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What are filoviruses?

The Filovirus has string-like structures. Ebola and Marbarg viruses come under this category. These viruses cause haemorrhaging. The incubation period is 2 to 21 days. Death can occur in only 10 days. Compare this with the dreaded HIV or the AIDS virus that has an incubation period of a decade.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is the most steroid in the human body. Due to its association with the cardiac disease, cholesterol has got a bad name. However, it is a critically important molecule. It is essential to the formation of bile acids that aid digestion of fats, vitamins D, male and female sexual hormones as well as certain other important hormones.

What is the largest bird?

Ostrich is the largest of living birds. It is 8 feet tall and weighs up to 300 pounds. The ostrich cannot fly. However, it runs at an amazing speed of 50 km per hour. The ostrich egg is white in color arid weigh almost 1.2 kg; equivalent to almost two dozen chicken eggs.

What isatp?

ATP or Adrenosine TriPhosphate is a chemical compound present in all living cells. It is the immediate provider of energy.

What is thalassemia?

Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder that causes anemia. It is thought to be caused by a defect in hemoglobin synthesis. Thalassemia is common among Mediterranean people.

Who determined the structure of vitamin b12?

Prof Dorothy Hodgekin, a British chemist, spelled out the structure of B12, the most complex vitamin. She also analyzed the structural details of the first known antibiotic. Penicillin. Prof Hodgkin was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1964.

What is mosaic disease?

Many people do not know that it is a viral disease that causes leaf blotching in plants like tobacco, maize and sugarcane.

What is a zoophyte?

The first part of the word, ‘zoo’ means animal while ‘phyte’ implies a plant. Any invertebrate that resemble a plant are called zoophytes.

What is a double helix?

A DNA (Deoxyribo-Nucleic Acid) molecule is a carrier of genetic code and a link between life and matter. There were several models describing its structure. Watson and Creek conceived of a model of DNA molecule like a spiral staircase or the doubly helical structure. This model has successfully described all properties of this giant molecule.

What is a prehensile tail?

Animals living in trees use their tail adapted as an extra appendage by curling it around a branch to get additional support. Several monkeys and lizards are endowed with a prehensile tail.

Why are dogs, unlike cats, supposed to be loyal?

Dogs were domesticated for hunting and herding some 14,000 years ago. While they evolved from wolves, they displayed sociable characteristics that resemble those of human beings, particularly affection and loyalty. On the other hand, cats are domestic creatures but not domesticated, which is why they are not considered as loyal as dogs. In fact, it is said that we don’t own cats, cats own us.

What is chicken65?

Chicken 65 is known to many Indians as a mouth-watering recipe. However, there is a scientific explanation for the term. When a chick is born, its weight increases linearly with its intake. This is valid for a couple of months – on an average about 65 days. Afterwards, the weight saturates but the intake goes on increasing.

What is a migiraine?

Migraine is a headache that affects only one side of the head and is associated with nausea. The word originates from the combination of ‘hemi’ or half and ‘cranium’ meaning the skull. Migraine continues to baffle practitioners of modern medicine. However, it seems to have a link with hormonal activity especially in the case of, females.

What is symbiosis?

Symbiosis is an association or togetherness of two dissimilar organisms for survival. The Hermit crab-sea anemone and the lichen or the algae and fungus are well known examples of symbiosis. The ‘crocodile bird3 wanders through the open mouth of a resting crocodile and gets its food by cleansing the crocodile’s teeth, in the process getting rid of parasites and leeches. In New Zealand, the puffin, a bird and the tuatara, a lizard, share the same cave. The puffin builds the nest while the lizard keeps the cave clean by devouring insects. Human beings have a lot to learn from the nature.

How do medicines cure people, though they are taken in such small quantities?

MOST processes that take place in the body are basically chemical reactions. Digestion too is the result of many chemical reactions. The moment the food enters the mouth, saliva is secreted. There is an enzyme called amylase (or ptyalin) in the saliva, which converts the starch in the food into the sugar, maltose. Amylase is found not only in the. saliva, but also in the pancreatic juices and intestinal juices. Saliva is alkaline. The gastric juice in the stomach is acidic. Therefore physicians advise you to keep certain tablets (that are likely to be affected by acidity) below the tongue (sublingual), till they are dissolved and absorbed. Some such tablets are coated so that the effective ingredient inside the tablet may remain unaffected by the acidity in the stomach. When the food enters the stomach, gastric juices act on the food and help in the digestion process. From the stomach, the food enters the small intestines. Starches, that have already, been reduced to maltose further break down into glucose In the small intestines and that is absorbed by the wall of the intestine into the blood. Similarly because of chemical reactions, the proteins as well as fats in the food are digested. When you take any medicine that too is absorbed in the blood, mostly through the was of the intestines and reaches every comer of the body. Some balms and ointments are meant to provide relief at particular points.

How does potassium cyanide kill a person within minutes?

POTASSIUM Cyanide (also Sodium Cyanide) is a highly dangerous poison. Cells in the human body need oxygen for their survival and functioning. This oxygen is carried to the various cells of the body by haemoglobin, to be found in blood. Hence haemoglobin is the actual oxygen-carrier. Cyanides have great affinity for haemoglobin and they prevent oxygen being carried to the cells. Lack of oxygen causes instant death.

What is bronze diabetes?    

Bronze diabetes is another name of hemochromatosis, an iron overload disease which causes the body to absorb and store too much iron. It is a genetic disorder, wherein deposition of excessive iron in the body damages the pancreas causing diabetes, apart from affecting other organs like the liver and heart and the joints too.

Why is it said that an elephant never forgets?

In general, vertebrate species with large brains like the elephant have developed complicated parts of the cerebral cortex (a part of the brain) to a greater extent and have greater capability for learning complicated tasks. It also seems that larger animals with large brains have the ability to retain information for longer periods. Based on evidence available, elephants seem to remember individuals, places and learned skills for many years. Accounts by observers indicate that elephants are able to remember the voices (and perhaps scents) of some people for over 12 years. Thus, it’s said that an elephant never forgets.              

What causes absent-mindedness?

Recent studies suggest that absent —a family of viruses causes mindedness. Picornaviruses are said to attack at least 1 billion people every year. Viruses from the same family are also said to cause polio, cold and diarrhoea. Scientists say that this sort of virus-induced memory loss could accumulate over the years to form clinical cognitive memory deficits.

Why does a human body float like cork in the dead sea?

The buoyancy is caused due to the high salinity of water. The Dead Sea is the most saline lake in the world. The salinity is due to the accumulation of salt flowing into it from different water bodies and due to the lack of a drainage system the salt gets deposited there. As the temperature increases, the water evaporates leaving behind the salt, thus increasing the concentration. Hence, the density becomes higher than normal water. Consequently, it provides greater upward thrust on a floating body. Thus, a swimmer floats like a cork.

Why do we feel thirsty when we eat salty things?

The salt in salty foods consists mostly of sodium chloride, which is hygroscopic i.e. salt has a strong tendency to absorb water from its vicinity. This is evident from the fact that table salt, when left in the open, becomes lumpy in a short while by absorbing the moisture from air. For the same reason, when a person eats salty foods, the salt causes the mouth to become dry by absorbing the moisture in the mouth and throat. As water is an important component of our body, water level in the various parts of our body is constantly monitored by the receptors in the hypothalamus of the brain. As soon as the mouth is depleted of its moisture, the above receptors detect the dryness and trigger signals that cause the person to feel thirsty.

Why are there only 60 seconds in a minute?

A minute is a unit used to measure both time and angles. A circle was divided into 360 degrees by ancient civilizations, probably Babylonians who figure everything in units of 10’s and 60’s instead of 10’s and 100’s as we do. The degree was divided into 60 parts and each of these parts was divided into 60 parts. The Romans called the first division of the degree ‘the partes minutae primal’ or the first part. The second division they called ‘the partes minutae secundaes’ or second small parts. These terms were finally shortened to minutes and seconds.

When an animal is called a mammal?

The word mammal is derived from the word mammae which mean milk. The groups of animals, which possess milk-secreting glands or mammary glands, are called mammals. These are the only animals which feed then- offspring by their body secretions. In addition to mammary glands, mammals possess some other unique characteristics like external ear (pinnae) and body hair. 

What is an okapi? 

An okapi is a ruminant forest mammal belonging to the giraffe family, but smaller in size and has a short neck. It is found generally found in the belt of Africa territory embracing Congo, northern Zaire and Uganda. Sir Harry Johnston reported spotting the okapi in the Semliki forest near Lake Albert (now Lake Mobuto Sese Seko) in 1901.

Though climatic conditions are similar in both cases, why are polar bears found only at the arctic circle and penguins at the antarctic circle?

It’s because of: i) Evolution —polar bears are totally reliant on the sea ice as their primary habitat. Penguins evolved in the southern hemisphere taking advantage of the very rich fish stocks in the cold currents of the southern ocean; ii) Difficult journey — to cross over the much warmer tropical waters to reach the cold northern waters has proved to be too great a journey for the penguins and iii) Ecological niche and adaptation — polar bears are an essential part of a food chain there. For them, sea ice is a critical platform.

Why does dry soil emit an odour when water falls on it?

The soil-inhabiting bacteria called streptomycetes produce the peculiar smell. They are abundant in dry warm soil — a million or so of them are present in a pinch of soil. They release compounds such as geosmin and 2-methyl isoborneol, which vaporise easily when water falls on them after a dry spell. That’s why dry soil emits an odour when water falls on it.

Why do we hiccup?       

Hiccups occur when the diaphragm and the muscles between the ribs suddenly contract. This causes a sharp, uncontrollable inhalation of air which does not reach the lungs because the muscle spasm has closed the windpipe. Hiccups are commonly induced by minor stomach upsets, like hot food irritating the phrenic nerve near the oesophagus, or when gas in the stomach presses upward against the diaphragm. Mild cases of hiccups usually disappear without treatment. What precisely causes hiccups is difficult to say; in most cases, there is no obvious cause. 

What material was used to wrap mummies?

Ancient texts state that a complete mummy treatment required 70 days. Embalmers removed the brain through the nostril by using a hook. They removed the internal organs, except the heart and kidneys, through an incision like the ones made by surgeons. They usually filled the empty abdomen with linen pads, and sometimes with sawdust. Then they placed the body in natron (sodium carbonate) till the tissues were dried out. Finally they wrapped the body carefully in many layers of linen bandages and placed it in a coffin.

Which is the world’s largest tree?

As of now, the world’s largest tree, that is, the one with the greatest mass, is the ‘General Sherman’, a giant sequoia located in Sequoia National Park, California, US. It is 84 meters tall and has a girth of 31.3 meters.

To which family does the giraffe belong?

The giraffe belongs to the Giraffidae family its scientific name is Giraffa camrleopardalis. It is the tallest animal and can grow up to a height of 5.5 m. Giraffes live on tree-dotted grasslands south of the Sahara in Africa. It feeds on acacia and mimosa leaves. It has a life span of 15 to 20 years. It can run up to a speed of 45km/h.

What is a jarvik heart?

The Jarvik Heart or Jarvik-7 refers to an artificial heart first implanted in a patient named Barney dark in 1982. However, this device, invented by Dr Robert Jarvik, required the patient to be permanently tethered to a large console. Recently, an American company has come up with the abiomed device, a fully implantable artificial heart. Although the people in whom the mechanical heart was implanted didn’t survive, the FDA exempted the company manufacturing it on humanitarian grounds, and has allowed it to sell about 4,000 devices every year.

Why isn’t there a nobel prize for mathematics?

Nobel prizes are principally for those inventions or discoveries of greatest practical benefit to mankind, possibly having in mind practical rather than theoretical work. Mathematics was not considered a practical science from which humanity could benefit, a key purpose for the Nobel Foundation. Nobel’s final will of 1895 bequeathed $9,000,000 for a foundation whose income would support five annual prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine Physiology, Literature, and Peace. Four of the original five prizes were in fields which were close to Nobel’s own interests, medicine being the exception. A sixth Nobel prize in economic science was added in 1969.

What’s special about hummingbirds?

Hummingbirds have the ability to hover in mid-air and fly deliberately backwards or vertically and to maintain their position to drink from flower blossoms. Bee hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world, weighing 1.8 gms. They typically consume more than their own weight in food each day Their heart beat can reach as high as 1260 beats per minute. During torpor (hybernation-like stage) the heartbeat slows down to 50-180 beats per minute.

Are home lizards poisonous?

The wall lizard or gecko, found in most homes, is not poisonous at all. It only checks insect population. The only poisonous lizard in the world is the heloderma, also called the gila monster and beaded lizard. It’s found in large numbers near the Gila river in south-western United States.

Why does milk overflow when boiled but water does not?

The answer given last week is not correct. Milk overflows when boiled for the first time because it contains entrapped air. The air expands on heating and tends to escape lilting the surface of milk. Once all the air is expelled, the boiling would be regular and smooth. A second boiling would not lead to overflow. Entrapped air in mother’s milk is the cause of pain for babies that go under the name ‘colic pain’. Breast-feeding is therefore to be done in small doses at a time.

Why does milk overflow when boiled but water does not?

Milk is not a simple liquid — it contains tiny globules of fat and casein, which are not dissolved but suspended in water. On heating milk, there occurs a separation of constituents and some elements like cream, being lighter, float up. After some time, a membrane-like film containing cream and casein is formed. When milk begins to boil, the heat energy is used for the conversion of water into steam. As a result, the pressure below the film increases suddenly and the rising bubbles of steam makes the milk overflow. On heating water, no such film is formed and the bubbles of steam formed by boiling escape easily without any resistance. Hence, water does not overflow on boiling.

What’s the origin of the word chikunguhya?

The dreaded disease, which is quite a pain in the joints, has its etymological origins in the African language Swahili. The word is derived from the description of the contortion caused by the illness.

What is cryopreservation?

Cryopreservation is the preservation of any living tissue at low temperature. This can include anything from human tissues to vegetables. It is basically used for preserving living tissues, which need to be surgically implanted or transplanted to a human. Some examples include cornea, heart, etc Temperatures usually used are sub-zero temperatures. Low tem- perature leads to a decrease or almost total cessation of metabolic processes of the living tissue, which increases its preservation life. Human sperms are also stored in a sperm bank at lower temperatures using this principle.

Why is peacock the national bird of india?

In 1963, the peacock was declared the National Bird of India because of its rich religious and legendary involvement in Indian traditions. The criteria for this choice were many. The bird must be well distributed within the country so it could truly ‘national’. It must be recognisable to the common man. It must lend itself to formal depiction, i.e. abstract depiction on government publications, etc. It must not be confused with the bird emblem of any other nation. It should be associated with Indian myths and legends. The peacock fit the bill.

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To which family does the moose belong to?

The moose is the largest species in the deer family (cervidae), found in North America and Eurasia. It is called elk in Europe. Males have enormous, flattened antlers that are shed and regrown annually and they weigh up to 820 kgs.

When was the dog domesticated?

Dogs were domesticated about 15,000 years back in the Mesolithic period when humans were hunter-gatherers. They were domesticated first probably in China. Several qualities associated with dogs such as great speed, agility, strength and ability to follow scent, helped men in their efforts to hunt animals. These were main reasons that favoured domestication. There are several theories to support domestication of dogs, ranging from companions in hunting to garbage disposal to early warning system for approaching strangers and predators and even as beasts of burden.

A person stops growing tall beyond a certain age. But why does hair keep growing longer?

A person grows tall when the person’s bones increase in length. This is governed by the coordinated action of several hormones, chiefly the growth hormone (GH) produced by the anterior pituitary gland. The secretion of GH is the highest around puberty and declines progressively thereafter. Although the decrease in GH secretion with age is not well understood, one factor is the increased secretion of a growth-inhibiting hormone called somatostatin. The growth of hair is not due to hormones, but the production of new cells in hair follicles.

Why do doctors wear green in the operation theatre?

The sight of red stains of blood over white didn’t go well with many doctors and would perturb them psychologically By the 1950s, white gave way to shades of green, which produced lesser eye fatigue besides providing a better contrast in the environment.

Which nutrients are created or soyed when curds are made from milk?

Curds are made by mixing a few spoonfuls of commercial yoghurt made with live cultures of bacteria into pasteurized milk. A mixed culture of Lactobacilus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus consumes the milk sugar or lactose for energy and excretes lactic acid, which curdles the milk. Curds retain the fat; mineral and vitamin content of milk, but have only one-third to two-thirds the amount of lactose. Curds are therefore, more digestible than milk foe lactose intolerant people.

Who devised the sign language used by the hearing impaired?

Jerome Cardan devised the sign language. Deaf and mute people faced unreasonable brutality at one point of time. Jerome Cardan was an Italian doctor who believed that the mute and deaf people could be taught to communicate by using written characters. Finger characters were worked out for them in the seventeenth century, which was very similar to the present-day finger alphabets. About seventy-five years ago the deaf were taught to communicate ideas almost entirely by means of signs, facial expressions and finger alphabets.

How do microwave ovens cook food?

Microwave ovens contain a magnetron tube, which converts electricity into microwaves (high-frequency electromagnetic waves similar to radio waves) rather than heat, when they contact food. Microwaves are not hot, but are attracted to and absorbed by water, fat, salt and sugar in food. The microwaves cause the water, fat, salt or sugar molecules to rotate rapidly and bump into each other, causing the food to heat by friction of the molecules. Though microwaves don’t actually cook food, the friction resulting from the vibrating molecules produces the heat which does the cooking. Microwaves do not actually touch most of the food they cook. However, the heat generated by the vibrating molecules on the outer edges conduct this heat inward, layer by layer, to cook the food.

What is’a genethip?

It is a newly developed diagnostic tool that can immediately identify the exact type of infectious disease a person is afflicted with, such as malaria, influenza, ebola or any other type of bacterial infection. It does so using tissue, blood, and urine and stool samples. The gene chip is essentially a glass slide with several rows of DNA and RNA samples from about 30,000 types of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. When the tissue or fluid sample is applied on the side, it would stick to the genetic material that is closely related to it.

What is the origin of the white tiger?

All white tigers are a colour variation of Bengal tigers. They are not separate sub-species of the Bengal tiger. White tigers are only born to parents that both carry the recessive gene for white colouring. The white tiger origin was record- ed in India from 1556 to 1605 AD. The first documented case of a white tiger being captured was in 1915. The local maharaja who kept the tiger till its death caught him. The first mutant white cub is believed to be the one trapped by the Maharaja of Rewa, who found it orphaned in the jungle in 1951. Named Mohan, the cub was later mated with a normal-coloured captive tigress that produced three litters with normal colouring. A few years later, Mohan mated with one of the offspring, producing the first litter of white cubs — these were to be the ancestors of others now in many zoos worldwide.

What are the edge species?

EDGE species refers to animals that are Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (hence EDGE). These species are considered to be one of a kind and, as its acronym suggests, are nearing extinction. Hence, scientists are trying to preserve them through a project, which will aid conservation efforts. Currently, on the endangered list are 10 creatures, the most well known being pandas and elephants. Scientists hope to add 100 more species and kick off conservation efforts to preserve them over the next five years.

What is hyponatremia?

Hypo means below normal and natrium means sodium. Various electrolytes like sodium, potassium, bicarbonates, etc. are dissolved in blood plasma and they are maintained within a normal range. Normal sodium concentration in blood plasma is 136-145 milliequivalent per litre. If plasma sodium concentration falls below 135 milliequivalent per litre, it’s known as hyponatremia. It is caused by various medical conditions like excessive vomiting or diarrhoea, medicines that cause more urination (diuretics), some kidney diseases, hormonal imbalance, etc. In sodium deficiency, more body water accumulates in cells leading to cell swelling, especially brain cells. Patients mainly have neurological symptoms — nausea, headache, drowsiness, seizures, lethargy confusion and even coma. It is treated by restricting water intake and promoting water loss and by correcting underlying disease.

What is heavy water? 

Heavy water is chemically called deuterium oxide. Deuterium is one of the isotopes of hydrogen and also known as heavy hydrogen. The credit for discovering it goes to Urey who first proved that ordinary water contains one part of heavy water in 6,000 parts of it. In 1933, Lewis & Donald were able to isolate pure heavy water by continuous electrolysis of water containing alkali. Heavy water acts as a moderator in fission in uranium235. It also has germicide and bactericide properties. In India, it is manufactured at Trombay Nangal, Rourkela, Namrup and Neyveli.

Why is a hermit crab called so?

Usually the entire body of a crab is covered with a hard, calcified Armour. The hermit crab, however, lacks this protection on the hindmost part of its body, the abdomen, which is soft and vulnerable. It protects its abdomen, which contains important organs like the liver and the gonads, by inserting it into a gastropod shell. Most hermit crabs salvage empty seashells to shelter and protect their abdomens, from which they derive the name hermit. The abdomen is bent, so that it fits in the curvature of the snail house. In case of danger, the hermit crab withdraws deep into the shell where there isn’t room for two big pincers. When the crab grows and does not fit in its shell any longer, it looks for a bigger one. The original occupant, if still present, is picked out. Then, quickly and nervously the crab moves over into its new home.

Do animals suffer from diabetes and blood pressure too?

Yes, definitely Diabetes mainly occurs as a genetic disorder, mostly in dogs. It can also occur due to hormonal changes mainly due to insulin deficiency It can be treated with hormonal therapy and dietary regulations. Problems related to blood pressure also occur significantly in animals. Congestive cardiac failure, cardiac murmurs, ventricular fibrillation, cardiac arrest, etc. occur in dogs and other animals. Treatment is limited mainly to medicinal therapy Surgeries are seldom done.

Why a group of fish is called a ’school’?

Some fish tend to swim in groups in order to protect themselves from their predators. The collective noun, which denotes such a group depends on the species of the fish in the group, as, exemplified by the terms a troop of dogfish, a swarm of eels and a glide of flying fish. The most common collective nouns for a group of fish in general are school and shoal. Both the words have evolved from the same common Dutch root ’schole’ meaning a troop or crowd.

Why is ethyl alcohol called ‘grain alcohol’?

Ethyl alcohol or ethanol is mainly prepared by fermentation of various sugars. These are obtained from sugarcane and sometimes from starchy grains like barley etc. That’s why ethanol is sometimes referred to as ‘grain alcohol’. For example, ethanol used in beer is extracted from barley.

What is bitchology?

Bitchology is the theory, practice and technique of being successful in a man’s world. A bitch should be Strong and self-confident but should remember to use feminine wiles, such as her attractiveness and, whenever useful, she should try to come across as a helpless creature. The 20th century definition of a bitch was a mean, spiteful, bad-tempered and unpleasant woman. In the 21st century, it’s an empowering name, a compliment, a title that all women should embrace. It’s a woman who is proud of who she is, stands up for herself, knows what she wants, willing to take risks, all in a pleasant but in a strong feminine manner.

What does the term agroecosystem mean?

An ecosystem modified for agricultural use is called agroecosystem. It includes dynamic association of several biotic and abiotic factors viz. crops,pastures, livestock, flora and fauna, atmosphere, soil, water, etc. Design and functioning of an agricultural pattern with inputs and outputs, as well as integration of social, economic and ecological factors makes agroecosystems complex in comparison to natural ecosystems. The level of an agroecosystem varies with the agricultural system designed for more efficient use of natural resources which results in higher agricultural productivity.

Is there any scientific proof to confirm the concept of rebirth?

Reincarnation holds the notion that some essential part of a living being (or sometimes, only humans) can survive death in some form, i, with its integrity partly or wholly retained, to be reborn in a new body. This is often referred to as the spirit or soul. In such beliefs, a new personality is developed during each: life, based on past-integrated experience and new acquired experiences, but some part of the being “remains constantly present through successive lives. Many persons have claimed to record memories of past lives. Dr Ian Stevenson has researched the subject extensively but it hasn’t been proven scientifically

Why is mesokaryotes called so?

‘Meso’ means ‘in between’ and ‘karyon’ means ‘nucleus’. As mesokaryotic cells contain a well organised nucleus like that of eukaryotic cells, but its nucleus divides through amitosis like that of prokaryotes, so the cells are termed mesokaryotes which indicates its nucleus resembles both eukaryotic and prokaryotic nucleus. It has been found that the Peridinium balticum din flagellate contains both a mesokaryotic nucleus and a eukaryotic nucleus.

Why the roaring forties are called so?

Western winds move in both the hemispheres (northern and southern) between 35 to 60 degrees latitudes. In the southern hemisphere, these winds show a very stormy nature after 40 degree latitude. This remains constant in summer as well as in winter. In the olden days, sailors called them ‘roaring forties’, ‘furious fifties’ and ‘crying sixties’ since these winds create a very noisy atmosphere and were not favourable for them at all.

Why is international diabetes day celebrated on november 14?

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) established world Diabetes Day, celebrated every year on November 14, in 1991 with the aim of coordinating diabetes advocacy worldwide. Since then, it has become the primary global awareness campaign of the diabetes community. World Diabetes Day commemorates the birthday of Frederick Banting, who with his colleague Charles Best, discovered insulin in 1921. The disease is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, amputation, heart attack and stroke. It is one of the most significant causes of death, responsible for a similar number of deaths each year as HIV/AIDS.

What is the difference between quagmire and quicksand?

Quagmire is a bog or swamp i.e. a lowland area permanently saturated with water. The word is also used to denote a situation fromwhich it is almost impossible to escape. On the other hand, quicksand is a bed of loose sand and mud mixed with water, which forms a soft, shifting mass, which sucks down any object that comes on it. For instance, you may get stuck in a quagmire, but you won’t be swallowed by it. But you would be in quicksand.

What is the significance of crab shaped bread?

The crab-shaped loaf of sourdough bread is baked at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. The crab shaped loaf is a long-standing holiday tradition that coincides with the local Dungeness crab season. The Fisherman’s bakery produces about 3,000 loaves of bread per day. The famous Dungeness crab owes it name to the small village Dungeness near Sequim, Washington and now it is well known around the world.

What is oxygen toxicity?

Although, oxygen is essential for our survival, breathing it in excess can cause harm to our central nervous system and lungs. The harmful effects caused by oxygen in people breathing it at excessive pressure and for prolonged periods is called oxygen toxicity Divers breathing from their own gas cylinders and patients in intensive care units of hospitals are susceptible to the above problem, if they violate the safety limits on the pressure of the gas mixture and period of breathing. Some of the symptoms experienced by divers violating the pressure and time norms are dizziness, nausea, twitching and convulsions. Breathing oxygen at excessive pressure for a long time can also damage the lungs, which in turn leads to breathlessness.

Why is mercury used in thermometers despite being the poorest conductor of heat? 

Most metals are good conductors of heat and they are solids at room temperature. Mercury is the only one in liquid state at room temperature. It’s used in thermometers because it has high coefficient of expansion. Hence, the slightest change in temperature is notable when it’s used in a thermometer. It also has a high boiling point which makes it very suitable to measure higher temperatures. Also, it has a shiny appearance and doesn’t stick to the glass surface of glass.

Why is refined sugar more harmful than jaggery for diabetes patients though both are produced from sugarcane?

Sugar contains various types of carbohydrates like glucose, fructose, glactose, lactose, ribose, maltose and sucrose. Sucrose is further converted into glucose which provides energy to the body Insulin, which is secreted by the pancreas, converts sucrose into useful sugar. In diabetics, the insulin secretion doesn’t take place, so the sugar which is not useful gets accumulated in the body. Jaggery is a natural sweetener made from sugarcane juice simply by evaporation or the method called centrifugation without the use of any chemicals, synthetic additives or preservatives. It contains an enormous wealth of minerals, protein, vitamins and useful sugar.

Who invented the biometric system?”

The use of biometric technology, which utitilises body characteristics to identify a person, goes back to the ancient civilisations of Egypt and China. However, modern-day biometrics has evolved thanks to the contribution of several minds. Joao De Barros, a European explorer is credited with recording the first known system of fingerprinting in the 14fh century Alphonse Bertillon, a policeman from Paris, studied body mechanics in an effort to identify criminals. In recent years, John Daugman, a physicist, has done pioneering work in developing the biometric iris recognition system. Owing to its accuracy, biometric systems are being used to help nab terrorists. Pakistan recently installed biometric systems at its border to keep a check on cross-border militancy from Afghanistan.

Is there any logical answer to the question: what comes first — the chicken or the egg?

Human beings evolved from apes. However, a male and female ape did not reproduce to give birth to a human child. As per Darwin’s theory of the survival of the fittest, Nature always chooses the fittest form of a species and allows it to exist and reproduce further. Due to this competition, a continuous gene mutation and development occurs in every living being until and unless a stable form is achieved. This happened among birds too, whose outputs were genetically different and these laid eggs. Finally, an egg was laid after many additive and subtractive combinations, from which came the chicken. Therefore, we can conclude that the chicken came first.

What are the patagonia calves?

The Patagonia calves are clonedand genetically modified calves which can produce human insulin. Scientists are hoping to extract this hormone from the Patagonia calves 1, 2, 3 and 4, which will be produced in these calves when they mature, and thereby bring down the cost of treating diabetes. The project was conducted by a Buenos Aires-based biotechnology company Bio Sidus.

Why do our veins appear green when the blood flowing in them is red?

Under normal light, blood appears red because most colours are absorbed except for red, which bounces back from the blood. Every colour but red is absorbed by the oxygen-carrying pigment haemoglobin (Hb). If a filter that blocks the reflected colour is positioned between the blood and the eyes of the person looking at the veins, the perceived colour changes. In the case of humans, the skin serves as a filter for the colour red, and the colour is therefore perceived as green. The exact colour spectra is determined by the relative levels of oxygenated iron (HbO) and carbon dioxide in the blood. High levels of oxygen reflect red, and high levels of carbon dioxide reflect blue, which, when mixed with the yellowish colour of fat and or the skin, end Up looking green.

How was curd first prepared?

According to a popular legend, while travelling across a desert, some Turks kept milk in a goatskin bag and slung it across the back of a camel. On opening the bag a few ‘ hours later, they found that it had been transformed into a thick, tangy custard. The desert sun and the bacteria in the bag had enabled preparation of curd, also known as yoghurt.

How were the pharaohs of egypt mummified?

The title ‘pharaoh’ was given to a ruler of Egypt. Egyptians believed in life after death and made elaborate arrangements to preserve their king’s body First, the body was dried thoroughly using the desert sand. Then, the internal organs were removed because they decay easily The body was embalmed with preservatives like palm wine, natron, oils, herbs, resins and spices. Later, the body was wrapped in strips of linen bandages in the process called mummification and placed in a coffin and put in a pyramid.

What’s unique about the insula?

Insula is the region in the brain that’s considered to be the seat of social emotions such as disgust, pride, humiliation, lust, guilt and atonement. The insula also seems to react to body states such as hunger and craving. Scientists believe it holds the key to tackling addiction of all sorts. People who’ve suffered damage in this prune-sized region of the brain were able to effortlessly give up the smoking habit.

Why is plastic surgery called so?

The word plastic is derived from the Greek ‘plastikos’ meaning to mould or to shape. Plastic surgery is the technique used to change the appearance or function of human bodies through either cosmetic or reconstructive operations. The use of plastic in this context is not connected with the most common synthetic polymer material known as plastic. It is interesting to note that the knowledge of plastic surgery existed in India as early as 8 B.C. when ancient physicians utilised skin grafts for reconstructive work. The Sushruta Samhita describes the knowledge of plastic surgery in the form of rhinoplasty and otoplasty.

Although plants give out carbon dioxide at night, why is the morning air fresh?

Plants give out carbon dioxide not only at night but during the day too. It happens because of the process of respiration in which plants take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide. As soon as the sun rises another process called photosynthesis starts, in which carbon dioxide is taken in and oxygen is given out. Thus, the proportion of oxygen becomes greater in comparison to carbon dioxide in the lower atmosphere. The morning air has lesser amount of vehicle exhaust, dust, soot and smoke. All these make the morning air fresh. This is the reason why doctors advise patients to take morning walks.

Why aren’t flying birds pulled to the earth’s surface due to gravitational force?

It’s a misconception if one thinks flying birds are not pulled by Earth’s gravity Every object on Earth is influenced by gravity. Even the Earth is influenced by the Sun’s gravity So, if birds fly, they are doing so despite the gravitational pull, through their aerofoil structure. There are differences in velocity on the upper and lower side of aerofoil. This creates pres- sure differences i.e. the lower side gets more pressure and the upper side gets lesser pressure which lifts up the bird. The movement of wings creates the thrust to enable a bird to move forward. Thus, birds overcome gravity and gain height.

What is bilharzia?

A chronic disease, endemic in parts of Africa and South America, it is caused by infestation with blood flukes — leaf shaped, unsegmented flat worms calle schistosomes. Ii is named after the German physician T Bilharz. It is common in the tropics where ponds, streams and irrigation canals harbour bilharzla-transmitting snails. The worms feed on Red Blood Corpuscles and dissolved nutrients. Liver enlargement and kidney damage are mostly caused by these flukes.

Why does the planet venus rotate from east to west, not the other way around like other planets?

Venus is the hottest planet with a temperature of about 450 degrees to 500 degrees Celsius. Venus is not only close to Mercury but also has a similar temperature (Mercury’s temperature ranges from 400 to 450 degrees C). Venus repels Mercury away due to like charges. This makes Venus rotate from East to West.

What is the difference between a tortoise and a turtle?

A tortoise is a reptile of the order Chelonia and belongs to the family Testudinidae. Its body is enclosed in a hard shell. Turtles are freshwater or marine reptile whose body is protected by a shell. When in danger, a tortoise withdraws its head and limbs in to the shell. Turtles cannot retract their heads into their shells. Most tortoises are herbivorous and have no teeth. Turtles are generally omnivorous, feeding mainly on sea grasses and a range of animals including worms, frogs, and fish. Tortoise lay eggs in warm earth and are not incubated by the mother. Turtles often swim long distances to lay their eggs on the beaches where they are born. Turtles are excellent swimmers, having legs that resemble oar-like flippers. Unlike turtles, tortoise do not swim.

What is the bsx factor?

Bsx refers to the brain specific homeobox transcription factor, a gene mutation which causes people to fidget more, which experts believe also helps them in losing weight. They also believe that the sluggishness caused by the absence of the gene mutation can explain why they gain weight.

What is the significance of the cross in medicine?

The history of the cross in medicine seems to have originated with Christian monks running free hospitals. These monks either wore crosses hanging as pendants, or robes with crosses painted over them, or used the cross as a source of relief for the sick. In 1859, Swiss businessman Henry Dunant founded the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded to medically aid the war-wounded regardless of nationality. For its logo, Dunant reversed the Swiss national flag, a white cross on a red background. But the symbol gave a spiritual cloak to the organisation’s selfless service and became so identified with its work that people referred to it by the name of the emblem.

What is an e-cigarette?

It is a battery-operated cigarette which looks and feels like a real cigarette but it isn’t bad for health. It is being marketed by a Chinese company in the hope that China’s 40 million smokers will quit. Beijing-based SBT Co. first developed the e-cigarette technology in 2003 and it is now controlled by Golden Dragon. The cigarettes sell for around $208 apiece and are already available in China, Israel, Turkey, and a number of European countries. It’s not yet sold in Australia or the United States.

Is it all right to cook food in aluminium vessels?

Aluminium has good thermal conductivity for cooking. However, it can react with acidic foods and change the flavour and colour of the food cooked. Sauces containing egg yolks or vegetables such as asparagus may cause oxidation of non-anodised aluminium. Sometimes, Alzhelmer’s disease is linked to the use of aluminium but to date there is no proof that the metal is involved in causing, the disease.                   

What is fe-fortlfied rice?

Fe-fortified rice is rice enriched with iron- It’s a blend of premixed iron-fortified rice grains with ordinary rice. Ordinary rice grains are coated with iron in a suitable solvent and binder. A meal containing just one grain of iron fortified rice mixed with 100 grains of normal rice can make a lot of difference to malnutritioned children in India. Intake of approximately 4 to 6 cups of cooked iron-fortified rice will meet the daily Iron requirement of the body

Why are the heart, not any other organ, and the focus of all love stories?

As per Hindu mythology Lord Kamdev pierced the hearts of lovers with his arrow made of flowers. Lord Hanuman opened his chest to show Lord Ram and Sita seated in his heart. Images of an arrow through a heart is popular symbol the world overWe associate our emotions with the heart, although it is not the source of them. Had the focus of all love stories been any other organ, things would have been rather funny

Why are the heart, not any other organ, and the focus of all love stories?

Faster or stronger (or even irregular) heart beats are the most evident physical sign of any emotion we experience, not of love alone. Looking into the brain requires sophisticated instrumentation. Hence the millenia-old belief of lay persons that the heart is the seat of all emotions.

What’s special about the tomato trees?

These single vine tomato trees planted by Yong Huang (Epcots Manager of agricultural science), are the only single vine tomato trees in the US. It produces more than 32,000 tomatoes. Huang discovered the unique plant while vacationing in Beijing. They were planted in a specially designed experimental greenhouse. The vine now grows golf-sized tomatoes which are harvested and served at restaurants at Walt Disney World, Florida.

Why is the golden toad extinct?

The golden toad was once unique for its shimmering yellow colour and was found exclusively in Costa Rican jungles. Now, it has the dubious distinction of being extinct. Experts blame global warming for its disappearance from the planet. They believe that rising temperatures have led to a dangerous form of skin fungus entering their habitats. Also, two types of Harlequin frogs have become extinct, and several more reptiles and amphibians are on this ecological hit list.

What is the estimated age of the earth?                

It is believed that the Earth is 4-5 billion years old. Almost nothing is known of the Earth’s conditions during the first billion years before the consolidation of its crust. Through some methods like tidal force, sedimentation, rate of erosion, salinity of the ocean and radioactivity, the Earth’s age has been estimated but still debatable. The Big Bang theory, which explains the formation of the universe, was postulated in the 1950s and 1960s and its validity in 1972, proved by evidence received from the Cosmic Background Explorer to now accepted.

What is redshift in astronomy?

It is the increase in wavelength of the light from a stellar object towards the red end of the visible spectrum. This is usually caused by the object rapidly going away from the observer. The light spectra of distant galaxies show marked redshifts. This is normally interpreted as implying that they are rapidly receding from us.

What is the crigler-najjar syndrome?

The Crigler-Najjar Syndrome (CNS) is an inherited metabolic disorder caused by a liver enzyme deficiency which prevents the usual metabolic breakdown of bilirubin — a normal by-product in our body’s disposal of worn-out red blood cells. It is named after Dr Crigler and Dr Najjar who discovered this rare disease. Children with CNS must undergo daily 12-hour exposure to special blue light, just to survive. Without this, a child would suffer brain damage, muscle and nerve damage and die due to bilirubin toxicity.

Why the owl is considered wise?

Large eyes symbolise wisdom. As the owl has prominent eyes, some people consider it very wise. Perhaps for the same reason, it is associated with gods in some mythologies. Athena, the Greek goddess of knowledge and wisdom, transforms herself into an owl sometimes, and hence the Greeks consider the owl to be wise. In Hindu mythology, the goddess Laxmi is supposed to be accompanied by a white owl, and hence Hindus consider the owl a harbinger of prosperity. Due to its fierce appearance and mysterious nocturnal movements, some people feel the owl symbolises evil and death.

What is ‘wing-in-ground’ aircraft?

This is an aircraft that combines the power of a ship and a plane. Although it flies just above half a meter above the surface of the sea. It is six times faster than a ship and can go up to speeds of 300 km per hour. It can even carry up to four tonnes of weight, much more than the average plane. The ‘wing-in-ground’ aircraft is the brain child of Chinese scientists.

What is ramanujan number?

The number 1729 is known as the Ramunujan Number. It was Ramanujan who discovered that it is the smallest number that can be expressed as the sum of two cubes in two different ways. 1729 = I3 + 123 = 93 + 103.

What is palynology?

Palynology is the branch of science dealing with study of decayresistant remains of certain plants and animals. It can be classified as an interdisciplinary science and is a branch of earth science (geology or geological science) and biological science, particularly plant science (botany). The term Palynology was introduced by Hyde and Williams in 1944, on the basis of the Greek words paluno meaning to sprinkle and pale meaning dust.

What is the tangible 3d system?

Created by a Japanese firm, the tangible 3D system allows users to not only see but also feel a three-dimensional image with the help of a sensor-loaded glove. Possible commercial uses of this technology could include linking it to video phones, which will allow users to not only see but even touch their loved ones, even if they are far away.

What is no-till farming?

No-till farming is a cultivation technique of planting crops in previously unprepared soil or piece of land by opening a narrow slot, trench or band only of sufficient width and depth to obtain proper seed coverage. It requires no other preparation as required in conventional farming. Widely accepted in England and Europe, this soil conservation technique is also known as conservation tillage or zero tillage.

What does life-shirt refer to?

It is a vest that can be used to detect mental illness in a person, particularly manic depression and schizophrenia. The vest, which is lightweight and machine-washable, is filled with sensors which monitor several body functions including body movement. It gives a picture of the person’s physical activity, which scientists believe can be used to identify those who are in early stages of a bipolar disorder.

What is the hutchison effect?

The Hutchison Effect is a collection of phenomena discovered accidentally by John Hutchison during attempts to study the longitudinal waves of Tesla in 1979. The list includes levitation of heavy objects; fusion of dissimilar materials such as metal and wood; anomalous heating of metals without burning adjacent material; spontaneous fracturing of metals; changes in the crystalline structure and disappearance of metal samples. Hutchison and his supporters surmise that these phenomena arise from zero-point energy or the Casimir Effect. John Hutchison has not been able to replicate it on demand.

What is fringe science?

Fringe science may be a field of enquiry which is not yet considered a real science. It is also known as a proto-science. The phrase is used to describe scientific enquiry in an established field of study that departs significantly from mainstream theories. Fringe science is also used to describe unusual theories and models of discovery which have their basis in established scientific principles.

What is bio-sensor technology?”

Bio-sensor technology utilizes enzymes and antibodies, to identify sugars and proteins in body fluids, contaminating agents in air and gases in air. Commercially; it’s most popular avatar is, the blood glucose bio-sensor which uses an enzyme to break down blood glucose. Thai scientists have almost developed a technology which uses bio-sensors to detect tuberculosis.

What are spiral waves?

A wave rotating in two dimensions is called a Spiral wave because of its shape. There is a mathematical theory for waves in negative viscosity media. This theory predicts spiralling waves. Spiral waves have been demonstrated experimentally in a variety of biological and non-biological systems (heart, brain, retina, various social amoeba, and auto-catalytic chemical reactions). The heart muscle is actually three-dimensional. The waves in 3-D are said to be ’scroll waves’.

What is a persian astrolabe?

The Persian Astrolabe is a historical astronomical instrument used by classical astronomers and astrologers. Brass astrolabes were developed in much of Persia (Iran), chiefly as an aid to navigation and as a way of finding the qibla, the direction of Mecca. In the Islamic world, astrolabes were used to find the times of sunrise and the rising of fixed stars, to help schedule morning prayers. It was the chief navigational instrument until the invention of the compass and sextant. Its many uses included locating and predicting the positions of the sun, moon, planets and stars; determining local time given the local longitude and vice-versa; surveying, and triangulation. Astrologers of European nations used astrolabes to construct horoscopes. In the Islamic world, they are and were used primarily for astronomical studies, though astrology was often involved there as well.

Originally published here.

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Mr. Ashok Sharma

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How are diamonds cut?

Diamonds are cut with special diamond-bladed edges because they are very hard. Diamond cutting is an art, skill and, increasingly, a science of changing a diamond from a rough stone into a faceted gem. In relation to diamonds, cut has two meanings. The first is the shape: round, oval and so on. The second relates to the specific quality of cut within the shape. The most popular cut shape for diamonds is brilliant. This shape resembles that of a cone. Diamond cutting includes several steps like planning, cleaving or sawing, bruting, polishing, and final inspection.

What is the fifth state of matter?

The fifth state of matter is the Bose-Einstein condensate. In 1920, Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose had done some calculations for the fifth state of matter. Albert Einstein predicted a new state of matter — the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). In 2001, Eric A Carnell, Wolfgang Ketterie and Carl E Williams of the US received the Nobel Prize in Physics for achieving the Bose-Einstein condensation which is formed by cooling a gas of extremely low density to super low temperatures.

Which is the smallest living amphibian?

At just over 9.6-9.8 mm in length, the  Monte  Iberia  Eleuth (Eleutherodactylus iberia) is the smallest living amphibian in the northern hemisphere. It is the second-smallest frog (and tetrapod) in the world, following the Brazilian Gold Prog. It was first discovered in 1996 on Mount Iberia, from which the animal gets its name, and exists in only two small regions of Cuba. Much remains unknown about this small creature.

What is photometry?

Photometry is a Physics terms related to the visibility of an object through the eyes. It is the study of factors responsible for the sensation of brightness sensed by the eye. An object is visible when light coming from the object enters the eyes and creates the sensation responsible for vision. The brightness sensed by the eye depends on different factors. Photometry is the study of these factors and used to make a photometer which is usually used to compare intensities of two point sources.

What is the average life span of an elephant?

Estimates related to the life span of an elephant, in particular, and of wild animals in general, are unreliable and vary significantly because they are based on small samples and inaccurate records. The best data is available only in zoos, but such data is not representative because the life span of an animal in captivity differs significantly from that in the wild. An elephant under domestication lives longer than-when it is in the forest. Estimates of the average life span of an elephant vary from 40 to 65 years. The extreme life span of the animal might exceed even 75 years. Among mammals, only humans have a life expectancy longer than that of elephants.

What is hogwarts headache?

When the book Harry Potter and fee Order of the Phoenix was first published two years ago, an American pediatrician noticed that otherwise healthy children developed Headaches after reading the mammoth 870-page novel. Dr Howard Bennett called it the Hogwart’s Headache and even wrote a letter about it in the New England Journal of Medicine. Now, with the release of the final book in the series, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, looks like parents and pediatricians can gear up for an epidemic of Hogwarts Headache.

Why do most living beings sleep at night?

Living beings’ brains contain pineal glands, which secrete the hormone melatonin. The level of these hormones rises at night and is responsible for sleep. In daylight, the level of this hormone decreases, resulting in animals waking up from sleep. This is a cycle which operates throughout life and is known as ‘circadian rhythm’. There are many such rhythms operating in biological systems.

Who are cyberchondriacs?

Much like hypochondriacs who obsess about any small ache or pain they may have, cybercondriacs frequently surf the internet to glean information about anything that affects them. They now form 84% of all adult net users. Cyberchondriacs are even said to discuss what they learnt from the net about a particular ailment with their doctors. The term could also refer to people who imagine they have a disease because their symptoms match those on a health website.

What-is a transiting planet?

A transiting planet is one that moves across its parent star, as seen from Earth. Recently, astronomers found such a transiting planet, which is larger than Jupiter, orbiting a star in the galaxy Hercules. The planet has been named TrES-4.

What is the tasman outflow?

It’s an underwater current, scientifically classified as a supergyre (gyres are anti-clockwise pathways), which links the world’s major oceans and is known to con- trol climate. The Tasman Outflow, which was only discovered recently, flows across Tasmania and links the Pacific and the ocean basins of the Atlantic southern hemisphere.

What is food neophobia?

Children’s reluctance to try new food is called food neophobia in scientific terms. Scientists in London recently discovered that this sort of fussy behaviour is actually inherited and stems from the genes. Food neophobia, experts believe, could even have an evolutionary advantage, for it prevents the likelihood of trying out toxicfoods.

How is geothermal energy stained?

Geothermal energy is contained in the intense heat that continually flows outward from deep within the Earth. From Earth’s surface down through the crust, the normal temperature gradient (the increase of temperature with in crease of depth) is 100 to 300 Celsiuss per kilometre. In’certain areas, water seeping down through cracks and fissures in the crust comes in contact with this hot rock and is heated to high temperatures. Some of this heated water circulates back to the surface and appears as hot springs and geysers. However, the rising hot water may remain underground in areas of permeable hot rock, forming geothermal reservoirs. These, which may reach temperatures of more than 3,500 Celsius, can provide a powerful source of energy Geothermal reservoirs within about 5 kms of the Earth’s surface can be reached by drilling a well. The hot water or steamfrom wells can be used to turn turbine generators to produce electricity A power plant that uses this natural source of hot water or steam is called a geothermal power plant. Thus, in some cases, it is viable to capture geothermal energy and this renewable source of energy becomes obtainable.

Do dogs have colour vision?

Yes. However, their colour vision differs from human beings, since dogs are said to have dichromatic vision, which means they can see only part of the range of colours in the visual spectrum of light wavelengths. Humans have trichromatic vision, meaning they can see the whole spectrum. Dogs probably lack the ability to see the range of colours from green to red. This means that they primarily see in shades of yellow and blue.

What is the approximate number of species that exist today?

No one knows exactly the number of species on Earth. There are various estimates — the most common estimate is between 30 to 50 million based on Erwin’s study of tropical insects (1988,1997). According to the World Conservation Union report of May 2003, there are 1.5 to 1.8 million named species and a total of about 5 million to 10 million kinds of animals. According to the Society for Conservation Biology, there may be up to 100 million species. Centre for Earth & Environmental Sciences put the figure between 30 to 50 million.

What is the red spot seen on the surface of jupiter?

The great red spot is a persistent anti-cyclonic storm on Jupiter, 220 degrees south of the equator, which has lasted for at least 177 years and possibly as long as 342 years or more. The storm is large enough to be visible through Earth-based telescopes. It was first observed by Giovanni Domenico Cassini, who described it around 1665. The spot has been noticeably red at times throughout its observed history yet has not been appreciably red in the visible spectrum since a rather brief period in the mid 1970s.

Where was the first roller coaster set up?

The earliest roller coaster was the Russian winter sled ride, set up in specially constructed hills of ice around Petersburg. It was built in the 17th century The slides were built to a height of 70 to 80 feet and consisted of a 50-degree drop duly reinforced by wooden supports. The first roller coaster per se was created in Paris in 1804 which was named ‘The Russian Mountains’.

What is the Ph level of a snake’s poison?

Firstly, a snake has venom and not po’ison. The pH level of a snake’s venom indicates the concentration level of the poison. The term pH stands for ‘potential of hydrogen. This is the measure of how acidic Or alkaline a substance is. Acids have pH values that are under 7 and alkalies have pH values over 7. If a substance has a pH value of 7, it is neutral — neither acidic nor alkaline.

How is ink manufactured?

All inks contain two rudimentary components: a pigment or dye called a colourant, and a vehicle wlich is the liquid into which the colourant is dispersed. Printing inks are more like paints than writing inks — they consist of solid pigments dispersed in an oil. They are, therefore, less fluid. Manufacturing ink is a complicated process, involving the mixture of a pigment with a vehicle, the grinding of the mixture in a mill between rollers, the addition of driers, and, when using chemically produced rather thannaturalpigments, a filtering process.

What is quantum tunnelling?

In Physics, quantum is the particle which obeys quantum mechanics. When a quantum particle has to cross a potential barrier which has more energy than the particle, then, according to classical physics, it cannot do so. But, in quantum mechanics, it can, however small it be. This phenomenon is known as quantum tunnelling. The best example of quantum tunnelling is the emission of alpha particles from a radioactive nucleus . Although the energy of alpha particles is less than nuclear potential, they can tunnel through it.

Why are the kilogram weights hexagonal?

Kilogram weights are hexagonal for stability, as volume is the surface area multiplied by height For a hexagonal object, the surface area is maximum as corn pared to other angular shapes; plus the height is fixed for every weight. The higher the surface area, the better the stability

What is the medical narcissism?

Medical narcissism is defined as the need for health professionals not to disclose serious medical errors to their patients for fear of losing credibility and esteem in their eyes.

Why is the word ‘volume’ associated with sound level, although us physics, it is not an attribute of sound?

The term ‘volume’ with reference to sound is indicative of loudness as experienced by a listener which is a combined effect of more than one parameter. For example, frequency, amplitude etc. Volume is also the product of three dimensions – length, breadth and height. Hence, the term ^volume’ is best indicative of the loudness of sound a product of several parameters.

Why do babies have more bones than adults?

Babies have-more bones than adults because as they grow up, some of the bones fuse together to form one bone. This is because babies have more cartilage than bone. New born babies have around 305 bones. A baby’s skeleton is mostly made up of cartilage. As a person grows up, most of this cartilage turns into bone in a process called ossification. By adulthood, the skeleton has just 206 bones.

What is a vacuum bomb?

The vacuum bomb, also known as thermobaric bomb, is different from conventional explosive weapons in that It uses atmospheric oxygen instead of carrying an oxidiser in the explosive. They produce more energy for a given size than conventional bombs. A vacuum bomb works by first dispersing a cloud of powder or liquid explosive using a small charge, then igniting it with a second charge. The effect produced is often likened to that of a low-yield nuclear weapon, but without radiation. The significant injury dealt by either weapon on a targeted population is great. Russia tested the vacuum bomb on September 11. Its military dubbed it the ‘father of all bombs’. It’s the latest in a series of new Russian weapons as President Vladimir Putin tries to reassert Moscow’s role on the international stage.

Does gravity affect sound waves?

There will be a small effect on sound waves that is similar to the effect on light waves (electromagnetic radiation). Just as light falling down a gravitational field increases in frequency, so too will sound that falls down a gravitational field increase its frequency. This is a general-relativistic effect.

What are napierian logarithms?

Normal Logarithms are worked out with number 10 as base. For Napierian logarithms, the base is number ‘e’, called as Napier’s base named after the mathematician Napier. It is the sum of an infinite series obtained by expanding (1+1/n) raised to the power n as n tends to infinity where n is a natural number. It works out to an irrational number ‘e’ whose approximate value is 2.71828.

What makes bricks red?

The colour of clay bricks is affected by the chemical and mineral content of the raw material used, the firing temperature and the atmohphere of the kiln. Bricks can pink, white, yellow or red in colour. The pink is due to a high iron content, the colour turns to vario red hues on increasing the temperature. It first turns to dark red, then purple and grey or brown at around 1300 Celsius. The yellow or white colour is due to higher lime content.

What are carbon credits?

One carbon credit is equivalent to one tonne of C02 emissions. Credits can  be sold in the international market at the prevailing prices via cerrtain credit exchanges. Formalised in the Kyoto Protocol, carbon credits help developing/ underdeveloped countries as they traditionally have lower percapita carbon emissions than developed countries and will need to emit C02 owing to increasing industrial growth. At this point though, these countries can sell their carbon credits to other countries and reap the economic benefits of not polluting the planet.

Why are eastern crowned cranes called so?

Eastern or Gray crowned cranes are named for their characteristic crown of gold feathers. They have a pale gray neck and red throat wattles. The rest of their bodies are black, white, and gold in colour. Gray crowned cranes are 39 to 43.3 inches tall and weigh anywhere from 6.6 to 8.8 pounds. They have a wingspan of between 71 and 79 inches. Gray crowned cranes are found in some areas of Eastern Africa. These are frequently found in trees. Individuals nest in wetland or grassland areas. Instead of’ building their own nests, Gray crowned cranes frequently use ground nests that have been abandoned by other large bird species.

Where was the first spa?

The word spa originates from the Belgian town of Spa, where since mediaeval times, those with iron deficiency illnesses were given iron-rich spring water. This was perhaps the world’s first spa. The concept of medicinal bathing later made its way to England, most notably to the town of Bath. An Englishman William Slingsby discovered a spring in Yorkshire, in which he created an enclosed well. It came to known as Harrogate, which was the UK’s first resort for medicinal water. Later, another Englishman named Timothy Bright called his resort ‘The English Spaw’ (after the Belgian town), which was when the word became synonymous with a place for medicinal treatments and relaxation.

What does the acronym scuba stand for?

Scuba stands for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus: the word has become an adjective to describe the popular aquatic sport scuba diving. By carrying a source of compressed air, the scuba diver is able to stay underwater longer than with the simple breathholding techniques used in snorkelling and free diving, and is not hindered by airlines to a remote air source.

What is oenology?

Oenology is the science and study of all kinds of wines in the world. It is the study of all aspects of wine from harvesting of grapes to bottling of wines. The word is derived from the Greek word oenos which means wine and logy which means study. An expert in the field of oenology is known as oenologist. A wine maker can also be known as oenologist. This is not related to the tasting of wine — it’s only the study of wine production.

Though the platypus and whale lay eggs, why are they considered mammals?

A mammal, by definition, breathes air into the lungs, is warm blooded, feeds its offspring milk and has body hair. Mammals evolved from reptiles some 70 million years ago and some like whales returned to the waters approximately 16 million years after leaving it. The platypus is a duck-billed, beavertailed and otter-footed poisonous mammal that is also special because it lays eggs. However, the eggs develop in the uterus for a much longer time than that of egglaying non-mammals and the young ones are fed milk — something unique to mammals. It is believed that monotremes (the class of  platypus-like  mammals) branched from other mammals early in evolution. The other mammals evolved into either placental or marsupial groups. The class of mammals that evolved into whales do not lay eggs at all.

What is a frozen zoo?

The frozen zoo is a collection of biological materials from a wide variety of rare and critically endangered species. The biological material is composed of gametes (sperm and oocytes), embryos, tissue samples (cell lines), serum and other items. It represents a genetic bank vault, an archive of irreplaceable genetic information that can be preserved for perhaps hundreds of years. It is stored in specialised holding tanks filled with liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196 degrees Celsius or -373 degrees Fahrenheit. If a species nears extinction and its genes are lost, some samples can be thawed and by using assisted reproductive techniques, offspring can be produced. The collected gametes in ‘the frozen zoo are also used in the process of artificial insemination, embryo transfer and invitro-fertilization.

What is the difference between an alligator and a crocodile?

Crocodiles are from the Crocodylidae family while alligators are from the Alligatoride family Physically, the crocodile has a very long, narrow, V-shaped snout while the alligator’s snout is U-shaped. Another difference is that while the crocodile’s upper and lower jaws are nearly of the same width, an alligator has a wider upper jaw, so when the mouth is closed, the teeth in the lower jaw fit into the sockets of the upper jaw, which are hidden from view. Crocodiles have lighter olive brown colour while alligators appear blackish. Alligators also prefer fresh water while crocodiles like brackish water.

What are hemianopic spectacles?

Hemianopia is a visual disorder in which the visually handicapped person is unable to see a part of the normal visual field of one or both eyes. Hemianopia is of two kinds: bitemporal and homonymous. Persons suffering from the above disorder can improve their vision by wearing special spectacles with a prism and mirror and these are called hemianopic spectacles.

Is it true that we can hear the sound of crashing waves in seashells?

When we place the seashell close to the ear, it seems as though we can hear the sound of crashing waves but it is actually the vibration of the air molecules inside the coil of the shell. Vibrations are the source of all sounds.

How are cockatoos different from parrots?

Cockatoos belong to the family of Cacatuidae along with 20 other bird species, whereas parrots belong to the Psittacidae family. While there are a number of similarities between cockatoos and parrots, they differ in many ways — cockatoos possess a, spectacular movable head crest, and a gall bladder but they lack the dyck texture feather composition which causes the bright blues and greens seen in true parrots. Also, cockatoo species are, on an average, larger than the average parrots.

Who is a gelotologist?

A gelotologist is a specialist who studies the physiological effects of laughter. When a person laughs, some special muscles called gelastic muscles get exercised, and, as a result, several physiological changes such as an increase in respiration and blood circulation take place. A gelotologist is concerned with analysis of such changes and their effect on human health. The word originated from the Greek root ‘gelos’ meaning laughter. The first institute devoted to the field of gelotology was started in 1971 in San Francisco by Dr William Fry, who believed that laughter was bad for health. However, his views were proven wrong later.

What is otolaryngology?

Otolaryngology is the medical speciality that studies the ear, nose, and throat, as well as other related structures of the head and neck. Within otolaryngology there are seven specialties namely paediatric otolaryngology, allergy, head and neck diseases, otology / neurotology (ears, balance, and tinnitus), rhinology (nose), laryngology (throat), facial cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery Otolaryngologists are often referred to as ENT doctors because of their focus on the ear, nose, and throat. They care for patients with hearing, balance, speech, voice, taste, and smell disorders.

Which bird lives the longest?

The British record is 68 years in the case of a female European eagle-owl which was still alive in 1899. Other records regarded as probably reliable include 73 years (1818-1891) for a Greater Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo, 72 years (1797-1869) for an African Grey Parrot, 70 years (1770-1840) for a Mute Swan and 69 years for a raven. In 1972, a southern Ostrich aged 62 years and 3 months was killed in the Ostrich Abattoir at Oudtshoorn, Cape Province, South Africa. Jimmy, a red and green Amazon Parrot owned by Bella Ludford of Liverpool, England was allegedly hatched in captivity on December 3,1870 and lived for 104 years in his original brass cage, dying on January 5,1975. On October 28,1982 the death of London Zoo’s famous Greater Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo — Cocky — was reported, after spending 57 years in the parrot house. He was already a mature bird when he was acquired by R Stevens at the turn of the century, and was probably at least 40 years of age when he was presented to the zoo in 1925.

What is psychogenesis?

Psychogenic comes from the Greek words psyche meaning mind or soul and genesis meaning birth or origin. If a disease is emotionally, rather than organically, based, the ailment is psychogenic, of psychic origin or psychosomatic, resulting from the interaction of mind and body.

What is mass spectroscopy?

In this technique, the compound under investigation is bombarded with a beam of electrons which produces an ionic molecule or ionic fragments of original species. The resulting assortment of charged particles is then separated according to their masses. The spectrum produced is known as mass spectrum, which is a record of information regarding various masses produced and their relative abundance. Mass spectrum is an analytical technique that can provide information concerning the molecular structure of organic and inorganic compounds. It can be used to determine directly molecular weight as high as 4000. It is also useful to investigate reaction mixtures in understanding kinetics and mechanism of unimolecu decomposition reactions.

What is pisciculture?

The breeding, rearing, and transplantation of fish by artificial means is called pisciculture, in other words, fish farming. It is the principal form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture. It involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food. A facility that releases juvenile fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species’ natural numbers is generally referred to as a fish hatchery. Fish species raised by fish farms include salmon, catfish, tilapia and cod.

What are velafrons?

Velafrons are possibly the world’s earliest beach bums. They were dinosaurs that lived by the Mexican seashore about 7 million years ago. It was a duck-billed dinosaur with a sail-shaped crest on its head. They were recently discovered by US, Canadian and Mexican scientists. Its biological name is Velafrons coahuilensis which means ’sailed forehead from Coahuila’.

What is a kymograph?

Kymograph is an electrical device used in preclinical medical research to record the biological responses (muscular motion, change in BP, and other physiological phenomena) of various tissues. It was invented by Carl Ludwig (1847) to record the change in arterial BP. It consists of an electrically driven gear box with a vertical spindle carrying a drum, and is disengaged before changing the gear box or moving the drum manually By convention, the drum rotates in the clockwise direction, so all kymograph records should be read from left to right.

What is the source of allethrin?

Allethrins are compounds used in household insecticides like mosquito coils because they have low toxicity for humans. They are sourced from chrysanthemum flowers, found in Asia and eastern Europe. These plants, which have large white, yellow, pink or red flower heads, are cultivated for ornamental, culinary or insecticidepreparation purposes. The flowers are pulverized and the allethrin compounds found in the seed cells are extracted and sold to insecticide makers.

What is xenotransplantation?

Xenotransplantation is the use of non-human animal cells, tissues and organs in human patients. These cells can be implanted or enclosed in a device used outside the body. The tissue is harvested from animals already being butchered. Immune rejection remains the biggest challenge for a xenotransplant. Cross-species transplants are more likely to produce host-vs-graft problems. A worrisome element of xenotransplant is the potential for infectious disease from donor animals which is called xenozoonosis.

What is gradenigo’s syndrome?

Gradenigo, an Italian otolaryngologist from the University of Naples, described this syndrome in 1904, Painful anaesthesia in the first division of the fifth cranial nerve supplying the forehead with sixth cranial nerve palsy occurs in this syndrome. It happens as a result of a lesion at the apex of petrous temporal bone outside the dura mater. It may be due to infection, trauma or infiltration of the nasopharyngeal cancer. Additionally, the patient may have deep retro-orbital pain and swelling of the same side of face and scalp. The syndrome may be associated with vertigo and hearing loss. An MRI is better than CT scan for early diagnosis.

Who were the hobbits?

Most know hobbits as the fictional dwarf-like creatures from JRR Tolkein’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. But scientists discovered the fossilized remains of hobbit like creatures in a remote island in Indonesia. They believed them to be a separate species and called them Homo florsiensis or Man of Flores. However, some anthropologists refuted the claim that they were a separate species and said the diminutive size of the hobbit-like cave dwellers was probablydue to an iodine deficiency during pregnancy due to which their growth was stunted.

What is a nocebo?

Nocebo is an inert drug which when administered to a patient causes harmful effects in her, not because of any inherent chemical characteristics, but because she has negative feelings about it. It’s the opposite of a placebo, a sugar pill supposed to produce a therapeutic effect because the patient has faith in the drug or doo.tor administering it. In Latin, ‘nocebo” means ‘I will harm’ and Walter Kennedy chose the term in 1961. Although the effect of a nocebo or placebo is not scientifically, established, many people believe that —they work by their power of suggestion. They are used for control groups in clinical trials, and in drug-related experiments.

How is buffalo mozzarella made?

First of all, raw buffalo milk stored in big steel containers is given thermo treatment and then it is poured into a cream separator where curdling is done by induction of natural whey The curd is stored in tubs to reduce acidification processes till it reaches a pH value of nearly 4.95. Then, hot water is poured on it in order to soften it after which shaping is done with special shapers. These are then immersed in cold water and then in pickling tubs containing original whey at last, packaging is done in special films.

What is nomophobia?

It’s the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. According to a study nomophobia is plaguing our 24/7 life — running out of battery, credit or losing one’s handset, About 53% of users surveyed are affected by not having network coverage. The survey revealed that men suffer more than women, with 48% of females and 58% of males admitting to feelings of anxiety Many respondents said they never switched off their mobile phones.

What is the alexander technique?

It is a technioue developed by F M Alexander, who utilized the self-observation and reasoning methods to enhance the physical performance of human body like sitting, standing, walking and speaking. It is utilized to overcome unwanted physical habits developed over the years through refined strategies borne out of empirical reasoning. It is a helpful tool, for traditional methods of medication.

How did the polar bear evolve?

Zoologists believe that the polar bear evolved from a species of brown bears in Siberia, making polar bears the eighth species of bears. With the shifting of polar, ice caps and glaciers, the brown  bear species native to that area was forced to adapt to the new environment, undergoing physical body changes to keep warm in the brutally cold weather. Their fur thickened and eventually turned white. Over time, the next few generations evolved with even thicker fur, a more rounded pointy face, larger teeth and claws, bigger feet with a patch on the bottom to help them keep their grip, while walking on the ice and sharper senses. Today, polar bears live in the Arctic, Alaska, Greenland, Canada and Norway Their habitat is snow-covered mountains, mostly frozen bodies of water and where seals are found in abundance. Besides seals, polar bears eat walruses and even whales. The snow helps them blend into their environment for safety, even though man is their only predator.

What is macrobiotics?

The word macrobiotic originates from the Greek word meaning ‘great or larger than life’. It is based on The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, the oldest-known book of Chinese medicine. It is attributed to Huang Ti, the legendary Yellow Emperor (2704 BC), but was probably not written until about 500 BC. Macrobiotics is a healthy, holistic way of living a balanced lifestyie. It is a vast subject, but basically comes down to the fact that the world (the Earth and all thereon) is a constantly changing holistic system that is ever striving for balance. It not only covers diet, but balance in body, soul and spirit. Foods that help us remain centred are whole grains, vegetables, vegetable protein, nuts, seeds, sea vegetables, miso, pickles etc.

Which is the world’s first oceanarium?

The word oceanarium could mean two things. It can either mean a marine mammal park, which is a commercial theme park where dolphins, Beluga whales, and sea lions are kept within water tanks and displayed to the public in special shows. It could also mean a largescale aquarium such as the Lisbon Oceanarium, which is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling animals and plants are kept, presenting an ocean habitat with marine animals, especially large fish such as shark. Marineland of Florida, one of Florida’s first theme parks is the world’s first oceanarium. With the passage of time, oceanarium gradually took the term of largescale aquariums like the kind we see today. Marine land was founded in 1937, and mainly focused on dolphin shows. In 1999, Hurricanes Floyd and Irene forced the park to close for two months. In 2004, the park closed completely for renovations, and re-opened oh March 4, 2006. The park is now a Dolphin Conservation Center, where; guests can interact and swim with the dolphins.

How is a stallion different from a gelding?

Gelding is a castrated male horse while a stallion is a male horse that isn’t castrated. Geldings are calmer and better behaved, making them potentially more suitable as an everyday working animal. Also, geldings eliminate conflicts within domestic horse herds. Stallions are male horses used for mating and are normally the finest ones. They have a good muscular physique and are aggressive but can be controlled if trained well. They are used for horse racing, horse shows etc.

What is genetic drift?

The random changes in gene frequencies occurring by chance and not under the control of natural selection are called genetic drift or random genetic drift or sampling error. This theory was advocated by geneticist Sewall Wright in 1930. It explains the change in gene frequency and hence evolution. It is caused due to sampling error. A new generation arises from a sample of sex cells, randomly taken from the gene pool (or gametes) of the preceding generation. Now, when a sample is drawn in a large population randomly, chances that the sample will contain nearly the same gene frequency that is present in the gene pool are very high. But in a small population (and hence a small gene pool), chances that the sample drawn at random will contain an altered gene frequency are very high.

What is ophidiophobia?

Ophidiophobia is a Greek term which is a combination of ‘ophis” meaning snake and phobia meaning fear. Ophidiophobia refers to the fear of snakes, alternatively termed as herpetophobia. This kind of phobia is quite distinct from the fear of venom. An ophidiophobiac is usually afraid of snakes, not only when they come in contact with one but even when they think of snakes or see them on TV or in a magazine. One of the remarkable characteristics of the fictional character Indiana Jones is that he is an ophidiophobiac.

What is the yuppie flu?

Yuppie flu, which is also called the shirkers’ syndrome, is a term cynically applied to those suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome. Earlier, doctors and others believed symptoms of chronic fatigue such as sleep disorders and other severe problems to be imagined. But now, scientists are linking the yuppie flu to gene mutations, and medical professionals around the world largely agree that the syndrome is actually real.

What are sciophytes?

Sciophytes are shade-loving trees or plants. These plants have larger photosynthetic units than sun plants or heliophytes. Sciophytes are also known as photophobous plants and they reach their saturation level in only 20% sunlight. Shade-plants essentially follow strategies of optimum use of available energy and conservation of energy. Adaptation to achieve these strategic goals include thinner leaves with a relatively higher chlorophyll content per unit leaf volume; lens-shaped epidermal cells that focus incoming light into and within the mesophyll; a red-cell layer that reflects outgoing light back into the mesophyll, and greater allocation of available energy to defencemechanisms against herbivory

What are ground antbirds?

Ground antbirds are tropical birds belonging to the family Formicariidae. They follow army ants and feed on insects, frogs, and lizards disturbed by the ants. They are native to South America.

Who was typhoid mary?

Mary Mallon (September 23,1869 – November 11,1938), also known as Typhoid Mary, was the first person in the US to be identified as a healthy carrier of typhoid fever. She worked as a cook in New York City She was an Irish girl who’d migrated to the US for a better life. She infected nearly 53 people, three of whom died. At first, when a health inspector found her to be a carrier, she was isolated for three years at a hospital and after that she was released on the condition that she would not work with food. But, she found work as a cook in a hospital, this time under the name Mary Brown. This time, health inspectors quarantined her for life. Mary died of pneumonia; an autopsy found evidence of live typhoid bacteria in her gall bladder. Now, Typhoid Mary has become a generic name for those carrying any dangerous disease without showing of anysymptom of it. There were nearly 200 healthy carriers working in and around kitchens of “New York at that time. So, some question why only Mary Mallon was quarantined.

What is iminunohistochemistry?

Immunohistochemistry is the process of localising proteins in cells of a tissue section exploiting the principle of anti-bodies binding specifically with antigens in biological tissues. It takes its name from the roots ‘immuno’, in reference to anti-bodies used in the procedure, and ‘histo’ meaning tissue. Immunohistochemistry is widely used in the diagnosis of abnormal cells such as those found in cancerous tumours.

What is parthenocarpy?

The term parthenocarpy originates from the Greek words ‘parthenos’ meaning virgin and ‘karpos’ meaning fruit. It refers to the production and development of seedless fruits. It has become increasingly important because: 1. Seeds are irritants when eating fruits. 2. Processing fruits requires removal of seeds; hence seedless fruits are desired. Parthenocarpy is of two types. Vegetative parthenocarpy: when seedless fruits develop even without stimulus of pollination, e.g. pear. Stimulative parthenocarpy is when pollination is required without the actual process of fertilisation, e.g. grapes.

What is the difference between creepers and climbers?

Both creepers and climbers are weak-stemmed plants and, hence, cannot grow erect without support. The difference is that creepers spread horizontally along the soil. At the nodal regions — where leaves grow — they produce fibrelike roots arising from the base of the stem, which get fixed and grow further. Such weak stems in creepers are called prostrate stems. Climbers take the support of an object for climbing. Some climbers simply twine around certain supporting plants in a spiral manner; some of them produce hooks to climb, and some others produce special roots serving as holdfasts to climb.

What’s the giri raja chicken?

It’s a breed of chicken developed in Bangalore that can be used to produce both meat and eggs. Typically, poultry is reared specifically for one of these purposes. Animal-welfare experts believe that using this breed will be more humane, since the birds won’t develop health problems because of intensive breeding. Also, male laying birds needn’t be slaughtered since this breed can be used to produce both eggs and meat.

What is gene doping?

Gene doping involves modifying an athlete’s DNA, or having him inject or inhale foreign DNA, to make him bigger, stronger and faster. It’s harder to detect than most drugs, which makes it all the more desired by cheaters looking to prosper. It is suspected that gene doping is already happening and is being done unethically and with immature technology, thereby, making it inherently dangerous. However, work is on to develop market-place testing procedures to detect gene doping.

What is the alphabet of genetics?

The alphabet of genetics consists of four letters ATC and G each representing the corresponding nitrogenous base, e.g., A for adenine, T for thiamine, C for cytosine and G for guanine (in case of RNA, T is replaced by U which stands for uracil). These are constituents of a nucleotide monomer along with pentose sugar and phosphoric acid. In the double helical structure of the DNA, the two nucleotide polymer chains are linked by H-bondings between these bases. These four letters constitute all kinds of genetic codes in the entire biological world.

Why are acentric chromosomes genetically inactive?

Acentric chromosomes are formed as a result of inversion of genes in one of the chromosomes in a homologous pair. This is a type of chromosomal aberration. Homologous loci are paired at meiosis. The meiotic anaphase will contain a chromatid connecting the two centromeres, called a chromatid bridge; a chromatid lacking a centromere altogether is called an acentric fragment. Neither of these behaves normally in cell division and both are eventually lost. The only viable products of meiosis in inversion heterozygotes are the chromatids that underwent no crossing over within the inverted section. Thus, the acentric chromosomes are genetically inactive due to absence of centromere.

How is an amur tiger different from a bengal tiger?

An Amur tiger lives in the Siberian plateau covered with snow, while the Bengal tiger, lives in marshes and grasslands of the Indian subcontinent. The Amur tiger is much fatter than the Bengal tiger. It also has more fur than its Bengal cousin to keep it warm. Owing to its weight, the Amur tiger can’t run faster than the Bengal tiger. The Bengal tiger’s coat is more golden, while the Amur tiger’s coat on its belly is more white and its stripes are paler. Both belong to the Panthera group of cats. The Bengal tiger is Panthera tigeris while the Amur tiger is Panthera tigeris altaica.

Why do we blink when a hammer strikes metal?

Blinking is a reflex action and happens automatically as soon as the brain perceives a threat. The striking of hammer is taken as a threat by the brain. There are multiple muscles that control the reflex action of blinking.

What is tongue grafting?

It is a term used in grafting of plants. For the whip and tongue graft, similar cuts are made on the stock and scion. The cuts are made with a single draw of the knife and have a smooth surface so the two can develop a good graft union.

What is the ’six degrees of separation’theory?

The theory was the brainchild of psychologist Stanley Milgram. So in the 1960s, he conducted an experiment by mailing a packet to 160 people in and around Omaha, Nebraska, that needed to reach a broker in Boston. The findings showed that these letters reached the broker in five to six steps. Also, there are a few set of people who are linked to a lot of people and form the main link.

What is rhinology?

Rhinology is the study of the nose, including the sinuses, and is concerned with medical and surgical diseases of the nasal passages and paranasal sinuses. It is becoming more important after the introduction of nasal endoscopes.

What is ambergis?

Ambergis is a solid, waxy material produced in the sperm whale and in the pygmy sperm whale. It is formed in the rectum of the whale by indigestible objects from animals on which it feeds. The ambergris is usually released when the whale dies. When released, it is pale white and soft with a strong smell. Over time, ambergis oxidizes and loses its unpleasant odour. It is used in the manufacture of perfume.

What is bruxism?

Bruxism is the involuntary gnashing of teeth. Some people with bruxism — originating from the Greek word ‘brychein’ — clench their teeth during the day when they are tense. This is different from tooth grinding or clenching that occurs at night, which is called sleep bruxism. Mild bruxism may not require treatment, but in severe cases, can lead to jaw disorders, headaches, damaged teeth and other problems.

What is presbyopia? Which lens is used to correct it?

An eye that suffers from myopia as well as from hypermetropia is said to suffer from presbyopia. A person with this defect cannot see objects distinctly placed at any distance from him. To correct this defect, a person is prescribed bifocal lens that has both types of lenses — convex and concave.

What is apomixis?

Apomixis is asexual reproduction without fertilisation — developing or producing without sexual union. This is a botanical term used with respect to many plants.

What is microtomy?

Microtomy is the technique of cutting tissues in very small sections. This technique is used for histological and pathological studies.

What is a fish pedicure?

Fish pedicure is performed by a special kind of fish known as garra rufa or doctor fish. Feet are immersed in a tub of warm water comprising several of these tiny fish. They nibble on the toes and eat away dead skin making the feet clean and smooth. Yvonne Hair and Nails Salon was the first to offer this treatment in Washington DC, but the origin lies in Turkey from where it spread to Asia. These are very expensive and delicate fish.

What’s special about the puli?

The Puli is a medium to smallsized breed of Hungarian dog known for its long, corded coat. Pulis are intelligent, acrobatic dogs. They make very good watchdogs and herding dogs.

What is the medicinal value of eel?

In China and Japan eel is not only eaten as food but is also known for its medicinal properties. Ancient Koreans believed eel helped relieve fatigue and sexual debility

What is the peking man?

A homo erectus species, Peking Man fossils were discovered between 1929 and 1937 in the Lower Cave at the Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian, near Beijing, ^ Jm China. They included 14 partial craniums, 11 lower jaws, teeth, some skeletal bones and many stone tools. Archaeologists date them between 500,000 and 300,000 years old. A number of fossils of modern humans were also discovered in the Upper Cave at the same site in 1933. The most complete fossils were braincases or skullcaps, and were studied by Davidson Black, and later, Franz Weidenreich. The original fossils disappeared in 1941 while being shipped to the US for safety during World War II. Though the Peking Man fossils are believed to be those of apes recent research claims they were humans.

What are red tides?

Red tides are a natural phenomenon caused by high concentration of microscopic algae that are poisonous. The organism produces a toxin that affects the central nervous system of fish, paralyzing them. As a result, dead fish are washed ashore. They can cause human illness and deaths too, following consumption of toxic fish. When red tide algae reproduce in dense concentrations or ‘blooms’, they are visible as patches, often reddish. They occur due to temperature, salinity, and nutrients reaching certain levels, besides lack of wind and rainfall and cannot be controlled by humans.

Why do we get cramps mainly in the calf muscles?

A muscle cramp occurs when your muscle tightens and shortens causing sudden severe pain. It generally results from overexertion and dehydration. Cramps may also occur after inactivity.

What is similia similibus curantur?

‘Similia similibus curantur’ is a phrase coined by Dr Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy Nearly 180 years ago, he did an experiment with a drug decoction made from the bark of the chincona tree, known for its curative properties in the treatment of malaria. He drank the decoction, though he was healthy and developed the symptoms of malaria. This made him believe that a drug which possesses the property of curing an ailment can create symp toms of the disease in a healthy person who takes the drug in large doses.

What is the domino damsel fish?

Domino damsel fish is a blackcoloured fish found in the Indo- West Pacific from eastern Africa and the Red Sea to the islands of Oceania. It is also known as the three-spot damsel fish or three-spot dascyllus due to the three white spots on its black body, and can grow up to 4.3 inches.

What is a gluten-free diet?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley In some genetically predisposed children, food containing gluten causes small-bowl mucusal damage resulting in a disease called gluten-sensitive enteropathy or celiac disease. The treatment is a strict gluten-free diet i.e. elimination of wheat, rye and barley products from the diet.

What is the mind’s clock?

A group of 20,000 cells in the hypothalamus, called the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), that determines an organism’s internal rhythm is referred to as the mind’s clock. Research led by Richter showed that these cells are situated in the frontal part of the hypothalamus and control the rhythmic circadian behaviour. This tiny speck, its volume only onethird of a cubic millimetre, was called the “mind’s clock”.

What is capnography?

The activity of measuring the concentration of carbon dioxide (COg) in respiratory gases during the respiratory cycle of a patient is called capnography The equipment used in capnography usually plots the partial pressure of CO^ in the exhaled breath as a wave form, with time on the x-axis and pressure of carbon dioxide on the y-axis.

Why are mosquitoes attracted to the colour black?

Mosquitoes are attracted to dark colours, not only black, because dark colours absorb heat and lighter colours tend to reflect heat. Since mosquitoes have sophisticated heat sensors, they tend to be more attracted to darker clothes.

What is pesticide peril in vegetables?

Pesticide remains in vegetables can cause neurological and blood disorders, lung ailments and affect the reproductive system of women. Prolonged exposure to raw pesticides or consumption of pesticide-infected vegetables can result in many disorders.

Originally published here.

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Mr. Ashok Sharma

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Prehistory and Eliot’s Prufrock

 

 

 

 I don’t know why this part-stanza from Eliot’s Prufrock makes me think of prehistory?

 

 

                    Let us go, then you and I,

                    When the evening is spread out against the sky

                    Like a patient etherized upon a table;

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

                    Is it due to what follows:

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

                    In the room women come and go

                    Talking of Michelangelo

 

 

But Michelangelo is a late-contemporary of pre-Columbian, if not a post-Columbian.

 

 

Associative processes of mind are indeed strange!

 

 

The word Prehistory is derived by combining the words pre- (meaning,before) and history, and is a term often used to describe the period before written history. Paul Tournal originally coined the term Pré-historique in describing the finds he had discovered in the caves of southern France.The French people started using it in the 1830s to describe the time before history writing had begun, while Daniel Wilson was the first Englishman to use the word in this sense in 1851.

Prehistory can be said to date back to the beginning of the universe itself, although the term is most often used to describe periods when there was life on Earth. Dinosaurs can be described as prehistoric animals and cavemen are described as prehistoric people.

It is so, because there are no written records from prehistoric times, and the things we know about those times are obtained from palaeontology and other natural and social sciences.

The term became somewhat loose in the 20th century when the boundary between history (interpretation of written and oral records) and other disciplines became less rigid. Actually,  historians at present rely more on evidence from multiple areas and do not generally restrict themselves to the historical period and written, oral or other symbolically encoded sources of communication. Moreover, the term ‘history’ is increasingly used in place of ‘prehistory’ to describe certain passages of time, such as History of the Earth, History of the Universe, and so on. Anyway, the distinction remains important to many scholars, particularly in the social sciences. Researchers mainly peering into Human prehistory are prehistoric archaeologists and physical anthropologists who use excavation, geographic survey, and scientific analysis to reveal and interpret the nature and behavior of pre-literate and non-literate peoples.

The chronogical terms used in human prehistory are different from those used in history. There is also difference in the way it deals with the activities of archaeological cultures instead of named nations or individuals. Restricted to material remains rather than written records (and indeed only those remains that have survived), prehistory is nameless, anonymous. Due to this reason, prehistoric refereces like Cro-Magnon or Stone Age are fuzzy, modern and to some extent arbitrary labels, the precise definition of which are often subject to discussion and argument.

It is, however, interesting that the beginning of history, that is, the date when written historical records became a useful academic resource, is the date marking the end of prehistory. And it varies from region to region! For example, in Egypt it is generally accepted that prehistory ended around 3800 BCE, whereas in New Guinea the prehistoric era culminated in the early years of the twentieth century.

 

Age systems 

After the evolution of humans on earth, a geological time scale defines periods in prehistory. Archaeology supplemented this record providing more precise divisions. Generally, prehistory in the Old World is designated by a three age system. This system classifies human prehistory under three consecutive time periods, named for their respective predominant tool-making technologies. In the New World, however, other naming schemes are used, for example, those listed in Archaeology of the Americas. But, such loosely defined systems of dividing up prehistory are not quite accurate because recent archaeological discoveries suggest a much more complex view of prehistory.

 

The three-age system consists of Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. The Stone Age is further subdivided into Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic Periods. As stated earlier, these three consecutive age systems are named for their respective predominant tool-making technologies. The system is quite correct in describing the progression of European  society, and has also been used to describe other prehistories. However, it has been criticized for being too technologically determinist.

 

Stone Age and its People 

  

TheStone Ageis a broad prehistoric time period when humans widely used stone for tool making from a variety of different kinds of stone. Flint and chert were shaped (or chipped) for use as cutting tools and weapons.Basalt and sandstone were used for grinding and sharpening purposes, such as quern-stones. In addition, wood, bone, shell, antler and other materials were widely used. Sediments (like clay) were used to make pottery during the later part of the period. The subsequent Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages were characterized by a series of metal technology innovations.

The period witnessed the first widespread use of technology in human evolution, and humanity  spread from the savannas of East Africa to the rest of the world. Development of agriculture, domestication of certain animals and the smelting of copper ore to produce metal. It is named prehistoric because humanity had not learned to write yet. Written records are considered as the traditional starting point of history.

Archaeologists called it the “Stone Age” because stone tools made during this pre-metallurgic time survived far more widely than tools made from other, softer materials. It is the first age in the three-age system, and John Lubbock subdivided it into thePaleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods in his now classic 1865 book, Pre-historic Times. These three periods are again subdivided because the succession of phases differs enormously from one region (and culture). In fact, humanity continued to step into new areas even during the metal ages. Homo habilis or the precursor of humanity evolved during the first phase or Paleolithic period of the Stone Age. Then, 1.75 million years ago, a new species – the Homo Erectus (upright man) appeared on the scene, and spread from Africa to Europe and Asia. The Upright Man not only stood erect, but also had a bigger brain than Homo habilis. He was capable of making better tools, and was probably the first human being to use fire. Then, about 400,000 years ago, the Homo sapiens or the thinking man made his debut, and humanity took its first. shaky step forward. Their descendants, the Neanderthal people (named after a valley in Germany), lived in Europe and the Middle East until about 35,000 years ago. They dealt with the severe cold of the Pleistocene or Ice Age by living in caves.

 

Prehistoric Culture

 

Apparently, two types of Homo sapiens lived side by side – the Neanderthals or early Homo sapiens and a subspecies, Homo sapiens sapiens, who looked more or less like a modern human being. The Neanderthals were heavily built, but did not possess a chin. They used simple tools and had probably spoke to one another by developing a language. It is not known why they died out,  leaving us as the only humans on Earth. The survivors — such as the Cro- Magnons — lived all over Europe during the Stone Age period. These prehistoric people built simple wooden huts, fished and hunted deer and wild cattle. They wandered around in search of food. They began to express themselves through art, drawing pictures on cave walls and carving stones into human shapes. There are famous example of detailed cave paintings in Lascaux in France and Altamira Spain. The Lascaux painting, known as The Magician, shows a man with a pointy face and the body of a goat. The Altamira painting depicts a bull realistically  with enormously developed shoulder muscles.

 

Prehistoric life is a compendium of different types of organisms which inhabited the Earth from the origin of life nearly 3.8 billion years ago to the time when humans began to keep written records, known as the beginning of the Historic Period(circa 3500 BCE).

During the course of evlution new forms of life developed and many other forms, such as the dinosaurs, became extinct Prehistoric life evolved over this vast timespan from simple bacteria-like cells in the oceans to algae and protozoa, and ultimately to complex multicellular forms such as fungi, land plants, worms, molluscs, crustaceans, insects, and vertebrates.

In geologic terms, humans evolved very recently, only about 4 million years ago.

Very few species of prehistoric life (such as the coelacanth) still exist today unchanged, tens of millions of years later, thereby making them living fossils. Yet other creatures, like sharks, have changed but a little over millions of years.

However, most life forms — over 99 percent — have become extinct, and so the only record of them ever existing that remains today are rock imprints, casts or other fossils.

 

Prehistory of India 

 

The prehistory of India may be regarded as beginning with the old Stone age or the Palaeolithic period. India defines the eastern limit of the area where hand axes are found, and there are numerous other areas of different findspots. For instance, hominid remains of middle Pleistocene date have been found in Hathnora in the Narmada valley. A middle palaeolithic quarry has been found recently in the Kaladgi Basin, southern India.

 

Indus Valley Civilization and the emergence of Aryans

 

It is generally accepted that the Indus Vlley Civilization, which is also called the Harappan Civilization evolved and reached its peak between 3000 BC and 1800 BCE. It covered a wide area consisting of Afghanistan in the west to the Ganges plains in the east; as also the Pamir cluster in the north to the Rann of Kutch in the south. Traces of its traditional beginning, known as the Indus tradition have been detected at Mehrgarh going back to 7000 BCE. Believed to be     the largest among the so called Bronze age civilizations of the period, little is known about this lost civilization because attempts made by historians in deciphering the Harappan script have been in vain. Towards the end of the second millennium BCE, the civilization started to decline, and there is no clue as to where did the Harappans come from and what happened after 1700 BCE. However, apparently that was when the Aryans believed to have entered India through the Khyber Pass. Disagreements abound among contemporary Indologists over the exact events because the Harappans left a huge amount of archeology but no decipherable literature. The Aryans, in their turn, created and left for posterity a vast corpus of  literature in the form of vedas and other religious and literary works, but no archeological edifice. The elusive lost civilization of Harappa generates a lot of mystifying questions and problems, which would probably remain unanswered and unsolved for all time to come.

 

Anyway, it is an established fact that the people of India have had a continuous recorded civilization since the 7000 BC with its roots in the Mehrgarh complex of the Indus Tradition in northwest India. It was an urban culture based on commerce and sustained by agricultural trade, reaching its most prosperous phase in the 2600 BCE in the valleys of the Indus river. Perhaps, ecological changes are behind the decline and eventual disappearance of this civilization between the 19th century BCE and 17th century BCE – no one knows.

 

However, satellite imagery and oceanographic studies supplement recent data indicating that the civilisation flourished even as far back as the 9000 BC. It has also been known (and found) that a tradition of Indian rock art dates back to 40 – 50,000 years.

 

 

History as defined by a timeline

 

Prehistory is assumed to be between 200000 BCE and 3500 BCE as also later;  the Three Age System (Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages) — upto 3500 BCE;  Ancient history — between 3500 BCE and 476 CE;  pre-Columbian — from 14,000 BP to 1492 CE and later;  Classical Antiquity — from 7th century BCE to 476 CE;  Middle Ages — 476 CE to 1517 CE;  Modern history — from the 15th century CE to present.    

 

The pre-Columbian era includes all the subsequent period subdivisions in the  history and prehistory of the Americas before European influences on the Continent became particularly noticeable. Notionally, the term means  the era before the first landing of Christopher Columbus in the American Continent  in 1492.  In effect, however, the era incorporates the history of American indigenous cultures as they went on flourishing even after 1492 till such time they were conquered or the European influences became significantly prominent. This could be  decades or even centuries after the first landing. 

 

Normally, the term pre-Columbian is used to mean the great indigenous civilizations of the Americas, especially those of the Mesoamerica :- of the Aztec and Maya;  and of the Andes, Moche and Chibcha civilizations.

 

Societal hierarchies of fascinating complexity, monumental architecture for civic and religious purposes, generally permanent or urban settlements and agriculture, all created without any outside influence, were the significant characteristics of the pre-Columbian civilizations. By the time the first permanent European settlers had arrived (between late fifteenth and early sixteenth century CE), many of these civilizations had ceased to function. These are now known only through archaeological investigations. Some contemporaries of them are also found in the historical accounts of the time. The Mayan Civilization had a script in which they had set their records. The invading Europeans regarded such texts as blasphemous and heretical to Christianity and burnt them in pyres. Somehow a few, presumably, hidden texts survived providing the modern historian with tantalising vistas of ancient culture and knowledge. 

 

Indigenous accounts as also American and European documents and records at the time of the European onslaught show that these civilizations were capable of doing fascinating things. For example, they had the most populous city of the time and they knew about the modern theories of astronomy and mathematics. Where they are extant, the culture and society of the descendants of such civilizations generally now be very different from the ancestral one. Even then, these people and their progeny display traits and follow traditions and practices originating in those earlier times and influenced by more recently acquired trends.   

 

Sequence of migration to the New World

 

Bering Land Bridge, which is the present day Bering Strait, was the passage for crossing over to the Americas by the nomads from Asia. Over time spanning millenniums (millennia?), they spread all over the continent. When exactly the first group of people did so is, as usual, a matter of controversies and debates. Anyway, the commonly held view is that people of the Clovis culture were the earliest, and were identified with sites going back to nearly14,000 years. Later on, sites as old as 20,000 years have been found, and genetic researches lead to the conclusion that the first batch of migrants reached the shores of Americas sometime between 40,000 to 13,000 years ago. Another belief is that the lands were populated by multiple waves of immigrants.

 

Be that as it may, archaeological finds in both North and South America are estimated to be 12,000 years old by Carbon dating, while Cape Horn, the southernmost place in South America, is belived to have been inhabited at around the same time. The common theme of agreement among all theories is that the Innuits and the related people (Eskimoes and such) arrived at Alaska separately much later (probably 6th century BCE) moving across the ice in Siberia.

 

Prehistory

 

The first complex civilization evolved after the migration or migrations around 5,000 BCE. Those people of the Americas were hunter gatherers, and they were inhabiting much of the continent’s area upto the 18th century BCE even though the advanced civilizations had evolved by then. The archaeological cultures of such hunter gatherer societies can be identified as belonging to the categories, such as, Early and Late Paleo-Indian Periods; Archaic Period; and Early, Middle and Late Woodland Periods.              

 

Agricultural development

 

Such early inhabitants of the Americas started agricultural practices, raising maize having ears of lengths varying from 2 – 5 cms to even 10 -15 cms. Other plants grown by them were potatoes, pumpkins, tomatoes and avocadoes. As not many suitable species were available, there were not many livestocks. For meat, however, the guinea pig was raised in the Andes. Maize had been taken from Mexico in the fifteenth century CE to the Mississippi embayment and was grown as an agricultural crop there, but further developments were not possible due to the arrival of the Europeans at that time. The Incas grew potatoes, while the Aztecs farmed cocoa used in chocolates. When the Europeans arrived in North America, many Natives there were semi-nomadic tribes of hunter gatherers. Others belonging to agricultural and sedentary societies formed new tribes or confederations in retaliation to European colonization. Among them, the well-known groups were the Apache, the Cherokee, the Sioux, the Iroqouis and the Mohegan. The Iroquois consisted of a number of sub-groups like Mohawk, Oneida, Seneca, Cayuga, Onandaga and subsequently, the Tuscarora tribe. The Inuits are a later addition to such groups. There were numerous pre-Columbian sedentary societies in the present day United States of America, not so politically complex and technologically advanced as the Mesoamerican civilizations down south were.

 

Mississippian Culture

 

Occupying a large area along the Mississippi River, the people of the Mississippi Culture in pre-Columbian history earned the nickname the Moundbuilders because of their distinguishing characteristic of building large earthen mounds. Their society was complex and stratified, they cultivated intensely growing maize and other crops, and they carried on trading activities quite extensively. Emerging and growing out of the less intensively agricultural and less centralized Woodland period, the Mississippians appeared on the scene circa 1,000 CE. By 1200-1400, the Culture reached its peak, following which it apparently went on decline. In fact, when the Europeans there was not much left of it. Their largest site was Cahokia, located near present day East St. Louis, Illinois. The city apparently had a population of over 20,000. It was the most populous city in North America at the time of the flowering of the Mississippi Culture between the 12th and 13th centuries, but nowhere near the much larger cities in Mesoamerica and South America. Its ceremonial centre, the Monk’s Mound, is regarded as the largest prehistoric earthen construction in the New World.        

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Mesoamerica

 

It is the region delineated by central Mexico in the south and the northwestern border of Costa Rica, and the land mass from which emerged a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations existing for nearly 3,000 years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World in 1492 CE. The pre-Columbian culture of this region is generally known as Mesoamerican. Mesoamerica is an environmentally similar region where for more than three thousand years various ancient cultures having nearly similar views on art, architecture, religious beliefs and technology flourished and left their imprints and marks for posterity. Formation of complex cultures began in Mesoamerica circa 1800 BCE, and continued for the next 1500 years. Some of them made progress and gave rise to advanced pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations like the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Huastec, Purepecha, Toltec and Mexica, and continued for about 4,000 years before the first encounter with the Europeans. Such indigenous civilizations built pyramids and temples; created highly accurate calendars by abacus calculations along with a complex theology; made significant progress in astronomy, engineering, fine arts, intensive agriculture, medicine and writing; and discovered the wheel. As they did not possess any animal to drag loads, the wheel was used only as a toy. They knew how to work on metals and used copper and gold obtained locally to make various objects. They excelled in counting and devised one of the most complex counting system in the world with a base of 20 number system. Archaic inscriptions on rocks and rock walls of northern Mexico, particularly in the province of Nuevo Leon, are testimonies to their expertise in counting and number systems. Astronomical events influenced the Mexican Natives to a great extent, and those very early and ancient counting marks were associated with astronomical activities long before the Europeans came on the scene. It would appear that the Mexican based civilizations coming later built their ceremonial centres and cities by taking into account specific astronomical events.

 

Mesoamerican cities like Cholula and Teotihuacan were among the largest cities in the world of their time. Growing up as centres of ceremonies and commerce; and of ideas and theology, those cities provided inspiration to the neighbouring cultures in central Mexico. Such city-states, empires and kingdoms competed with one another and often went into war for power and prestige. Generally, however, Mesoamerica could be regarded as the seat of five major civilizations – the Mexica and the Maya; the Olmec; and the Teotihuacan and the Toltec.

With the exception of the politically divided Maya, the other four spread out to exert their influence over Mexico and beyond its boundaries. Consolidating their power over the neighbouring regions, they went on influencing the latter in matters of art and trade; politics and technology; as also theology. The regional powers formed economical and political alliances with them to make peace, and, in general, everybody was under the thrall of one of these five spheres of influence.    

        

Olmec civilization

 

It is the earliest known civilization in Mesoamerica, setting the pattern of cultural development, which the societies formed later in Mexico were to follow. Beginning from around 2300 BCE, the Olmec culture started making potteries in abundance. Then followed the consolidation of power beyween 1800-1500 BCE by the Olmec chiefs and the founding of a capital in a site near the coast in southeast Veracruz, a place known today as San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan. Across Mexico, the Olmec spread their influence, then to Central America and continued along the Gulf of Mexico. A new form of government, pyramid-temples, astronomy, art, mathematics, economics, writing and religion were the areas in which their excellence changed the thinking of many people. The greatness of the yet to come Maya civilization in the east and the flowering of the civilizations to the west in central Mexico owed a lot to the achievements of the Olmec.

 

Teotihuacan civilization

 

As the Olmec civilization declined, there was a power vacuum in Mexico. The Teotihuacan culture forming around 300 BCE filled that space. Circa 150 CE, it had developed considerably  making Teotihuacan the first genuine metropolis in contemporary North America. Teotihuacan introduced a form of economic and political order which was unlike anything seen before in Mexico. Extending its influence across Mexico, Teotihuacan established new dynasties in the Maya cities of Copan, Kaminaljuyu and Tikal. Bringing about changes in artistic illustrations, political power and the nature of economics, Teotihuacan’s influence over the near contemporary Maya civilization remained intact for a long time. The residents of the city of Teotihuacan were diverse and cosmopolitan; they represented many of the regional ethnicities of Mexico, for example, the Zapotecs hailing from the Oaxaca region. People lived in apartment communities where they worked on their professions and thus improving the qualities of the city’s cultural and economic aspects. By 500 CE, Teotihuacan had become the largest city in the world exercising its economic clout to regions far in northern Mexico.The architecture of the city, especially its monuments, conveyed the spirit of the times: a truly monumental era. The political decline began around 650 CE, but the cultural supremacy was maintained for 300 years more.

 

Maya civilization 

 

Closely following the Teotihuacan culture was the Maya civlization, which reached the pinnacle of its glory between 250 and 650 CE. It was the time when the attributes of the Maya culture bloomed fully. Consisting of several city-states, the Maya civilisation failed to cobble political unity in the manner of the central Mexican cultures. But that did not deter Maya to provide a beneficial and forceful intellectual leadership to the Central American and Mexican cultures. The Maya cities were built with very detailed planning and were far ahead of the cities elsewhere in the continent. Their tremendous contributions in astronomy, mathematics and writng elevated the status of  Mexico to greater heights.

 

Aztec/Mexica civilization

 

Political fragmentation ensued in the Valley of Mexico, when the Toltec civilisation went into a decline. Into those troubled waters came to fish, for the Toltec mantle, complete outsiders – people of the Mexica civlization. Born and brought up in a desert climate, they were one of the seven fiercely proud groups who earlier preferred to be called Azteca to preserve the memory of Aztlan. Owing to frequent migrations from one place to another, they changed their name to Mexica. They were regarded as crude and uncivilized because of their origin from some place other than the Valley of Mexico. But they were shrewd and skilled in ferocious fighting. Combining these two traits, they formed a triple political alliance with two other Aztec cities, Texcoco and Tlacopan, and became the leader of the group. 

 

Though they came later to the central plateau of Mexico, from the start the Mexicas bestowed on themselves the legacy of the civilizations before them. Achievements of the earlier residents of Tula, the Toltec society, they identified as their own. These included fine arts, architecture, engraving, feather-mosaic works and the introduction of a calendar. Around 1400 CE, the Mexica-Aztecs became the rulers of a large part of central Mexico while Apaches, Coras and Yaquis controlled most of the regions of northern desert. By 1470, they consolidated their positions further after conquering most of the regional states. At that time 300,000 Mexicas held sway over 10 million people (among the total 24 million population of Mexico) who paid tributes to them. The modern nation of Mexico owes its name to them. Present day Mexico City was the site of their capital, Tenochtitlan. It was peopled by nearly 300,000 residents and boasted of a market which the conquistadors (from Europe) said the largest they had ever seen.

             

South America

 

In the first millennium of the Christian Era, the vast rainforests, mountains, plains and coasts of South America were inhabited by tens of millions of people, some of them settling down permanently. Among such permanent settlers, the Chibchas of Colombia, the Quechuas of Peru, and the Aymaras of Bolivia were the three major sedentary Indian societies in South America. It would appear that they were in contact with the Polynesians as indicated by the availability of sweet potato in some regions of the Pacific, but there is no trace of genetic imprint left behind by the visitors.    

 

Chibchas

 

Among the pre-Hispanic Colombians, the Chibcha linguistic communities were the largest. They  occupied a large territory and were socio-economically well developed.They laid the foundation of their civlization in the Andes in the third century CE. Modern Panama and the higher areas of the Eastern Sierra of Colombia were under their occupation at one time. The Departments of North and South Santander, Boyaca and Cundinamarca were also held by them. These are the areas where the first farms and the first industries were developed and the movement for independence was started. At present these areas are the richest in Colombia, and at one time were the most populous zone between the Inca and the Mexica civilizations. Of the sedentary indigenous cultures of South America (including the Quechua of Peru and the Aymara of Bolivia), the Chibchas of the eastern and north-eastern Highlands of Colombia were the most advanced.The Chibchas of the Oriental Andes were remarkable in the sense that the various tribes (Muiscas, Laches, Guanes, Chitareos and so on) among the population spoke in a common language, Chibchan.     

 

Norte Chico

 

The Norte Chico on the northern coast of Modern Peru was a cluster of big urban settlements whic formed and devloped circa 3,000 BCE, contemporaries of similar cultures in Mesopotamia. They flourished for about 1200 years, and then declined. One of the largest and most investigated sites among them is in Caral in the Supe Valley. 

 

Chavín

 

The Chavin, archaeological finds and investigations point out, was a pre-literate civilization which lasted for about 600 years from 900 BCE. Agricultural development and establishment of a trade network were among its characteristics. The archaeological discoveries were made at a site known as Chavin in modern Peru at a height of 3,177 metres above sea level.

 

Moche

 

The Moche culture flourished 1,500 to 2,000 years before present in the north coast of Peru. They had elaborate burial rituals discovered recently by Christopher Donnan of UCLA in collaboration with with the National Geographic of the USA. People of this culture were technologically advanced as is revealed in their skilled artisanship. Their ceramic pottery carvings depict generally religious practices along with scenes from their daily lives. It is known from such sources that they practiced human sacrifice and carried out blood-drinking rituals.  

 

Inca

 

The great cougar-shaped city of Cusco was the seat of power (capital) of the Inca civilization, which dominated the Andes region from 1438 to 1533 CE. It was called the “land of the four regions” or Tawantin suyu in Quechua and was a very advanced civilization of the times. Under the Inca rule lived nearly hundred ethnic or linguistic communities comprising of 9 to 14 million people connected by a 25,000 kilometre road network. They built the cities with detailed planning and their houses were constructed of unmatched stones. Such houses were built over many levels on the sides of a mountain.Terrace farming was a natural corollary to such practices and increased the agricultural output. Exquisitely crafted metalworks of the Inca civilization are extant, and there is evidence of successful brain surgery carried out in the Inca civilisation.

 

Australia

 

The prehistory of Australia begins about 40 to 70,000 years ago with the first human habitation of the Continent and ends in 1606 with the first definitive sighting of Australia by the Europeans.              

 

Arrival of humans

 

A matter of controversy, the generally accepted timeframe for the migration of humans to Australia is between 40 to 45,000 years ago. There is an upper range supported by others going back to 70,000 years. The return of the ice age due to repeated glaciation during the Pleistocene period cooled and turned a lot of sea water into ice, due to which the level of the seas went down to the extent of 100 to 150 metres thus exposing previously submerged land bridges joining various land masses. Apparently, migration took place in the closing period of the Pleistocene era when the sea levels were much below than at present. Due to this, the continental coastline extended out considerably into the Timor Sea , and Australia and New Guinea became a single landmass called Sahul. Large, far-reaching land bridges across the Arafura Sea, Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait joined Australia to New Guinea. It is believed that the ancestral people initially navigated the relatively short distances from and  between the Sunda Islands to reach Sahul. Having done that, they made use of the land bridges to spread out all over the continent. There are archaeological evidences of human habitation in the upper Swan River, Western Australia nearly 40,000 years ago. Tasmania was the next destination via a land bridge, and was reached by humans around 30,000 years ago.

 

A consequence of such early land bridges is the sharing of plant and animal animal species between Australia-New Guinea and the neighbouring Indonesian islands. Those land bridges vanished when rising sea water flooded them at the close of the last glacial period. The rising of the sea level due to melting ice stopped, roughly, about 6,000 years ago, and since then remained more or less constant. That is when, according to the traditions of indigenous Australians, the history of the continent begins. They call it Dreamtime, the mythical saga of creation narrating the origins of the people, animals and geography. The traditions of Dreamtime pervaded the indigenous Australians and still do in songs and stories all over Australia.

 

The presence of charcoal in archaeological excavations indicates that fire had been a part of the Australian landscape always. The incidence of fires increased when the hunter gatherer inhabitants started using it to scare away animals as well as to produce a new flush of vegetation to attract herbivores. They also started fires to burn off  and open up impenetrable forests. This resulted in densely grown areas becoming more open sclerophyll forests and open forests turning into grasslands. There was a profusion of fire-tolerant species, notably, sheoaks, euclypts, acacia and grasses.

 

The fires, however, brought about far more dramatic changes in the fauna than it did in the flora. Megafauna, defined as species considerably bigger than the humans, completely disappeared while the smaller species fared little better. It is estimated that 60 different vertebrates became extinct, including the Diprotodon species, very large marsupial herbivores closely resembling hippos. The list of the vanished include several flightless birds, carnivorous kangaroos, lizards of 5 metres length, a tortoise with the dimensions of a small car and so on…Why did it (extinctions) happen remains a matter of conjecture. It could be fire, hunting, climate change or a combination of all. Experts, however, agree that it was human intervention of one kind or another which speeded up the process. Climate change, once regarded as the probable cause, is no longer in favour. In the absence of large herbivores, the understorey vegetation grew up unchecked; rapid recycling of soil nutrients due to their dung stopped; and consequently there was more quick fuel build up. The fires burned hotter, altering the landscape more.      

 

The Australis meaning Australia and its surroundings during the last glacial maximum about 18,000 years ago was very different from what it is today. The sea level was about 150 metres below the present level, and large parts of the Sunda Shelf (Malaya/South East Asia), Sahul Shelf/Australia-New Guinea and the Bass Strait were above it. Moreover, portions of southern Aotearoa, the Tasmanian highlands and the Australian Alps were glaciated, and the Antarctic ice covered much more area in the north than it is today.

 

Prior to European colonization the quantum of populations settled in Australia is not known. There are two hypotheses, the trihybrid and single-origin settlers, and both of them have been discussed extensively. The issue, however, acquired political overtones when single-origin was assumed to be tied in to ethnic solidarity and multiple entry was cited in justification of the seizure of Aboriginal lands by European settlers. Not much objective data is available to reach a definite conclusion. There is an ongoing research on human genomic differences to find a conclusive answer, but there is not much evidence to differentiate the “wave invasion” model from the “single settlement” one.  

 

There was increased aridity due to low temperatures and less rainfall in the continent between 18,000 to 15,000 years BP. When the Pleistocene era ended around 13,000 years ago, the link from Kangaroo Island, the Bassian Plain between modern Victoria and Tasmania, and the Torres Strait connection got submerged in the rising sea. Apparently,the end of the ice age was quite sudden – as reflected in Aborignal legends of fishes falling from the sky and of water walls(tsunamis).The situation elsewhere was not that catastrophic, the sea level rose slowly. The result was geographical separation of the Tasmanian Aborigines from the continent and slow decimation of those living in the small islands in the Bass Strait and in Kangaroo Island by 9,000 BP.

 

The Austronesians of modern New Guinea and the indigenous Australians (Aborigines) maintained contact after geographical separation, as is supported by linguistic and genetic evidence. However, it was mostly trade, little intermarriage and absolutely not a colonisation, even though there were instances of Aboriginal settlers finding a home in Indonesia.   

 

Culture

 

Over the last 5,000 years the climate mellowed down with increases in temperature and rainfall, bringing forth a sophisticated tribal culture. Their items of trade were flint, precious stones, shells, seeds, spears, foodstuff and so on. People from Cape York to south-west Australia spoke the Pama-Nyungan language, excepting those in the south-east and Arnhem Land. Religious ideas, legends, stories, songs and dances were much the same throughout the country. Coming of age or initiation of the young to adult ways of life was celebrated by ceremony and feasting. There was a code of behaviour , and the responsibilities of an individual to relatives and others were marked out. There were moieties among communities with powers to forbid intermarriages in the community. Unlike the usual hereditary chiefs, community elders held political power who settled disputes in accordance with tribal customs. Vendettas and feuds were there, but planned wars were totally absent. As people believed that they were the descendants of the same cultural heroes, and there were bonds through marriage or blood, differences were not resolved by going into war.     

 

3,000 years before colonisation, the indigenous Australians had been using quartz as a substitute for chert in their craftwork. For increasing food sources, they planted yam in Western Australia and carried out fish (eel) farming.

 

In 1788, there were approximately half a million indigenous Australians or Aborigines – other estimates put the figure as one million. They were composed of hundreds of distinct cultural and language groups; most of them were hunter-gatherers; and they practiced land management. The last perhaps was a lesson they learnt from the ecological havoc their initial settlement thousands of years ago had caused. In areas with lakes and rivers, such as Murray River Basin, the hunter-gatherers changed their professions to fish farming. The European settlers displayed no interest in the indigenous Australians, and perhaps made little effort to know about their cultures and languages. Legend has it that before the Europeans started settling in Australia in bulk, diseases were deliberately introduced to decimate the indigenous Australians also in bulk, so as to minimise the exposure of the first to the second. In 1770, when James Cook declared Australia as a part of the British Empire, there were nearly 500 tribes among the Native population speaking several hundred different Australian Aboroginal languages, with many different dialects.   

 

Contact outside Australia

 

Before the Europeans came, for thousands of years people residing along the northern coastline, that is, the Kimberley region of Western Australia, Arnhem Land, Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape York had interacted and traded with people from outside. Even after the land bridges were submerged as also before the event, commodities of trade along with people moved freely between New Guinea and Australia 6,000 years ago. With the bridges flooded, the trade and people to people contact continued across the newly-formed Torres Strait, whose 150 kilometre width was navigated by stopping at the intermediate islands and coral reefs along the route. Settlers in those islands were seagoing Melanesians, and the indigenous Australians from northeast of the continent maintained a cultural link to the outside world through this route nearly 2,500 years ago. The visits of the Indonesians and the people of New Guineea to the Australians and vice versa for fishing and trade by sailing crafts point to the possibility of similar forays by the Arab and the Chinese traders as earlly as 9th century CE. The controversial Bradshaw figurines in Kimberley art are stated to have been brought by Indian visitors in the early years of the Christian Era. For several hundred years, Indonesian “Bajini” fishermen from Spice Islands (e.g., Banda Island) had fished off the coast of Australia. Nearly, 400 years ago Macassan traders of Sulawesi (Celebes) regularly came to the northern coast of Australia for trepang (an edible sea cucmber) to trade with the Chinese.

    

Prehistoric Art

 

Prehistoric art is defined as all artwork created in preliterate cultures, which begins somewhere very recent in the geological time scale. 

 

In Algeria, cave paintings of everyday life in central North Africa were found in Tassili-n-Ajjer, north of  Tamanrasset and in other places drawn in a vivid and realistic manner. Those works of art dating back to 6 – 10,000 years were created by hunters of the Caspian period of the Neolithic Age roaming about in tall grasslands full of gigantic buffaloes, elephants, rhinoceros and hippopotamus. Such animals are no longer found in the region which is now arid and almost like a desert. Those cave paintings are a record of prehistoric African culture.

 

Predecessors of such people in the central North Africa had left behind for posterity equally important remains. Ain el Hanech near Saida yielded signs of early hominid occupation in North Africa nearly 200,000 years before present. More recently, investigators discovered there signs of Oldowan technique dating back to nearly 1.8 million years BCE. Much later, about 45,000 years ago, Neanderthal tool makers produced hand axes in the Levalloisian and Mousterian styles, similar to those found in the East Mediterranean region. North Africa, some sources indicate, represent the site of the highest state of development of Middle Paleolithic flake-tool techniques. Oranian or Ibero-Maurusian is the term used to describe the earliest blade industries  in North Africa, named so because of the findspot near a place called Oran. Apparently, this technique of creating stone daggers spread all over the coastal regions of North Africa during 15,000 to 10,000 BCE.  Then the method came under the gradual influence of  the Caspian culture for the next 5,000 years with the result that from 3,000 BCE remains of just one human type can be found throughout the region. About 4 to 8,000 years ago, Neolithic culture with its characteristics of animal domestication and subsistence agriculture took hold in the Mediterranean and Saharan North Africa. Upto the classical period, this Neolithic way of life prevailed in North Africa, and the cave paintings in Tassili-n-Ajjer are a detailed illustration of that.  Such people of different ethnicity in North Africa over time gave rise to a distinct native population called Berbers. Even though they had clearly perceptible cultural and linguistic characteristics, the Berbers continued to be ignored and neglected in historical accounts due to the presence of larger empires nearby. They are mentioned as barbaric enemies, ignorant peasants or troublesome nomads by Roman, Greek, Byzantine and Arab Muslim historians. This marginalisation is uncalled for because the roll the Berbers played in the history is not insignificant.

 

Indigenous Australian (Aboriginal) rock and bark paintings indicate a vigorous cultural exchange with the neighbouring islands of the continent; as also the introduction of techniques like the dug-out canoe and items like tobacco and pipes for smoking it. Intermarriage and migration among descendants of Malaya people in Australian Aboriginal communities and vice versa resulted in acquisition of Macassan words in Aboriginal languages (for example, Balanda for White person). 

 

Middle Acheulean period spanning 500,000 to 300,000 years before present hold the still unbroken record of the first ever dicovered figurine; 6 cms. in length, it looks like a human figure, and was found in Morocco. It appears from evidence that this piece from Morocco was shaped by natural processes with probably no human tool-work. There are, however, indications of the figurine having been painted. A greasy substance composed of a mixture of iron and manganese (ochre) covers the surface of the stone. Experts are of the view that no matter how it was formed, it was undoubtedly painted by someone who used it as a figurine.      

 

The history of art was indeed shaken at its roots by the findings in the South African Blombos Cave. Stones discovered there are decorated with complex red arrays. It showed that the creator or creators, the early Homo Sapiens were capable of abstraction and of its representation as a work of art. The breath-taking aspect is that those stones were adorned 70,000 years ago, which is nearly 50,000 years more than the age of the art-work found in Lascaux, France. There is no doubt about the dating; but there is no indication that the pieces really do represent advanced cognitive behaviour, a hallmark of modern art. A number of eminent archaeologists are, however, not convinced that the Blombos Cave is the first example of art.

 

Cave paintings (like the renowned ones at Alta Mira, Chauvet, Lascaux and Pech Merle) and portable art (like animal carvings and the widely-known Venus figurine,  the Venus of Willendorf) are the earliest examples of European art from the Upper Palaeolithic epoch. It is generally believed that only Homo Sapiens have the ability to express in an art form. That is not exactly true because Homo Erectus had created much before the former apparently purposeless designs on artefacts. Artefacts of this kind were found in Bilzingsleben, Thuringia, and could be regarded as the precursor of art. Those items reveal that the maker’s intention was to decorate, and to create something which had no practical application. But that does not mean  all art works are of no use. There are Middle Palaeolithic tools like hand axes in general and laurel points in particular, in shaping which so much attention was given to symmetry that experts regard them as works of art as well. After the recent discovery of the mask of La Roche-Cotard in France, it is now believed that Neanderthal  man could possibly have to his credit a meaningful artistic culture. Also relevant in this context are the findings from the Mizyn Archaeological Site of Ukraine, Mammoth ivory bracelets with carved meander ornaments dating back to Mousterian epoch of the Palaeolithic period. The Mesolithic period has also provided some examples of  portable  stylized rock art like painted pebbles from Birseck and Eremitage sites in Switzerland as also in the Spanish Levant. Artistic designs on items of use, for example, rowing paddles from Tybrind, Denmark are well-known in Mesolithic archaeological finds. 

 

Neolithic

 

In ancient Japan, the Jomon culture is credited with making potteries from braided and unbraided clay cords. Archaeological evidence shows that Jomon people were making clay figures and vessels adorned with increasingly sophisticated patterns by pressing the designs on wet clay in the 14th to 11th millennium BCE. Free standing sculptures decorated with animal figures started to be installed in the Neolithic period. The earliest were anthropomorphic figurines usually embellished circa 10th millennium BCE, and were found in Nevali Cori and Gobekle Tepe near Urfa in eastern Turkey.

 

In Lepenski Vir, the Mesolithic statues at the Iron Gate, Serbia are dated 7th millennium BCE, and depict humans or fishes and humans together. Many Neolithic cultures in Central Europe like Linearbandkeramic, Lengyel and Vinca made female figurines (rarely male) and animal figures with artistic qualities. In this context, Zelisovsce and painted Lengyel style of potteries with elaborate decorations are not always regarded as works of art.  Monuments made from large stones or megalithic structures of the Neolithic period are found from Poland to the British Isles, in the tip of the Sahara desert at Nabata, Egypt; and some more sites. As they belong to the 5th millennium BCE, some experts call them mesolithic; but, that is difficult to prove. The temples in Malta, not quite widely-known, constructed circa 3600 BCE are the oldest free standing structure in the world. Simply built with post and lintel architecture, they look very imposing. Likewise, there are Minoan (Crete) structures, built at the time of the more famous Egyptian Pyramids.  During the early Bronze Age, the equally famous Stonehenge was erected near Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. In fact, many such monuments are there in Western and Northern Europe, and can be found in Carnac, France; in Skara Brae in the Orkney Islands; and in Portugal. The Avebury Circle, the tombs at West Kennet and the Woodhenge also belong to this group. The tomb in New Grange, Ireland has a big stone at its entrance, on the face of which is carved a complex design of spirals. Stones of the tomb at Knowth have ornamental carvings, one of which could possibly be the oldest known image of the Moon. A number of these megalithic monuments are tombs, and archaeologists believe these have some religious significance. The tomb at Knowth is so richly ornamented with carvings that experts elieve it contains about one third of all megalithic art in Western Europe.                   

 

Bronze Age

 

The Bronze Age began in Europe the in 3rd millennium BCE ushering in a new medium for art. As tools made from bronze are more durable than those made of stone, more items were produced resulting in a surplus – the prime requirement for the formation of a class of artisans. With the creation of more wealth in the society than ever before, the demand for luxury goods, especially decorated weapons, increased. Now, there were bronze headgears, ornamental axe-heads and swords; things like lure used in falconry; and other ceremonial objects without a practical purpose. There was a profusion of rock carvings (made by bronze chisels) depicting scenes of daily life and religious ceremonies like those in Bohuslan, Sweden and the Val Camonica in  northern Italy.

 

Iron Age

 

In the Iron age, anthropomorphic sculptures were made, like the Warrior of Herschlanden and the statue from Glauberg, Germany. Perhaps under the influence of the Classical world resulting from trade, the Hallstatt artists in the early Iron Age preferred desgns of abstract and geometreical nature. A curvilinear and elaborate artistic style was developed in early Iron Age Europe in a centre at the Rhine valley which spread all over the continent in no time. Ostentatious living became the way of the rich chieftains following the Classical tradition, and wine drinking from richly ornamented bronze cups became the norm. In the Celtic culture, people often used to feast and drink together, and artistic expressions started to bloom in plates, knives, cauldrons and such other vessels. Weapons and horse-riding gears were also decorated, and the ornamentatinos had mythical and relegious elements as motif in stylized and naturalistic forms. Construction of megalithic monuments continued, as illustrated in the existing carved limestone pillars of the sanctuary at Entremont in France. Torc or twisted metal necklaces became a personal wear, and introduction of  coins provided ample scope for artistic experimentation. The coins were, however, poorly made copies of the Greecian and Roman coins, but the Celtic exuberance was very much there. Burying a person/warrior in his chariot was a practice in China in the 1200 BCE; the Celts did so at the famous Waldalgesheim site in the Rhineland much later, and made flagons and bronze plaques with reclining human figures in what is known as Celtic or La Tene style. The bronze plaques and others had curvy and organic   decorations, presumably after the Classical tendril patterns. This artistic style prevailed in estern Europe and can be seen in the art and architecture of Roman villas. Areas where oman influence never reached, most famously, Ireland and Northumbria this later Iron age rtisic tradition appeared later and continued very much in the historic period.               

 

Africa

According to present state of  information first of the humans were born in Africa, and developed subsequently from that continent. It seems the first band of hunter-gatherers roamed the dales, vales, and plains there. But, there are few sites witness to the great flowering of Upper Palaeolithic art and culture, apart fom the odd venus figurine from Morocco and the controversial Blombos cave. Any way , there are pointers that the hominids staying there had much better conception of the world around, than hitherto assumed. Still, Bushman cave and rock paintings are there in Wateberg, an area near thePalala River. The rock carvings depict a wide range of wild animals, especially antelopes, along with human motifs in a clear, uncluttered manner.

 

Americas

 

Societal hierarchies of fascinating complexity, monumental architecture for civic and religious purposes, generally permanent or urban settlements and agriculture, all created without any outside influence, were the significant characteristics of the pre-Columbian civilizations of the Americas. By the time the first permanent European settlers had arrived (between late fifteenth and early sixteenth century CE), many of these civilizations had ceased to function. These are now known only through archaeological investigations. Some contemporaries of them are also found in the historical accounts of the time. The Mayan Civilization had a script in which they had set their records. The invading Europeans regarded such texts as blasphemous and heretical to Christianity and burnt them in pyres. Somehow a few, presumably, hidden texts survived providing the modern historian with tantalising vistas of ancient culture and knowledge. 

 

Mesoamerican :-  Mesoamerica is an environmentally similar region where for more than three thousand years various ancient cultures having nearly similar views on art, architecture, religious beliefs and technology flourished and left their imprints and marks for posterity. Formation of complex cultures began in Mesoamerica circa 1800 BCE, and continued for the next 1500 years. Some of them made progress and gave rise to advanced pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations like the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Huastec, Purepecha, Toltec and Mexica, and continued for about 4,000 years before the first encounter with the Europeans. Such indigenous civilizations built pyramids and temples; created highly accurate calendars by abacus calculations along with a complex theology; made significant progress in astronomy, engineering, fine arts, intensive agriculture, medicine and writing; and discovered the wheel. As they did not possess any animal to drag loads, the wheel was used only as a toy. They knew how to work on metals and used copper and gold obtained locally to make various objects. They excelled in counting and devised one of the most complex counting system in the world with a base of 20 number system. Archaic inscriptions on rocks and rock walls of northern Mexico, particularly in the province of Nuevo Leon, are testimonies to their expertise in counting and number systems. Astronomical events influenced the Mexican Natives to a great extent, and those very early and ancient counting marks were associated with astronomical activities long before the Europeans came on the scene. It would appear that the Mexican based civilizations coming later built their ceremonial centres and cities by taking into account specific astronomical events.

 

Oceania

 

Indigenous Australians, beginning with the first settlers from Asia had a distinctive artistic tradition visible in their rock paintings. For instance, there is the class of paintings known as x-ray paintings, in which the bones and organs of the subject depicted are shown. As some kind of abstraction generally forms their art theme, to the modern viewer the works often appear to be abstract art. They represent environment and landscape by geometrical figures and shapes and generally show that on a plan view, that is, a bird’s eye view. For example, in an Aboriginal work, a swirl means a watering hole. In Western Austrslia, there are rock paintings known as the Bradshaws.Drawn in fine details with accurate anatomical proportions, the works are17,000 years old, and the identity of the creators remains a matter of controversy. Likewise, the Polynesian Natives also left behind a clearly different artistic heritage. As their artefacts were generally made with organic materials, most of them were lost due to decay. Those made from bone and clay are strikingly beautiful, as is evident from the shards of pottery dating to late 2nd millennium BCE. Also left behind in the Polynesian islands, are stone platforms and ancestor sculptures. The marvelous statues located in the Easter Islands belong to this group.

 

Music

 

Music as culture arrived quite late, very late in the geological time scale, and prehistoric music can be defined as all of the world’s music which was there before anything was known about them. Examples of this are the traditional Native American music of the pre-literate tribes and the music of the Indigenous Australians or Aborigines. Ancient music took the place of prehistoric music in Europe around 1500 BCE and later in other European influenced areas. It is, however, customary to call the music of the non-European continents, notably the music which is surviving, as folk or indigenous or traditional music It is not known how or when music was first played or sung because there is no record of it. Generally, however, it is believed that music evolved from naturally occurring rhythms and sounds like the murmur of a brook, the crash of a thunder and the sigh of wind, borrowing from them patterns, repitition and tonality. Not only birds sing and trill, but also monkeys have been seen to beat on hollow logs to produce percussive sounds. It is said that they do so to establish authority over a certain territory (as far as the sound is heard, perhaps), but in the effort there is a whiff of creativity and an attempt to start a call and response dialogue. With regard to musical instrument, the human voice is the first one ever. It produces a wide variety of sounds, from singing, humming and whistling to clicking, coughing and yawning. There is a Neanderthal hyoid (u-shaped bone in the neck supporting the tongue) 60,000 years old and a bone flute dating 50,000 years,  giving the impression that music was played at that time. As, however , both the specimens are one of their kind, no definite conclusion is possible.    

 

It seems the first rhythmic percussive sound was produced by clapping of hands, by hitting stones together and so on. Theoretically, music can be traced to the Oldowan era of the Palaeothic period, the anthropological and archaeological time when stone tools were first used by hominids. Work noises like pounding of seeds and roots into food can also be regarded as rhythmic sounds made by early humans.

 

General relation to culture, function, complexity and style are the important features of prehistoric music, which generally vary from one place to the other. In a clay tablet, stated to be 4,000 years old, the world’s earliest known song is inscribed in Assyrian cuneiform script. Adiatonic composition, it is also the oldest example of harmony in the manner of English gymel. It, however, cannot be called prehistoric because it is a written piece.  As regards the oldest notated song from anywhere in the western world,  the First Delphic Hymn is undoubtedly the earliest surviving example.

  

The oldest flute is the controversial “Neanderthal Flute” discovered in 1995 in the Divje Cave, Idrijca Valley, Western Slovenia. Found in thefifth Mousterian level of the Palaeolithic period, the flute is a hollow femur of a baby cave bear. It is estimated to be 43,000 years old and has holes as in a flute. There is no unanimity on the opinion that it is a man made flute of bone: others feel that it is a carnivore chewed-up piece. At the period of its date, there was neither a method for making holes on a bone, nor was the conceoptual idea of a flute developed. There are weak indications, the number of which are steadily increasing with new finds that the Neanderthal Man was much closer to modern humans intellectually than thought previously.     

Recently (1999) at Henan , China, several Gudis (literary meaning, bone flute) dating 9,000 BCE and having 5 to 8 holes each have been found. They were made from the hollow bones of the bird, the Red-crowned Crane. One of the flutes was found still playable and produced both the five- or seven-note scale of Xia  Zhi  and six-note scale of Qing Shang of the ancient ancient  Chinese musical system.    

   

Cycladic culture

 

Cyclades are a group of small islands in the Aegean Sea. In the island named Keros among them, two marble statues from the late Neolithic culture (in this instance, called Early Cycladic culture) were discovered in a single excavation in the 19th century CE.  The statues are those of a standing double-flute player and a sitting musician playing a triangular-shaped lyre or harp and were scul

Originally published here.

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soumen bandyopadhyay

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