Solutional cave
A solutional cave or karst cave is a cave usually formed in the soluble rock limestone. It is the most frequently occurring type of cave and it can form in other rocks, including chalk, marble, salt beds, and gypsum. Bedrock is dissolved by acid in groundwater that seeps through bedding-planes, joints. Over geological epochs these openings expand as the walls are dissolved to become caves or cave systems, the portions of a solutional cave that are below the water table or the local level of the groundwater will be flooded. The largest and most abundant solutional caves are located in limestone, Limestone caves are often adorned with calcium carbonate formations produced through slow precipitation. These include flowstones, stalagmites, soda straws, calcite rafts and these secondary mineral deposits in caves are called speleothems. Limestone dissolves under the action of rainwater and groundwater charged with H2CO3, the dissolution process produces a distinctive landform known as karst, characterized by sinkholes, and underground drainage.
Solutional caves in this landform—topography are often called karst caves, lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico is generally considered the worlds most spectacularly decorated cave. Lechuguilla and nearby Carlsbad Cavern are now believed to be examples of type of solutional cave. They were formed by H2S gas rising from below, where reservoirs of oil give off sulfurous fumes and this gas mixes with ground water and forms H2SO4. The acid dissolves the limestone from below, rather than from above, geological Society of Amer,2009 John Gunn. Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science, routledge,2 ed. edition,2004 Media related to Limestone caves at Wikimedia Commons
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate, about 10% of sedimentary rocks are limestones. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions leads to karst landscapes, most cave systems are through limestone bedrock. The first geologist to distinguish limestone from dolomite was Belsazar Hacquet in 1778, like most other sedimentary rocks, most limestone is composed of grains. Most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of organisms such as coral or foraminifera. Other carbonate grains comprising limestones are ooids, peloids and these organisms secrete shells made of aragonite or calcite, and leave these shells behind when they die. Limestone often contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert or siliceous skeletal fragment, some limestones do not consist of grains at all, and are formed completely by the chemical precipitation of calcite or aragonite, i. e. travertine.
Secondary calcite may be deposited by supersaturated meteoric waters and this produces speleothems, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Another form taken by calcite is oolitic limestone, which can be recognized by its granular appearance, the primary source of the calcite in limestone is most commonly marine organisms. Some of these organisms can construct mounds of rock known as reefs, below about 3,000 meters, water pressure and temperature conditions cause the dissolution of calcite to increase nonlinearly, so limestone typically does not form in deeper waters. Limestones may form in lacustrine and evaporite depositional environments, calcite can be dissolved or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors, including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Calcite exhibits a characteristic called retrograde solubility, in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases. Impurities will cause limestones to exhibit different colors, especially with weathered surfaces, Limestone may be crystalline, granular, or massive, depending on the method of formation.
Crystals of calcite, dolomite or barite may line small cavities in the rock, when conditions are right for precipitation, calcite forms mineral coatings that cement the existing rock grains together, or it can fill fractures. Travertine is a banded, compact variety of limestone formed along streams, particularly there are waterfalls. Calcium carbonate is deposited where evaporation of the leaves a solution supersaturated with the chemical constituents of calcite. Tufa, a porous or cellular variety of travertine, is found near waterfalls, coquina is a poorly consolidated limestone composed of pieces of coral or shells. During regional metamorphism that occurs during the building process, limestone recrystallizes into marble
Steppe
In South Africa they are referred to as Veld. The prairie is an example of a steppe, though it is not usually called such and it may be semi-desert, or covered with grass or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude. The term is used to denote the climate encountered in regions too dry to support a forest. The soil is typically of chernozem type, steppes are usually characterized by a semi-arid and continental climate. Extremes can be recorded in the summer of up to 45 °C and in winter, besides this huge difference between summer and winter, the differences between day and night are very great. In the highlands of Mongolia,30 °C can be reached during the day with sub-zero °C readings at night, the mid-latitude steppes can be summarized by hot summers and cold winters, averaging 250–510 mm of precipitation per year. Precipitation level alone is not what defines a steppe climate, potential evapotranspiration must be taken into account, the Eurasian Grass-Steppe of the temperate grasslands and shrublands had a role in the spread of the horse, the wheel, and the Indo-European languages.
The Indo-European expansion and diverse invasions of horse archer civilizations of the steppe eventually led to, the Pannonian Plain is another steppe region in eastern Europe, primarily Hungary. Another large steppe area is located in the central United States, western Canada, the shortgrass prairie steppe is the westernmost part of the Great Plains region. The Channeled Scablands in Southern British Columbia and Washington State is an example of a region in North America outside of the Great Plains. In South America, cold steppe can be found in Patagonia, relatively small steppe areas can be found in the interior of the South Island of New Zealand. In Asia, a subtropical steppe can be found in semi-arid lands that fringe the Thar Desert of the Indian subcontinent, in Australia, subtropical steppe can be found in a belt surrounding the most severe deserts of the continent and around the Musgrave Ranges. Ecology and Conservation of Steppe-land Birds by Manuel B. Morales, Santi Mañosa, Jordi Camprodón, international Symposium on Ecology and Conservation of steppe-land birds
Equidae
Equidae is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including the extant horses and zebras, and many other species known only from fossils. All extant species are in the genus Equus, Equidae belongs to the order Perissodactyla, which includes the extant tapirs and rhinoceros, and several extinct families. The term equid refers to any member of family, including any equine. The oldest known fossils assigned to Equidae date from the early Eocene,54 million years ago and they used to be assigned to the genus Hyracotherium, but the type species of that genus now is regarded to be not a member of this family. The other species have split off into different genera. These early Equidae were fox-sized animals with three toes on the feet, and four on the front feet. They were herbivorous browsers on relatively soft plants, and already adapted for running, the complexity of their brains suggest that they already were alert and intelligent animals. Later species reduced the number of toes, and developed teeth more suited for grinding up grasses, the family became relatively diverse during the Miocene, with many new species appearing.
By this time, equids were more truly horse-like, having developed the body shape of the modern animals. Many of these bore the main weight of their bodies on their central, toe, with the others becoming reduced. The sole surviving genus, had evolved by the early Pleistocene, order Perissodactyla † indicates extinct taxa
Archaeological site
Sites may range from those with few or no remains visible above ground, to buildings and other structures still in use. Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a site can vary widely, depending on the period studied and it is almost invariably difficult to delimit a site. It is sometimes taken to indicate a settlement of some sort although the archaeologist must define the limits of human activity around the settlement, any episode of deposition such as a hoard or burial can form a site as well. Development-led archaeology undertaken as cultural resources management has the disadvantage of having its sites defined by the limits of the intended development, even in this case however, in describing and interpreting the site, the archaeologist will have to look outside the boundaries of the building site. According to Jess Beck in “How Do Archaeologists find sites. ”The areas with a number of artifacts are good targets for future excavation. The most common person to have found artifacts are farmers who are plowing their fields or just cleaning them up often find archaeological artifacts, many people who are out hiking and even pilots find artifacts they usually end up reporting them to archaeologist to do further investigation.
When they find sites, they have to first record the area and if they have the money, there are many ways to find sites, one example can be through surveys. Surveys involve walking around analyzing the land looking for artifacts. ”This helps archaeologists in the future. In case there was no time, or money during the finding of the site, archaeologists can come back, archaeologist can sample randomly within a given area of land as another form of conducting surveys. Surveys are very useful, according to Jess Beck, “it can tell you where people were living at different points in the past. ”Geophysics is a branch of survey becoming more and more popular in archaeology, because it uses different types of instruments to investigate features below the ground surface. It is not as reliable, because although they can see what is under the surface of the ground it does not produce the best picture, Archaeologists have to still dig up the area in order to uncover the truth. There are two most common types of survey, which is, magnetometer and ground penetrating radar.
Magnetometry is the technique of measuring and mapping patterns of magnetism in the soil and it uses an instrument called a magnetometer which is required to measure and map traces of soil magnetism. The ground penetrating radar is a method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface and it uses electro magnetic radiation in the microwave band of the radio spectrum, and detects the reflected signals from subsurface structures. There are many tools that can be used to find artifacts. This tool is helpful to archaeologists who want to explore in a different area. They can use this tool to see what has already been discovered, with this information available, archaeologists can expand their research and add more to what has already been found. Traditionally, sites are distinguished by the presence of artifacts and features
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D. C. Opened in 1910, the museum on the National Mall was one of the first Smithsonian buildings constructed exclusively to hold the national collections and research facilities. The main building has an area of 1,500,000 square feet with 325,000 square feet of exhibition and public space. The museums collections contain over 126 million specimens of plants, fossils, rocks, human remains, the United States National Museum was founded in 1846 as part of the Smithsonian Institution. The museum was housed in the Smithsonian Institution Building, which is better known today as the Smithsonian Castle. A formal exhibit hall opened in 1858, the growing collection led to the construction of a new building, the National Museum Building. Covering a then-enormous 2.25 acres, it was built in just 15 months at a cost of $310,000, congress authorized construction of a new building on June 28,1902.
The regents began considering sites for the new building in March, the D. C. architectural firm of Hornblower & Marshall was chosen to design the structure. Testing of the soil for the foundations was set for July 1903, the Natural History Building opened its doors to the public on March 17,1910, in order to provide the Smithsonian Institution with more space for collections and research. The building was not fully completed until June 1911, the structure cost $3.5 million dollars. The Neoclassical style building was the first structure constructed on the side of the National Mall as part of the 1901 McMillan Commission plan. In addition to the Smithsonians natural history collection, it housed the American history, art. Between 1981 and 2003, the National Museum of Natural History had 11 permanent, there were six directors alone between 1990 and 2002. Turnover was high as the directors were disenchanted by low levels of funding. Robert W. Fri was named the director in 1996. One of the largest donations in Smithsonian history was made during Fris tenure, kenneth E.
Behring donated $20 million in 1997 to modernize the museum. Fri resigned in 2001 after disagreeing with Smithsonian leadership over the reorganization of the scientific research programs. J. Dennis OConnor, Provost of the Smithsonian Institution was named acting director of the museum on July 25,2001, eight months later, OConner resigned to become the vice president of research and dean of the graduate school at the University of Maryland
Gazelle
A gazelle is any of many antelope species in the genus Gazella or formerly considered to belong to it. Six species are included in two genera and Nanger, which were formerly considered subgenera, the genus Procapra has been considered a subgenus of Gazella, and its members are referred to as gazelles, though they are not dealt with in this article. Gazelles are known as swift animals, some are able to run at bursts as high as 100 km/h or run at a sustained speed of 50 km/h. Gazelles are found mostly in the deserts and savannas of Africa, but they are found in southwest and central Asia. They tend to live in herds, and eat coarse, easily digestible plants. Gazelles are rather small antelopes, most standing 60–110 cm high at the shoulder, the gazelle genera are Gazella and Nanger. The taxonomy of these genera is a one, and the classification of species and subspecies has been an unsettled issue. Currently, the genus Gazella is widely considered to contain about 10 species, four further species are extinct, the red gazelle, the Arabian gazelle, the Queen of Shebas gazelle, and the Saudi gazelle.
Most surviving gazelle species are considered threatened to varying degrees, closely related to the true gazelles are the Tibetan and Mongolian gazelles, the blackbuck of Asia, and the African springbok. One widely familiar gazelle is the African species Thomsons gazelle, which is around 60 to 80 cm in height at the shoulder and is coloured brown, the males have long, often curved, horns. Like many other species and springboks exhibit a distinctive behaviour of stotting when they are threatened by predators. Gazelle is derived from the Arabic name غزال ġazāl, the first Romance language to adopt it was Middle French, and the word entered the English language around 1600 from French. The Arab people traditionally hunted the gazelle, appreciated for its grace, it is a symbol most commonly associated in Arabic literature with female beauty. It is related that the Caliph Abd al-Malik freed a gazelle that he had captured because of her resemblance to his beloved, O likeness of Layla, for I am your friend, today, O wild deer.
Then I say, after freeing her from her fetters, You are free for the sake of Layla, the theme is found in the ancient Hebrew Song of Songs. Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or like a stag on the spice-laden mountains. The gazelles are divided into three genera and numerous species, † = extinct Fossils of genus Gazella are found in Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits of Eurasia and Africa. The tiny Gazella borbonica is one of the earliest European gazelles, characterized by its small size, gazelles disappeared from Europe at the start of Ice Age, but they survived in Africa and Middle East
Hip bone
The hip bone is a large flat bone, constricted in the center and expanded above and below. In some vertebrates it is composed of three parts, the ilium and the pubis, the two hip bones join at the pubic symphysis and together with the sacrum and coccyx comprise the skeletal component of the pelvis – the pelvic girdle which surrounds the pelvic cavity. They are connected to the sacrum, which is part of the axial skeleton, each hip bone is connected to the corresponding femur through the large ball and socket joint of the hip. The hip bone is formed by three parts, ilium and pubis, at birth, these three components are separated by hyaline cartilage. They join each other in a Y-shaped portion of cartilage in the acetabulum, by the end of puberty the three regions will have fused together, and by the age of 25 they will have ossified. The two hip bones join each other at the pubic symphysis, together with the sacrum and coccyx, the hip bones form the pelvis. Ilium is the uppermost and largest region and it makes up two fifths of the acetabulum.
The body of ilium forms the joint with the sacrum. The edge of the wing of ilium forms the S-shaped iliac crest which is located through the skin. The iliac crest shows clear marks of the attachment of the three abdominal wall muscles, the ischium forms the lower and back part of the hip bone and is located below the ilium and behind the pubis. The ischium is the strongest of the three regions that form the hip bone and it is divisible into three portions, the body, the superior ramus, and the inferior ramus. The body forms approximately one-third of the acetabulum, the ischium forms a large swelling, the tuberosity of the ischium, referred to colloqially as the sit bone. When sitting, the weight is placed upon the ischial tuberosity. The gluteus maximus covers it in the posture, but leaves it free in the seated position. The pubic region or pubis is the ventral and anterior of the three forming the hip bone. It is divisible into a body, a superior ramus, the body forms one-fifth of the acetabulum.
The body forms the wide, strong and flat portion of the bone which unites with the other pubic bone in the pubic symphysis. The fibrocartilaginous pad which lies between the surfaces of the coxal bones, that secures the pubic symphysis, is called the interpubic disc
Mousterian
Mousterian is a name given by archaeologists to a style of predominantly flint tools associated primarily with Neanderthals. They date to the Middle Paleolithic, the part of the European Old Stone Age. The culture was named after the site of Le Moustier. Similar flintwork has been all over unglaciated Europe and the Near East. Handaxes and points constitute the industry, sometimes a Levallois technique or another prepared-core technique was employed in making the flint flakes, Mousterian tools that have been found in Europe were made by Neanderthals and date from around 160,000 BP and 40,000 BP. In North Africa and the Near East, Mouseterian tools were produced by anatomically modern humans. In the Levant, for example, assemblages produced by Neanderthals are indistinguishable from those made by Qafzeh type modern humans, possible variants are Denticulate, Charentian named after the Charente region and the Acheulean Tradition - Type-A and Type-B. The industry continued alongside the new Châtelperronian industry during the 45, Mousterian artifacts have been found in Haua Fteah in Cyrenaica and other sites in Northwest Africa.
Contained within a cave in the Syria region, along with a Neanderthaloid skeleton, located in the Haibak valley of Afghanistan. Zagros and Central Iran The archaeological site of Atapuerca, gorhams Cave in Gibraltar contains Mousterian objects. Uzbekistan has sites of Mousterian culture, including Teshik-Tash, siberia has many sites with Mousterian style implements, eg Denisova Cave. Neanderthal extinction hypotheses Synoptic table of the old world prehistoric cultures Levallois technique Neanderthals’ Last Stand Is Traced — New York Times article
Bovidae
The Bovidae are the biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes bison, African buffalo, water buffalo, gazelles, goats and domestic cattle. A member of family is called a bovid. With 143 extant species and 300 known extinct species, the family Bovidae consists of eight major subfamilies apart from the disputed Peleinae and Pantholopinae, the family evolved 20 million years ago, in the early Miocene. The bovids show great variation in size and pelage colouration, excepting some domesticated forms, all male bovids have two or more horns, and in many species females possess horns, too. Most bovids bear 30 to 32 teeth, social activity and feeding usually peak during dawn and dusk. Bovids typically rest before dawn, during midday, and after dark and they have various methods of social organisation and social behaviour, which are classified into solitary and gregarious behaviour. Bovids use different forms of vocal and tangible communication, most species alternately feed and ruminate throughout the day.
While small bovids forage in dense and closed habitat, larger species feed on vegetation in open grasslands. Mature bovids mate at least once a year and smaller species may even mate twice, the greatest diversities of bovids occur in Africa. The maximum concentration of species is in the savannas of eastern Africa, other bovid species occur in Europe and North America. Bovidae includes three of the five domesticated mammals whose use has spread outside their original ranges, namely cattle, dairy products such as milk and cheese are manufactured largely from domestic cattle. Bovids provide leather and wool, the name Bovidae was given by the British zoologist John Edward Gray in 1821. The word Bovidae is the combination of the prefix bov- and the suffix -idae, the family Bovidae is placed in the order Artiodactyla. It includes 143 extant species, accounting for nearly 55% of the ungulates, molecular studies have supported monophyly in the family Bovidae. The number of subfamilies in Bovidae is disputed, with suggestions of as many as ten, in addition, three extinct subfamilies are known, Hypsodontinae and the subfamily Tethytraginae, which contains Tethytragus.
In 1992, Alan W. Boodonts have somewhat primitive teeth, resembling those of oxen, a controversy exists about the recognition of Peleinae and Patholopinae, comprising the genera Pelea and Pantholops respectively, as subfamilies. Pantholops, earlier classified in the Antilopinae, was placed in its own subfamily. However and morphological analysis supports the inclusion of Pantholops in Caprinae, below is a cladogram based on Gatesy et al. and Gentry et al
Homo sapiens
Homo sapiens is the binomial nomenclature for the only extant human species. Homo is the genus, which includes Neanderthals and many other extinct species of hominid. Modern humans are the subspecies Homo sapiens sapiens, which differentiates them from what has been argued to be their direct ancestor, the binomial name Homo sapiens was coined by Carl Linnaeus. The Latin noun homō means man, human being, subspecies of H. sapiens include Homo sapiens idaltu and the only extant subspecies, Homo sapiens sapiens. Some sources show Neanderthals as a subspecies, the discovered specimens of the Homo rhodesiensis species have been classified by some as a subspecies, but these last two subspecies classifications are not widely accepted by scientists. Traditionally, there are two competing views in paleoanthropology about the origin of H. sapiens, the recent African origin, since 2010, genetic research has led to the emergence of an intermediate position, characterised by mostly recent African origin plus limited admixture with archaic humans.
The recent African origin of humans is the mainstream model that describes the origin. The theory is called the Out-of-Africa model in the press, and academically the recent single-origin hypothesis, Replacement Hypothesis. The hypothesis that humans have a single origin was published in Charles Darwins Descent of Man, the concept was speculative until the 1980s, when it was corroborated by a study of present-day mitochondrial DNA, combined with evidence based on physical anthropology of archaic specimens. The recent single origin of humans in East Africa is the near-consensus position held within the scientific community. However, recent sequencing of the full Neanderthal genome suggests Neanderthals, the authors of the study suggest that their findings are consistent with Neanderthal admixture of up to 4% in some populations. But the study suggests that there may be other reasons why humans. That study however does not explain why only a fraction of humans have Neanderthal DNA. The multiregional origin model provides an explanation for the pattern of evolution proposed by Milford H.
Wolpoff in 1988. Scientific study of evolution is concerned, with the development of the genus Homo. Modern humans are defined as the Homo sapiens species, of which the extant subspecies is known as Homo sapiens sapiens. Homo sapiens idaltu, the known subspecies, is now extinct. Similarly, the specimens of the Homo rhodesiensis species have been classified by some as a subspecies
Rabat Archaeological Museum
Rabat Archaeological Museum is an archaeological museum in Rabat, Morocco. Opened in 1932, it contains the most extensive collection of artifacts found in Morocco. This includes human remains from the middle Palaeolithic period to the Neolithic, a further find in 1957 saw the museum expand considerably, after which it became a National Museum and it has housed the National Museum collections since 1986. On the ground floor of the museum is a collection of stone artifacts from prehistoric cultures. On display are a number of tools, axes, items of pottery and sarcophagi and polished stones, the floor has a number of tomb fragments and rock carvings. The museum contains the oldest human remains found in Morocco, the Neolithic culture of Morocco, based on agriculture and livestock and evolving technologies and rock art, has been found in the caves in the region of Tangier and Tetouan. A number of axes and swords have been uncovered which are on display, the ground floor of the museum has space for temporary exhibitions and has a reconstruction of a mosaic found in Volubilis on the floor and a marble statue of Ptolemy, dating back to 25-40 AD.
A map in the lobby illustrates the archaeological sites discovered in Morocco. The patio section has some of the best inscriptions in Morocco, such as the tombstone of Nkhila, the stele of Abu Yacoub Yusuf comes from Chellah. The garden contains a collection of stone steles, bases of columns and statues, altars, sundials. The Pre-Islamic collection of the museum is derived from sites that include Volubilis, Thamusida, there are the remnants of terracotta piping used in Roman public baths in Morocco. The Lustral Ephebe is on display, discovered in Volubilis in 1929, as is the bust of Juba II dating back to 25 BC, the Dog of Volubilis was found in 1916, dating back to Hadrian in the early 2nd century. The museum has a number of marble statues from Roman times, notably the Head of a Young Berber from Augustuss reign, the Sleeping Silenus. Numerous figures of Roman gods are on display including Venus and Bacchus, the museum has an extensive collection found at the site of Sala-Chellah. This was a Mauretanian and Roman town, which flourished up to the 4th century, the museum houses an extensive collection of coins and ceramics from the early-to-middle Islamic period, including pottery from Sijilmassa and a dish from Belyounech dating to the 14th century.
Moroccan Ministry of Culture Maroc. net Flickr images
