the use of remotely sensed data for the study and protection of the ancient a cultural territory, or chora, of Chersonesos in Crimea, Ukraine.

The Ancient Kemetic Roots of Library and Information Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Zulu, Itibari M.

This paper argues that the ancient people of Kemet (Egypt), "the black land," built and operated the first major libraries and institutions of higher education in the world. Topics of discussion include the Ancient Egyptians as an African people; a chronology of Ancient Kemet; literature in Kemet; a history of Egyptian Librarianship; the…

ON THE QUESTION OF THE REVIVAL OF THE ANCIENT MOUNTAIN VILLAGES (AULS OF DAGHESTAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aniyat A. Abasova

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract. Aim. The aim of the research is to analyze the reasons for the migration of mountain people to the plain, the identification of the most significant stages of the resettlement movement in the Republic of Dagestan, the identification of ways to preserve and revive the mountain villages of Dagestan. Discussion. At present, the outflow of population from mountainous areas to flat land is actively continuing which leads to the abandonment of dozens of mountain villages. Therefore, in modern conditions, the urgent task is to preserve and revive the mountain villages of Dagestan. For this, first of all, the creation of a developed infrastructure, high-quality medical care and education, as well as the revival of traditional forms of land use, horticulture and cattle breeding, creation of new jobs are necessary in mountainous areas. The traditional habitat should be attractive for young people. The understanding of the problem of preservation and revival of the mountainous regions of Dagestan exists not only at the governmental level but also in Dagestan society as a whole. It is shown that the natural-historical and cultural complexes of Dagestan should be used for the development of various types of tourism, especially cultural-cognitive and ethno-tourism, ecological and religious tourism. Conclusion. Almost every ancient mountain village of Dagestan is actually an ethnographic museum in the open air, therefore the development of the tourism industry, in particular cultural-cognitive and ethno-tourism, will contribute to the preservation and revival of ancient auls in the republic.

New trends in the Chinese diet: cultural influences on consumer behaviour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teresa Del Giudice

2016-04-01

Full Text Available China is one of the most dynamic regions in the world in terms of economic growth and development. Such development has inevitably influenced the structure and habits of Chinese society. Whilst the economic condition of the middle class and high-income segment has steadily improved, cultural changes are also under way: ancient Chinese traditions now include major elements from other cultures, most notably the West. The above scenario is the background to this paper. A structured research-administered survey was developed to investigate the changes in the Chinese consumer food culture: 500 urban participants were randomly selected from six reference cities, covering geographically almost the whole country. This study aims not only to analyze the propensity of consumers to include food products from other countries in their ancient Chinese culinary culture, but also represents an initial attempt to perform a market segmentation of Chinese consumers according to their degree of cultural openness towards non-Chinese food, taking into account socio-demographic, cognitive and psychographic variables.

What is lost in translation: A cross-cultural study to compare the concept of nuttiness and its perception in soymilk among Korean, Chinese, and Western groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sun-Ho; Petard, Nina; Hong, Jae-Hee

2018-03-01

Cross-cultural communication of "nuttiness" can be problematic because the underlying conceptual elements and words used to describe its features may be largely culture-dependent. The present study was conducted to understand similarities and dissimilarities in the concept of nuttiness and its actual perception in our model food system, soymilk, among similar (Korean and Chinese) and dissimilar (Western) food cultures. In total, 110 Koreans, 103 Chinese, and 93 English-speaking, Western consumers were recruited. Subjects were asked to provide a definition of nuttiness and generate examples of nutty and non-nutty foods. They also rated the intensity of the nuttiness of 8 soymilk samples. Sensory profiles of 8 soymilk samples were obtained using 9 trained panelists. Data from the definition task were processed through textual analysis. To identify sensory drivers, consumer ratings of perceived nuttiness intensity in soymilk were projected onto a sensory space constructed from the descriptive profiles of nuttiness. We found significant association between culture and usage of specific words (χ 2 70, 0.05 =155.8, pcultures. We found that although the abstract definition of nuttiness clearly demonstrated cross-cultural differences, sensory perception of nuttiness was almost identical across all groups. This suggests that cultural background influences verbalization of one's perception, but not the actual perception itself. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[The trend and prospect of studies on the history of Western medicine in Korea.].

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Ock Joo

2010-06-30

Studies on the history of Western medicine in Korea began to be actively conducted and published since the restart of the Korean Society for the History of Medicine in 1991, which had been originally inaugurated in 1947, and the publication of its official journal, the Korean Journal of Medical History in 1992. In 1970s and 1980s, even before the start of the Journal, articles on a history of Western medicine were published mainly written by physicians in medical journals. This paper aims to provide an overview of the publications on the history of Western medicine in Korea, comparing papers published in the Journal with those published in other journals. Authors of the papers in the Journal are those who majored in history of medicine or history science whose initial educational backgrounds were medicine or science, whereas authors of the papers in other journals majored in Western history, economic history, social history, religious history, or women's history. While a large portion of papers in the Journal deal with medicine in ancient Greek or in modern America with no paper on medieval medicine, the papers in other journals deal with more various periods including ancient, medieval and modern periods and with diverse areas including France, Britain, Germany, Europe etc. Recent trends in 2000s show an increase in the number of researchers who published the history of Western medicine in other journals, total number of their publications, and the topics that they dealt with in their papers. In contrast, however, the number of researchers published in the Journal, the number of the papers and its topics - all decreased in recent years. Only three papers on the history of diseases have been published in the Journal, while eleven published in other journals. In order to stimulate research on the history of Western medicine in Korea, concerted efforts are necessary including academic communication among various disciplines, formulation of a long term plan to enlarge

An ancient Mediterranean melting pot: investigating the uniparental genetic structure and population history of sicily and southern Italy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefania Sarno

Full Text Available Due to their strategic geographic location between three different continents, Sicily and Southern Italy have long represented a major Mediterranean crossroad where different peoples and cultures came together over time. However, its multi-layered history of migration pathways and cultural exchanges, has made the reconstruction of its genetic history and population structure extremely controversial and widely debated. To address this debate, we surveyed the genetic variability of 326 accurately selected individuals from 8 different provinces of Sicily and Southern Italy, through a comprehensive evaluation of both Y-chromosome and mtDNA genomes. The main goal was to investigate the structuring of maternal and paternal genetic pools within Sicily and Southern Italy, and to examine their degrees of interaction with other Mediterranean populations. Our findings show high levels of within-population variability, coupled with the lack of significant genetic sub-structures both within Sicily, as well as between Sicily and Southern Italy. When Sicilian and Southern Italian populations were contextualized within the Euro-Mediterranean genetic space, we observed different historical dynamics for maternal and paternal inheritances. Y-chromosome results highlight a significant genetic differentiation between the North-Western and South-Eastern part of the Mediterranean, the Italian Peninsula occupying an intermediate position therein. In particular, Sicily and Southern Italy reveal a shared paternal genetic background with the Balkan Peninsula and the time estimates of main Y-chromosome lineages signal paternal genetic traces of Neolithic and post-Neolithic migration events. On the contrary, despite showing some correspondence with its paternal counterpart, mtDNA reveals a substantially homogeneous genetic landscape, which may reflect older population events or different demographic dynamics between males and females. Overall, both uniparental genetic

Influence of the distribution of nitrides in the hardness of ancient swords

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santos, Hellen C.; Added, Nemitala; Fantini, Marcia C.A. [Universidade de Sao Paulo (DFN/IF/USP), SP (Brazil). Inst. de Fisica. Dept. de Fisica Nuclear

2010-07-01

The aim of this work is correlate the depth profile of nitrogen in the blade of ancient swords with their hardness, and specifies the composition of steel alloy. The depth profile of nitrogen will be obtained using the resonances in production of {gamma} rays (4.43 MeV) for the reaction {sup 15}N(p, {alpha}{gamma}){sup 12}C. The samples (a Hindu sword, a Japanese sword and standard samples) will be also characterized using the technique PIXE to identify the concentration of major elements and trace elements of the steel alloy used in the manufacturing of each ancient sword. In order to evaluate other influences, we will perform crystallographic investigations using XRD to identify the crystalline surface phase, as well as radiograph the pieces using X-ray to check how the internal structure of the each sword grip is. The work will be executed in collaboration with the researcher Diogo Emiliano who will supply the swords. This study adds to archaeometry a method to evaluate ductility and hardness among swords from different culture and ages. (author)

Influence of the distribution of nitrides in the hardness of ancient swords

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Hellen C.; Added, Nemitala; Fantini, Marcia C.A.

2010-01-01

The aim of this work is correlate the depth profile of nitrogen in the blade of ancient swords with their hardness, and specifies the composition of steel alloy. The depth profile of nitrogen will be obtained using the resonances in production of γ rays (4.43 MeV) for the reaction 15 N(p, αγ) 12 C. The samples (a Hindu sword, a Japanese sword and standard samples) will be also characterized using the technique PIXE to identify the concentration of major elements and trace elements of the steel alloy used in the manufacturing of each ancient sword. In order to evaluate other influences, we will perform crystallographic investigations using XRD to identify the crystalline surface phase, as well as radiograph the pieces using X-ray to check how the internal structure of the each sword grip is. The work will be executed in collaboration with the researcher Diogo Emiliano who will supply the swords. This study adds to archaeometry a method to evaluate ductility and hardness among swords from different culture and ages. (author)

The fingerprint element analysis on provenance of ancient chinese Jun porcelain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Zhengyao; Chen Songhua; Wang Jie; Huang Zhongxiang; Jia Xiuqin; Han Song

1997-01-01

Forty-three samples of ancient Jun porcelains and so on were chosen. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) was used to measure the 36 trace elements in every sample. Seven elements were chosen as the 'fingerprint elements'. The provenance of the glazes and bodies of ancient Chinese Jun porcelain were investigated by the fingerprint element analysis method. The result shows that although the ancient Chinese Jun porcelain samples have been leapt over six hundred years, and glaze colors are utterly different and are from many different kilns, there are long term, stable and same mainly raw material source. The near provenance relation between ancient Jun porcelain and ancient Ru porcelain is preliminarily analyzed. A few modern Jun porcelains approximate from ancient Jun porcelains, the majority become estranged from ancient Jun porcelain

Microanalysis study on ancient Wiangkalong Pottery

Science.gov (United States)

Won-in, K.; Tancharakorn, S.; Dararutana, P.

2017-09-01

Wiangkalong is one of major ceramic production cities in northern of Thailand, once colonized by the ancient Lanna Kingdom (1290 A.D.). Ancient Wiangkalong potteries were produced with shapes and designs as similar as those of the Chinese Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Due to the complex nature of materials and objects, extremely sensitive, spatially resolved, multi-elemental and versatile analytical instruments using non-destructive and non-sampling methods to analyze theirs composition are need. In this work, micro-beam X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy based on synchrotron radiation was firstly used to characterize the elemental composition of the ancient Wiangkalong pottery. The results showed the variations in elemental composition of the body matrix, the glaze and the underglaze painting, such as K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn and Fe.

Atilius Regulus: A Tragic Hero in the Culture of the Eighteenth Century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefano Ferrari

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Atilius Regulus is one of the many tragic heroes that the classical tradition has handed down to Western culture. His fortune in the eighteenth century, however, is marked by an almost unique peculiarity that specifically measures the transition from ancient to modern age. Unlike other figures, that of the Roman consul is submitted between the second half of the seventeenth century and the end of the eighteenth century to a careful philological examination that has the result not only to reject as historically groundless the famous episode of torture suffered in Carthage, but also that of the embassy held in front of the Rome senate to deal with peace between the two rival cities. Despite the authenticity of this last episode of the life of the Roman consul has been questioned, it has also met in the course of the eighteenth century a huge favor by poets, philosophers, art writers and painters.

Western teachers of science or teachers of Western science: On the influence of Western modern science in a post-colonial context

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Lydia E. Carol-Ann

An expanding body of research explores the social, political, cultural and personal challenges presented by the Western emphasis of curricula around the world. The aim of my study is to advance this field of inquiry by gaining insight into perceptions of Western modern science presented by students, teachers and administrators in a given Caribbean setting. Through this study I asked how my research participants described the nature of scientific knowledge, how they related scientific knowledge to other culturally-valued knowledges and the meanings they attached to the geographic origins of science teachers. Situating this work firmly within the practice of Foucauldian critical discourse analysis, I have utilised a conceptual framework defined by the power/knowledge and complicity/resistance themes of post-colonial theory to support my interpretation of participant commentary in an overall quest that is concerned about the ways in which Western modern science might be exerting a colonising influence. Fourteen students, nine teachers (both expatriate and local) and three administrators participated in the study. I combined a semi-structured question and answer interview format with a card sort activity. I used a procedure based on my own adaptation of Stephenson's Q methodology, where the respondents placed 24 statements hierarchically along a continuum of increasing strength of agreement, presenting their rationalisations, personal stories and illustrations as they sorted. I used an inverse factor analysis, in combination with the interview transcripts, to assist me in the identification of three discourse positions described by my research participants: The truth value of scientific knowledge, The pragmatic use of science to promote progress, and The priority of cultural preservation. The interview transcripts were also analysed for emergent themes, providing an additional layer of data interpretation. The research findings raise concerns regarding the hegemonic

Sulfur isotopes as a tracer for biogenic sulfate reduction in natural environments: A link between modern and ancient ecosystems. Geologica Ultraiectina (316)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stam, M.C.

2010-01-01

Sulfur isotopes have been widely used to trace the activity of sulfate reducing prokaryotes in modern and ancient geochemical settings and to estimate the role of this microbial metabolism in global sulfur cycling. Extensive pure culture data provide detailed insight into cellular mechanisms

Conquest, Colonial Education and Cultural Uprootedness in Africa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Notwithstanding the benefits of Western education to the Africans it had the major negative effect on the Africans of culturally uprooting the Africans from their autochthonous culture consciously or otherwise, into a foreign and alien Western culture.. The argument of this paper is that colonial education was and is still ...

GENERATION OF GEOMETRIC ORNAMENTS IN ANCIENT MOSAIC ART

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SASS Ludmila

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The paper examines geometrical ornaments from ancient mosaic.We studied the geometric generation by using Computer Aided Graphics for three examples of ancient mosaic: a mosaic of Ancient Corinth, a mosaic of the sacred geometry Flower of Life (exposed in the National Museum of Israel and a mosaic of fortress Masada - Israel. The technique of drawing ancient mosaic is recomposed using computer aided graphics. A program has been developed that can help draw a petal-type arc (semicircle of the mosaic that is the Byzantine church of Masada. Based on these mosaics, other variants of aesthetic images in monochrome or black and white and polychrome were drawn, all of which can be materialized in decorative art to embellish various surfaces: walls, floors, pools, fountains, etc.

Introduced mammals on Western Indian Ocean islands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James C. Russell

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The diversity of introduced mammals and their introduction history varies greatly across the Western Indian Ocean (WIO islands, from ancient introductions in the past millennia on islands off the East coast of Africa where extant terrestrial native mammal communities exist, to very recent invasions in the past decades on islands in the Mascarene archipelago. We compile the distribution of 16 introduced mammal taxa on 28 island groups comprising almost 2000 islands. Through an exhaustive literature review and expert consultation process we recorded all mammal eradications, and species recoveries which could be attributed to introduced mammal eradication or control. All island groups have been invaded by mammals, and invasive cats and rats in particular are ubiquitous, but cultural contingency has also led to regional invasions by other mammals such as lemurs, civets and tenrecs. Mammal eradications have been attempted on 45 islands in the WIO, the majority in the Seychelles and Mauritius, and where successful have resulted in spectacular recovery of species and ecosystems. Invasive mammalian predator eradication or control in association with habitat management has led to improved conservation prospects for at least 24 species, and IUCN red-list down-listing of eight species, in the Mascarene Islands. Future island conservation prioritisation in the region will need to take account of global climate change and predicted sea-level rises and coastal inundation. Greater investment and prioritisation in island conservation in the region is warranted, given its high biodiversity values and the extent of invasions.

Maths meets myths quantitative approaches to ancient narratives

CERN Document Server

MacCarron, Máirín; MacCarron, Pádraig

2017-01-01

With an emphasis on exploring measurable aspects of ancient narratives, Maths Meets Myths sets out to investigate age-old material with new techniques. This book collects, for the first time, novel quantitative approaches to studying sources from the past, such as chronicles, epics, folktales, and myths. It contributes significantly to recent efforts in bringing together natural scientists and humanities scholars in investigations aimed at achieving greater understanding of our cultural inheritance. Accordingly, each contribution reports on a modern quantitative approach applicable to narrative sources from the past, or describes those which would be amenable to such treatment and why they are important. This volume is a unique state-of-the-art compendium on an emerging research field which also addresses anyone with interests in quantitative approaches to humanities.

Independence and Interdependence in Diverse Cultural Contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

Killen, Melanie; Wainryb, Cecilia

2000-01-01

Argues that the individualistic-collectivistic dichotomy results in mislabeling both cultures and individuals. Discusses ways in which individualistic concerns with independence and collectivistic concerns with interdependence coexist in Western and non-Western cultures. Outlines a theoretical framework explaining the coexistence of diverse social…

Recognizing Moral Identity as a Cultural Construct.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Fanli; Krettenauer, Tobias

2017-01-01

Current research on moral identity shows that moral identity predicts moral action in Western cultures but not in non-Western cultures. The present paper argues that this may be due to the fact that the concept of moral identity is culturally biased. In order to remedy this situation, we argue that researchers should broaden their scopes of inquiry by adding a cultural lens to their studies of moral identity. This change is important because although some concept of moral identity likely exists in all cultures, it may function in different ways and at different levels in each place. We propose that moral identity is a context-dependent construct tied to varying social and cultural obligations. We argue that Western moral identity stresses an individually oriented morality, whereas, people from Eastern cultures consider a highly moral person to be societally oriented. We conclude by discussing the implications of this view for future research.

Damage and repair of ancient DNA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mitchell, David; Willerslev, Eske; Hansen, Anders

2005-01-01

degradation, these studies are limited to species that lived within the past 10(4)-10(5) years (Late Pleistocene), although DNA sequences from 10(6) years have been reported. Ancient DNA (aDNA) has been used to study phylogenetic relationships of protists, fungi, algae, plants, and higher eukaryotes...... such as extinct horses, cave bears, the marsupial wolf, the moa, and Neanderthal. In the past few years, this technology has been extended to the study of infectious disease in ancient Egyptian and South American mummies, the dietary habits of ancient animals, and agricultural practices and population dynamics......, and extensive degradation. In the course of this review, we will discuss the current aDNA literature describing the importance of aDNA studies as they relate to important biological questions and the difficulties associated with extracting useful information from highly degraded and damaged substrates derived...

SCAMBI CULTURALI ALLE RADICI DELL’UMANESIMO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simonetta Valtieri

2014-12-01

Full Text Available he foundation of “Magna Greciae” colonies in Southern Italy has been a fundamental element of connection between East and West, allowing to Ancient Greece to reach high levels in the social, cultural and economic field, with libraries and study centers that have formed philosophers, writers, doctors, leading artists. Calabria in particular, has played a strategic role in the Mediterranean Sea for the development of European Western culture and of humanism. Calabria was the only Mediterranean region to have welcomed for centuries, and often at the same time, the two major cultures: the Eastern and the Western. In Calabria, people spoke ancient Greek language in modern age and until the last century there were areas where the Greek language was the only spoken language (Area Grecofona of Calabria. This circumstance explains the critical role the region had in the Middle Ages: libraries, study centers, scriptoria allowed the Latin translation and dissemination of the works of Plato and Aristotle, these two philosophers were at the basis of medieval scholasticism and, as a result, at the basis of the development of Humanism.

Sun-earth connection education through modern views of ancient

Science.gov (United States)

Thieman, J. R.

The NASA Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum (SECEF) has the responsibility of using the latest science results from the study of solar physics, space physics, and aeronomy to inspire students in the classroom and to inform the public in general. SECEF works with NASA's Sun-Earth Connection spaceflight missions to accomplish this goal. Each year the missions and SECEF combine to promote their science through a major event designed to attract the attention of all. In late 2004 and 2005 the event will be the study of solar observatories created by ancient peoples and a comparison of their knowledge and culture to present understanding. Two solar observatory sites will be featured, Chaco Canyon in the U.S. and Chichen Itza in Mexico. There are many other places throughout the world that could also be featured as solar observatories and some of these may be described on the SECEF web site or used in future occurrences. Special emphasis is placed on events associated with the solstice and equinox dates. It is hoped that there will be happenings around the world on these days and SECEF will work with many museums, science centers, and other groups to help make this happen. Plans for the 2005 Ancient Observatories event and possible future events on the same subject will be described.

Testing of Alignment Parameters for Ancient Samples: Evaluating and Optimizing Mapping Parameters for Ancient Samples Using the TAPAS Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ulrike H. Taron

2018-03-01

Full Text Available High-throughput sequence data retrieved from ancient or other degraded samples has led to unprecedented insights into the evolutionary history of many species, but the analysis of such sequences also poses specific computational challenges. The most commonly used approach involves mapping sequence reads to a reference genome. However, this process becomes increasingly challenging with an elevated genetic distance between target and reference or with the presence of contaminant sequences with high sequence similarity to the target species. The evaluation and testing of mapping efficiency and stringency are thus paramount for the reliable identification and analysis of ancient sequences. In this paper, we present ‘TAPAS’, (Testing of Alignment Parameters for Ancient Samples, a computational tool that enables the systematic testing of mapping tools for ancient data by simulating sequence data reflecting the properties of an ancient dataset and performing test runs using the mapping software and parameter settings of interest. We showcase TAPAS by using it to assess and improve mapping strategy for a degraded sample from a banded linsang (Prionodon linsang, for which no closely related reference is currently available. This enables a 1.8-fold increase of the number of mapped reads without sacrificing mapping specificity. The increase of mapped reads effectively reduces the need for additional sequencing, thus making more economical use of time, resources, and sample material.

Western Sydney is hot! Community arts and changing perceptions of the West

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christina Ho

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Can the arts change how we view cities? How can we evaluate the broad social impacts of arts programs, particularly in elusive areas such as the local image of urban communities? This article examines the cultural renaissance of Western Sydney, long considered a crass, working-class cultural wasteland. In the last two decades, the region has experienced a proliferation of new artistic initiatives, and advocates now hail Sydney’s West as the true face of multicultural Australia’s cultural vitality. This article also documents how community arts and development programs have contributed to these shifting perceptions, analysing these contributions in terms of social impact evaluation. It argues that evaluating social impact expands the parameters of conventional evaluation techniques, which typically focus on program-level outputs and outcomes. It presents a case study of a Western Sydney community organisation, Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE, which, for 20 years, has delivered community cultural development and professional development programs for Western Sydney artists. Engaging with historically disadvantaged communities, the organisation has specialised in art forms that have resonated with the region, including hip hop, digital storytelling, and filmmaking, and in the process has played a key role in re-imagining Western Sydney as a cutting edge, multicultural hub of creative vibrancy. Keywords: Western Sydney, community arts, evaluation, social impact

Traditional Music in Igbo Culture: A Case Study of Idu Cultural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

DrNneka

research work reveals that despite the alarming influences of the western technology on Igbo culture, dance music performance has remained the climax of every cultural .... grade, title groups, palm wine tappers, hunters, carvers, women, men, ...

Is food-related lifestyle (FRL) able to reveal food consumption patterns in non-Western cultural environments? Its adaptation and application in urban China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunert, Klaus; Perrea, Toula; Zhou, Yanfeng

2011-01-01

Research related to food-related behaviour in China is still scarce, one reason being the fact that food consumption patterns in East Asia do not appear to be easily analyzed by models originating in Western cultures. The objective of the present work is to examine the ability of the food related...

Moessbauer studies on ancient Jizhon plain Temmoku porcelains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Zhengfang; Zheng Yufang; Lin Yongqiang

1994-01-01

Three kinds of ancient Jizhou plain Temmoku wares and their several ware-making raw materials were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Moessbauer spectroscopy. The firing technique of ancient Jizhou Temmoku porcelains is discussed. (orig.)

Meta-historical Foundations of the Periodization of the World Musical Culture History

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Opanasiuk

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The periodization of the history of the world music is carried out on the basis of definition of regularity of the procedural being of cultures, their imaginative type and chronotopus in the area of the last (conditionally 5000-year meta-period. On the meta-cultural level there are: symbolic (ancient cultures, classical (Antique culture, romantic-semantic, generally – romantic (Byzantine culture, intentionally-semantic / intentionally-romantic, generally – intentional (European culture musical art with appropriate principles of modeling of the culturally – artistic phenomenon.

Tracking down human contamination in ancient human teeth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sampietro, María Lourdes; Gilbert, M Thomas P; Lao, Oscar

2006-01-01

DNA sequences can be used to support data authenticity is misleading in scenarios where the presence of old contaminant sequences is possible. We argue therefore that the typing of those involved in the manipulation of the ancient human specimens is critical in order to ensure that generated results......DNA contamination arising from the manipulation of ancient calcified tissue samples is a poorly understood, yet fundamental, problem that affects the reliability of ancient DNA (aDNA) studies. We have typed the mitochondrial DNA hypervariable region I of the only 6 people involved in the excavation...

Detecting Ancient Tuberculosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela M. Gernaey

1998-12-01

Full Text Available Some diseases have played a more significant role in human development than others. Here we describe the results of a trial to diagnose ancient tuberculosis using chemical methods. Palaeo-epidemiological studies of the disease are compromised, but it has become apparent that tuberculosis (TB is a 'population-density dependent' disease. From modern studies, it is also apparent that the prevalence of TB can be used as an indicator of the level of poverty within the studied population. Mid-shaft rib samples from articulated individuals recovered from the former Newcastle Infirmary Burial Ground (1753-1845 AD were examined for mycolic acids that are species-specific for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The 24% of ribs positive for mycolic acids correlated with the documented 27% tuberculosis prevalence. Mycolic acid biomarkers have the potential to provide an accurate trace of the palaeo-epidemiology of tuberculosis in ancient populations, thereby providing an indication of the overall level of poverty - a useful adjunct for archaeology.

Fingerprint elements scatter analysis on ancient chinese Ru porcelains samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Zhengyao; Wang Jie; Chen Xiande

1997-01-01

Altogether 28 samples, mainly including glazes and bodies of ancient Chinese Ru porcelain, were analyzed by NAA technique and the contents of 36 elements were compared. The scatter analysis for nine fingerprint-elements indicates that almost all ancient Chinese Ru porcelain samples had nearly identical and long-term stable source of raw materials although they were fired in different kilns, at varying time and with distinct colors, and moreover, the source of raw materials for modern Ru porcelain seems to approach that for ancient one. The close provenance relation between ancient Jun porcelain and ancient Ru porcelain is also preliminarily verified. The glaze material of Jingdezhen white porcelain is totally different from all other samples. It shows that the former came from a separate source

CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND DRAMATIC RITUAL.

Science.gov (United States)

SALISBURY, LEE H.

THE AUTHOR'S PROGRAM, COLLEGE ORIENTATION PROGRAM FOR ALASKAN NATIVES (COPAN), WAS DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE A SMOOTH TRANSITION FOR NATIVE ALASKAN STUDENTS INTO THE AREA OF WESTERN CULTURE, IN COLLEGE. THE FINE ARTS WERE UTILIZED AS A COMMUNICATION BRIDGE BETWEEN THE ESKIMO AND WESTERN CULTURES. THE MEDIA OF THE DANCE AND DRAMA WERE THE BASES FOR…

Deciphering Equine Evolution and Spatial Ancestry with Ancient Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jónsson, Hákon

High-throughput sequencing has opened ancient DNA research to genomics, revolutionizing the amount of genetic information retrievable from archaeological and paleontological remains. Paleogenomics is still in infancy and requires substantial improvements in computational methods tailored to the s......High-throughput sequencing has opened ancient DNA research to genomics, revolutionizing the amount of genetic information retrievable from archaeological and paleontological remains. Paleogenomics is still in infancy and requires substantial improvements in computational methods tailored...... in the analysis of environmental bacterial sequences, which generally dominate ancient DNA extracts, and in the first pipeline completely devoted to the computational analysis of raw ancient DNA sequences. We then develop a spatially explicit method for determining which extant populations show the greatest...... genetic anity to ancient individuals, which often represents the key question in human paleogenomic projects. We applied the computational infrastructure developed to complete the genomic characterization of extant members of the genus Equus, which is composed of horses, asses and zebras. We sequenced...

Dreams in ancient Greek Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Laios, K; Moschos, M M; Koukaki, E; Vasilopoulos, E; Karamanou, M; Kontaxaki, M-I; Androutsos, G

2016-01-01

Dreams preoccupied the Greek and Roman world in antiquity, therefore they had a prominent role in social, philosophical, religious, historical and political life of those times. They were considered as omens and prophetic signs of future events in private and public life, and that was particularly accentuated when elements of actions which took place in the plot of dreams were associated directly or indirectly with real events. This is why it was important to use them in divination, and helped the growth of superstition and folklore believes. Medicine as a science and an anthropocentric art, could not ignore the importance of dreams, having in mind their popularity in antiquity. In ancient Greek medicine dreams can be divided into two basic categories. In the first one -which is related to religious medicine-dreams experienced by religionists are classified, when resorted to great religious sanctuaries such as those of Asclepius (Asclepieia) and Amphiaraos (Amfiaraeia). These dreams were the essential element for healing in this form of religious medicine, because after pilgrims underwent purifications they went to sleep in a special dwelling of the sanctuaries called "enkoimeterion" (Greek: the place to sleep) so that the healing god would come to their dreams either to cure them or to suggest treatment. In ancient Greek literature there are many reports of these experiences, but if there may be phenomena of self-suggestion, or they could be characterized as propaganda messages from the priesthood of each sanctuary for advertising purposes. The other category concerns the references about dreams found in ancient Greek medical literature, where one can find the attempts of ancient Greek physicians to interpret these dreams in a rational way as sings either of a corporal disease or of psychological distress. This second category will be the object of our study. Despite the different ways followed by each ancient Greek physician in order to explain dreams, their

Combined neutron imaging techniques for cultural heritage purpose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Materna, T.

2009-01-01

This article presents the different new neutron techniques developed by the Ancient Charm collaboration to image objects of cultural heritage importance: Prompt-gamma-ray activation imaging (PGAI) coupled to cold/thermal neutron transmission tomography, Neutron Resonance Capture Imaging (NRCI) and Neutron Resonance Tomography.

Conceptualising professionalism in occupational therapy through a Western lens.

Science.gov (United States)

Hordichuk, Chelsea J; Robinson, Allison J; Sullivan, Theresa M

2015-06-01

The term professionalism is embedded within curriculum and occupational therapy documents, yet, explicit discussion of the concept is lacking in the literature. This paper strives for a greater understanding of how professionalism is currently conceptualised within Western occupational therapy literature. A broad literature search was conducted and included international peer-reviewed and grey literature from Western cultures including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. To enrich understanding, some documents from medicine were also included. Professionalism is widely upheld as a core construct of occupational therapy. However, an evidence-based consensus of the specific elements of professionalism guiding occupational therapy practice is lacking. Currently, understanding of professionalism is largely based on multiple, isolated concepts presented in Western professional association documents. Acknowledging the multifaceted and multicultural nature of professionalism is essential to begin systematically delineating and conceptualising elements of professionalism specific to occupational therapy. This review has been conducted from a solely Western cultural lens. Additional work to highlight differences specific to international contexts, cultures, and societal influences is needed to enrich the understanding of professionalism in occupational therapy practice. © 2015 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Oral Transmission: A Marriage of Music, Language, Tradition, and Culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emma E. Patterson

2015-06-01

Full Text Available There are a number of misunderstandings about ancient oral transmission that negatively affect the way musicians view music history but also the process of how music was and currently is conceived, recorded, and shared. A common misconception is that oral transmission of music is an ancient practice that occurred before written notation of music was developed. However, I seek to prove that there is a false dichotomy between oral transmission and written notation and I focus on the changing definition and importance of oral tradition. Firstly, I discuss the misconceptions of ancient oral transmission. Secondly, I examine the continuing development of research and definitions of oral transmission—which is changing our concept of ancient as well contemporary oral traditions. Thirdly, I demonstrate how these traditions are still relevant in present, late modern times. Thoughout this discussion I examine and engage with the pivotal specialists and research that has developed our view of oral tradition through time. To better understand these scholars’ commentary as well as my own, it is important to note the combined concepts of oral and aural tradition. Oral culture refers to what is spoken and sung, and aural culture refers to what is heard and comprehended. Both are necessary for effective transmission to occur, and oral and aural methods are almost always simultaneously present in most societies. When aural culture is discussed here, it refers to the combination of both elements and is closely related to aural tradition. The most notable terms to differentiate are oral transmission and oral tradition. Typically oral transmission refers to the basic action of passing information, in this case music, through oral and aural means. Oral tradition, however, is the more general concept that synthesizes oral transmission, tradition, and culture. Despite misconceptions that music was primitive before composers started documenting it, oral

The Greeks and the Utopia: an overview through ancient Greek Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosanna Lauriola

2009-06-01

term has an ancient Greek root but it does not exist in the vocabulary of ancient Greek language. Although ancient Greeks did not have a conscious concept of utopia, they, however, dreamt, wrote, proposed – with different aims - what we would call now ( paradoxically using a ‘modern’ term ‘utopic’ worlds. From the archaic to the post-classic period, we find literary expressions of utopic thought in ancient Greek culture. Such expressions constitute the basis of the modern Utopia and Utopianism with their positive and negative implications. This essay takes a more detailed look at the work of Aristophanes, considered one of the greatest Greek playwrights, and inquires whether his comedies can be considered utopias.

Suicide and the afterlife: popular religion and the standardisation of 'culture' in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Picone, Mary

2012-06-01

For an overwhelming majority of commentators, including many anthropologists, 'Japanese culture' is still associated with a positive view of suicide. Western-language writings have contributed by feedback loop to perpetuate this stereotype. Besides the local 'samurai ethic', Japanese Buddhism is also said not to prohibit taking one's life. However, the most popular examples of heroic self-sacrifice, from the Edo period to WWII, are fraught with covert contradictions. From ancient times to the present religious practitioners of all sorts have maintained that suicide creates unhappy, resentful spirits who harm the living. This article discusses many examples of a diverse series of narratives, from spirit medium's séances to drama to contemporary films, in which the anguished spirits of suicides are allowed to express themselves directly. After the figures rose alarmingly in the late 1990s various religious organisations have attempted to fight the stigma suffered by bereaved family members and have introduced new interpretations and new rituals.

ALICE's adventures in cultural computing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hu, J.; Bartneck, C.; Salem, B.I.; Rauterberg, G.W.M.

2008-01-01

In the paradigm of cultural computing, different cultures need different approaches to address the cultural determinants that strongly influences our way of thinking, feeling and worldview in general. For the western culture, our answer to this need is an artistic and interactive installation

Ancient DNA and Forensics Mutual Benefits a Practical Sampling and Laboratory Guide Through a Virtual Ancient DNA Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Cemper-Kiesslich

2014-09-01

In this review the authors give a general overview on the field of ancient DNA analysis focussing of the potentials and limits, fields of application, requirements for samples, laboratory setup, reaction design and equipment as well as a brief outlook on current developments, future perspectives and potential cross links with associated scientific disciplines. Key words: Human DNA, Ancient DNA, Forensic DNA typing, Molecular archaeology, Application.

CHANT (CHinese ANcient Texts): a comprehensive database of all ancient Chinese texts up to 600 AD

OpenAIRE

Ho, Che Wah

2006-01-01

The CHinese ANcient Texts (CHANT) database is a long-term project which began in 1988 to build up a comprehensive database of all ancient Chinese texts up to the sixth century AD. The project is near completion and the entire database, which includes both traditional and excavated materials, will be released on the CHANT Web site (www.chant.org) in mid-2002. With more than a decade of experience in establishing an electronic Chinese literary database, we have gained much insight useful to the...

Cultural Diversity or Cultural Imperialism: Liberal Education in Egypt.

Science.gov (United States)

Blanks, David R.

1998-01-01

A faculty member's experience at the American University in Cairo (Egypt) reveals that pluralism and tolerance are western concepts, even within the college curriculum. National identity affords cultural stability: where the American melting-pot experience is reinforced by the notion of cultural diversity, the national identity of Egypt is…

Role of radiation physics in the study and authentication of ancient gold work

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guerra, M.F.

2014-01-01

Ancient gold items are important expressions of different aspects of past civilisations. By using non-destructive techniques of analysis and exam it is possible to obtain data kept within the objects morphology and within the materials employed, providing information, among others, on the manufacturing technologies, on the functions attributed to the objects, and on the sources of raw material exploited. This paper aims to give an overview of the questions raised by cultural heritage objects made with gold, and the role of science-based techniques applied to their study and authentication. Two examples serve to illustrate this: one concerns 19th century restorations of Etruscan objects and the other the provenance of Merovingian gold. - Highlights: ► An overview of the application of radiation techniques for the analysis of ancient gold work is given. ► We focused on non-destructive SEM-EDS, IBA techniques, X-radiography, and optical microscopy. ► Exam is illustrated by the authentication of Etruscan gold jewellery kept in museum collections. ► Fingerprinting gold is illustrated by the elemental analysis of Merovingian items from tombs in Gaul

Cultural Representation and Intercultural Interaction: Nigerian ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nigeria is a multi-cultural society, but the visual image of women can be said to be the same among these various cultures. In Africa, women are not seen as they are in the Western world. Globalisation has however brought the modern Nigerian woman closer to Western ideologies and exposed her to a new perception of ...

Culture and Development Ethics: Needs, Women and Western Theories

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.R. Gasper (Des)

1996-01-01

markdownabstractAbstract Can development ethics avoid presuming that European cultures have universal validity and yet also avoid treating every distinct culture as sacrosanct and beyond criticism? While work on "culture and development" valuably stresses the importance of cultural difference and

Ancient DNA analysis of dental calculus.

Science.gov (United States)

Weyrich, Laura S; Dobney, Keith; Cooper, Alan

2015-02-01

Dental calculus (calcified tartar or plaque) is today widespread on modern human teeth around the world. A combination of soft starchy foods, changing acidity of the oral environment, genetic pre-disposition, and the absence of dental hygiene all lead to the build-up of microorganisms and food debris on the tooth crown, which eventually calcifies through a complex process of mineralisation. Millions of oral microbes are trapped and preserved within this mineralised matrix, including pathogens associated with the oral cavity and airways, masticated food debris, and other types of extraneous particles that enter the mouth. As a result, archaeologists and anthropologists are increasingly using ancient human dental calculus to explore broad aspects of past human diet and health. Most recently, high-throughput DNA sequencing of ancient dental calculus has provided valuable insights into the evolution of the oral microbiome and shed new light on the impacts of some of the major biocultural transitions on human health throughout history and prehistory. Here, we provide a brief historical overview of archaeological dental calculus research, and discuss the current approaches to ancient DNA sampling and sequencing. Novel applications of ancient DNA from dental calculus are discussed, highlighting the considerable scope of this new research field for evolutionary biology and modern medicine. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Truth Obviousness in Ancient Greek Philosophy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Halyna I. Budz

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The article examines the features of the axiomatic approach to the truth understanding in ancient Greek philosophy. Truth in the works by ancient philosophers has axiomatic essence, basing on divine origin of truth. As the truth has a divine origin, it is in reality. The reality, created by Gods is the solemn reality. Therefore, understanding of reality by man is the display of divine reality, which is true and clever. In of the context of ancient Greek philosophy, to know truth is to know something, existing in reality, in other words, something, truly existing, eternal reality. Consequently, to know truth is it to know the substantial reality base. That’s why the justification of the reality origin is the axiomatic doctrine of truth at the same time, because only fundamental principle “truly” exists and is the truth itself. The idea of fundamental principle in ancient Greek philosophy is the axiom, universal principle, which is the base of reality as a substance from ontological perspective and is realized as the truth from gnosiological perspective. Fundamental principle, as Greeks understand it, coincides with the truth, in other words, reality and thinking are identical. The idea of reality source is the universal criterion of world perception at the same time, in other words, it is the truth, which is perceived axiomatically.

Interpretation of Social and Natural Reality in Western and Eastern Philosophy

OpenAIRE

E. K. Bulyga; E. S. Logovaya

2004-01-01

Taking Eastern and Western cultural and philosophical traditions as an example the paper analyzes historical- and philosophical and historical- and typological notion of «social and natural reality». Evident tendencies of world globalization pose a problem to work out a strategy for the whole civilization. This strategy should involve in itself all the best that have been created by Eastern and Western cultures.

Interpretation of Social and Natural Reality in Western and Eastern Philosophy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. K. Bulyga

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Taking Eastern and Western cultural and philosophical traditions as an example the paper analyzes historical- and philosophical and historical- and typological notion of «social and natural reality». Evident tendencies of world globalization pose a problem to work out a strategy for the whole civilization. This strategy should involve in itself all the best that have been created by Eastern and Western cultures.

Psychotherapy with Southeast Asian refugees: implications for treatment of Western patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerber, L

1994-01-01

Working with Southeast Asian refugees in psychotherapy can teach Western psychotherapists how our culture-impacted notions of health, psychopathology, and psychotherapy influence the way we hear, understand, and respond to our patients. Western conceptions of individual boundaries, family ties, the relationship of mind and body, and ways of knowing are among the issues that arise for the Western psychotherapist who works with Southeast Asian refugees. While we in the West have seen rapid technological advances, we also have suffered dislocations, change, and the loss of traditional bases of meaning. Yet despite the differences, there are also elements within Western culture that resonate with what are usually considered "Asian" ways. These include the self-in-relation concepts described by feminist writers and the attitude of therapist as learner described by some contemporary psychoanalysts as well as by a contemporary Western philosopher. Refugees and Western patients alike want their unique faces "seen" and hope to birth new and expanded meanings in their psychotherapeutic dialogues.

Cultural Adaptations: A Complex Interplay between Clinical and Cultural Issues

OpenAIRE

Hwang, Wei-Chin

2011-01-01

Psychotherapy is a Western method of treating mental illness. Culturally adapting psychotherapy to better meet the needs of ethnic minorities is an important endeavor. Hall et al. (2011) did an excellent job of reviewing the intersection and divergence between Asian culture and mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies. They also point out that some therapies can be naturally syntonic with Asian American cultural values and belief systems. This is especially important given cultural differen...

Coca: High Altitude Remedy of the Ancient Incas.

Science.gov (United States)

Biondich, Amy Sue; Joslin, Jeremy D

2015-12-01

The use of coca leaf for medicinal purposes is a centuries-old tradition of the native peoples of South America. Coca products are thought by many laypersons to provide risk-free benefits to users participating in strenuous activities at high altitude. Physiologic studies of coca have increased understanding of its possible mechanism of action as well as its potential impact on high altitude activities. This present work explores the role of coca throughout the history of the Andean peoples and explores whether this ancient remedy has a place in modern medicine. A focused summary of research articles with particular relevance to the field of wilderness medicine is also included to better provide the reader with lessons not only from history but also from another culture. Copyright © 2015 Wilderness Medical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Did the ancient egyptians discover Algol?

Science.gov (United States)

Jetsu, L.; Porceddu, S.; Porceddu, S.; Lyytinen, J.; Kajatkari, P.; Markkanen, T.; Toivari-Viitala, J.

2013-02-01

Fabritius discovered the first variable star, Mira, in 1596. Holwarda determined the 11 months period of Mira in 1638. Montanari discovered the next variable star, Algol, in 1669. Its period, 2.867 days, was determined by Goodricke (178). Algol was associated with demon-like creatures, "Gorgon" in ancient Greek and "ghoul" in ancient Arab mythology. This indicates that its variability was discovered much before 1669 (Wilk 1996), but this mythological evidence is ambiguous (Davis 1975). For thousands of years, the Ancient Egyptian Scribes (AES) observed stars for timekeeping in a region, where there are nearly 300 clear nights a year. We discovered a significant periodicity of 2.850 days in their calendar for lucky and unlucky days dated to 1224 BC, "the Cairo Calendar". Several astrophysical and astronomical tests supported our conclusion that this was the period of Algol three millennia ago. The "ghoulish habits" of Algol could explain this 0.017 days period increase (Battersby 2012).

Justice, Benevolence, and Happiness: Encounter and Challenges in Global Legal Culture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Hanne

2011-01-01

This article compares core texts - the Bible and The Confucian Analects - and concepts from Western and Chinese normative cultures and further discusses inspirations from Buddhist norms in Western policy.......This article compares core texts - the Bible and The Confucian Analects - and concepts from Western and Chinese normative cultures and further discusses inspirations from Buddhist norms in Western policy....

Aging in culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Fung, Helene H

2013-06-01

This article reviews the empirical studies that test socioemotional aging across cultures. The review focuses on comparisons between Western (mostly North Americans and Germans) and Eastern cultures (mostly Chinese) in areas including age-related personality, social relationships, and cognition. Based on the review, I argue that aging is a meaning-making process. Individuals from each cultural context internalize cultural values with age. These internalized cultural values become goals that guide adult development. When individuals from different cultures each pursue their own goals with age, cultural differences in socioemotional aging occur.

Ancient DNA Analysis Suggests Negligible Impact of the Wari Empire Expansion in Peru's Central Coast during the Middle Horizon.

Science.gov (United States)

Valverde, Guido; Barreto Romero, María Inés; Flores Espinoza, Isabel; Cooper, Alan; Fehren-Schmitz, Lars; Llamas, Bastien; Haak, Wolfgang

2016-01-01

The analysis of ancient human DNA from South America allows the exploration of pre-Columbian population history through time and to directly test hypotheses about cultural and demographic evolution. The Middle Horizon (650-1100 AD) represents a major transitional period in the Central Andes, which is associated with the development and expansion of ancient Andean empires such as Wari and Tiwanaku. These empires facilitated a series of interregional interactions and socio-political changes, which likely played an important role in shaping the region's demographic and cultural profiles. We analyzed individuals from three successive pre-Columbian cultures present at the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site in Lima, Peru: Lima (Early Intermediate Period, 500-700 AD), Wari (Middle Horizon, 800-1000 AD) and Ychsma (Late Intermediate Period, 1000-1450 AD). We sequenced 34 complete mitochondrial genomes to investigate the potential genetic impact of the Wari Empire in the Central Coast of Peru. The results indicate that genetic diversity shifted only slightly through time, ruling out a complete population discontinuity or replacement driven by the Wari imperialist hegemony, at least in the region around present-day Lima. However, we caution that the very subtle genetic contribution of Wari imperialism at the particular Huaca Pucllana archaeological site might not be representative for the entire Wari territory in the Peruvian Central Coast.

Ancient DNA Analysis Suggests Negligible Impact of the Wari Empire Expansion in Peru's Central Coast during the Middle Horizon.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guido Valverde

Full Text Available The analysis of ancient human DNA from South America allows the exploration of pre-Columbian population history through time and to directly test hypotheses about cultural and demographic evolution. The Middle Horizon (650-1100 AD represents a major transitional period in the Central Andes, which is associated with the development and expansion of ancient Andean empires such as Wari and Tiwanaku. These empires facilitated a series of interregional interactions and socio-political changes, which likely played an important role in shaping the region's demographic and cultural profiles. We analyzed individuals from three successive pre-Columbian cultures present at the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site in Lima, Peru: Lima (Early Intermediate Period, 500-700 AD, Wari (Middle Horizon, 800-1000 AD and Ychsma (Late Intermediate Period, 1000-1450 AD. We sequenced 34 complete mitochondrial genomes to investigate the potential genetic impact of the Wari Empire in the Central Coast of Peru. The results indicate that genetic diversity shifted only slightly through time, ruling out a complete population discontinuity or replacement driven by the Wari imperialist hegemony, at least in the region around present-day Lima. However, we caution that the very subtle genetic contribution of Wari imperialism at the particular Huaca Pucllana archaeological site might not be representative for the entire Wari territory in the Peruvian Central Coast.

Genital Culture: Exploring the Cultural Importance of Genital Surgeru in the West

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexa Dodge

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The assumed importance of genital surgery for intersex children as well as the rising popularity of cosmetic surgery for one’s genitals (namely for women exemplify the importance placed on gender distinction in Western culture. This paper will explore how these genital surgeries are tied to the idealized conception of the gender binary that exists in our culture. Despite the reality that genitals, especially the vulva, vary widely in appearance (size, shape, colour, the belief that there are norms of genital appearance that need to be adhered to continues to be propagated within Western culture. I will posit that genital surgeries in the West are a culturally imbued practice. This will be argued in light of Leti Volpp’s assertion that people in the West need to recognize how our own culture promotes patriarchal/normative practices that can be dangerous and degrading to individuals. For instance, Western discourse vilifies cultures that engage in female genital mutilation (FGM without realizing how Western culture itself pressures women to ‘mutilate’ their genitals through cosmetic surgery or intersex surgery. The cultural influence of the West must be acknowledged so that we can better perceive how the agency of Western subjects is also directed and confined by our cultural context. Western culture also acts upon its subjects and, in this case, pushes gender binaries and the ideal of the perfect ‘normal’ vagina. This paper will utilize queer theory to question the necessity of gender binaries and to reveal the way that binary gender is privileged in our society. L'importance majeure de la chirurgie génitale pour les enfants intersexués ainsi que la popularité croissante de la chirurgie esthétique pour les organes génitaux, particulièrement pour les femmes, illustrent l'importance accordée à la distinction entre les sexes dans la culture occidentale. Cet article examine comment ces interventions chirurgicales génitales sont

Stairways to the Stars: Skywatching in Three Great Ancient Cultures

Science.gov (United States)

Aveni, Anthony

1999-02-01

"Tony Aveni has written a marvelous book about how the celestial rhythms influenced the cultures of the past. . . . It makes fascinating reading for any layperson."--Science Books and Films "Clearly, if we can know more about these people, their religion, their culture, their hopes and dreams, according to Dr. Aveni, it will make our understanding of their astronomy more meaningful."--Planetarian "A thoughtful analysis . . . highly recommended."--Library Journal What was the meaning of Stonehenge? What was the Mayan Code? Why was the elaborate Incan city of Cuzco built? Groundbreaking archaeoastronomer Anthony Aveni offers a host of startling new insights and conclusions in this acclaimed study of three of life's most mesmerizing mysteries.

Linen in Ancient Egypt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

dr.Rehab Mahmoud Ahmed Elsharnouby

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Egypt was famous through the Ancient Near East for both weaving linen cloth and the produced quantities. Cloth was sent as expensive gifts from one king to another and given to a laborer as wages in return for his work. Cloth was regarded as an essential element in everyday life as it could be used for everything: clothing, bedding, trappings for animals, or sails of a ship. It was in fact one of the most widely used item throughout Ancient Egypt. Although other textile fibers were used in Pharaonic Egypt, namely, sheep's wool, goat hair and a form of coir, the majority of textiles were made from the plant Linum usitatissimum, flax. Cloth made from this fiber is defined as linen. The research starts with a brief definition of the flax, and then reviews the scenes representing the sowing and the harvesting of its seeds. It also focuses on the way of removing the seeds heads, the preparing of the flax for spinning: retting, beating and scutching. After that, it deals with transforming flax into orderly lengths, and rolling it into balls or coils. The researcher as well studies the Ancient Egyptian spinning techniques: grasped spindle, support spindle and drop spinning; the different types of weaving: tabby weaves, basket weaves, tapestry weaves and warps-patterned weave and the types of looms that were in use in Egypt, namely, the horizontal and vertical looms.

A Cultural Approach to Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Lauge Baungaard

1998-01-01

The this article learning is discussed in relation to different understanding of culture. In particular the dialectics of 'Enlightenment' inthe Western culture are reflected , as well aslow- and high-context communication and learningin different types of culture. Finaaly the Weberian methodology...

Nuremberg Counting Jetons of XVI–XIX centuries: from Western Europe to Western Siberia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrey A. Pushkarev

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the history of Western counting jetons, which have spread over a vast area from Western Europe to Siberia. The history of jetons is very dynamic. For more than three centuries in Western Europe tokens were used as a tool for calculation in trading shops, government offices, etc. In the second half of the XVI century because the spread of the written account the functions of jetons fundamentally changed. They are being used as chips in card games, they were presented as souvenirs, scattered among the crowd at weddings and festivals, etc. At the same time, jetons became the translation tool for public information about the government, in the form of images of the reigning monarch, as well as key political events. Through trade exchange jetons penetrate into the territory of Western Siberia, where their function changed again. All counting tokens from burial graves in Western Siberia, have holes for hanging or sewing, which indicate their use as ornaments. However, in the culture of the indigenous population decorations had not only aesthetic but also a sacred, religious meaning.

Radiocarbon ages of Sorori ancient rice of Korea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kyeong Ja, E-mail: kjkim@kigam.re.kr [Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Yung-Jo; Woo, Jong-Yoon [Institute of Korean Prehistory, Cheongju (Korea, Republic of); Jull, A.J. Timothy [NSF Arizona AMS Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

2013-01-15

Samples of Sorori ancient rice were excavated in 1998 from the Sorori Paleolithic site located at Sorori, Oksan-myeon, Cheong-won County in Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea. We have made new radiocarbon measurements for Sorori samples in 2009 at the NSF Arizona AMS Laboratory. Both ancient rice samples and surrounded peat from the Sorori site were dated. The AMS results confirmed that the ages of the rice and peat soil were 12,520 {+-} 150 and 12,552 {+-} 90 BP, respectively. These radiocarbon ages are consistent with the previously published data of quasi rice measured at Seoul National University and confirm that the Sorori rice is the oldest ancient rice currently reported.

An Ancient Inca Tax and Metallurgy in Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Journal of Chemical Education, 2007

2007-01-01

The discovery of ancient Inca tax rulers and other metallurgical objects in Peru show that the ancient civilizations of the country smelted metals. The analysis shows that the smelters in Peru switched from the production of copper to silver after a tax was imposed on them by the Inca rulers.

Neutron activation analysis of some ancient and modern Chinese Jun Porcelain samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Zhengyao; Wang Jie; Chen Songhua; Huang Zhongxiang; Han Song; Jia Xiuqin

1997-01-01

Up to 43 glaze and body samples of ancient and modern Chinese Jun Porcelain and other porcelain are chosen and contents of 36 elements for each sample are determined by NAA. The NAA data are then analysed by the fuzzy cluster method. The result shows that although the ancient Jun Porcelain samples span leaped 600 years and are from different kilns and their glaze colors are utterly different, they have a long-term, stable and mainly the same supply of raw material. The relation between ancient Jun Porcelain and ancient Ru Porcelain is also preliminarily analysed. It is found that only few modern Jun Porcelain samples are similar to ancient Jun Porcelain but the majority of them are different from ancient ones

Reconstructing an Ancient Wonder.

Science.gov (United States)

Imhof, Christopher J.

2001-01-01

Describes a Montessori class project involving the building of a model of the ancient Briton monument, Stonehenge. Illustrates how the flexibility of the Montessori elementary curriculum encourages children to make their own toys and learn from the process. (JPB)

Cosmologies of the ancient Mediterranean world

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John T. Fitzgerald

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Cosmology is concerned with the order of the universe and seeks to provide an account, not only of that order, but also of the mind or reason behind it. In antiquity, the cosmos was usually understood religiously, such that the cosmologies of the ancient Mediterranean world were either religious in nature or constituted a reaction to a religiously conceived understanding of the structures of the universe. The oldest form in which ancient cosmologies occur is myth, which, owing to its elasticity as a form, enabled them to be appropriated, adapted and used by different groups. In addition, different cosmologies co-existed within the same ancient culture, each having an authoritative status. This article provides an introductory overview of these cosmological myths and argues that a comparative approach is the most fruitful way to study them. Emphasis is given to certain prominent cosmological topics, including theogony (the genesis of the divine or the relationship of the divine to the cosmos, cosmogony (the genesis of the cosmos, and anthropogony (the origin of humans within the cosmos. Although these myths vary greatly in terms of content and how they envision the origin of the cosmos, many of them depict death as part of the structure of the universe. Kosmologie het te doen met die orde van die heelal en wil rekenskap gee van hierdie orde en ook van die bewussyn daaragter. In die antieke tyd is die kosmos gewoonlik godsdienstig verstaan, met die gevolg dat die kosmologieë van die antieke Mediterreense wêreld óf ’n godsdienstige aard gehad het óf bestaan het uit ’n reaksie op ’n godsdienstig-geskepte begrip van die strukture van die heelal. Mites was die oudste vorm waarin antieke kosmologieë voorkom wat vanweë hulle plooibaarheid dit bewerk het dat hierdie kosmologieë deur verskillende groepe toegeëien, aangepas en gebruik kon word. Hierbenewens het verskillende kosmologieë in die antieke kultuur langs mekaar bestaan – elkeen

Olive Tree in Emilia Romagna Region: an Ancient Crop, a New Environmental and Cultural Economic Resource

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enrico Licausi

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The National Research Council Institute of Biometeorology of Bologna (IBIMET-CNR carried out a study aimed to the safeguard of autochthonous cultivars, through the census of secular olive tree plants, belonging to varieties at extinction risk or located in sites with historical or landscape add value in the Province of Bologna (North Italy with particular attention to phytometric characters, sanitary status of the plants and the relation with their location characteristics. The presence of ancient plants in a specific site may indicate the absence of limiting factors for olive trees development. Considering the environmental factor values of these locations, a classification of the territory in classes of suitability for the cultivation was defined, with the support of a Geographic Information System (GIS. Ancient olive trees data were also collected and catalogued in an internet site (http://olivisecolari.ibimet.cnr.it where it is possible to reach a virtual journey through studied olive trees. All plants are supplied with a phytometric card and a visualization on a map providing the exact location. The GIS elaboration of the environmental factors considered for the definition of the suitable lands for olive trees cultivation, identified 3556 ha as suitable, of which 972 ha highly suitable belonging to class I, where olive trees cultivation could be profitable because of suitable land morphology and the possibility of a good mechanization due to low field slopes.

Resistance to Western Popular and Pop-Culture in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Algis Mickūnas

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The essay is designed to present the phenomena of popular culture, its difference from pop culture, both products of modern West, and their impact on film and advertisement media in India. First, the discussion focuses on the Critical School which proposed the initial thesis of commodification of culture with a resultant “lowering” of standards to appeal to “the masses”, and an appeal to the “average” tastes. In the essay an argument is presented that pop culture is a “critique” of popular culture and is an elitist position attempting to shock popular mores and media content. Given this setting, it is argued that while India has followed both the globalizing popular and pop cultures, neither are adequate to encompass Indian media, specifically their film content.

Prototype of a pigments color chart for the digital conservation of ancient murals

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Jinxing; Wan, Xiaoxia

2017-03-01

Digital imaging has become a very important technique in the conservation of cultural art relics because it can nondestructively acquire the color and spectral image of cultural art relics for different applications. Imaging accuracy is one of the key factors in digital protection of cultural art relics. In order to improve the color and spectral accuracy for digital imaging of cultural art relics, the idea of making the specific color charts for different kinds of artworks is presented. Taking ancient Chinese Dunhuang murals as the specific object of study, a prototype pigments color chart of the Dunhuang murals (DCC), containing a six-step grayscale and 30 colored pigment samples, is made to investigate its pigment types and painting techniques. Under the premise of considering the difference in the number of samples in color charts, the DCC is tested and compared with the classic and widely used standard Macbeth colorchecker (CC) in two aspects: color correction for RGB imaging and spectral reconstruction for spectral imaging. The results show that the prototype pigments color chart is more effective and exhibits superior performance to the CC in both aspects for digital conservation of the Dunhuang murals.

Lunar impact basins and crustal heterogeneity: New western limb and far side data from galileo

Science.gov (United States)

Belton, M.J.S.; Head, J. W.; Pieters, C.M.; Greeley, R.; McEwen, A.S.; Neukum, G.; Klaasen, K.P.; Anger, C.D.; Carr, M.H.; Chapman, C.R.; Davies, M.E.; Fanale, F.P.; Gierasch, P.J.; Greenberg, R.; Ingersoll, A.P.; Johnson, T.; Paczkowski, B.; Pilcher, C.B.; Veverka, J.

1992-01-01

Multispectral images of the lunar western limb and far side obtained from Galileo reveal the compositional nature of several prominent lunar features and provide new information on lunar evolution. The data reveal that the ejecta from the Orientale impact basin (900 kilometers in diameter) lying outside the Cordillera Mountains was excavated from the crust, not the mantle, and covers pre-Orientale terrain that consisted of both highland materials and relatively large expanses of ancient mare basalts. The inside of the far side South Pole-Aitken basin (>2000 kilometers in diameter) has low albedo, red color, and a relatively high abundance of iron- and magnesium-rich materials. These features suggest that the impact may have penetrated into the deep crust or lunar mantle or that the basin contains ancient mare basalts that were later covered by highlands ejecta.

Definitions of healing and healing interventions across different cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Lichtenstein, Ann H; Berger, Ann; Cheng, M Jennifer

2017-07-01

For centuries healing has been embedded in non-Western cultures. Traditional cultures believe that healing is derived from the divine and utilize a holistic approach to healing including the body, mind, and spirit. The community and environment are key elements in individual healing along with herbal remedies and ceremonies. Western cultures have accepted some traditional methods of relaxation and exercise, such as yoga and tai chi. In this paper we will examine some similar themes of traditional practices to better understand traditional patients' healing paradigm and find new tools as practitioners of Western medicine.

Cultural Sensitivity in English Language Teaching Materials

OpenAIRE

MEHMET, Sean Collin

2008-01-01

This expository paper will begin by uncovering and examining some lesser known, Western journal articles, ones that deal specifically with the issue of cultural sensitivity in language classrooms. This opening discussion will attempt to reveal that cultural sensitivity in teaching materials is by no means an issue limited solely to the Western world. After this, the discussion will focus on Edward Said's widely-known Culture and Imperialism. Said's monograph will be used as a springboard to e...

Studying Legal Cultures and Encounters?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Hanne

2015-01-01

This article discusses the cultural and other turns in relation to legal culture and situates Western legal culture in context. It deals with concepts and their relations to trends and fashions and introduces methodological reflections such as use of interdisciplinary methods, personal experience...

Mitogenomic analyses from ancient DNA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paijmans, Johanna L. A.; Gilbert, Tom; Hofreiter, Michael

2013-01-01

The analysis of ancient DNA is playing an increasingly important role in conservation genetic, phylogenetic and population genetic analyses, as it allows incorporating extinct species into DNA sequence trees and adds time depth to population genetics studies. For many years, these types of DNA...... analyses (whether using modern or ancient DNA) were largely restricted to the analysis of short fragments of the mitochondrial genome. However, due to many technological advances during the past decade, a growing number of studies have explored the power of complete mitochondrial genome sequences...... yielded major progress with regard to both the phylogenetic positions of extinct species, as well as resolving population genetics questions in both extinct and extant species....

Culture's Consequences on Student Motivation: Capturing Cross-Cultural Universality and Variability through Personal Investment Theory

Science.gov (United States)

King, Ronnel B.; McInerney, Dennis M.

2014-01-01

Culture influences basic motivational processes; however, Western theories of achievement motivation seem to have neglected the role of culture. They are inadequate when trying to explain student motivation and engagement across a wide range of cultural groups because they may not have the conceptual tools needed to handle culturally relevant…

The rights of patients as consumers: An ancient view.

Science.gov (United States)

Barapatre, Nishant Bhimraj; Joglekar, Vishnu Prabhakar

2016-01-01

As far as the rights of consumers are concerned, the International Organization of Consumer's Union (IOCU) in 1983 has specified about the eight rights of a consumer. The Consumer Protection Act (CPA), 1986 then prescribed six "Rights of Consumers," which are protected under the act. However, these rights can be observed in the ancient Indian texts such as Brihat-trayee , Narad Smruti , and Kautilya Arthashastra ., in the form of rights given to patients. For the purpose of present study, the implemented methodology includes - (1) study of the consumer rights described by IOCU and CPA, (2) detailed review of literature for observance of replication of these consumer rights in the ancient Indian texts and (3) a comparative study of the present consumer rights with the rights of patients observed in ancient Indian texts. This study shows that the substance of consumer rights is not a recent evolution, but the foundation of these rights has been laid well beforehand in the ancient times, which were provided to the patients by medical profession as well as by the rulers. The current scenario of protection of consumer rights is the replication of this ancient practice only.

Ancient Human Parasites in Ethnic Chinese Populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeh, Hui-Yuan; Mitchell, Piers D

2016-10-01

Whilst archaeological evidence for many aspects of life in ancient China is well studied, there has been much less interest in ancient infectious diseases, such as intestinal parasites in past Chinese populations. Here, we bring together evidence from mummies, ancient latrines, and pelvic soil from burials, dating from the Neolithic Period to the Qing Dynasty, in order to better understand the health of the past inhabitants of China and the diseases endemic in the region. Seven species of intestinal parasite have been identified, namely roundworm, whipworm, Chinese liver fluke, oriental schistosome, pinworm, Taenia sp. tapeworm, and the intestinal fluke Fasciolopsis buski . It was found that in the past, roundworm, whipworm, and Chinese liver fluke appear to have been much more common than the other species. While roundworm and whipworm remained common into the late 20th century, Chinese liver fluke seems to have undergone a marked decline in its prevalence over time. The iconic transport route known as the Silk Road has been shown to have acted as a vector for the transmission of ancient diseases, highlighted by the discovery of Chinese liver fluke in a 2,000 year-old relay station in northwest China, 1,500 km outside its endemic range.

Ancient Maritime Fish-Traps of Brittany (France): A Reappraisal of the Relationship Between Human and Coastal Environment During the Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Langouët, Loïc; Daire, Marie-Yvane

2009-12-01

The present-day maritime landscape of Western France forms the geographical framework for a recent research project dedicated to the archaeological study of ancient fish-traps, combining regional-scale and site-scale investigations. Based on the compilation and exploitation of a large unpublished dataset including more than 550 sites, a preliminary synthetic study allows us to present some examples of synchronic and thematic approaches, and propose a morphological classification of the weirs. These encouraging first results open up new perspectives on fish-trap chronology closely linked to wider studies on Holocene sea-level changes.

Cultural influences on personality.

Science.gov (United States)

Triandis, Harry C; Suh, Eunkook M

2002-01-01

Ecologies shape cultures; cultures influence the development of personalities. There are both universal and culture-specific aspects of variation in personality. Some culture-specific aspects correspond to cultural syndromes such as complexity, tightness, individualism, and collectivism. A large body of literature suggests that the Big Five personality factors emerge in various cultures. However, caution is required in arguing for such universality, because most studies have not included emic (culture-specific) traits and have not studied samples that are extremely different in culture from Western samples.

Non-destructive sampling of ancient insect DNA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Philip Francis; Elias, Scott; Gilbert, Tom

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: A major challenge for ancient DNA (aDNA) studies on insect remains is that sampling procedures involve at least partial destruction of the specimens. A recent extraction protocol reveals the possibility of obtaining DNA from past insect remains without causing visual morphological...... of 77-204 base pairs (-bp) in size using species-specific and general insect primers. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The applied non-destructive DNA extraction method shows promising potential on insect museum specimens of historical age as far back as AD 1820, but less so on the ancient permafrost......-preserved insect fossil remains tested, where DNA was obtained from samples up to ca. 26,000 years old. The non-frozen sediment DNA approach appears to have great potential for recording the former presence of insect taxa not normally preserved as macrofossils and opens new frontiers in research on ancient...

Applied investigation of Moessbauer effect for the famous ancient chinese porcelains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Zhengyao; Chen Songhua; Shen Zuocheng

1996-10-01

The famous Ru porcelain, Jun porcelain and Guan porcelain of Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty are analyzed. The Moessbauer parameters of the ancient porcelains and the imitative ancient porcelains are compared. The firing techniques, coloring mechanism and microstructures of the ancient Chinese porcelains have been discussed. (7 figs., 4 tabs.)

Late Neolithic phytolith and charcoal records of human activities and vegetation change in Shijiahe culture, Tanjialing site, China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiao Hong Zhu

Full Text Available There is significant archaeological evidence marking the collapse of the Shijiahe culture in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in China during the late Neolithic Period. However, the causes for this cultural collapse remain unclear. Our sedimentary records from a 3.3 m long profile and 76 phytolith and charcoal samples from the Tanjialing archaeological sites provide records of interactions between an ancient culture and vegetation change. During the early Shijiahe culture (c, 4850-4400 cal BP, the climate was warm and humid. Fire was intensively used to clear the vegetation. In the mid-period of the Shijiahe culture (c, 4400-4200 cal BP, the climate became slightly dry-cold and this was accompanied by decreasing water, leading to settlements. From c, 4200 cal BP, severe drought eroded the economic foundation of rice-cultivation. These conditions forced people to abandon the Shijiahe ancient city to find water in other regions, leading to the collapse of the Shijiahe culture.

Ancient Chinese literature reveals pathways of eggplant domestication.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jin-Xiu; Gao, Tian-Gang; Knapp, Sandra

2008-12-01

Changes in key traits occurring during the processes of plant domestication have long been subjects of debate. Only in the case of genetic analysis or with extensive plant remains can specific sets of changes be documented. Historical details of the plant domestication processes are rare and other evidence of morphological change can be difficult to obtain, especially for those vegetables that lack a substantial body of archaeological data. Botanical records chronicled in the ancient literature of established ancient civilizations, such as that of China, are invaluable resources for the study and understanding of the process of plant domestication. Here, the considerable body of ancient Chinese literature is used to explore the domestication process that has occurred with the eggplant (Solanum melongena), an important vegetable in Old World. Information about eggplant domestication in the ancient Chinese literature was retrieved using a variety of methods. The information obtained was then sorted by taxon, examined and taxonomic identifications verified. It was found that the earliest record of the eggplant documented in ancient Chinese literature was in a work from 59 bc. As far as is known, this is the earliest reliable and accurately dated record of eggplant in cultivation. The analysis reveals that the process of domestication of the eggplant in China involved three principal aspects of fruit quality: size, shape and taste. These traits were actively and gradually selected; fruit size changed from small to large, taste changed from not palatable to what was termed at the time sweetish, and that over time, a wider variety of fruit shapes was cultivated. The results indicate that, in addition to data gleaned from archaeology and genetics, evidence as to changes in key traits occurring during the process of plant domestication and selective forces responsible for these changes can be traced through the ancient literature in some civilizations.

Notions of "Rhetoric as Epistemic" in Ancient Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Benoit, William L.

The notion that rhetoric (and to a lesser extent, argument) is epistemic is an increasingly popular one today, although it can be traced to ancient Greece. The notion holds that rhetoric, or the art of persuasion, creates and shapes knowledge. Two ancient authors--Aristophanes and Plato--provide evidence that others had notions of rhetoric as…

Beyond Positive Sciences : an Anthropological Approach to Market Analysis in North-Western Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dessein, JPG.

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Western science has often been thought of as an universally applicable, dominant and neutral knowledge system. Recently this view has been challenged by various scientists, who try to revalue the subjugated knowledge systems of local people by appreciating its characteristics. But this upgrading of endogenous knowledge often is but another example of the hegemonie position of Western science : it evaluates local situations with Western criteria, neglecting the cultural paradigms of the people involved. This article is a plea for a new multidisciplinary and intercultural research approach which takes as its foundation an understanding of the local culture and paradigms on which selected topics can be analysed, rather than a traditional disciplinary approach in which, afterwards, a foreign cultural component is being inscribed. This appeal is supported by material from a local market in North-western Ghana, where the Lobi peasants sell their harvest to the Wala traders.

Tinggalan Arkeologis di Pesisir Utara Jawa Bagian Barat dan Kaitannya dengan Perubahan Budaya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lia Nuralia

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Archaeological remains from prehistoric until the colonial period in the northern coastal areas of western Java (Karawang, Subang, Serang, is closely related to changes in the cultures of people. Some of the findings of archaeological objects, including fragments of bone, fragments of pottery, frag­ments of pottery, grave sites, ancient tombs, ancient mosques, colonial build­ings, and so forth. Entering the era of history, the coastal community vjith dis­tinctive cultural character of the coast have been in contact with the outside world or the culture of the immigrants, who have different cultures, through the channels of trade and friendship. By using methods of descriptive and inductive reasoning, based on archaeo­logical objects have been discovered, cultural change occurs due to mixing of two or more cultures (acculturation and the fusion of one culture into another culture with a voluntary one (assimilation. These cultural changes occurred in various areas of life, whether social, political, economic, and technology.. Kata Kunci: Tinggalan Arkeologis, Masyarakat pesisir, Akulturasi, Asimilasi

From symbols to written landscapes. The role of astronomy in ancient Egyptian architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giulio Magli

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Architecture of ancient Egypt is criss-crossed by a series of giant projects whose aim was to celebrate the divine nature of the Pharaohs and their rights to eternal afterlife. In many of such projects a complex interplay between idealization of symbols in hieroglyph writings and shaping of built objects and cultural landscapes can be seen. Since the afterlife destination of the Pharaohs was in the sky, astronomy plays a relevant role in understanding this interplay, as it occurs, in particular, in the Khufu project at Giza and in the planning of Akhenaten’s capital at Amarna.

Social Norms in the Ancient Athenian Courts

OpenAIRE

Lanni, Adriaan M.

2013-01-01

Ancient Athens was a remarkably peaceful and well-ordered society by both ancient and contemporary standards. Scholars typically attribute Athens’ success to internalized norms and purely informal enforcement mechanisms. This article argues that the formal Athenian court system played a vital role in maintaining order by enforcing informal norms. This peculiar approach to norm enforcement compensated for apparent weaknesses in the state system of coercion. It mitigated the effects of under-e...

Musical ensembles in Ancient Mesapotamia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krispijn, T.J.H.; Dumbrill, R.; Finkel, I.

2010-01-01

Identification of musical instruments from ancient Mesopotamia by comparing musical ensembles attested in Sumerian and Akkadian texts with depicted ensembles. Lexicographical contributions to the Sumerian and Akkadian lexicon.

Eastern and western happiness in work behavior

OpenAIRE

Jaroslava Kubátová

2017-01-01

The purpose of this article is to clarify what motivates East Asian work behavior. The research question is: How can a Western manager better understand work behavior and motivation in East Asian cultures? Knowledge about national culture, motivation and the concept of happiness are connected via deductive and comparative methods, while pointing out their new connections and relations. We argue that work motivation in East Asian cultures can be explained using the self-concept-based motivatio...

The western diet and lifestyle and diseases of civilization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Carrera-Bastos

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Pedro Carrera-Bastos1, Maelan Fontes-Villalba1, James H O’Keefe2, Staffan Lindeberg1, Loren Cordain31Center for Primary Health Care Research, Faculty of Medicine at Lund University, Malmö, Sweden; 2Mid America Heart and Vascular Institute/University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri, USA; 3Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USAAbstract: It is increasingly recognized that certain fundamental changes in diet and lifestyle that occurred after the Neolithic Revolution, and especially after the Industrial Revolution and the Modern Age, are too recent, on an evolutionary time scale, for the human genome to have completely adapted. This mismatch between our ancient physiology and the western diet and lifestyle underlies many so-called diseases of civilization, including coronary heart disease, obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, epithelial cell cancers, autoimmune disease, and osteoporosis, which are rare or virtually absent in hunter–gatherers and other non-westernized populations. It is therefore proposed that the adoption of diet and lifestyle that mimic the beneficial characteristics of the preagricultural environment is an effective strategy to reduce the risk of chronic degenerative diseases.Keywords: Paleolithic, hunter–gatherers, Agricultural Revolution, modern diet, western lifestyle and diseases

It is time to consider cultural differences in debriefing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chung, Hyun Soo; Dieckmann, Peter; Issenberg, Saul Barry

2013-01-01

Debriefing plays a critical role in facilitated reflection of simulation after the experiential component of simulation-based learning. The concept of framing and reflective learning in a debriefing session has emanated primarily from Western cultures. However, non-Western cultures have significant...... debriefing sessions. Our goal was to raise awareness of cultural differences and stimulate work to make progress in this regard....

Lifestyle and nutritional imbalances associated with Western diseases: causes and consequences of chronic systemic low-grade inflammation in an evolutionary context.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Núñez, Begoña; Pruimboom, Leo; Dijck-Brouwer, D A Janneke; Muskiet, Frits A J

2013-07-01

In this review, we focus on lifestyle changes, especially dietary habits, that are at the basis of chronic systemic low grade inflammation, insulin resistance and Western diseases. Our sensitivity to develop insulin resistance traces back to our rapid brain growth in the past 2.5 million years. An inflammatory reaction jeopardizes the high glucose needs of our brain, causing various adaptations, including insulin resistance, functional reallocation of energy-rich nutrients and changing serum lipoprotein composition. The latter aims at redistribution of lipids, modulation of the immune reaction, and active inhibition of reverse cholesterol transport for damage repair. With the advent of the agricultural and industrial revolutions, we have introduced numerous false inflammatory triggers in our lifestyle, driving us to a state of chronic systemic low grade inflammation that eventually leads to typically Western diseases via an evolutionary conserved interaction between our immune system and metabolism. The underlying triggers are an abnormal dietary composition and microbial flora, insufficient physical activity and sleep, chronic stress and environmental pollution. The disturbance of our inflammatory/anti-inflammatory balance is illustrated by dietary fatty acids and antioxidants. The current decrease in years without chronic disease is rather due to "nurture" than "nature," since less than 5% of the typically Western diseases are primary attributable to genetic factors. Resolution of the conflict between environment and our ancient genome might be the only effective manner for "healthy aging," and to achieve this we might have to return to the lifestyle of the Paleolithic era as translated to the 21st century culture. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ancient DNA Analysis Suggests Negligible Impact of the Wari Empire Expansion in Peru’s Central Coast during the Middle Horizon

Science.gov (United States)

Barreto Romero, María Inés; Flores Espinoza, Isabel; Cooper, Alan; Fehren-Schmitz, Lars

2016-01-01

The analysis of ancient human DNA from South America allows the exploration of pre-Columbian population history through time and to directly test hypotheses about cultural and demographic evolution. The Middle Horizon (650–1100 AD) represents a major transitional period in the Central Andes, which is associated with the development and expansion of ancient Andean empires such as Wari and Tiwanaku. These empires facilitated a series of interregional interactions and socio-political changes, which likely played an important role in shaping the region’s demographic and cultural profiles. We analyzed individuals from three successive pre-Columbian cultures present at the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site in Lima, Peru: Lima (Early Intermediate Period, 500–700 AD), Wari (Middle Horizon, 800–1000 AD) and Ychsma (Late Intermediate Period, 1000–1450 AD). We sequenced 34 complete mitochondrial genomes to investigate the potential genetic impact of the Wari Empire in the Central Coast of Peru. The results indicate that genetic diversity shifted only slightly through time, ruling out a complete population discontinuity or replacement driven by the Wari imperialist hegemony, at least in the region around present-day Lima. However, we caution that the very subtle genetic contribution of Wari imperialism at the particular Huaca Pucllana archaeological site might not be representative for the entire Wari territory in the Peruvian Central Coast. PMID:27248693

Dating ancient Chinese celadon porcelain by neutron activation analysis and bayesian classification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie Guoxi; Feng Songlin; Feng Xiangqian; Zhu Jihao; Yan Lingtong; Li Li

2009-01-01

Dating ancient Chinese porcelain is one of the most important and difficult problems in porcelain archaeological field. Eighteen elements in bodies of ancient celadon porcelains fired in Southern Song to Yuan period (AD 1127-1368) and Ming dynasty (AD 1368-1644), including La, Sm, U, Ce, etc., were determined by neutron activation analysis (NAA). After the outliers of experimental data were excluded and multivariate normal distribution was tested, and Bayesian classification was used for dating of 165 ancient celadon porcelain samples. The results show that 98.2% of total ancient celadon porcelain samples are classified correctly. It means that NAA and Bayesian classification are very useful for dating ancient porcelain. (authors)

Second-harmonic generation imaging of collagen in ancient bone.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, B; McIntosh, D; Fildes, T; Smith, L; Hargrave, F; Islam, M; Thompson, T; Layfield, R; Scott, D; Shaw, B; Burrell, C L; Gonzalez, S; Taylor, S

2017-12-01

Second-harmonic generation imaging (SHG) captures triple helical collagen molecules near tissue surfaces. Biomedical research routinely utilizes various imaging software packages to quantify SHG signals for collagen content and distribution estimates in modern tissue samples including bone. For the first time using SHG, samples of modern, medieval, and ice age bones were imaged to test the applicability of SHG to ancient bone from a variety of ages, settings, and taxa. Four independent techniques including Raman spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, radiocarbon dating protocols, and mass spectrometry-based protein sequencing, confirm the presence of protein, consistent with the hypothesis that SHG imaging detects ancient bone collagen. These results suggest that future studies have the potential to use SHG imaging to provide new insights into the composition of ancient bone, to characterize ancient bone disorders, to investigate collagen preservation within and between various taxa, and to monitor collagen decay regimes in different depositional environments.

Responding to Cultural Loss: Providing an Integral Indigenous Perspective of a "Kichwa Child"

Science.gov (United States)

Maigua, Yolanda Terán; Gutierrez-Gomez, Cathy

2016-01-01

As Indigenous populations around the world migrate, urbanize, and come into contact with a variety of other cultures, they risk loss of their ancient languages and cultural practices. In 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In addition to the broader human rights like employment, security, and…

Ancient ports of Kalinga

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Tripati, S.

which plied between Kalinga and south east Asian countries. Nanda Raja, is said to have attacked Kalinga with the intention of getting access to the sea for the landlocked Kingdom of Magadha (Bihar). The ancient texa Artha Sastra (3rd-4th century B...

Globalized E-Learning Cultural Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Edmundson, Andrea, Ed.

2007-01-01

"Globalized E-Learning Cultural Challenges" explores the issues educators, administrators, and instructional designers face when transferring knowledge and skills to other cultures through e-learning. Most e-learning courses have been designed in Western cultures, but the largest and fastest-growing consumer groups live in Eastern…

Brains, language and the argumentative mind in Western and Eastern societies. The fertile differences between Western-Eastern argumentative traditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Vallverdú, Jordi

2017-12-01

The philosophical differences between Western and Eastern philosophy not only derive from general cultural ideas about reality, but as Nisbet writes (2003), are also methodological, ontological, and cognitively driven. Thus, we can see that strategies of thought and theory-generation are constrained and enabled by conceptual levels, and that the existence of differences and within these levels may be pragmatically combined in fruitful ways. At this point, I remark that there is not a single way to connect biology and culture, but at least we need to admit that brains allow the existence of minds and that these create languages, which also organize the world symbolically following a long set of (sometimes interconnected) heuristics. Throughout the paper we will see how fundamental, geographically located cultural perspectives have affected reasoning strategies and discourses, determining the main Western and Eastern Traditions. At the same time, we can conclude that different traditional perspectives allow more diversity for knowledge acquisition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ancient Greek in modern language of medicine

OpenAIRE

Marković Vera

2007-01-01

In order to standardize language of medicine, it is essential to have a good command of ancient Greek and Latin. We cannot deny a huge impact of ancient Greek medicine on medical terminology. Compounds of Greek origin related to terms for organs, illnesses, inflammations, surgical procedures etc. have been listed as examples. They contain Greek prefixes and suffixes transcribed into Latin and they have been analyzed. It may be concluded that the modern language of medicine basically represent...

Making Sense of Ḥijāb and Niqāb in Contemporary Western Societies

OpenAIRE

Abdul Kabir Hussain Solihu

2009-01-01

Ḥijāb, an Islamic ethico-religious and socio-cultural symbol, is increasingly becoming visible in the Western public arena giving rise to a debate over its compatibility with dominant Western culture and values. Placing it in an argumentative genre, the paper highlights the sociological, religious and cultural rationales for the increasing visibility of the Islamic dress code among young Muslim women. It provides a discursive framework based on a cultural sociology through which ḥijāb and niq...

Chinese Cultural Implications for ERP Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mukesh Srivastava

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP system in a global environment can be fragmented due to the internal enterprise culture, which is representative of societal culture. In China, this is especially true due to the nationalistic culture of business. The way ERP systems are perceived, treated, and integrated within the business plays a critical role in the success or failure of the implementation. When a Western developed ERP system is implemented in a country where the culture differs greatly from that of the developer, implementation may require localization in order to be successful. In doing so, strategic benefits of ERP systems may be diminished. This research paper looks into the characteristics of Chinese localization by Western vendors and the implications to the Chinese enterprise. Keywords: ERP, Chinese Cultural Implications, Societal Culture, Strategy

The Image of Ancient Rome in the Cinema