1.
Menhir
–
A menhir, standing stone, orthostat, lith or masseba/matseva is a large upright standing stone. Menhirs may be found solely as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones and their size can vary considerably, but their shape is generally uneven and squared, often tapering towards the top. Menhirs are widely distributed across Europe, Africa and Asia, however, they are most numerous in Western Europe, in particular in Ireland, Great Britain and Brittany. There are about 50,000 megaliths in these areas, while there are 1,200 menhirs in northwest France alone, standing stones are usually difficult to date, but pottery, and/or pottery shards found underneath some in Atlantic Europe connects them with the Beaker people. They were constructed during different periods across pre-history as part of a larger megalithic culture that flourished in Europe. Some menhirs have been erected next to buildings that often have an early or current religious significance, one example is the South Zeal Menhir in Devon, which formed the basis for a 12th-century monastery built by lay monks. The monastery later became the Oxenham Arms hotel, at South Zeal, where menhirs appear in groups, often in a circular, oval, henge or horseshoe formation, they are sometimes called megalithic monuments. These are sites of ancient religious ceremonies, sometimes containing burial chambers, the exact function of menhirs has provoked more debate than practically any other issue in European pre-history. Until the nineteenth century, antiquarians did not have knowledge of prehistory. The developments of radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology have done much to knowledge in this area. The word menhir was adopted from French by 19th-century archaeologists and it is a combination of two words of the Breton language, maen and hir. In modern Welsh, they are described as maen hir, or long stone, in modern Breton, the word peulvan is used, with peul meaning stake or post and van which is a soft mutation of the word maen which means stone. Almost nothing is known of the organization or religious beliefs of the people who erected the menhirs. There is not even any trace of these language, however we do know that they buried their dead and had the skills to grow cereal, farm and make pottery, stone tools. Until recently, menhirs were associated with the Beaker people, who inhabited Europe during the European late Neolithic and early Bronze Age — later third millennium BC, ca.2800 –1800 BC. However, recent research into the age of megaliths in Brittany strongly suggests a far older origin, many menhirs are engraved with megalithic art. This often turned them into anthropomorphic stelae, although images of such as stone axes, ploughs, shepherd crooks. With the exception of the axe, none of these motifs are definite
Menhir
–
Large menhir located between Millstreet and Ballinagree,
County Cork, Ireland.
Menhir
–
The Géant du Manio, a menhir in
Carnac, Brittany.
Menhir
–
Frostatinget bautasten
Menhir
–
Punchestown Longstone, Ireland
2.
History of Sardinia
–
Archaeological evidence of prehistoric human settlement on the island of Sardinia is present in the form of nuraghes and others prehistoric monuments, which dot the land. The recorded history of Sardinia begins with its contacts with the people who sought to dominate western Mediterranean trade in Classical Antiquity, Phoenicians, Punics. Initially under the political and economic alliance with the Phoenician cities, it was conquered by Carthage in the late 6th century BC. The island was included for centuries in the Roman province of Corsica et Sardinia, included in 3rd and this led to the birth of four kingdoms called Giudicati in the 8th through 10th centuries. The Kingdom was to last until 1718, when it was ceded to the Piedmontese House of Savoy, later, in 1861, the oldest trace in Sardinia of the anthropomorphic prehistoric primate called Oreopithecus bambolii is dated to 8.5 million years ago. In 1996 a hominid finger bone, dated up to 250.000 BC, was found in a cave in the Logudoro region. Modern humans appeared in the island during the Upper Paleolithic, a phalanx dated to 18000 BC had been found in the Corbeddu cave, mesolithic human remains had been discovered at Su Coloru cave of Laerru but also in the south. Already in the Stone Age, Monte Arci played an important role, the old volcano was one of the central places where obsidian was found and worked for cutting tools and arrowheads. Even now the volcanic glass can be found on the sides of the mountain, the Neolithic began in Sardinia in the 6th millennium BC with the Cardial culture. The dolmens culture, around the end of the 3rd millennium BC, prehistoric and Pre-nuragic monuments and constructions that characterise the Sardinian landscapes are the Domus de Janas, the menhir and Statue menhir and the dolmens. Archeological cultures of Sardinia in the period, Bronze Age Sardinia is characterised by stone structures called nuraghes. The most famous is the complex of Barumini in the province of Medio Campidano, the nuraghes were mainly built in the period from about 1800 to 1200 BC, though many were used until the Roman period. Characteristics of this period are also the holy well temples, the megara temples, the Nuragics also produced a vast collection of bronze statuettes and the so-called giants of Monte Prama, perhaps the first anthropomorphic statues of Europe. It is known that the Sardinians had contact with the Myceneans, contact with powerful cities of Crete, such as Kydonia, is clear from pottery recovered in archaeological excavations in Sardinia. The name Sardinia could result from that of Sardus, a hero of the nuragic pantheon. The majority of the inhabitants in these cities were of indigenous nuragic stock while the Phoenician element was, although culturally predominant, the Phoenicians came originally from what is now Lebanon and founded a vast trading network in the Mediterranean. Sardinia had a position because it was central in the Western Mediterranean between Carthage, Spain, the river Rhône and the Etruscan civilization area. The mining area of the Iglesiente was important for the metals lead, after the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians took over control in this part of the Mediterranean, around 510 BC, after that a first attempt of conquest of the island in 540 BC ends in failure
History of Sardinia
–
Statue menhir from
Laconi
History of Sardinia
–
Prehistoric temple of
Monte d'Accoddi, one of the
oldest buildings in the world.
History of Sardinia
–
Dolmen of
Mores dated to the 3rd millennium BC
History of Sardinia
–
Nuraghe Losa
3.
Nuragic civilization
–
The Nuragic civilization, born and developed in Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, lasted from the Bronze Age to the 2nd century AD. The civilizations name derives from its most characteristic monument, the nuraghe, today some 7,000 nuraghes dot the Sardinian landscape. No written records of civilization have been discovered. The only written information that we have comes from literature of the Greeks and Romans. In the Stone Age the island was inhabited by people who had arrived there in the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages from several parts of Europe, the most ancient settlements have been discovered both in central Sardinia and Anglona. Later several cultures developed on the island, such as the Ozieri culture, the economy was based on agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing and trading with the mainland. With the diffusion of metallurgy, silver and copper objects and weapons also appeared on the island, according to some scholars, the similarity between this structure and those found in Mesopotamia are due to cultural influxes coming from the Eastern Mediterranean. The altar of Monte dAccoddi fell out of use starting from c.2000 BC, when the Beaker culture, the beakers appeared in Sardinia from two different geographical areas, firstly from Spain and southern France and then from Central Europe, through the Italian Peninsula. The Bonnanaro culture was the last evolution of the Beaker culture in Sardinia and these two cultures shared common features in the material culture such as pottery with axe-shaped handles. These influences may have spread to Sardinia via Corsica, where they absorbed new architectural techniques that were widespread on the island. New peoples coming from the mainland arrived on the island at time, bringing with them new cults, new technologies and new ways of life. The widespread diffusion of bronze brought numerous improvements to the used in agriculture, hunting. From this period dates the construction of the so-called proto-nuraghe, a structure that marks the first phase of the Nuragic Age. There has long been controversy among scholars, in ancient times, Greek historians and geographers tried to solve the mystery of the nuraghe and their builders. They described the presence of fabulous edifices, called daidaleia, from the name of Daedalus, perhaps for protection reasons, new towers were added to the original ones, connected by walls provided with slits forming a complex nuraghe. It has been suggested some of the current Sardinian villages trace their origin directly from Nuragic ones. The usually cited tin sources and trade in ancient times are those in the Iberian Peninsula or from Cornwall, the late Bronze Age saw a vast migration of the so-called Sea Peoples, described in ancient Egyptian sources. They destroyed Mycenaean and Hittite sites and also attacked Egypt, according to Giovanni Ugas the Sherden, one of the most important tribes of the sea peoples, are to be identified with the Nuragic Sardinians
Nuragic civilization
–
Su Nuraxi of
Barumini, included in the
UNESCO list of
World Heritage Sites since 1997
Nuragic civilization
–
Nuraghe Ruju in
Province of Sassari
Nuragic civilization
–
Domus de janas in
Lotzorai
Nuragic civilization
–
Pranu Mutteddu’s Necropolis (
Goni)
4.
Giudicati
–
The giudicati were independent states that took power in Sardinia between the ninth and fifteenth centuries. They were sovereign states with summa potestas, each ruled by a king called judge, after a relatively brief Vandal occupation, from 535 until the eighth century, Sardinia was a province of the Byzantine Empire. After 705, with the expansion of Islam, Muslim pirates from North Africa began to raid the island. In 815, Sardinian ambassadors required military assistance from the Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Pious, in 807, 810-812, and 821-822 the Arabs of Spain and North Africa tried to invade the island but the Sardinians resisted several attacks. This defence was so effective that in a letter in 851, Pope Leo IV asked the Iudex Provinciae of Sardinia, based in Caralis, the almost total absence of historical sources does not allow certainty surrounding the date of the passage from Byzantine central authority to self-government in Sardinia. It is believed that at point the Iudex Provinciae, perhaps the praeses. Each of the four States had fortified borders to protect their political and commercial interests, as well their own laws, administration, the central government and the entire Judiciary were ruled substantially by the judge. The king did not have possession of the land nor was he the repository of sovereignty since this was held by the Corona de Logu. They appointed the ruler and attributed the power to him. Then the judex was crowned with a hereditary system following the direct male line and, only in the alternative. The judge ruled on the basis of a covenant with the people, the judge was not an absolute ruler of feudal tradition, at least in form, he could not declare war or sign a peace treaty without the consent of the Corona de Logu. However, that was composed primarily of his aristocracys relatives and, therefore, the succession to the throne was dynastic but in some case there was the possibility of election by the Corona De Logu. In the government of the territory, the Judge was assisted by the Chancellery, the territory of various giudicati was divided into curadorias, administrative districts of varying sizes formed by urban and rural villages, dependent on a capital which housed the curadore. These administrators, aided especially by jurados and a council the Corona de curatoria, represented the judicial authority locally and tended to the public property of the Crown. The curadore appointed for each village was part of the curadorias a majore de Bidda with administrative and judicial powers, the Sardinian giudical armies were composed of troops made up of soldiers and free citizens, subject to periodic rotation. In an emergency forced conscription was used, the elite corps was made up of so-called bujakesos, chosen riders who served under the command of the janna de Majore, the commander in charge of the security of the sovereign. The main armaments were the sword, chain mail, the shield, the helmet, and the birrudu, a similar to the ancient verutum. The militias of the ground and the infantry used a version of this same weapon
Giudicati
–
Arms of the giudicato of Logudoro
Giudicati
–
The Giudicati of Sardinia.
Giudicati
–
Arms of the giudicato of Arborea
Giudicati
–
Tower of
Marianus II of Arborea at
Oristano.
5.
Kingdom of Sardinia
–
The Kingdom of Sardinia was a state in Southern Europe which existed from the early 14th until the mid-19th century. It was the state of todays Italy. When it was acquired by the Duke of Savoy in 1720, however, the Savoyards united it with their possessions on the Italian mainland and, by the time of the Crimean War in 1853, had built the resulting kingdom into a strong power. The formal name of the entire Savoyard state was the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia and its final capital was Turin, the capital of Savoy since the Middle Ages. Beginning in 1324, James and his successors conquered the island of Sardinia, in 1420 the last competing claim to the island was bought out. After the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile, Sardinia became a part of the burgeoning Spanish Empire, in 1720 it was ceded by the Habsburg and Bourbon claimants to the Spanish throne to Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy. While in theory the traditional capital of the island of Sardinia and seat of its viceroys was Cagliari, the Congress of Vienna, which restructured Europe after Napoleons defeat, returned to Savoy its mainland possessions and augmented them with Liguria, taken from the Republic of Genoa. In 1847–48, in a fusion, the various Savoyard states were unified under one legal system, with the capital in Turin, and granted a constitution. There followed the annexation of Lombardy, the central Italian states and the Two Sicilies, Venetia, in 238 BC Sardinia became, along with Corsica, a province of the Roman Empire. The Romans ruled the island until the middle of the 5th century, when it was occupied by the Vandals, in 534 AD it was reconquered by the Romans, but now from the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantium. It remained a Byzantine province until the Arab conquest of Sicily in the 9th century, after that, communications with Constantinople became very difficult, and powerful families of the island assumed control of the land. Starting from 705–706, Saracens from north Africa harassed the population of the coastal cities, information about the Sardinian political situation in the following centuries is scarce. There is a record of another massive Saracen sea attack in 1015–16 from the Balearics, the Saracen attempt to invade the island was stopped by the Judicatus with the support of the fleets of the maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa, free cities of the Holy Roman Empire. Pope Benedict VIII also requested aid from the republics of Pisa. Even the title of Judices was a Byzantine reminder of the Greek church and state, of these sovereigns only two names are known, Turcoturiu and Salusiu, who probably ruled in the 10th century. The Archons still wrote in Greek or Latin, but one of the first documents of the Judex of Cagliari, their successor, was written in romance Sardinian language. The realm was divided into four kingdoms, the Judicati, perfectly organized as was the previous realm, but was now under the influence of the Pope. That was the cause of leading to a long war between the Judices, who regarded themselves as kings fighting against rebellious nobles
Kingdom of Sardinia
–
A map of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1856, after the fusion of all its provinces into a single jurisdiction
Kingdom of Sardinia
–
The final flag used by the kingdom under the "
Perfect Fusion " (1848–1861)
Kingdom of Sardinia
–
Flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia in the middle of the 16th century
Kingdom of Sardinia
–
Kingdom of Sardinia 16th-century map
6.
Sardinia
–
Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and an autonomous region of Italy. It is located in the Western Mediterranean, just south of the French island of Corsica, the regions official name is Regione Autonoma della Sardegna / Regione Autònoma de Sardigna, and its capital and largest city is Cagliari. It is divided into four provinces and a metropolitan city and its indigenous language and the other minority languages spoken by the Sardinians enjoy equal dignity with Italian under regional law. The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *srd-, later romanised as sardus and it makes its first appearance on the Nora Stone, where the word Šrdn testifies to the names existence when the Phoenician merchants first arrived. According to Timaeus, one of Platos dialogues, Sardinia and its people as well might have named after Sardò. There has also been speculation that identifies the ancient Nuragic Sards with the Sherden, in Classical antiquity, Sardinia was called Ichnusa, Σανδάλιον Sandal, Sardinia and Sardó. Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 24,100 square kilometres and it is situated between 38°51 and 41°18 latitude north and 8°8 and 9°50 east longitude. To the west of Sardinia is the Sea of Sardinia, a unit of the Mediterranean Sea, to Sardinias east is the Tyrrhenian Sea, the nearest land masses are the island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia, the Balearic Islands, and Provence. The Tyrrhenian Sea portion of the Mediterranean Sea is directly to the east of Sardinia between the Sardinian east coast and the west coast of the Italian mainland peninsula, the Strait of Bonifacio is directly north of Sardinia and separates Sardinia from the French island of Corsica. The island has an ancient geoformation and, unlike Sicily and mainland Italy, is not earthquake-prone and its rocks date in fact from the Palaeozoic Era. Due to long erosion processes, the highlands, formed of granite, schist, trachyte, basalt, sandstone and dolomite limestone. The highest peak is Punta La Marmora, part of the Gennargentu Ranges in the centre of the island. The islands ranges and plateaux are separated by wide valleys and flatlands. Sardinia has few rivers, the largest being the Tirso,151 km long, which flows into the Sea of Sardinia, the Coghinas. There are 54 artificial lakes and dams that supply water and electricity, the main ones are Lake Omodeo and Lake Coghinas. The only natural lake is Lago di Baratz. A number of large, shallow, salt-water lagoons and pools are located along the 1,850 km of the coastline, the climate of the island is variable from area to area, due to several factors including the extension in latitude and the elevation. During the year there is a concentration of rainfall in the winter and autumn, some heavy showers in the spring
Sardinia
–
Cala Goloritzé,
Baunei
Sardinia
–
Sardinia Sardegna (
Italian) Sardìnnia (
Sardinian) Sardenya (
Catalan)
Sardinia
–
View of
Gennargentu, the highest massif of Sardinia
Sardinia
–
Lake Omodeo, the largest reservoir in Italy
7.
Paleolithic
–
The Paleolithic is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools and covers roughly 95% of human technological prehistory. It extends from the earliest known use of tools, probably by Homo habilis initially,2.6 million years ago. The Paleolithic era is followed by the Mesolithic, the date of the Paleolithic–Mesolithic boundary may vary by locality as much as several thousand years. During the Paleolithic period, humans grouped together in small societies such as bands, the Paleolithic is characterized by the use of knapped stone tools, although at the time humans also used wood and bone tools. Other organic commodities were adapted for use as tools, including leather and vegetable fibers, however, due to their nature, surviving artifacts of the Paleolithic era are known as paleoliths. About 50,000 years ago, there was a increase in the diversity of artifacts. For the first time in Africa, bone artifacts and the first art appear in the archaeological record, the first evidence of human fishing is also noted, from artifacts in places such as Blombos cave in South Africa. The new technology generated an explosion of modern humans which is believed to have led to the extinction of the Neanderthals. Humankind gradually evolved from members of the genus Homo—such as Homo habilis. The climate during the Paleolithic consisted of a set of glacial and interglacial periods in which the climate periodically fluctuated between warm and cool temperatures, by c. 50,000 – c. 40,000 BP, the first humans set foot in Australia. By c. 45,000 BP, humans lived at 61°N latitude in Europe, by c. 30,000 BP, Japan was reached, and by c. 27,000 BP humans were present in Siberia, above the Arctic Circle. At the end of the Upper Paleolithic, a group of humans crossed Beringia, the term Paleolithic was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. It derives from Greek, παλαιός, palaios, old, and λίθος, lithos, stone, human evolution is the part of biological evolution concerning the emergence of anatomically modern humans as a distinct species. The Paleolithic Period coincides almost exactly with the Pleistocene epoch of geologic time and this epoch experienced important geographic and climatic changes that affected human societies. During the preceding Pliocene, continents had continued to drift from possibly as far as 250 km from their present locations to positions only 70 km from their current location. South America became linked to North America through the Isthmus of Panama, most of Central America formed during the Pliocene to connect the continents of North and South America, allowing fauna from these continents to leave their native habitats and colonize new areas. Africas collision with Asia created the Mediterranean Sea, cutting off the remnants of the Tethys Ocean, climates during the Pliocene became cooler and drier, and seasonal, similar to modern climates. The formation of an Arctic ice cap around 3 million years ago is signaled by a shift in oxygen isotope ratios and ice-rafted cobbles in the North Atlantic
Paleolithic
–
This
cranium, of
Homo heidelbergensis, a
Lower Paleolithic predecessor to
Homo neanderthalensis and possibly
Homo sapiens, dates to sometime between 500,000 and 400,000 BP.
Paleolithic
–
The Paleolithic climate consisted of a set of glacial and interglacial periods.
Paleolithic
–
Many great mammals such as
woolly mammoths,
woolly rhinoceros, and
cave lions inhabited places like Siberia during the Pleistocene.
Paleolithic
–
Paleoindians hunting a
glyptodon. Glyptodons were hunted to extinction within two millennia after humans' arrival to South America.
8.
Bronze age
–
The Bronze Age is a historical period characterized by the use of bronze, proto-writing, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the principal period of the three-age Stone-Bronze-Iron system, as proposed in modern times by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen. An ancient civilization is defined to be in the Bronze Age either by smelting its own copper and alloying with tin, arsenic, or other metals, or by trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere. Copper-tin ores are rare, as reflected in the fact there were no tin bronzes in Western Asia before trading in bronze began in the third millennium BC. Worldwide, the Bronze Age generally followed the Neolithic period, with the Chalcolithic serving as a transition, although the Iron Age generally followed the Bronze Age, in some areas, the Iron Age intruded directly on the Neolithic. Bronze Age cultures differed in their development of the first writing, according to archaeological evidence, cultures in Mesopotamia and Egypt developed the earliest viable writing systems. The overall period is characterized by use of bronze, though the place and time of the introduction. Human-made tin bronze technology requires set production techniques, tin must be mined and smelted separately, then added to molten copper to make bronze alloy. The Bronze Age was a time of use of metals. The dating of the foil has been disputed, the Bronze Age in the ancient Near East began with the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BC. Societies in the region laid the foundations for astronomy and mathematics, the usual tripartite division into an Early, Middle and Late Bronze Age is not used. Instead, a division based on art-historical and historical characteristics is more common. The cities of the Ancient Near East housed several tens of thousands of people, ur in the Middle Bronze Age and Babylon in the Late Bronze Age similarly had large populations. The earliest mention of Babylonia appears on a tablet from the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 23rd century BC, the Amorite dynasty established the city-state of Babylon in the 19th century BC. Over 100 years later, it took over the other city-states. Babylonia adopted the written Semitic Akkadian language for official use, by that time, the Sumerian language was no longer spoken, but was still in religious use. Elam was an ancient civilization located to the east of Mesopotamia, in the Old Elamite period, Elam consisted of kingdoms on the Iranian plateau, centered in Anshan, and from the mid-2nd millennium BC, it was centered in Susa in the Khuzestan lowlands. Its culture played a role in the Gutian Empire and especially during the Achaemenid dynasty that succeeded it
Bronze age
–
Chalcolithic copper mine in
Timna Valley,
Negev Desert,
Israel.
Bronze age
–
Diffusion of metallurgy in
Europe and
Asia Minor. The darkest areas are the oldest.
Bronze age
–
A
Shang Dynasty two-handled bronze gefuding gui (1600–1046 BC).
Bronze age
–
Spring and Autumn Period pu bronze vessel with interlaced
dragon design (722–481 BC)
9.
Hominid
–
Several revisions in classifying the great apes have caused the use of the term hominid to vary over time. Its original meaning referred only to humans and their closest non-extant relatives and that restrictive meaning has now been largely assumed by the term hominin, which comprises all members of the human clade after the split from the chimpanzees. The current, 21st-century meaning of hominid includes all the great apes including humans, the most recent common ancestor of all Hominidae lived roughly 14 million years ago, when the ancestors of the orangutans speciated from the ancestral line of the other three genera. Those ancestors of the family Hominidae had already speciated from the family Hylobatidae, in the early Miocene, about 22 million years ago, there were many species of arboreally adapted primitive catarrhines from East Africa, the variety suggests a long history of prior diversification. Fossils at 20 million years ago include fragments attributed to Victoriapithecus, the most recent of these far-flung Miocene apes is Oreopithecus, from the fossil-rich coal beds in northern Italy and dated to 9 million years ago. Species close to the last common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees and humans may be represented by Nakalipithecus fossils found in Kenya and Ouranopithecus found in Greece. Molecular evidence suggests that between 8 and 4 million years ago, first the gorillas, and then the split off from the line leading to the humans. Human DNA is approximately 98. 4% identical to that of chimpanzees when comparing single nucleotide polymorphisms, the earliest fossils argued by some to belong to the human lineage are Sahelanthropus tchadensis and Orrorin tugenensis, followed by Ardipithecus, with species Ar. kadabba and Ar. ramidus. The classification of the apes has been revised several times in the last few decades. The original meaning of the referred to only humans and their closest relatives—what is now the modern meaning of the term hominin. And the meaning of the taxon Hominidae changed gradually, leading to a different usage of hominid that today all the great apes including humans. A hominid is a member of the family Hominidae, the apes, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees. A hominine is a member of the subfamily Homininae, gorillas, chimpanzees, a hominin is a member of the tribe Hominini, Chimpanzees and humans. A homininan is a member of the subtribe Hominina of the tribe Hominini, a human is a member of the genus Homo, of which Homo sapiens is the only extant species, and within that Homo sapiens sapiens is the only surviving subspecies. For each clade it is indicated approximately when newer extant clades emerged, some texts will refer to Homonini as the Hominina branch. Many scientists, including paleoanthropologists, continue to use the term hominid to mean humans, as mentioned, Hominidae was originally the name given to the family of humans and their close relatives, with the other great apes all being placed in a separate family, the Pongidae. However, that eventually made Pongidae paraphyletic because at least one great ape species proved to be more closely related to humans than to other great apes. Most taxonomists today encourage monophyletic groups—this would require, in this case, thus, many biologists now assign Pongo to the family Hominidae
Hominid
Hominid
–
Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii)
Hominid
–
A reconstruction of a female
Australopithecus afarensis (
National Museum of Natural History)
Hominid
–
Humans are one of the four
extant hominid genera.
10.
Lower Paleolithic
–
The Lower Paleolithic is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3, the Middle Paleolithic followed the Lower Paleolithic and recorded the appearance of the more advanced prepared-core tool-making technologies such as the Mousterian. Whether the earliest control of fire by hominins dates to the Lower or to the Middle Paleolithic remains an open question. The Lower Paleolithic began with the appearance of the oldest stone tools in the world, roughly 3.3 million ago in eastern Africa, the Gelasian, some 2.5 million years ago, saw the appearance of the Homo genus, possibly developing from australopithecine forebears. Homo habilis is assumed to have lived primarily on scavenging, using tools to cleave meat off carrion or to break bones to extract the marrow, decreasing oceanic evaporation produced a drier climate and the expansion of the savannah at the expense of forests. Reduced availability of fruits stimulated some proto-australopithecines to search out new food sources found in the drier savannah ecology, Homo erectus appeared by about 1.8 million years ago, via the transitional variety Homo ergaster. Homo erectus moved from scavenging to hunting, developing the hunting-gathering lifestyle that would remain dominant throughout the Paleolithic into the Mesolithic, Homo erectus migrated out of Africa and dispersed throughout Eurasia. Stone tools in Malaysia have been dated to be 1.83 million years old, the Peking Man fossil, discovered in 1929, is roughly 700,000 years old. In Europe, the Olduwan tradition split into two parallel traditions, the Clactonian, a tradition, and the Acheulean, a hand-axe tradition. The Levallois technique for knapping flint developed during this time, the carrier species from Africa to Europe was undoubtedly Homo erectus. This type of human is more linked to the flake tradition. Many Mousterian finds in the Middle Paleolithic have been knapped using a Levallois technique, monte Poggiolo, near Forlì, Italy, is the location of an Acheulian littoral handaxe industry dating from 1.8 to 1.1 million years ago. The appearance of Homo heidelbergensis about 600,000 years ago heralds a number of new varieties, such as Homo rhodesiensis. Homo heidelbergensis is a candidate for first developing a form of symbolic language. Whether control of fire and earliest burials date to this period or only appear during the Middle Paleolithic is an open question, the hand-axe tradition originates in the same period. The intermediate may have been Homo heidelbergensis, held responsible for the manufacture of improved Mode 2 Acheulean tool types, in Africa, flakes and axes coexisted in Europe, sometimes at the same site. The axe tradition, however, spread to a different range in the east and it appears in Arabia and India, but more importantly, it does not appear in southeast Asia. Homo sapiens first appear about 200,000 years ago, control of fire by early humans Lomekwi, site of the oldest tools discovered The First People and Culture at Indiana University Bloomington
Lower Paleolithic
–
Four views of an Acheulean handaxe
11.
Neanderthal
–
Neanderthals, or more rarely Neandertals, were a species or subspecies of archaic humans in the genus Homo that went extinct about 40,000 years ago. Neanderthals and modern humans share 99. 7% of their DNA and are closely related. Neanderthals left bones and stone tools in Eurasia, from Western Europe to Central, from the 1950s to the early 1980s, however, Neanderthals were widely considered a subspecies of Homo sapiens and a minority of scholars still hold this view. Several cultural assemblages have been linked to the Neanderthals in Europe, the earliest, the Mousterian stone tool culture, dates to about 160,000 years ago. Late Mousterian artifacts were found in Gorhams Cave on the south-facing coast of Gibraltar, male Neanderthals had cranial capacities averaging 1600 cm3, females 1300 cm3, extending to 1736 cm3 in Amud 1. This is notably larger than the 1250–1400 cm3 typical of modern humans, males stood 164–168 cm and females 152–156 cm tall. Recent studies also show that a few Neanderthals began mating with ancestors of modern humans long before the out of Africa migration of present day non-Africans. Claims that Neanderthals deliberately buried their dead, and if they did, the debate on deliberate Neanderthal burials has been active since the 1908 discovery of the well-preserved Chapelle-aux-Saints 1 skeleton in a small hole in a cave in southwestern France. In 2013, scientists sequenced the genome of a Neanderthal for the first time. The genome was extracted from the bone of a 50. In 2016, elaborate constructions of rings of broken stalagmites made by early Neanderthals around 176,000 years ago were discovered 336 m inside Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France and this would have required a more advanced social structure than previously known for Neanderthals. Thal is a spelling of the German word Tal, which means valley. Nevertheless, Kings name had priority over the proposal put forward in 1866 by Ernst Haeckel, the practice of referring to the Neanderthals and a Neanderthal emerged in the popular literature of the 1920s. The German pronunciation of Neanderthaler or Neandertaler is in the International Phonetic Alphabet, in British English, Neanderthal is pronounced with the /t/ as in German, but different vowels. In laymans American English, Neanderthal is pronounced with a /θ/ and /ɔ/ instead of the longer British /aː/, during the early 20th century the prevailing view was heavily influenced by Arthur Keith and Marcellin Boule, who wrote the first scientific description of a nearly complete Neanderthal skeleton. During the 1930s scholars Ernst Mayr, George Gaylord Simpson and Theodosius Dobzhansky reinterpreted the existing fossil record, Neanderthal man was classified as Homo sapiens neanderthalensis - an early subspecies contrasted with what was now called Homo sapiens sapiens. The obviously unbroken succession of fossil sites of both subspecies in Europe was considered evidence that there was a slow and gradual evolutionary transition from Neanderthals to modern humans, contextual interpretations of similar excavation sites in Asia lead to the hypothesis of multiregional origin of modern man in the 1980s. Current scientific ideas hold that both evolved from a common African ancestor, Homo erectus
Neanderthal
Neanderthal
Neanderthal
–
The site of
Kleine Feldhofer Grotte where the type specimen was unearthed by miners in the 19th century
Neanderthal
–
Skull, found in 1886 in
Spy, Belgium
12.
Last glacial period
–
The last glacial period, popularly known as the Ice Age, was the most recent glacial period, which occurred from c. 110,000 – c. 11,700 years ago. This most recent glacial period is part of a pattern of glacial and interglacial periods known as the Quaternary glaciation. From this point of view, scientists consider this ice age to be merely the latest glaciation event in a larger ice age. During this last glacial period, there were changes between glacier advance and retreat. The Last Glacial Maximum, the extent of glaciation within the last glacial period, was approximately 22,000 years ago. Approximately 13,000 years ago, the Late Glacial Maximum began, around 11,700 years ago marked the beginning of the Holocene geological epoch, which includes the Holocene glacial retreat. From the point of view of archaeology, it falls in the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods. When the glaciation event started, Homo sapiens were confined to Africa and used tools comparable to those used by Neanderthals in western and central Eurasia, near the end of the event, Homo sapiens spread into Eurasia and Australia. The retreat of the glaciers allowed groups of Asians to migrate to the Americas, glacials, on the other hand, refer to colder phases within an ice age that separate interglacials. Thus, the end of the last glacial period is not the end of the last ice age, the end of the last glacial period was about 11,700 years ago, while the end of the last ice age has not yet come. Over the past few years the glacial-interglacial cycle has been paced by periodic variations in the Earths orbit via Milankovitch cycles which are thus the cause of ice ages. The glaciations that occurred during this period covered many areas, mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. The geochronological Late Pleistocene comprises the late glacial and the immediately preceding penultimate interglacial preiond, the last glaciation centered on the huge ice sheets of North America and Eurasia. Considerable areas in the Alps, the Himalaya and the Andes were ice-covered, Canada was nearly completely covered by ice, as well as the northern part of the United States, both blanketed by the huge Laurentide ice sheet. Alaska remained mostly ice free due to climate conditions. Local glaciations existed in the Rocky Mountains and the Cordilleran ice sheet and as ice fields, the maximum extent of western Siberian glaciation was reached by approximately 16, 000–15,000 BCE and thus later than in Europe. Northeastern Siberia was not covered by an ice sheet. Instead, large, but restricted, icefield complexes covered mountain ranges within northeast Siberia, according to the sediment composition retrieved from deep-sea cores there must even have been times of seasonally open waters
Last glacial period
–
An artist's impression of the last glacial period at glacial maximum.
Last glacial period
–
Chronology of climatic events of importance for the Last Glacial Period (about the last 120 000 years)
Last glacial period
–
Map showing the extent of the
Patagonian Ice Sheet in the
Strait of Magellan area during the last glacial period. Selected modern settlements are shown with yellow dots.
13.
Corsica
–
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 13 regions of France. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, southeast of the French mainland, a single chain of mountains make up two-thirds of the island. While being part of France, Corsica is also designated as a territorial collectivity by law, as a territorial collectivity, Corsica enjoys a greater degree of autonomy than other French regions, for example, the Corsican Assembly is able to exercise limited executive powers. The island formed a single department until it was split in 1975 into two departments, Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud, with its capital in Ajaccio, the prefecture city of Corse-du-Sud. Bastia, the city of Haute-Corse, is the second-largest settlement in Corsica. After being ruled by the Republic of Genoa since 1284, Corsica was briefly an independent Corsican Republic from 1755 until it was conquered by France in 1769. Due to Corsicas historical ties with the Italian peninsula, the island retains to this day many elements of the culture of Italy, the native Corsican language, whose northern variant is closely related to the Italian language, is recognised as a regional language by the French government. This Mediterranean island was ruled by various nations over the course of history but had several periods of independence. Napoleon was born in 1769 in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio and his ancestral home, Maison Bonaparte, is today used as a museum. The origin of the name Corsica is subject to much debate, to the Ancient Greeks it was known as Kalliste, Corsis, Cyrnos, Cernealis, or Cirné. Of these Cyrnos, Cernealis, or Cirné derive from a corruption of the most ancient Greek name of the island, Σειρηνούσσαι, the claim that latter Greek names are based on the Phoenician word for peninsula are highly unlikely. Corsica has been occupied continuously since the Mesolithic era and it acquired an indigenous population that was influential in the Mediterranean during its long prehistory. The Romans, who built a colony in Aléria, considered Corsica as one of the most backward regions of the Roman world, the island produced sheep, honey, resin and wax, and exported many slaves, not well considered because of their fierce and rebellious character. Moreover, it was known for its wines, exported to Rome. Administratively, the island was divided in pagi, which in the Middle Ages became the pievi, Corsica was integrated by Emperor Diocletian in Roman Italy. In the 5th century, the half of the Roman Empire collapsed, and the island was invaded by the Vandals. Briefly recovered by the Byzantines, it became part of the Kingdom of the Lombards—this made it a dependency of the March of Tuscany. Pepin the Short, king of the Franks and Charlemagnes father, expelled the Lombards, in the first quarter of the 11th century, Pisa and Genoa together freed the island from the threat of Arab invasion
Corsica
–
The medieval influence of
Pisa in Corsica can be seen in the Romanesque-Pisan style of the
Church of Aregno
Corsica
–
Flag
Corsica
–
Seafront boulevard in
Ajaccio, the island's capital and
Napoleon I 's birthplace
Corsica
–
Monument to the
French Resistance during WWII in
Solaro (plaine orientale).
14.
Tuscany
–
Tuscany is a region in central Italy with an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, traditions, history, artistic legacy, Tuscany produces wines, including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino. Having a strong linguistic and cultural identity, it is considered a nation within a nation. Tuscany is traditionally a popular destination in Italy, and the main tourist destinations by number of tourist arrivals are Florence, Pisa, Montecatini Terme, Castiglione della Pescaia and Grosseto. The village of Castiglione della Pescaia is also the most visited destination in the region. Additionally, Siena, Lucca, the Chianti region, Versilia and Val dOrcia are also internationally renowned, Tuscany has over 120 protected nature reserves, making Tuscany and its capital Florence popular tourist destinations that attract millions of tourists every year. In 2012, the city of Florence was the worlds 89th most visited city, roughly triangular in shape, Tuscany borders the regions of Liguria to the northwest, Emilia-Romagna to the north and east, Umbria to the east and Lazio to the southeast. The comune of Badia Tedalda, in the Tuscan Province of Arezzo, has an exclave named Ca Raffaello within Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany has a western coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea, containing the Tuscan Archipelago, of which the largest island is Elba. Tuscany has an area of approximately 22,993 square kilometres, surrounded and crossed by major mountain chains, and with few plains, the region has a relief that is dominated by hilly country used for agriculture. Hills make up nearly two-thirds of the total area, covering 15,292 square kilometres, and mountains. Plains occupy 8. 4% of the total area—1,930 square kilometres —mostly around the valley of the River Arno, many of Tuscanys largest cities lie on the banks of the Arno, including the capital Florence, Empoli and Pisa. The pre-Etruscan history of the area in the late Bronze and Iron Ages parallels that of the early Greeks, following this, the Villanovan culture saw Tuscany, and the rest of Etruria, taken over by chiefdoms. City-states developed in the late Villanovan before Orientalization occurred and the Etruscan civilization rose, the Etruscans created the first major civilization in this region, large enough to establish a transport infrastructure, to implement agriculture and mining and to produce vibrant art. The Etruscans lived in Etruria well into prehistory, throughout their existence, they lost territory to Magna Graecia, Carthage and Celts. Despite being seen as distinct in its manners and customs by contemporary Greeks, the cultures of Greece, one reason for its eventual demise was this increasing absorption by surrounding cultures, including the adoption of the Etruscan upper class by the Romans. Soon after absorbing Etruria, Rome established the cities of Lucca, Pisa, Siena, and Florence, endowed the area with new technologies and development, and ensured peace. These developments included extensions of existing roads, introduction of aqueducts and sewers, however, many of these structures have been destroyed by erosion due to weather. The Roman civilization in the West collapsed in the 5th century AD, in the years following 572, the Longobards arrived and designated Lucca the capital of their Duchy of Tuscia
Tuscany
–
Hilly landscape in
Val d'Orcia
Tuscany
–
Tuscany Toscana
Tuscany
–
Tuscan landscape near
Siena
Tuscany
–
Cinerary urns of the
Villanovan culture
15.
Homo sapiens
–
Homo sapiens is the binomial nomenclature for the only extant human species. Homo is the genus, which also 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, similarly, 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, primarily, 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
Homo sapiens
16.
Upper Paleolithic
–
The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago, roughly coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity, modern humans are believed to have emerged about 195,000 years ago in Africa. Although these humans were modern in anatomy, their lifestyle changed very little from their contemporaries, such as Homo erectus, about 50,000 years ago, there was a marked increase in the diversity of artifacts. In Africa, bone artifacts and the first art appear in the archeological record, between 45,000 and 43,000 years ago, this new tool technology spread with human migration to Europe. The new technology generated an explosion of modern humans which is believed to have contributed to the extinction of the Neanderthals. The Upper Paleolithic has the earliest known evidence of organized settlements, in the form of campsites, artistic work blossomed, with cave painting, petroglyphs, carvings and engravings on bone or ivory. The first evidence of fishing is also noted, from artifacts in places such as Blombos cave in South Africa. More complex social groupings emerged, supported by more varied and reliable food sources and this probably contributed to increasing group identification or ethnicity. By 50, 000–40,000 BP, the first humans set foot in Australia, by 45,000 BP, humans lived at 61° north latitude in Europe. By 30,000 BP, Japan was reached, and by 27,000 BP humans were present in Siberia above the Arctic Circle, at the end of the Upper Paleolithic, a group of humans crossed the Bering land bridge and quickly expanded throughout North and South America. Both Homo erectus and Neanderthals used the same crude stone tools, archaeologist Richard G. Klein, who has worked extensively on ancient stone tools, describes the stone tool kit of archaic hominids as impossible to categorize. It was as if the Neanderthals made stone tools, and were not much concerned about their final forms and he argues that almost everywhere, whether Asia, Africa or Europe, before 50,000 years ago all the stone tools are much alike and unsophisticated. These new stone-tool types have been described as being distinctly differentiated from each other, the invaders, commonly referred to as the Cro-Magnons, left many sophisticated stone tools, carved and engraved pieces on bone, ivory and antler, cave paintings and Venus figurines. The Neanderthals continued to use Mousterian stone tool technology and possibly Chatelperronian technology and these tools disappeared from the archeological record at around the same time the Neanderthals themselves disappeared from the fossil record, about 40,000 years ago. Settlements were often located in valley bottoms, possibly associated with hunting of passing herds of animals. Hunting was important, and caribou/wild reindeer may well be the species of single greatest importance in the anthropological literature on hunting. Technological advances included significant developments in flint tool manufacturing, with industries based on fine blades rather than simpler and shorter flakes, burins and racloirs were used to work bone, antler and hides. Advanced darts and harpoons also appear in period, along with the fish hook, the oil lamp, rope
Upper Paleolithic
–
Venus of Laussel, an Upper Paleolithic (Aurignacian) carving.
Upper Paleolithic
–
The
Venus of Brassempouy is preserved in the
Musée d'Archéologie Nationale at
Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris.
Upper Paleolithic
–
Lascaux, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
17.
Oliena
–
Oliena is a commune in the province of Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy. Belonging to the Giudicato of Torres, Oliena was one of the curatorie of Posada, during the war between Aragona and Arborea, the commune was occupied by Eleonora DArboreas troops. The village, developed in times, at the foot of a castle remembered in toponomy. Oliena was passed to the Carrozs, and later annexed to the Marchesato of Quirra, as a state of the Carrozs and then of the Osorios. Lamarmora thinks the name Oliena dates back to the time of the first Oriental people, probably, some of them landed in Sardinia, giving birth to the people of Ilienses. At the beginning of 1300, Oliena was under the Pisan Rule in the Giudicato of Gallura, in the curatoria of Posada, at that time, the centre might have been substantial, judging from its income compared to the neighbouring villages. It owned a castle, situated in the locality Su Carmene. When the Jesuits, in the 17th century, according to tradition, removed the stones which it was built of, in order to build a convent and then. In 1325, the village of Oliena and its territory were assigned to Berengario Carroz together, in the 17th century, the Jesuits inhabited Oliena giving impulse to different activities, beginning the construction of the College and the present parish church. Some scholars link the name to the trees in this zone. In fact, the inhabitants were given to stock-raising. Salvatore Satta, a writer, wrote in his book Il Giorno del Giudizio. Oliena, as the papers say, but its real and poetic name is Ulìana, the inhabited centre lies about 380 metres above sea level at the foot of a mountain that rises vertically with the well-known peaks Corrasi. The territory presents a great botanic richness, the most important species living in it are, The church of Santa Maria was built during the Pisan period. This church with the ex-temple of SantIgnazio, represents the main cult place, outside the church, S. Maria Romanesque - Gothic style is presented. It is a building standing in a square, and once surrounded by a cemetery. A bell tower, culminating in a cusp, rises on the right side, looking at its planimetry, it is possible to see the Gothic-Catalan pattern which spread after the Aragonese conquest. The parish church of Saint Ignatius stands in the college square, one can enter through double flight of a steps against the facade
Oliena
–
Oliena (in the foreground)
Oliena
–
Domo comunale
Oliena
–
The church of Santa Maria is at the centre of Oliena.
Oliena
–
Oliena on the right and in the background is the Mount Corrasi.
18.
Mesolithic
–
In archaeology, the Mesolithic is the culture between Paleolithic and Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used for areas outside northern Europe, Mesolithic has different time spans in different parts of Eurasia. It was originally post-Pleistocene, pre-agricultural material in northwest Europe about 10,000 to 5000 BC, in the archaeology of Northern Europe, for example for archaeological sites in Great Britain, Germany, Scandinavia, Ukraine, and Russia, the term Mesolithic is almost always used. In the archaeology of other areas, the term Epipaleolithic may be preferred by most authors, in the New World, neither term is used. Other authors use the term Mesolithic for a variety of Late Paleolithic cultures subsequent to the end of the last glacial period whether they are transitional towards agriculture or not, conversely, those that are in course of transition toward artificial food production are assigned to the Mesolithic. Therefore, care must be taken in translating Mesolithic as Middle Stone Age, subdivisions of earlier and later were added to the Stone Age by Thomsen and especially his junior colleague and employee Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae. John Lubbock kept these divisions in his work Pre-historic Times in 1865 and he saw no need for an intermediate category. When Hodder Westropp introduced the Mesolithic in 1866, as an intermediate between Paleolithic and Neolithic, a storm of controversy immediately arose around it. A British school led by John Evans denied any need for an intermediate, the ages blended together like the colors of a rainbow, he said. A European school led by Louis Laurent Gabriel de Mortillet asserted that there was a gap between the earlier and later, edouard Piette claimed to have filled the gap with his discovery of the Azilian Culture. Knut Stjerna offered an alternative in the Epipaleolithic, a continuation of the use of Paleolithic technology, the start and end dates of the Mesolithic vary by geographical region. Childes view prevails that the term covers the period between the end of the Pleistocene and the start of the Neolithic. If the Mesolithic is more similar to the Paleolithic it is called the Epipaleolithic, the Paleolithic was an age of purely hunting and gathering while in the Neolithic domestication of plants and animals had occurred. Some Mesolithic peoples continued with intensive hunting, others were practising the initial stages of domestication. The type of remains the diagnostic factor, The Mesolithic featured composite devices manufactured with Mode V chipped stone tools. The Paleolithic had utilized Modes I–IV and the Neolithic mainly abandoned the chipped microliths in favor of polished, not chipped, the first period, known as Mesolithic 1, followed the Aurignacian or Levantine Upper Paleolithic periods throughout the Levant. By the end of the Aurignacian, gradual changes took place in stone industries, small stone tools called microliths and retouched bladelets can be found for the first time. The microliths of this period differ greatly from the Aurignacian artifacts
Mesolithic
–
Mesolithic microliths
Mesolithic
–
Two skeletons of women aged between 25 and 35 years, dated between 6740 and 5680 BP, both of whom died a violent death. Found at
Téviec,
France in 1938.
19.
Italian peninsula
–
The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is the central and the smallest of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe. It extends 1,000 km from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south, the peninsulas shape gives it the nickname lo Stivale. Three smaller peninsulas contribute to this shape, namely Calabria, Salento. Geographically, the Italian peninsula consists of the south of a line extending from the Magra to the Rubicon rivers. It excludes the Po Valley and the slopes of the Alps. All of the lies within the territory of the Italian Republic except for the microstates of San Marino. Additionally, Sicily, Elba and other islands, such as Palagruža, are usually considered as islands off the peninsula. The peninsula lies between the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west, the Ionian Sea on the south, and the Adriatic Sea on the east, the backbone of the Italian peninsula consists of the Apennine Mountains, from which it takes one of its names. Most of its coast is lined with cliffs, the Italian Peninsulas location between the centre of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea made it the target of many conquests. The peninsula has mainly a Mediterranean climate, though in the parts the climate is much cooler. Its natural vegetation includes macchia along the coasts and deciduous and mixed coniferous forests in the interior. Political divisions of the peninsula sorted by area, Apennine Mountains Roman Republic Roman Italy Insular Italy Media related to Italian Peninsula at Wikimedia Commons
Italian peninsula
–
Satellite view of the peninsula in March 2003.
20.
Arbus, Sardinia
–
Arbus is a comune in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region of Sardinia. Located in the southwest coast of the island, Arbus is known for its coastline, the Costa Verde, with an area of 267 square kilometres, Arbus is the second largest municipality in Sardinia. Arbus has been inhabited by man since the ancient Neolithic and it includes a mountain district which separates Medio Campidano from the sea. There are numerous tombe dei giganti in the district of Capo Pecora, notable people who were born in Arbus are Pietro Leo and Raimondo Garau. Located about 60 kilometres northwest of Cagliari and about 25 kilometres west of Sanluri on the Sardinian southwest coast, the geology of Arbus is known as batolite ercinico Arburese. Arbus is known for its coastline, known as Costa Verde, for both 2002 and 2003, the wide Arbus coasts were awarded 5 sails by the Legambiente and Touring Club. Beaches include, from north to south, Capo Frasca, Pistis, Torre dei Corsari, Porto Palma, Babari, Funtanazza, Gutturu Flumini, Portu Maga, Piscinas, Scivu, Piscinas is a sandy beach with a large dune system spanning approximately 5 square kilometres. Is considered one of the biggest dune systems in Europe, usanze e vita di un popolo, Cesmet, Napoli,1995 Caddeo, Antonello, Arbus. Da Capo Frasca a Cala Domestica, la costa e linterno, Zonza, Cagliari,2005 Piras, Aldo, Pietro Leo e Raimondo Garau. Tempi e luoghi, Garau, Guspini,2003 Arbus
Arbus, Sardinia
–
San Sebastiano Church in Arbus Sardinia
Arbus, Sardinia
–
Square
Arbus, Sardinia
–
Piscinas Beach
21.
Province of Oristano
–
The province of Oristano is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia in Italy. Its capital is the city of Oristano and it has an area of 3,040 square kilometres, a total population of 167,971, and a population density of 55.2 people per square kilometer. There are 78 municipalities in the province), the province of Oristano is the smallest province in Sardinia and was formed from sections of the provinces of Cagliari and Nuoro. It occupies roughly the area as the Giudicato of Arborea of the High Middle Ages. It borders Nuoro, Cagliari and the Sea of Sardinia, a large area of the provinces coastline is part of the gulf of Oristano, and the land in the province is mainly flat and there is some marshland. The province contains Santa Giusta and Tharros, which date from the Carthaginian Republics rule of the area. The town Arborea was founded by Benito Mussolinis fascist regime as Mussolinia to be a town, for which, farmers were moved from Emilia Romagna. The River Tirso flows through the province of Oristano from the province of Nuoro, temo is the only other river to flow through the province. The town of Bosa is located in the region alongside a river, the province of Oristano was formed in 1975 and had been largely unaffected/undamaged by tourism. The province has a total of 78 communes, the largest of which are, Official website
Province of Oristano
–
Map highlighting the location of the province of Oristano in Italy
22.
Western Mediterranean
–
The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
Western Mediterranean
–
Circa the 6th century BCE: In ancient times the Mediterranean provided sources of food and local commerce and direct routes for trade and communications, colonisation, and war. Numerous cities and colonies were situated at its shores or within the basin: Greek (red) and Phoenician (yellow)
colonies in antiquity; and other cities (grey), including the provincial
"Rom".
Western Mediterranean
–
Map of the Mediterranean Sea
Western Mediterranean
–
With its highly indented coastline and large number of islands, Greece has the longest Mediterranean coastline.
Western Mediterranean
–
The
Battle of Lepanto, 1571, ended in victory for the European
Holy League against the Ottoman Turks.
23.
Cardium Pottery
–
These forms of pottery are in turn used to define the Neolithic culture which produced and spread them, mostly commonly called the Cardial culture. The alternative name impressed ware is given by archaeologists to define this culture, because impressions can be with sharp objects other than cockle shell. Impressed pottery is more widespread than the Cardial. Impressed ware is found in the zone covering Italy to the Ligurian coast as distinct from the more western Cardial extending from Provence to western Portugal. The sequence in prehistoric Europe has traditionally been supposed to start with widespread Cardial ware, however the widespread Cardial and Impressed pattern types overlap and are now considered more likely to be contemporary. The earliest impressed ware sites, dating to 6400-6200 BC, are in Epirus, settlements then appear in Albania and Dalmatia on the eastern Adriatic coast dating to between 6100 and 5900 BC. The earliest date in Italy comes from Coppa Nevigata on the Adriatic coast of southern Italy, also during Su Carroppu culture in Sardinia, already in its early stages early examples of cardial pottery appear. This suggests an expansion by planting colonies along the coast. Older Neolithic cultures existed already at time in eastern Greece and Crete, apparently having arrived from the Levant. Early Neolithic impressed pottery is found in the Levant, and certain parts of Anatolia, including Mezraa-Teleilat, so the first Cardial settlers in the Adriatic may have come directly from the Levant. Of course it might well have come directly from North Africa. Along the East Mediterranean coast impressed ware has found in North Syria, Palestine. Prehistoric Italy Prehistory of Corsica Prehistoric Iberia Byblos Stone Age
Cardium Pottery
Cardium Pottery
24.
6th millennium BC
–
During the 6th millennium BC, agriculture spread from the Balkans to Italy and Eastern Europe, and also from Mesopotamia to Egypt. World population was stable at numbers ranging between approximately 5 and 7 million. A massive volcanic landslide off Mount Etna, Sicily, caused a megatsunami that devastated the eastern Mediterranean coastline on the continents of Asia, Africa, C.6000 BC, The entire 6th millennium was a part of the Holocene climatic optimum. This was a period also known as the Atlantic period and was characterized by minimal glaciation. C.6000 BC, The Chalcolithic comes to the Fertile Crescent, first use of copper in Middle East. C.6000 BC, Fully Neolithic agriculture has spread through Anatolia to the Balkans, C.6000 BC, Junglefowl kept in India. C.6000 BC, Female figurines holding serpents are fashioned on Crete and may have associated with water, regenerative power. C.6000 BC, Equidae disappear from the Americas, C.5900 BC, Vinča culture emerges on the shores of lower Danube. C.5800 BC, Beginning of the Dadiwan culture in China, C.5800 BC, The Hassuna culture in Mesopotamia, with the earliest version of stamp seals. C.5760 BC, The volcano Puy de Dôme in France erupts, C.5677 BC, Cataclysmic volcanic eruption of 12, 000-foot high Mount Mazama creates Oregons Crater Lake when the resulting caldera fills with water. It is the largest single Holocene eruption in history of the Cascade Range, C.5600 BC, Beginning of the desertification of North Africa, ultimately leading to the creation of the Sahara desert. This process may have spurred migration to the region of the Nile in the east, C.5600 BC, Favored date of the Black Sea deluge hypothesis. C.5600 BC, The Red Paint People become established in the region from present-day Labrador to the state of New York,5509 BC, The Byzantine calendar dates the Genesis creation narrative to 1 September of this year. C.5500 BC, Beginning of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture in the region of modern-day Romania, Moldova, C.5500 BC, Beginning of Tell Zeidan in Syria. C. 6th millennium BC, Beginning of Teppe Hasanlu in Iran, C. 6th millennium BC, Beginning of Zayandeh River Culture in Iran, including Sialk. C. late 6th and early 5th millennium BC, Beginning of Samara culture at the Samara bend region of the middle Volga, 5500–4800 BC, Samarra culture in Iraq. C.5500 BC, Beginning of the Xinle culture in China, C.5500 BC, Agriculture started in Ancient Egypt. C.5500 BC, Predynastic stage of Prehistoric Egypt, C.5450 BC, Volcano Hekla eruption
6th millennium BC
–
Byzantine Calendar illustrating 1 September 5509 BC (the calendar is from the 12th century CE).
6th millennium BC
–
Black Sea today (light blue) and in 5600 BC (dark blue) according to Ryan's and Pitman's theories, versions of the
Black Sea deluge theory
6th millennium BC
–
Yangshao culture
25.
Limestone
–
Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, forams 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, intraclasts 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 also 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, clastic, granular, or massive, depending on the method of formation. Crystals of calcite, quartz, 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
Limestone
–
Limestone outcrop in the
Torcal de Antequera nature reserve of
Málaga, Spain
Limestone
–
Limestone quarry at
Cedar Creek, Virginia, USA
Limestone
–
Cutting the limestone blocks at a quarry in
Gozo,
Malta
Limestone
–
Limestone as building material
26.
Cerastoderma edule
–
Cerastoderma edule, commonly known as the common cockle, is a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae, the cockles. This species is found in areas of the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is widely distributed from Norway to the coast of west Africa, the common cockle is one of the most abundant species of molluscs in tidal flats in the bays and estuaries of Europe. It is an important species for the industry, and it plays a major role as a source of food for crustaceans, fish. It is commercially fished in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France by suction dredge, previously the greatest catch was from the Netherlands, but now fisheries restrictions have been put in place due to environmental concerns. It is also used in aquaculture, farming of cockles is ongoing in the UK and this cockle is cooked and eaten in several countries. Probably a significant food source in hunter-gatherer societies of prehistoric Europe, cardial Ware is a name attributed to Neolithic pottery from maritime cultures that colonized the Mediterranean littoral c.6000 –5,500 B. C. The clay is imprinted with fine decorations, repetitions of the curved ridges, undulating lines and/or edges characteristic to the cockle shell. Biology and ecology Modelling of the fishing grounds
Cerastoderma edule
–
Cerastoderma edule
Cerastoderma edule
–
Cockle shell ridges imprinted in fragment of Neolithic
Cardial Ware
Cerastoderma edule
–
Marine
gastropods
27.
Obsidian
–
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth, Obsidian is commonly found within the margins of rhyolitic lava flows known as obsidian flows, where the chemical composition induces a high viscosity and polymerization degree of the lava. The inhibition of atomic diffusion through this highly viscous and polymerized lava explains the lack of crystal growth. Obsidian is hard and brittle, it therefore fractures with very sharp edges, which were used in the past in cutting and piercing tools, among the various forms of glass we may reckon Obsidian glass, a substance very similar to the stone found by Obsidius in Ethiopia. Obsidian is the rock formed as a result of quickly cooled lava, tektites were once thought by many to be obsidian produced by lunar volcanic eruptions, though few scientists now adhere to this hypothesis. Obsidian is mineral-like, but not a true mineral because as a glass it is not crystalline, in addition and it is sometimes classified as a mineraloid. Though obsidian is usually dark in color similar to mafic rocks such as basalt, Obsidian consists mainly of SiO2, usually 70% or more. Crystalline rocks with obsidians composition include granite and rhyolite, because obsidian is metastable at the Earths surface, no obsidian has been found that is older than Cretaceous age. This breakdown of obsidian is accelerated by the presence of water, having a low water content when newly formed, typically less than 1% water by weight, obsidian becomes progressively hydrated when exposed to groundwater, forming perlite. Pure obsidian is usually dark in appearance, though the color varies depending on the presence of impurities, iron and other transition elements may give the obsidian a dark brown to black color. Very few samples are nearly colorless, in some stones, the inclusion of small, white, radially clustered crystals of cristobalite in the black glass produce a blotchy or snowflake pattern. Obsidian may contain patterns of gas bubbles remaining from the lava flow and these bubbles can produce interesting effects such as a golden sheen. An iridescent, rainbow-like sheen is caused by inclusions of magnetite nanoparticles, Obsidian can be found in locations which have experienced rhyolitic eruptions. Obsidian can also be found in the eastern U. S. states of Virginia, as well as Pennsylvania, there are only four major deposit areas in the central Mediterranean, Lipari, Pantelleria, Palmarola and Monte Arci. Ancient sources in the Aegean were Milos and Gyali, acıgöl town and the Göllü Dağ volcano were the most important sources in central Anatolia, one of the more important source areas in the prehistoric Near East. Use of obsidian in pottery of the Neolithic in the area around Lipari was found to be less at a distance representing two weeks journeying. Anatolian sources of obsidian are known to have been the used in the Levant. The first attested civilized use is from excavations at Tell Brak dated the late fifth millennia, Obsidian was valued in Stone Age cultures because, like flint, it could be fractured to produce sharp blades or arrowheads
Obsidian
–
Obsidian
Obsidian
–
Obsidian
talus at Obsidian Dome, California
Obsidian
–
Glass Mountain, a large obsidian flow at
Medicine Lake Volcano
Obsidian
–
Obsidian
arrowhead
28.
Deer
–
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the deer and the chital, and the Capreolinae, including the elk, reindeer, the Western roe deer. Female reindeer, and male deer of all species, grow, in this they differ from permanently horned antelope, which are in the same order, Artiodactyla. The musk deer of Asia and water chevrotain of tropical African and Asian forests are not usually regarded as true deer and form their own families, Moschidae and Tragulidae, respectively. Deer appear in art from Palaeolithic cave paintings onwards, and they have played a role in mythology, religion and their economic importance includes the use of their meat as venison, their skins as soft, strong buckskin, and their antlers as handles for knives. Deer hunting has been a sport since at least the Middle Ages. Deer live in a variety of biomes, ranging from tundra to the tropical rainforest, while often associated with forests, many deer are ecotone species that live in transitional areas between forests and thickets and prairie and savanna. The majority of deer species inhabit temperate mixed deciduous forest, mountain mixed coniferous forest, tropical seasonal/dry forest. Clearing open areas within forests to some extent may actually benefit deer populations by exposing the understory and allowing the types of grasses, weeds, additionally, access to adjacent croplands may also benefit deer. However, adequate forest or brush cover must still be provided for populations to grow, however, fallow deer have been introduced to South Africa. There are also species of deer that are highly specialized, and live almost exclusively in mountains, grasslands, swamps. Some deer have a distribution in both North America and Eurasia. Examples include the caribou that live in Arctic tundra and taiga and moose that inhabit taiga, huemul deer of South Americas Andes fill the ecological niches of the ibex and wild goat, with the fawns behaving more like goat kids. Mountain slope habitats vary from moist coniferous/mixed forested habitats to dry forests with alpine meadows higher up. The foothills and river valleys between the mountain provide a mosaic of cropland and deciduous parklands. The rare woodland caribou have the most restricted range living at altitudes in the subalpine meadows. Elk and mule deer both migrate between the alpine meadows and lower coniferous forests and tend to be most common in this region, elk also inhabit river valley bottomlands, which they share with White-tailed deer. They also live in the aspen parklands north of Calgary and Edmonton, the adjacent Great Plains grassland habitats are left to herds of elk, American bison, and pronghorn antelope
Deer
Deer
–
Sambar in Bangalore
Deer
–
Fallow deer in the United States
Deer
–
White-tailed deer in Toronto, Canada
29.
Prolagus sardus
–
The full skeletal structure of the Sardinian pika was reconstructed in 1967, thanks to the numerous finds of bones in the Corbeddu cave, which is near Oliena. Some years later, from remains, the same researchers led by paleontologist Mary R. Dawson from the US were able to create a plaster reconstruction with good accuracy. The Sardinian pika was probably much stockier and robust than the species of living lagomorphs, Prolagus sardus weighed about 504-525 g. This is more than its ancestor Prolagus figaro, which is the other member of Prolagus that was found in Sardinia. Abundant fossil and subfossil remains of P, the presence of Prolagus also facilitated the establishment of the first human communities of the islands. Jean-Denis Vigne found clear evidence that the Sardinian pika was hunted and he found that many of the Sardinian pikas limb bones were broken and burnt at one end, suggesting that this animal had been roasted and eaten by the Neolithic colonists of Corsica. Ancestors of the Sardinian pika such as Prolagus figaro spread from mainland Italy, the oldest unambiguous remains of Prolagus sardus date back from the Middle Pleistocene, a time when both islands were periodically connected due to sea level changes. The Sardinian pika became extinct in Corsica and Sardinia probably during the Roman times due to agricultural practices, also, the extinction of P. sardus may be partly because of the transmission of pathogens by rabbits and hares introduced to Sardinia and Corsica by the Romans. However, the species may have survived longer on small islands near Sardinia and this animal may have been the Sardinian pika, because Corsica at that time was not characterized by the occurrence of any species of hare. Francesco Cetti mentioned in 1774 the existence of giant rats whose burrows are so abundant that one might think the surface of the soil had been turned over by pigs in Tavolara
Prolagus sardus
–
Sardinian pika
30.
Wild boar
–
The wild boar, also known as the wild swine or Eurasian wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia, North Africa, and the Greater Sunda Islands. Human intervention has spread its range further, making the one of the widest-ranging mammals in the world. Its wide range, high numbers, and adaptability mean that it is classed as least concern by the IUCN, the animal probably originated in Southeast Asia during the Early Pleistocene, and outcompeted other suid species as it spread throughout the Old World. As of 1990, up to 16 subspecies are recognised, which are divided into four regional groupings based on skull height, the species lives in matriarchal societies consisting of interrelated females and their young. Fully grown males are solitary outside the breeding season. The grey wolf is the boars main predator throughout most of its range except in the Far East and the Lesser Sunda Islands. It has a history of association with humans, having been the ancestor of most domestic pig breeds. As true wild boars became extinct in Britain before the development of modern English, the English boar stems from the Old English bar, which is thought to be derived from the West Germanic *bairaz, of unknown origin. Boar is sometimes used specifically to refer to males, and may also be used to refer to male domesticated pigs, the young may be called piglets. The animals specific name scrofa is Latin for sow, the earliest fossil finds of the species come from both Europe and Asia, and date back to the Early Pleistocene. Its closest wild relative is the pig of Malacca and surrounding islands. These subspecies are typically high-skulled, with thick underwool and poorly developed manes, Indian, Includes S. s. davidi and S. s. cristatus. These subspecies have sparse or absent underwool, with long manes and prominent bands on the snout, while S. s. cristatus is high-skulled, S. s. davidi is low-skulled. Eastern, Includes S. s. sibiricus, S. s. ussuricus, S. s. leucomystax, S. s. riukiuanus, S. s. taivanus, and S. s. moupinensis. These subspecies are characterised by a streak extending from the corners of the mouth to the lower jaw. With the exception of S. s. ussuricus, most are high-skulled, the underwool is thick, except in S. s. moupinensis, and the mane is largely absent. It is the most basal of the four groups, having the smallest relative brain size, more primitive dentition, with the exception of domestic pigs in Timor and Papua New Guinea, the wild boar is the ancestor of most pig breeds. Remains of pigs have been dated to earlier than 11,400 BC in Cyprus and those animals must have been introduced from the mainland, which suggests domestication in the adjacent mainland by then
Wild boar
–
Wild boar Temporal range: Early
Pleistocene –
Holocene
Wild boar
Wild boar
–
Squeaker
Wild boar
–
Juvenile
31.
Farming
–
A farm is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops, it is the basic facility in food production. It includes ranches, feedlots, orchards, plantations and estates, smallholdings and hobby farms, in modern times the term has been extended so as to include such industrial operations as wind farms and fish farms, both of which can operate on land or sea. Farming originated independently in different parts of the world, as hunter gatherer societies transitioned to food production rather than, food capture. It may have started about 12,000 years ago with the domestication of livestock in the Fertile Crescent in western Asia, modern farms in developed countries are highly mechanized. In Europe, traditional farms are giving way to larger production units. In Australia, some farms are large because the land is unable to support a high stocking density of livestock because of climatic conditions. In less developed countries, small farms are the norm, the word is from the medieval Latin noun firma, also the source of the French word ferme, meaning a fixed agreement, contract, from the classical Latin adjective firmus meaning strong, stout, firm. Farming has been innovated at multiple different points and places in human history and it was the worlds first historically verifiable revolution in agriculture. Subsequent step-changes in human farming practices were provoked by the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century, farming spread from the Middle East to Europe and by 4,000 BC people that lived in the central part of Europe were using oxen to pull plows and wagons. A farm may operate under a system or with a variety of cereal or arable crops. Specialist farms are often denoted as such, thus a dairy farm, fish farm, some farms may not use the word at all, hence vineyard, orchard, market garden or truck farm. Some farms may be denoted by their location, such as a hill farm. Many other terms are used to describe farms to denote their methods of production, as in collective, corporate, intensive, organic or vertical. There are many breeds of cattle that can be milked some of the best producing ones include Holstein, Norwegian Red, Kostroma, Brown Swiss, in most Western countries, a centralized dairy facility processes milk and dairy products, such as cream, butter, and cheese. In the United States, these dairies are usually local companies, dairy farms generally sell male calves for veal meat, as dairy breeds are not normally satisfactory for commercial beef production. Many dairy farms also grow their own feed, typically including corn, alfalfa and this is fed directly to the cows, or stored as silage for use during the winter season. Additional dietary supplements are added to the feed to milk production. Poultry farms are devoted to raising chickens, turkeys, ducks, a pig farm is one that specializes in raising pigs or hogs for bacon, ham and other pork products and may be free range, intensive, or both
Farming
–
Farmland in the USA. The round fields are due to the use of
center pivot irrigation
Farming
–
Typical plan of a mediaeval English manor, showing the use of field strips
Farming
–
A
farmer harvesting crops with mule-drawn wagon, 1920s,
Iowa, USA
Farming
–
A
milking machine in action
32.
Hunting
–
Hunting is the practice of killing or trapping animals, or pursuing or tracking them with the intent of doing so. Hunting wildlife or feral animals is most commonly done by humans for food, recreation, to predators that are dangerous to humans or domestic animals. Lawful hunting is distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species. The species that are hunted are referred to as game or prey and are usually mammals, Hunting can also be a means of pest control. However, hunting has also contributed to the endangerment, extirpation and extinction of many animals. The pursuit, capture and release, or capture for food of fish is called fishing, the practice of foraging or gathering materials from plants and mushrooms is also considered separate from hunting. The word hunt serves as both a noun and a verb, the noun has been dated to the early 12th century, act of chasing game, from the verb hunt. The meaning of a body of persons associated for the purpose of hunting with a pack of hounds is first recorded in the 1570s, meaning the act of searching for someone or something is from about 1600. The verb, Old English huntian to chase game, perhaps developed from hunta hunter, is related to hentan to seize, from Proto-Germanic huntojan, the general sense of search diligently is first recorded c. Hunting has a history and may well pre-date the rise of the species Homo sapiens. Evidence from western Kenya suggests that hunting has been occurring for more two million years. Furthermore, evidence exists that hunting may have one of the multiple environmental factors leading to the Holocene extinction of megafauna. North American megafauna extinction was coincidental with the Younger Dryas impact event, however, in other locations such as Australia, humans are thought to have played a very significant role in the extinction of the Australian megafauna that was widespread prior to human occupation. The closest surviving relatives of the species are the two species of Pan, the common chimpanzee and bonobos. Common chimpanzees have a diet that includes troop hunting behaviour based on beta males being led by an alpha male. Bonobos have also observed to occasionally engage in group hunting. With the establishment of language, culture, and religion, hunting became a theme of stories and myths, as well as such as dance. Hunting was a component of hunter-gatherer societies before the domestication of livestock
Hunting
–
Boar hunting,
Tacuinum Sanitatis (a medieval handbook on health and wellbeing) (14th century)
Hunting
–
Mughal aristocrats hunting a
blackbuck alongside an
Asiatic cheetah.
Hunting
–
Saharan rock art
Hunting
–
Inuit walrus hunters
33.
Fishing
–
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild, techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping. Fishing may include catching aquatic animals other than fish, such as molluscs, cephalopods, crustaceans, the term is not normally applied to catching farmed fish, or to aquatic mammals, such as whales where the term whaling is more appropriate. According to United Nations FAO statistics, the number of commercial fishermen. Fisheries and aquaculture provide direct and indirect employment to over 500 million people in developing countries, in 2005, the worldwide per capita consumption of fish captured from wild fisheries was 14.4 kilograms, with an additional 7.4 kilograms harvested from fish farms. In addition to providing food, modern fishing is also a recreational pastime, Fishing is an ancient practice that dates back to at least the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic period about 40,000 years ago. Isotopic analysis of the remains of Tianyuan man, a 40. Archaeology features such as middens, discarded fish bones, and cave paintings show that sea foods were important for survival. During this period, most people lived a lifestyle and were, of necessity. However, where there are examples of permanent settlements such as those at Lepenski Vir. The British dogger was a type of sailing trawler from the 17th century. The Brixham trawler that evolved there was of a build and had a tall gaff rig. They were also sufficiently robust to be able to tow large trawls in deep water, the great trawling fleet that built up at Brixham, earned the village the title of Mother of Deep-Sea Fisheries. The small village of Grimsby grew to become the largest fishing port in the world by the mid 19th century, an Act of Parliament was first obtained in 1796, which authorised the construction of new quays and dredging of the Haven to make it deeper. It was only in the 1846, with the expansion in the fishing industry. The foundation stone for the Royal Dock was laid by Albert the Prince consort in 1849, the dock covered 25 acres and was formally opened by Queen Victoria in 1854 as the first modern fishing port. The elegant Brixham trawler spread across the world, influencing fishing fleets everywhere, by the end of the 19th century, there were over 3,000 fishing trawlers in commission in Britain, with almost 1,000 at Grimsby. These trawlers were sold to fishermen around Europe, including from the Netherlands, twelve trawlers went on to form the nucleus of the German fishing fleet
Fishing
–
Stilts fishermen, Sri Lanka
Fishing
–
Fishing with nets, Mexico
Fishing
–
Stone Age
fish hook made from bone
Fishing
–
Painting of A Brixham trawler by
William Adolphus Knell. The painting is now in the
National Maritime Museum.
34.
Iberian peninsula
–
The Iberian Peninsula /aɪˈbɪəriən pəˈnɪnsjᵿlə/, also known as Iberia /aɪˈbɪəriə/, is located in the southwest corner of Europe. The peninsula is divided between Portugal and Spain, comprising most of their territory. With an area of approximately 582,000 km2, it is the second largest European peninsula, at that time, the name did not describe a single political entity or a distinct population of people. Strabos Iberia was delineated from Keltikē by the Pyrenees and included the land mass southwest of there. The ancient Greeks reached the Iberian Peninsula, of which they had heard from the Phoenicians, hecataeus of Miletus was the first known to use the term Iberia, which he wrote about circa 500 BC. Herodotus of Halicarnassus says of the Phocaeans that it was they who made the Greeks acquainted with. According to Strabo, prior historians used Iberia to mean the country side of the Ἶβηρος as far north as the river Rhône in France. Polybius respects that limit, but identifies Iberia as the Mediterranean side as far south as Gibraltar, elsewhere he says that Saguntum is on the seaward foot of the range of hills connecting Iberia and Celtiberia. Strabo refers to the Carretanians as people of the Iberian stock living in the Pyrenees, according to Charles Ebel, the ancient sources in both Latin and Greek use Hispania and Hiberia as synonyms. The confusion of the words was because of an overlapping in political, the Latin word Hiberia, similar to the Greek Iberia, literally translates to land of the Hiberians. This word was derived from the river Ebro, which the Romans called Hiberus, hiber was thus used as a term for peoples living near the river Ebro. The first mention in Roman literature was by the annalist poet Ennius in 200 BC. Virgil refers to the Ipacatos Hiberos in his Georgics, the Roman geographers and other prose writers from the time of the late Roman Republic called the entire peninsula Hispania. As they became interested in the former Carthaginian territories, the Romans began to use the names Hispania Citerior. At the time Hispania was made up of three Roman provinces, Hispania Baetica, Hispania Tarraconensis, and Lusitania, Strabo says that the Romans use Hispania and Iberia synonymously, distinguishing between the near northern and the far southern provinces. Whatever language may generally have been spoken on the peninsula soon gave way to Latin, except for that of the Vascones, the Iberian Peninsula has always been associated with the Ebro, Ibēros in ancient Greek and Ibērus or Hibērus in Latin. The association was so known it was hardly necessary to state, for example. Pliny goes so far as to assert that the Greeks had called the whole of Spain Hiberia because of the Hiberus River, the river appears in the Ebro Treaty of 226 BC between Rome and Carthage, setting the limit of Carthaginian interest at the Ebro. The fullest description of the treaty, stated in Appian, uses Ibērus, with reference to this border, Polybius states that the native name is Ibēr, apparently the original word, stripped of its Greek or Latin -os or -us termination
Iberian peninsula
–
Satellite image of the Iberian Peninsula.
Iberian peninsula
–
Iberian Peninsula and southern France, satellite photo on a cloudless day in March 2014
Iberian peninsula
–
Map of Spain and Portugal, Atlas historique, dated approximately 1705–1739, of H.A. Chatelain.
Iberian peninsula
–
An 18th-century map of the peninsula depicting various topographical features of the land, as published in Robert Wilkinson's General Atlas, circa 1794.
35.
Mediterranean sea
–
The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
Mediterranean sea
–
Circa the 6th century BCE: In ancient times the Mediterranean provided sources of food and local commerce and direct routes for trade and communications, colonisation, and war. Numerous cities and colonies were situated at its shores or within the basin: Greek (red) and Phoenician (yellow)
colonies in antiquity; and other cities (grey), including the provincial
"Rom".
Mediterranean sea
–
Map of the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean sea
–
With its highly indented coastline and large number of islands, Greece has the longest Mediterranean coastline.
Mediterranean sea
–
The
Battle of Lepanto, 1571, ended in victory for the European
Holy League against the Ottoman Turks.
36.
Alghero
–
Alghero, is a town of about 44,000 inhabitants in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northwestern Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. Part of its population descends from Catalan conquerors from the end of the Middle Ages and that is why the Catalan language is co-official in the city, unique in Italy, taking the name of alguerès dialect. The name Alghero comes from the medieval Latin Aleguerium, meaning stagnation of algae, Alghero is the fifth university center in the island, coming after Cagliari and Sassari. It hosts the headquarters of the Università degli Studi di Sassari’s Architecture, in 2012 it was the 10th most visited city by tourists in Italy. For ecclesiastical history, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Alghero-Bosa The area of todays Alghero has been settled since pre-historic times, the Ozieri culture was present here in the 4th millennium BC, while the Nuraghe civilization settled in the area around 1,500 BC. Due to its position on the Mediterranean Sea, Alghero had been developed into a fortified port town by 1102. The Dorias ruled Alghero for centuries, apart from a period under the rule of Pisa between 1283–84. Algheros population later grew because of the arrival of Catalan colonists, in the early 16th century Alghero received papal recognition as a bishopric and the status of Kings City and developed economically. It is uncertain whether this was some settlement, perhaps linked to the events of the Saracen invasions. For two centuries remained in the orbit of the Maritime Republics, as in 1283 when the Pisans were able to control it for a year. These were granted enticing privileges, and in fact replaced the original population, poorly spoken by young people, trying for some time to protect this dialect, through education programs and official use within the local authority. The city, one of the principal of Sardinia and the fifth most populated region, is one of the gateways to the Island and it a strong tourist popular destination in the island, in 2012 it was the 10th Italian cities most visited by foreign tourists. The Aragonese were followed by the Spanish Habsburgs, who ruled until 1702, in 1720 Alghero, along with the rest of Sardinia, was handed over to the Piedmont-based House of Savoy. In 1821 a famine led to a revolt by the population, at the end of the same century Alghero was de-militarised. During the Fascist era, part of the marshes were reclaimed. During World War II Alghero was bombed, and its historical centre suffered heavy damage, the presence of malaria in the countryside was finally overcome in the 1950s. Since then, Alghero has become a popular tourist resort, Alghero is located in the northwestern coast of Sardinia, along the bay named after the city. In the north of the area there is the Nurra plain, to the NW the karstic systems of Capo Caccia, Punta Giglio
Alghero
–
16th century
Catalan city walls
Alghero
–
Nuraghe Palmavera near Alghero.
Alghero
–
Poster for a
Catalan language literary festival in Alghero.
Alghero
–
Bilingual street signs in
Catalan and
Italian
37.
Fifth millennium BC
–
The 5th millennium BC saw the spread of agriculture from Western Asia throughout Southern and Central Europe. Urban cultures in Mesopotamia and Anatolia flourished, developing the wheel, copper ornaments became more common, marking the beginning of the Chalcolithic. Animal husbandry spread throughout Eurasia, reaching China, world population grew slightly throughout the millennium, possibly from 5 to 7 million people. A more credible interpretation of the Biblical Genealogies is available at http, //www. nasamike. com/main/book/4i. htm entitled, Interpreting the Biblical Genealogies
Fifth millennium BC
–
Cucuteni-Trypillia culture
38.
Bosa
–
Bosa is a town and comune in the province of Oristano, part of the Sardinia region of Italy. Bosa is situated about two-thirds of the way up the west coast of Sardinia, on a small hill, about 3 kilometres inland on the north bank of the Temo River. The town has maintained a population of around 8,000 people for a significant amount of time, agriculture and fishing play an important part in the city economy, thanks to the river valley near the coast surrounded by hills and highland plateaus. The area was inhabited since prehistorical times, as attested by the presence of several domus de janas and it was probably founded by the Phoenicians, although little is known about the original settlement. Under the Romans it was a municipium, the present town of Bosa was founded in 1112 by the Malaspina, 2½ km from the site of the ancient town In the early Middle Ages, as part of the Giudicato of Logudoro, it was a provincial capital. After the construction of the Malaspina Castle, the population moved from the seaside to the hills. It remained in the hands of the Malaspina family until the 14th century when it was taken over by the House of Aragon, along with the rest of Sardinia, it was later ruled by Spain via royal marriage. For a short period in between it was a part of the independent Kingdom of Arborea, on Line Guide Conoscibosa Tourist information Bosa Guide BOSAinfo tourist information
Bosa
–
view of Bosa from the Serravalle's Castle
Bosa
–
Bosa and its castle seen from the river Temo
Bosa
–
An aerial view of Bosa
Bosa
–
Historical City Clock
39.
Husbandry
–
Animal husbandry is the management and care of farm animals by human beings, in which genetic qualities and behavior, considered to be advantageous to humans, are further developed. The term can refer to the practice of breeding and raising livestock to promote desirable traits in animals for utility, sport, pleasure. Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years since the first domestication of animals, selective breeding for desired traits was first established as a scientific practice by Robert Bakewell during the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century. One of his most important breeding programs was with sheep, using native stock, he was able to quickly select for large, yet fine-boned sheep, with long, lustrous wool. The Lincoln Longwool was improved by Bakewell and in turn the Lincoln was used to develop the subsequent breed, named the New Leicester and it was hornless and had a square, meaty body with straight top lines. These sheep were exported widely and have contributed to modern breeds. Under his influence, English farmers began to breed cattle for use primarily as beef for consumption -, long-horned heifers were crossed with the Westmoreland bull to eventually create the Dishley Longhorn. Over the following decades, farm animals increased dramatically in size, in 1700, the average weight of a bull sold for slaughter was 370 pounds. By 1786, that weight had more than doubled to 840 pounds, in more modern times herds are tended on horses, all-terrain vehicles, motorbikes, four-wheel drive vehicles, and helicopters, depending on the terrain and livestock concerned. Today, herd managers often oversee thousands of animals and many staff, farms, stations and ranches may employ breeders, herd health specialists, feeders, and milkers to help care for the animals. Techniques such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer are used today, not only as methods to guarantee that females breed regularly. This may be done by transplanting embryos from high-quality females into lower-quality surrogate mothers - freeing up the higher-quality mother to be reimpregnated and this practice vastly increases the number of offspring which may be produced by a small selection of the best quality parent animals. On one hand, this improves the ability of the animals to feed to meat, milk, or fiber more efficiently. On the other, it decreases genetic diversity, increasing the severity of disease outbreaks among other risks. The semi-natural, unfertilized pastures formed by traditional methods in Europe, were managed and maintained by the grazing and mowing of livestock. Animal agriculture is responsible for 20%-33% of all fresh water consumption in the world today, livestock or livestock feed occupies 1/3 of the earth’s ice-free land. Animal agriculture is the cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution. Animal agriculture contributes to species extinction in many ways, the widespread use of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers used in the production of feed crops often interferes with the reproductive systems of animals and poison waterways
Husbandry
–
Agriculture
Husbandry
–
Dairy cattle in Mangskog,
Sweden, 1911.
40.
Greenschist
–
Greenschists are metamorphic rocks that formed under the lowest temperatures and pressures usually produced by regional metamorphism, typically 300–450 °C and 2–10 kilobars. The name comes from commonly having an abundance of minerals such as chlorite, serpentine, and epidote. The platiness causes the tendency to split, or have schistosity, other common minerals include quartz, orthoclase, talc, carbonate minerals and amphibole. It is a general field petrologic term applied to metamorphic or altered mafic volcanic rock, the term greenstone is sometimes used to refer to greenschist but can refer to other rock types without any schistosity too, especially metabasalt. The green is due to abundant green chlorite, actinolite and epidote minerals that dominate the rock, however, basalts may remain quite black if primary pyroxene does not revert to chlorite or actinolite. To qualify for the name a rock must also exhibit schistosity or some foliation or layering, the rock is derived from basalt, gabbro or similar rocks containing sodium-rich plagioclase feldspar, chlorite, epidote and quartz. Greenschist, as a type, is defined by the presence of the minerals chlorite and actinolite. Greenschist often has a lepidoblastic, nematoblastic or schistose texture defined primarily by chlorite and actinolite, greenschists often have some foliation resulting in mineral alignment, especially of chlorite and actinolite. Grain size is rarely coarse, due primarily to the mineral assemblage, chlorite and to a lesser extent actinolite typically exhibit small, flat or acicular crystal habits. Greenschist facies results from low temperature, moderate pressure metamorphism, Metamorphic conditions which create typical greenschist facies assemblages are called the Barrovian Facies Sequence, and the lower-pressure Abukuma Facies Series. Temperatures of approximately 400 to 500 °C and depths of about 8 to 50 kilometres are the typical envelope of greenschist facies rocks, the equilibrium mineral assemblage of rocks subjected to greenschist facies conditions depends on primary rock composition. In greater detail the greenschist facies is subdivided into subgreenschist, lower and upper greenschist, lower temperatures are transitional with and overlap the prehnite-pumpellyite facies and higher temperatures overlap with and include sub-amphibolite facies. If burial continues along Barrovian Sequence metamorphic trajectories, greenschist facies gives rise to amphibolite facies assemblages, dominated by amphibole, lower pressure, normally contact metamorphism produces albite-epidote hornfels while higher pressures at great depth produces eclogite. Oceanic basalts in the vicinity of mid-ocean ridges typically exhibit sub-greenschist alteration, the greenstone belts of the various archean cratons are commonly altered to the greenschist facies. These ancient rocks are noted as host rocks for a variety of ore deposits in Australia, Namibia, greenschist rocks have been used to make axes across Europe. Several sites including Langdale axe industry have been identified, a form of chlorite schist was popular in prehistoric Native American communities for the production of axes and celts, as well as ornamental items. In the Middle Woodland period, greenschist was one of the trade items that were part of the Hopewell culture exchange network. During the time of the Mississippian culture, the polity of Moundville apparently had some control over the production and distribution of greenschist, the Moundville source has been shown to be from two localities in the Hillabee Formation of central and eastern Alabama
Greenschist
–
Chlorite schist, a type of greenschist.
41.
Sicily
–
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous Region of Italy, along with surrounding minor islands, Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, the island has a typical Mediterranean climate. The earliest archaeological evidence of activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC. It became part of Italy in 1860 following the Expedition of the Thousand, a revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region after the Italian constitutional referendum of 1946. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine. It is also home to important archaeological and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples, Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, earning it the name Trinacria. To the east, it is separated from the Italian mainland by the Strait of Messina, about 3 km wide in the north, and about 16 km wide in the southern part. The northern and southern coasts are each about 280 km long measured as a line, while the eastern coast measures around 180 km. The total area of the island is 25,711 km2, the terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is intensively cultivated wherever possible. Along the northern coast, the ranges of Madonie,2,000 m, Nebrodi,1,800 m. The cone of Mount Etna dominates the eastern coast, in the southeast lie the lower Hyblaean Mountains,1,000 m. The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta districts were part of a leading sulphur-producing area throughout the 19th century, Sicily and its surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still casts black ash over the island with its ever-present eruptions and it currently stands 3,329 metres high, though this varies with summit eruptions, the mountain is 21 m lower now than it was in 1981. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps, Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under the mountain by Zeus, Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily. The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, the three volcanoes of Vulcano, Vulcanello and Lipari are also currently active, although the latter is usually dormant
Sicily
–
Mount Etna rising over suburbs of Catania
Sicily
–
Sicily Sicilia
Sicily
–
Sicilian landscape
Sicily
–
Location of the
Salso
42.
Cabras, Italy
–
Cabras is a comune in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 90 kilometres northwest of Cagliari and about 6 kilometres northwest of Oristano. Cabras borders the municipalities, Nurachi, Oristano, Riola Sardo. It is home to churches, and to the Phoenician archaeological site of Tharros. The municipal territory includes several beaches in the Sinis peninsula and on the Gulf of Oristano, cabras appeared in the 11th century, when the town of Tharros was abandoned due to raids from North African pirates. The inhabitants first settled near the castle, scant remains of which can be seen near the parish church, under the Giudicato of Arborea it had a some importance as the court of the giudice was held in its castle. After the fall of the giudicato, it was ruled by feudal lords. In the 19th century it was included in the province of Oristano, cabras returned to Oristano in 1974
Cabras, Italy
–
View of Cabras from the pond
43.
Sardinian language
–
Sardinian or Sard is the primary indigenous Romance language spoken on most of the island of Sardinia. Of the Romance languages, it is considered one of the closest, if not the closest, to Latin. However, the language is in retreat and UNESCO classifies both main varieties as definitely endangered, although an estimated 68.4 percent of the islanders have a good command of Sardinian. Italian is displacing it nonetheless in many cases, and language ability among children has been estimated to have dropped in fact to around 13 percent, now the question arises as to whether Sardinian is to be considered a dialect or a language in its own right. Politically speaking, it is one of the many dialects of Italy, just like the Serbo-Croatian. However, from a point of view, that is a different question. Sardinian is considered the most conservative Romance language, and its substratum has also been researched. 5%, Occitan 25%, Portuguese 31%, for example, Latin Pone mihi tres panes in bertula would be the very similar Ponemi tres panes in bertula in Sardinian. Compared to the mainland Italian lects, Sardinian is virtually incomprehensible for Italians, Sardinias relative isolation from mainland Europe encouraged the development of a Romance language preserving traces of its indigenous, pre-Roman language. The language is posited to have influences from Paleo-Sardinian language. Adstratal influences include Catalan, Spanish, and Italian, the situation of Sardinian language with regard to the politically dominant ones did not change until the 1950s. The origins of the Paleo-Sardinian language are not known. In 1984, Massimo Pittau said he found in the Etruscan language the etymology of many Latin words after comparing it with the Nuragic language, Etruscan elements, formerly considered originating in Latin, would indicate a connection between the ancient Sardinian culture and the Etruscans. According to Pittau, the Etruscan and Nuragic language are descended from Lydian as a consequence of contact with Etruscans, although Pittau suggests that the Tirrenii landed in Sardinia and the Etruscans landed in modern Tuscany, his views are not shared by most Etruscologists. According to Alberto Areddu the Sherden were of Illyrian origin, on the basis of lexical elements. Areddu asserts that in ancient Sardinia, especially in the most interior area, there are in fact some correspondences, both formal and semantic, with the few testimonies of Illyrian languages, and above all with their linguistical continuer, Albanian. He finds such correlations, sard. eni, enis, eniu yew = alb. enjë yew, sard. urtzula clematis = alb. urth ivy, recently he also discovered important correlations with the balcanic bird world. According to Bertoldi and Terracini, Paleo-Sardinian has similarities with the Iberic languages and Siculian, for example, Terracini proposed the same for suffixes in -/àna/, -/ànna/, -/énna/, -/ònna/ + /r/ + a paragogic vowel. Rohlfs, Butler and Craddock add the suffix -/ini/ as an element of Paleo-Sardinian
Sardinian language
–
No-smoking sign in Sardinian and Italian
Sardinian language
–
Sardinian
Sardinian language
–
Church of the Pater Noster (
Jerusalem),
Lord's Prayer plaque in Sardinian.
44.
Zoomorphic
–
The word zoomorphism derives from the Greek ζωον, meaning animal, and μορφη, meaning shape or form. But this does not portray anything exactly like zoomorphism, Holy Spirit is seen like a dove and He is not a dove. The Holy Spirit was seen like a dove, bible does not teach zoomorphic appearance of God. Mark the Evangelist as a lion in later Christian iconography, the Egyptian gods were often depicted as zoomorphic or as hybrid A literary phrase such as The roar of the ocean. Sin lurking like a beast waiting to devour Cain in Genesis, fenrisulfr, a wolf in Norse mythology Airavata, the king god of elephants in Indian mythology. For instance, in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, the army that fights the Nazis is composed of anthropomorphized knightly body armor, in The Flintstones and Night at the Museum, the dinosaurs Dino and Rexy behave and vocalize like dogs. The city of Wau was to be transformed in the shape of a giraffe
Zoomorphic
–
Zoomorphic.
45.
Mother Goddess
–
A mother goddess is a goddess who represents, or is a personification of nature, motherhood, fertility, creation, destruction or who embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother. Many different goddesses have represented motherhood in one way or another, others have represented the fertility of the earth. Several small, voluptuous figures have been found during excavations of the Upper Paleolithic. This sculpture is estimated to have been carved 35,000 years ago, some archaeologists believe they were intended to represent goddesses, while others believe that they could have served some other purpose. The Paleolithic period extends from 2.5 million years ago to the introduction of agriculture around 10,000 BCE, archaeological evidence indicates that humans migrated to the Western Hemisphere before the end of the Paleolithic, so cultures around the world share its characteristics. It is the prehistoric era distinguished by the development of stone tools, regional differences in the development of this stage of tool development are quite varied. During this time, native cultures appear in the Western Hemisphere, regular seasonal occupation or permanent settlements begin to be seen in excavations. Herding and keeping of cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs is evidenced along with the presence of dogs, almost without exception, images of what Marija Gimbutas interpreted as mother goddesses have been discovered in all of these cultures. Numerous female figurines from Neolithic Çatalhöyük in Anatolia have been interpreted as evidence of a mother-goddess cult, james Mellaart, who led excavation at the site in the 1960s, suggests that the figures represent a Great goddess, who headed the pantheon of an essentially matriarchal culture. A seated female figure, flanked by what Mellaart describes as lionesses, was found in a grain-bin, she may have intended to protect the harvest and grain. The seated or enthroned goddess-like figure flanked by lionesses, has suggested as a prototype Cybele. They also left behind many ceramic remains of pottery and clay figurines, some of these figurines appear to represent the mother goddess. Malta has some of the oldest buildings in the world, and has many fertility figures or pieces of fertility figures throughout the temples, the most famous is the Sleeping Lady, recovered from the Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni, and held in the National Museum of Archaeology, Malta. Similarly, mother goddess figurines are found in the contemporaneous Ozieri culture of Sardinia. James Frazer and others advance the idea that worship in ancient Europe. According to Gimbutas Kurgan Hypothesis, Old European cultures were disrupted by expansion of Indo-European speakers from modern-day Ukraine, in 1968 the archaeologist Peter Ucko proposed that the many images found in graves and archaeological sites of Neolithic cultures were toys. The graves he was describing dated from Predynastic Egypt and Neolithic Crete, Mother goddesses are present in the earliest images discovered among the archaeological finds in Ancient Egypt
Mother Goddess
–
Upper Paleolithic,
Venus von Willendorf, estimated to have been carved 24,000–22,000 BCE
Mother Goddess
–
The
Venus of Dolní Věstonice, one of the earliest known depictions of the human body, dates to approximately 29,000–25,000 BC (
Gravettian culture of the Upper Paleolithic era)
Mother Goddess
–
Ceramic Neolithic female figurine
Cucuteni-Trypillian culture, ca. 5500-2750 BCE,
Archaeology Museum Piatra Neamț
Mother Goddess
–
"Bird Lady" a Neolithic Egyptian ceramic, Naganda IIa Predynastic 3500-3400 BCE,
Brooklyn Museum
46.
Europe
–
Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
Europe
–
Reconstruction of
Herodotus ' world map
Europe
Europe
–
A medieval
T and O map from 1472 showing the three continents as domains of the sons of
Noah — Asia to Sem (
Shem), Europe to Iafeth (
Japheth), and Africa to Cham (
Ham)
Europe
–
Early modern depiction of
Europa regina ('Queen Europe') and the mythical
Europa of the 8th century BC.
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