828 résultats pour "century"

• Biblical Archaeology.

  religion, among them the storm deity Baal (title of Hadad) mentioned frequently in the Old Testament. Moreover, the poetry of Ugarit has strong affinities with that ofthe Bible. They share much in the way of vocabulary, structure, and the use of figures of speech and other literary devices. In 1945, at ancient Naj‘Ḩamm ād ī in Upper Egypt, some 50 Gnostic writings in Coptic were discovered. They could be dated to the 4th century AD, but investigation of their character and content showed that t...

• Iranian Art and Architecture I INTRODUCTION Iranian Art and Architecture, the visual arts of Iran.

  The first great development of ancient Persian architecture took place under the Achaemenid dynasty during the Persian Empire, from about 550 to 330 BC. Remains of Achaemenian architecture are numerous, the earliest being ruins at Pasargadae, the capital city of Cyrus the Great. These ruins include two palaces, a sacred precinct, acitadel, a tower, and the tomb of Cyrus. The palaces were set in walled gardens and contained central columnar halls, the largest of which was 37 m (111 ft) in length...

• Musical Instruments I INTRODUCTION World Music Tour Click on the instruments to hear music from around the world.

  Traditional Timbila of MozambiqueAmong the Chopi, who have lived for centuries along the coast of Mozambique, there is a highly developed tradition ofsongwriting and composing for timbila (xylophone) orchestras. Elaborate migodo (dance suites), interspersed with poeticsongs pertaining to village life, are often performed to these compositions. Timbila music is now recognized as the nationalmusic of Mozambique."Eduardo Durao Mauaia" from Eduardo Durao and Orquestra Durao: Timbila (Cat.# Globestyl...

• Confucian philosophy, Japanese

  1 Confucian philosophy in early Japan The earliest extant Japanese histories record that in AD 285 - the actual date was probably a century or so later - Wani, of the Korean kingdom of Paekche, brought copies of the Analects (Lunyu ; in Japanese, Rongo ) of Confucius and the Qianziwen (Thousand Character Classic; Senjimon in Japanese) from Korea to Japan ( Confucian philosophy, Korean ). Even though most scholarship on Japan tends to identify this introduction of Confucian texts with...

• Mythology I INTRODUCTION Mythology, the body of myths of a particular culture, and the study and interpretation of such myths.

  usually define a myth as a story that has compelling drama and deals with basic elements and assumptions of a culture. Myths explain, for example, how the worldbegan; how humans and animals came into being; how certain customs, gestures, or forms of human activity originated; and how the divine and human worlds interact.Many myths take place at a time before the world as human beings know it came into being. Because myth-making often involves gods, other supernatural beings, andprocesses beyond...

• Popular and Social Dance I INTRODUCTION The Cakewalk The cakewalk, a dance of African American origin, was intended to lampoon high-strutting whites at fancy dress balls.

  master. The dance manuals published between 1550 and 1630, written by Thoinot Arbeau of France, Cesare Negri of Italy, and other dancing masters, describe dances such asthe pavane, galliard, allemande, courante, saltarello, and volta, as well as circular branles and progressive longways dances (for a line of couples, in which each couplerepeats the pattern with one new couple after another; see Country Dance). The sense of order and harmony so important during the Renaissance gave rise to forma...

• Orthodox Church.

  formally defined by an ecumenical council, as it was in Catholicism, some Orthodox theologians have taught that the act of becoming a monk or the service of burial canalso be sacraments. The sacramental practice of the Orthodox differs in many details from Western customs. Baptism is administered by immersing the child or adult three times under thewater, each time in the name of one of the persons of the Trinity. It is followed immediately by anointment with chrism, a sacred perfumed oil that r...

• Theater I INTRODUCTION The Art of Theater BBC Worldwide Americas, Inc.

  Theater at EpidaurusAncient Greek dramas were performed in open-air theaters like this one in Epidaurus, Greece, which was designed byPolyclitus the Younger in 350 bc. A festival of ancient Greek drama is still held in the summer in this 14,000-seat theater.Roger Wood/Corbis Fundamental to the theater experience is the act of seeing and being seen; in fact, the word theater comes from the Greek word theatron , meaning 'seeing place.' Throughout the history of world cultures, actors have used...

• Arab Music I INTRODUCTION Umm Kulthum Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum was revered throughout Egypt, North Africa, and the Near East for her powerful voice and improvisational skill.

  The rhythmic structure of Arab music is similarly complex. Rhythmic patterns have up to 48 beats and typically include several downbeats (called dums ) as well as upbeats (called taks) and silences, or rests. To grasp a rhythmic mode, the listener must hear a relatively long pattern. Moreover, the performers do not simply play the pattern; they elaborate upon and ornament it. Often the pattern is recognizable by the arrangement of downbeats. The Rhythm in Arab Music illustration demonstratesa...

• Native American Literature I INTRODUCTION Leslie Marmon Silko Native American writer Leslie Marmon Silko is perhaps best known for her first novel, Ceremony (1977), a coming-of-age story about a young man of mixed Native American and white ancestry.

  SequoyahNative Americans did not use a complex written language before the immigration of Europeans to the Americas. In theearly 1820s the Cherokee leader Sequoyah developed an alphabet and written language for his native tongue. ManyCherokee learned the new written language readily, and in 1828 they published the first Native American newspaper,written in both Cherokee and English.THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE Before Native Americans came into contact with Europeans, many tribes supplemented the spoken...

• Halloween.

  Halloween traditions in southern colonies such as Virginia and Maryland. Irish immigrants helped popularize Halloween traditions throughout the United States in themid-19th century. As belief in many of the old superstitions waned during the late 19th century, Halloween was increasingly regarded as a children’s holiday. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, young people often observed Halloween by perpetrating minor acts of vandalism, such as overturning sheds or breaking windows.Beginning in th...

• Byzantine Empire .

  Emperor Alexius I, founder of the Comnenian dynasty, nevertheless appealed to the pope for aid against the Turks. Western Europe responded with the First Crusade(1096-99). Although Byzantium initially benefited from the Crusades, recovering some land in Asia Minor, in the long run they hastened the empire's decline. Italian merchant citieswon special trading privileges in Byzantine territory and gained control of much of the empire's commerce and wealth. The Byzantines experienced a superficialp...

• Western Philosophy.

  the popular belief in personal deities, but he failed to explain the way in which the familiar objects of experience could develop out of elements that are totally differentfrom them. Anaxagoras therefore suggested that all things are composed of very small particles, or “seeds,” which exist in infinite variety. To explain the way in whichthese particles combine to form the objects that constitute the familiar world, Anaxagoras developed a theory of cosmic evolution. He maintained that the activ...

• Athens (Greece) - geography.

  At the heart of the modern city is Syntagma (Constitution) Square, located east of the Acropolis. The square is bordered by the national Parliament Building, originally aroyal palace completed in 1842 for King Otto I. Nearby is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which features a daily changing of the guard. Several of the city’s principalhotels as well the offices of major banks and airline companies also face the square. Behind the Parliament Building is the National Gardens, a public park that i...

• Yemen - country.

  port. Al Ḩudaydah (155,110), in the Tih āmah, is the second largest port. Ta‘izz, (178,043), in the highlands above Aden, is an important commercial and light industrialcenter. Among Yemen’s larger towns are Şa‘dah, far to the north; Dham ār, Yarim, and Ibb, in the middle region; Al Mukall ā, on the southern coast; and in Hadhramaut,the towns of Shib ām, Say‘ ūn, and Tar īm. C Language Nearly all Yemenis speak Arabic. However, the country’s extremely rugged terrain, widely separated population...

• Maine - geography.

  temperatures range from 17° to 21°C (62° to 70°F) with the southern interior being the warmest and the east coast and north the coolest. However, daytime summertemperatures may reach the lower 30°s C (lower 90°s F), and temperatures in winter have fallen as low as -44°C (-48°F) in the interior. D2 Precipitation Precipitation (rainfall and snowfall) in Maine is evenly distributed throughout the year. Most areas receive from 860 to 1,020 mm (34 to 40 in) yearly, although parts ofthe coast are som...

• Maine - USA History.

  temperatures range from 17° to 21°C (62° to 70°F) with the southern interior being the warmest and the east coast and north the coolest. However, daytime summertemperatures may reach the lower 30°s C (lower 90°s F), and temperatures in winter have fallen as low as -44°C (-48°F) in the interior. D2 Precipitation Precipitation (rainfall and snowfall) in Maine is evenly distributed throughout the year. Most areas receive from 860 to 1,020 mm (34 to 40 in) yearly, although parts ofthe coast are som...

• Colombia - country.

  In Bogotá the average high temperature in January is 20°C (68°F), and in July the average high is 19°C (65°F). The highs for the same months in Barranquilla are 32°C(89°F) and 33°C (91°F). Throughout the year, three-month periods of rain and dry weather alternate. Along the Pacific coast precipitation is heavy. At Bogotá the annual rainfall averages about1,060 mm (about 42 in), and in Barranquilla it averages about 800 mm (about 32 in). Dry weather prevails on the slopes of the Cordillera Orient...

• Foreign Trade.

  tax policies. Direct government support of various domestic industries is also viewed as a nontariff barrier to trade, because such support puts the aided industries at anunfair advantage among trading nations. V 20TH-CENTURY TRENDS In the first half of the 20th century, equal tariffs for similar goods was not the policy of all nations. Countries levied differential tariffs (charging lower tariffs to favorednations) and established other restrictive trading practices as weapons to fight unfrien...

• Columbus (Ohio) - geography.

  A balance among manufacturing, technology, research, and financial activities has helped Columbus’s economy to continue to boom. Much of the city’s expansion resultsfrom its function as a sophisticated service center. By 1990 manufacturing occupied only 12 percent of the area’s labor force. That contrasted with services, includinggovernment, finance, and transportation and utilities, which accounted for almost 60 percent of all employment. The two largest employers in Columbus are state governme...

• Québec (city) - Geography.

  rotates between the mayors of small, medium, and core municipalities. The QUC is responsible for zoning, regional development, property valuation, waste disposal, andtourism promotion. City planning and public transit are handled in collaboration with the municipalities. Other municipal functions such as public works, libraries, water,parks, fire and police services, street repair, and traffic control are left to the municipalities. VII CONTEMPORARY ISSUES In recent years the St. Lawrence Rive...

• Gold - chemistry.

  producers of gold during this period. Spain's domination in South America resulted, in the 16th century, in a large increase in gold produced in the New World; someresulted from simple seizure of gold from the Native Americans, who had long mined the metal. In the same century Mexico contributed about 9 percent of the totalworld production. Gold was discovered in Australia in February 1851, and rich fields were found there. By the middle of the 19th century the United States produced a considera...

• Atlanta - geography.

  Prominent cultural and historical institutions in the city include the High Museum of Art (1983), designed by the noted postmodern American architect Richard Meier; theAtlanta Symphony; the Atlanta History Center, which maintains a history museum, historic houses and gardens, and extensive library and archives; NexusContemporary Art Center; the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center; the Apex Museum; the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University; the Clark Atlanta University ArtGallery; Fernbank Scie...

• Women's Rights.

  In 1840 Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton traveled to London to attend the World Anti-Slavery Convention. Upon arrival, however, the women were barred fromparticipating in the conference and forced to sit behind a curtain. This experience of discrimination inspired them to organize the first women’s rights convention. Thisconvention met in Seneca Falls, New York, on July 19 and 20, 1848. The Seneca Falls Convention attracted more than 200 women and approximately 40 men. For theconvention,...

• Grenada - country.

  Grenada is a member of the Organization of American States and the United Nations. From 1958 to 1962, it was a member of the West Indies Federation, and in theearly 1960s it participated in unsuccessful attempts to form a federation linking the Leeward Islands and Windward Islands. Grenada is tied with other Caribbeancountries through membership in the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). VI HISTORY Grenada was originally inhabited by Arawak Indians, who were killed or driven away...

• Slavery in the United States - U.

  tripled, from about 1.2 million to almost 4 million in 1860. The natural growth of the slave population meant that slavery could survive without new slave imports. Natural population growth also hastened the transition from an African to an African American slave population. By the 1770s, only about 20 percent of slaves in thecolonies were African-born, although the concentration of Africans remained higher in South Carolina and Georgia. After 1808 the proportion of African-born slavesbecame tin...

• Kolkata - geography.

  area, and trains have north-south lines with a few east-west connections. There are two major train terminals: Sealdah in the east central part of Kolkata and Hāoraacross the river from the Central Business District. Electric trams operate in Kolkata proper. The aging buses, trains, and tram cars suffer from overloading, creatinguncomfortable rides. Subway construction started in 1972 and became operational with 7 km (4.3 mi) of line in 1984. By 1995 all of the subway’s 16.4-km (10.2-mi)route fr...

• Confucian philosophy, Korean

  neglected by more traditional Confucianism. Read with new eyes, an entirely new level of meaning was uncovered in the ancient texts: they discovered a Confucian foundation for the meditative cultivation of consciousness that had been a particular strength of the Buddhists, and to frame it and provide an account of sagehood equal to Buddhist talk of enlightenment, they found a complete metaphysical system, a Confucian version of the kind of thinking that had been elaborated mainly under Daoist au...

• Railroads.

  III GAUGES The gauge of track is the distance between the inner edges of the rails at points 1.59 cm (0.626 in) below the top of the heads. In the United States, Canada, theUnited Kingdom, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, and much of continental Europe, the standard gauge is 143.51 cm (56.5 in). Why this measurement became the standard isa matter of speculation. Probably the tradition is inherited from early tramroads built to accommodate wagons with axles 1.5 m (5 ft) long; some of the early edge rail...

• New Brunswick - Geography.

  Grand Lake, the largest lake in New Brunswick, is in the lowlands, east of Fredericton. Most other lakes are located in the northern and southwestern parts of NewBrunswick. D Climate New Brunswick has a continental climate that is moderated by maritime influences in the coastal areas. As a result, coastal regions are slightly warmer in the winter andslightly cooler in the summer than are interior regions. Annual temperature variations are large, with the January mean usually at least 25 to 28°C...

• New Brunswick - Canadian History.

  Grand Lake, the largest lake in New Brunswick, is in the lowlands, east of Fredericton. Most other lakes are located in the northern and southwestern parts of NewBrunswick. D Climate New Brunswick has a continental climate that is moderated by maritime influences in the coastal areas. As a result, coastal regions are slightly warmer in the winter andslightly cooler in the summer than are interior regions. Annual temperature variations are large, with the January mean usually at least 25 to 28°C...

• Iran - country.

  Zagros mountains. In the more arid central part of the country, wild pistachio and other drought-resistant trees grow in areas that have not been disturbed by humanactivity. Tamarisk and other salt-tolerant bushes grow along the margins of the Dasht-e Kavir. A wide variety of native mammals, reptiles, birds, and insects inhabit Iran. Many species of mammals—including wolves, foxes, bears, mountain goats, red mountainsheep, rabbits, and gerbils—continue to thrive. Others—including Caspian tigers,...

• Gravitation I INTRODUCTION Gravitation, the force of attraction between all objects that tends to pull them toward one another.

  precise observations possible, and Galileo was one of the first to use a telescope to study astronomy. In 1609 Galileo observed that moons orbited the planet Jupiter, afact that could not reasonably fit into an earth-centered model of the heavens. The new heliocentric theory changed scientists' views about the earth's place in the universe and opened the way for new ideas about the forces behind planetarymotion. However, it was not until the late 17th century that Isaac Newton developed a theory...

• Gravitation - astronomy.

  precise observations possible, and Galileo was one of the first to use a telescope to study astronomy. In 1609 Galileo observed that moons orbited the planet Jupiter, afact that could not reasonably fit into an earth-centered model of the heavens. The new heliocentric theory changed scientists' views about the earth's place in the universe and opened the way for new ideas about the forces behind planetarymotion. However, it was not until the late 17th century that Isaac Newton developed a theory...

• Pittsburgh - geography.

  College of Allegheny County (1966), with branches in the city and suburbs. Pittsburgh has many outstanding cultural institutions. The Oakland district is where Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh are located. The CarnegieMuseums of Pittsburgh include The Carnegie Museum of Art (including the Scaife Galleries), which holds a distinguished motion-picture and video collection and a uniquestudy of architecture; the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, which displays an extensi...

• Global Warming.

  some of the warming influence of increasing greenhouse gases. A1 Carbon Dioxide Carbon dioxide is the second most abundant greenhouse gas, after water vapor. Carbon dioxide constantly circulates in the environment through a variety of naturalprocesses known as the carbon cycle. It is released into the atmosphere from natural processes such as eruptions of volcanoes; the respiration of animals, whichbreathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide; and the burning or decay of plants and other organic...

• Ottoman Empire .

  fleets at Suez, Egypt; though the Portuguese were not expelled, Selim did manage to prevent the establishment of a total Portuguese monopoly over the spice trade. Selim I died in 1520 after having spent most of his short reign on matters pertaining to the east. His son and successor Süleyman I (reigned 1520-1566) again turnedthe attention of the Ottomans to the west. In August 1521 Süleyman, later known as Süleyman the Magnificent, opened the road to Hungary by capturing Belgrade, aHungarian str...

• Ottoman Empire - History.

  fleets at Suez, Egypt; though the Portuguese were not expelled, Selim did manage to prevent the establishment of a total Portuguese monopoly over the spice trade. Selim I died in 1520 after having spent most of his short reign on matters pertaining to the east. His son and successor Süleyman I (reigned 1520-1566) again turnedthe attention of the Ottomans to the west. In August 1521 Süleyman, later known as Süleyman the Magnificent, opened the road to Hungary by capturing Belgrade, aHungarian str...

• Christianity.

  history of architecture. See Basilica; Church; Early Christian Art and Architecture;Prayer. C Christian Life The instruction and exhortation of Christian preaching and teaching concern all the themes of doctrine and morals: the love of God and the love of neighbor, the twochief commandments in the ethical message of Jesus (see Matthew 22: 34-40). Application of these commandments to the concrete situations of human life, bothpersonal and social, does not produce a uniformity of moral or polit...

• ?stanbul - geography.

  İstanbul hosts a number of annual cultural events. The İstanbul Cultural Festival, held in the summer, offers music and dance performances in more than 50 venuesthroughout the city, including outdoors at Rumelihisar ı. The city also hosts a summer jazz festival. Turkey is one of the world’s largest producers of motion pictures, anda highly regarded international film festival takes place in İstanbul during the early months of the year. V RECREATION With increasing modernization, recreation is...

• New Orleans - geography.

  D Metropolitan Region The New Orleans metropolitan region covers 8,800 sq km (3,400 sq mi) and includes the counties—known in Louisiana as parishes— of Orleans, Jefferson, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Tammany, Saint James, and Plaquemines. At the center is the city of New Orleans, which is coextensive withOrleans Parish. It has a land area of 468 sq km (181 sq mi). Extending from this base are numerous suburban towns in the surrounding parishes. Metairie, Harahan...

• Newfoundland and Labrador - Geography.

  Precipitation averages about 1,120 mm (about 44 in) yearly in Newfoundland. In Labrador precipitation varies from about 1,020 mm (about 40 in) in the southeast toabout 510 mm (about 20 in) in the extreme north. Heavy winter snowfalls are common, especially in Newfoundland. D Plant Life About one-third of Newfoundland is forested, and most of the rest of the island is made up of barren areas of reindeer moss and lichens. The forests consist almostentirely of conifers. The most important species...

• Newfoundland and Labrador - Canadian History.

  Precipitation averages about 1,120 mm (about 44 in) yearly in Newfoundland. In Labrador precipitation varies from about 1,020 mm (about 40 in) in the southeast toabout 510 mm (about 20 in) in the extreme north. Heavy winter snowfalls are common, especially in Newfoundland. D Plant Life About one-third of Newfoundland is forested, and most of the rest of the island is made up of barren areas of reindeer moss and lichens. The forests consist almostentirely of conifers. The most important species...

• Connecticut - geography.

  The state’s shoreline, when all the bays and inlets are taken into account, has a total length of 995 km (618 mi). The coastline is deeply indented by long estuaries androcky inlets, and there are many sandy beaches and stretches of tidal marsh. There are several good harbors along the coast, the most important of which is at NewHaven. A few small islands lie offshore in Long Island Sound. D Climate Connecticut has long, hot summers and cold winters. The climate does not vary greatly from place...

• Connecticut - USA History.

  The state’s shoreline, when all the bays and inlets are taken into account, has a total length of 995 km (618 mi). The coastline is deeply indented by long estuaries androcky inlets, and there are many sandy beaches and stretches of tidal marsh. There are several good harbors along the coast, the most important of which is at NewHaven. A few small islands lie offshore in Long Island Sound. D Climate Connecticut has long, hot summers and cold winters. The climate does not vary greatly from place...

• Lebanon (country) - country.

  during the civil war. Within the country, thousands of Shia Muslim refugees fled fighting in southern Lebanon in the 1990s and moved into shantytowns in Beirut’ssouthern suburbs. Lebanon’s major cities were greatly affected by the civil war. Beirut has gradually regained most of its prewar population and remains the country’s largest city. Tripoli,the northern port, is the second largest city. Jūniyah, north of Beirut, was developed as a wartime port and subsequently had a population boom. Za ḩl...

• Comics I INTRODUCTION Comics, series of drawings arranged to tell a story.

  is still used to refer to sensationalistic techniques that publishers use to draw more readers to their newspapers. Outcault finally won the right to continue his strip andgradually adopted the panel style and balloon narration that mark “The Yellow Kid” as the first true comic strip. Other early comics included “Little Bears” by JamesSwinnerton, which first appeared in the San Francisco Examiner in 1892, and “The Katzenjammer Kids” by Rudolph Dirks, which first appeared in The American Humo...

• Reformation .

  Saxony, he made war against the Schmalkaldic League, a defensive association of Protestant princes. The Roman Catholic forces were successful at first. Later,however, Duke Maurice went over to the Protestant side, and Charles V was obliged to make peace. The religious civil war ended with the religious Peace of Augsburg in1555. Its terms provided that each of the rulers of the German states, which numbered about 300, choose between Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism and enforcethe chosen faith up...

• Laos - country.

  by the year 2025. About one-quarter of Laos’s people live in mountainous regions. The rest live in upland valleys or on the flood plains of the Mekong and its tributaries.Just over three-quarters of the population live in rural areas, although the proportion of people living in urban areas is steadily increasing. Vientiane is the capital and largest city of Laos. Louangphrabang, the former royal capital, is an increasingly popular tourist destination. Other major cities are theregional capitals...

• Race - biology.

  distributed as a cline, generally varying along a north-south line. Skin color is lightest in northern Europeans, especially in those who live around the Baltic Sea, andbecomes gradually darker as one moves toward southern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and into northern Africa and northern subtropical Africa. Skin isdarkest in people who live in the tropical regions of Africa. The lack of clear-cut discontinuities makes any racial boundary based on skin color totally arbitrary. Sim...