SuddenPen

Gir Range

2005-07-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

Low mountain range in western Gujarat state, west-central India, on the southern Kathiawar Peninsula. The range is extremely rugged with a steep slope seaward to the south and a gradual slope inland to the north. From it to the north runs a low, narrow, dissected range rising to Gorakhnath (3,665 feet [1,117 m], believed to be an extinct volcano) in the broad mass of the Girnar Hills. The Gir Range

Barasat

2005-07-27T03:55:00.000-07:00

Town, southeastern West Bengal state, northeastern India. Connected by road and rail with Calcutta and Howrah, it is an important trade centre for rice, legumes, sugarcane, potatoes, and coconuts; cotton weaving is the major industry. An annual fair held in honour of a Muslim saint is attended by both Muslims and Hindus. Barasat was constituted a municipality in 1869. Pop. (1981) 69,586.

Yrjö-koskinen, Sakari

2005-07-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

Forsman—later, when he was made a baron, named Yrjö-Koskinen—was a nationalist scholar and a member of the mid-19th-century Fennoman Party,

Acrisol

2005-07-05T23:35:00.000-07:00

One of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Acrisols form on old landscapes that have an undulating topography and a humid tropical climate. Their natural vegetation is woodland, which in some areas has given way to tree savanna maintained by seasonal burning. The age, mineralogy, and extensive leaching of these

Mcmahon Line

2005-06-28T23:55:00.000-07:00

Frontier between Tibet and Assam in British India, negotiated between Tibet and Great Britain at the end of the Simla Conference (October 1913–July 1914) and named after the chief British negotiator, Sir Henry McMahon. It runs from the eastern border of Bhutan along the crest of the Himalayas until it reaches the great bend in the Brahmaputra River where that river emerges

Ghazali, Al-

2005-06-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

Al-Ghazali was born at Tus (near Meshed in eastern Iran) and was educated there, then in Jorjan, and finally at Nishapur (Neyshabur), where his teacher was al-Juwayni, who earned the title of imam al-haramayn (the imam

Ubayyid, Al-

2005-06-03T01:45:00.000-07:00

Also spelled el-Obeid town, central Sudan. It lies on a sandy, scrub-covered plateau at an elevation of 1,869 feet (570 m). Founded by the Egyptians in 1821, the town was captured and largely destroyed by the Mahdist forces in 1882, but it was rebuilt after Kurdufan was federated with the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1899. Al-Ubayyid is encircled by a forest reserve that tends to alleviate dust storms. Located on a spur of the

Earth Sciences, Micropaleontology

2005-05-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

Microscopic fossils, such as ostracods, foraminifera, and pollen grains, are common in sediments of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras (from about 225,000,000 years ago to the present). Because the rock chips brought up in oil wells are so small, a high-resolution instrument known as a scanning electron microscope had to be developed to study the microfossils. The classification of

D Region

2005-05-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

Lowest ionospheric region, at altitudes of about 70 to 90 km (40 to 55 miles). The D region differs from the other ionospheric regions (denoted E and F) in that its free electrons almost totally disappear during the night because they recombine with oxygen ions to form oxygen molecules. Hence, radio waves cannot then be reflected from it but pass through to the strongly reflecting

Silicone

2005-05-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

Also called Polysiloxane, any of a diverse class of chemical polymers manufactured in the form of fluids, resins, or elastomers. Although they are partially organic in composition, the molecules of silicones differ from those of most polymers in that the backbone of their structure does not contain carbon, the characteristic element of organic compounds, but is a polysiloxane chain, in which

Calarc�

2005-03-15T08:07:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Quind�o department, Colombia, on the western slopes of the Andean Cordillera (mountains) Central, at 5,039 ft (1,536 m) above sea level. Like neighbouring Armenia, the departmental capital, it is an important coffee-growing centre. Calarc� is on the major highway that crosses the Boquer�n (pass) del Quind�o to Ibagu�, capital of Tolima department. Pop. (1973) city, 32,533; mun., 54,658.

Alciphron

2005-03-14T00:39:00.000-08:00

Rhetorician who wrote a collection of fictitious letters, a form of literature popular in his day. More than 100 of the letters have survived. The background of them all is the Athens of the 4th century BC, and the imaginary writers are farmers, fishermen, and courtesans. The material of the letters is largely derived from the writers of the so-called

China, Economic development

2005-03-12T23:37:00.000-08:00

In the 1640s and '50s the Manchu abolished all late Ming surtaxes and granted tax exemptions to areas ravaged by war. Tax remissions were limited, however, by the urgent need for revenues to carry on the conquest of China. It was not until the 1680s, after the consolidation of military victory, that the Ch'ing began to permit tax remissions on a large scale. The permanent freezing of

Mesopotamia, History Of, Literary and other historical sources

2005-03-11T22:16:00.000-08:00

The picture offered by the literary tradition of Mesopotamia is clearer but not necessarily historically relevant. The Sumerian king list has long been the greatest focus of interest. This is a literary composition, dating from Old Babylonian times, that describes kingship (nam-lugal in Sumerian) in Mesopotamia from primeval times to the end of the 1st dynasty of

S�te

2005-03-10T23:26:00.000-08:00

Formerly �(until 1827) Cette, � town and a principal French Mediterranean commercial port, lying in H�rault d�partement, Languedoc-Roussillon r�gion, southern France, southwest of Montpellier. It occupies the lower slopes and foot of the isolated Mont Saint-Clair, which lies on a tongue of land between the Mediterranean and the large marshy Thau Lagoon. A network of canals links the town with

Baseball

2005-03-09T13:48:00.000-08:00

(ROBERT WILLIAM VERDI)

Qedesha

2005-03-08T01:18:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �kedesha� or �kedeshah�, Akkadian �qadishtu� one of a class of sacred prostitutes found throughout the ancient Middle East, especially in the worship of the fertility goddess Astarte (Ashtoreth). Prostitutes, who often played an important part in official temple worship, could be either male or female. In Egypt, a goddess named Qedeshu, Lady of Kadesh (Syria), was worshiped in the 19th and 20th dynasties (1292 - c. 1075 BC). Her representation

John I

2005-03-07T04:27:00.000-08:00

His uncle, who succeeded him as Philip V, has been accused of having caused his death, or of having substituted a dead child in his place; but nothing has ever been proved.

Abscess

2005-03-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

A localized collection of pus in a cavity formed from tissues that have been broken down by infectious bacteria. An abscess is caused when such bacteria as staphylococci or streptococci gain access to solid tissue (e.g., by means of a small wound on the skin). The toxins released by these multiplying bacteria destroy cells and thus trigger an acute inflammation at the

Tavoy

2005-03-05T16:18:00.000-08:00

The surrounding area lies between the Andaman Sea and lower Thailand and is drained

Lutheran Church In America

2005-03-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

Lutheran church in North America that in 1988 merged with two other Lutheran churches to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (q.v.).

Maass, Clara

2005-03-02T21:42:00.000-08:00

Maass graduated from the Newark (New Jersey) German Hospital School of Nursing in 1895 and shortly afterward was named head nurse of the school. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in April 1898, she volunteered to serve as a contract

Argentina, Overviews

2005-03-01T11:23:00.000-08:00

The colonial and early national periods are variously covered in Eduardo Crawley, A House Divided: Argentina, 1880 - 1980 (1984); John Lynch, Argentine Dictator: Juan Manuel De Rosas, 1829 - 1852 (1981); David Rock, Argentina, 1516 - 1987: From Spanish Colonization to Alfons�n (1987); James R. Scobie, Argentina: A City and a Nation, 2nd ed. (1971); and Ione S. Wright and Lisa M. Nekhom, Historical Dictionary of Argentina (1978).

'alamgir Ii

2005-02-26T13:18:00.000-08:00

A son of the emperor Jahandar Shah (reigned 1712 - 13), 'Alamgir was always the puppet of more powerful men and was placed on the throne by the imperial vizier 'Imad ul-Mulk Ghazi-ud-Din, who had deposed his predecessor. Provoked by the vizier's attempt to reassert

Arias Navarro, Carlos

2005-02-25T07:42:00.000-08:00

After receiving a doctorate in law, Arias Navarro began his service with the Ministry of Justice in 1929. During the Spanish Civil War (1936 - 39), he was imprisoned by the Republicans, a group loyal to the republic, but he was freed by Franco's forces,

Japan, Aesthetics

2005-02-24T03:26:00.000-08:00

The dual influences of East and West have helped construct a modern Japanese culture that offers familiar elements to the Westerner but that also contains a powerful and distinctive traditional cultural aesthetic. This can be seen, for example, in the intricate detail, miniaturization, and concepts of subtlety that have transformed imported visual art forms.

Ballooning

2005-02-23T04:28:00.000-08:00

Ballooning began in 1783 with the flight of the Montgolfier brothers' balloons in France, but the earliest uses were scientific and military. Sport ballooning began

Satcher, David

2005-02-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

On Feb. 12, 1998, David Satcher was sworn in as the 16th surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service; his confirmation by a wide margin (65-35) in the U.S. Senate two days previously ensured that the post would be filled for the first time in four years. Although some Republican senators attempted to derail voting by citing Satcher's refusal to support legislation against late-term

Ithaca College

2005-02-21T20:24:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Ithaca, New York, U.S. It comprises the Roy H. Park School of Communications and schools of business, health sciences and human performance, humanities and sciences, and music. In addition to undergraduate studies, the college offers master's degree programs in communication, health sciences, and music. Students

Nagel, Ernest

2005-02-20T02:18:00.000-08:00

Formerly an exponent of logical realism, Nagel later abandoned a realistic ontology for an empirical and theoretical

San Diego Zoological Garden

2005-02-19T01:20:00.000-08:00

The largest collection of mammals, birds, and reptiles in the world. This municipal zoo, located in San Diego, Calif., U.S., was founded in 1916 and is administered by the Zoological Society of San Diego. It occupies a 40.5-hectare (100-acre) site in Balboa Park amid hills and canyons. The zoo has about 3,500 animals representing more than 700 species. A noteworthy feature of the zoo is its landscaping.

Bradley, Joseph P.

2005-02-18T13:06:00.000-08:00

Associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1870. Bradley was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Electoral Commission of 1877, and his vote elected Rutherford B. Hayes president of the United States. As a justice he emphasized the power of the federal government to regulate commerce. His decisions reflecting this view, rendered during

Burgos, Jos�

2005-02-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

Burgos studied at San Juan de Letran College and the University of Santo Tom�s in Manila, earning a doctorate of philosophy and a licentiate in canon law. His scholarship and

Niccol� Dell'arca

2005-02-16T18:17:00.000-08:00

Also called �Niccolo Da Bari� early Renaissance Italian sculptor famed for his expressionistic use of northern Gothic realism in combination with true compositional principles of Renaissance art. Niccol� takes his name from the tomb (arca in Italian) of St. Dominic in the church of S. Domenico, Bologna, where he made the canopy and most of the freestanding figures (1469 - 94). His masterpiece is the passionately

Epinicion

2005-02-15T16:53:00.000-08:00

Though the epinicion's structure

Forage

2005-02-14T16:52:00.000-08:00

Vegetable food of wild or domestic animals. In agriculture, harvested, processed, and stored forage is called silage (q.v.).

Nicholas I

2005-02-13T20:05:00.000-08:00

A close associate of the controversial patriarch Photius of Constantinople, Nicholas began his career in the

Craig, Sir James (henry)

2005-02-12T13:42:00.000-08:00

Craig entered the British army at the age of 15 and was made captain in 1771. In his Revolutionary War service he was wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775). He

Wahat Al-kharijah, Al-

2005-02-11T13:01:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Kharga, or El-kharga, � oasis in the Libyan (Western) Desert, part of Al-Wadi al-Jadid (�New Valley�) muhafazah (governorate), in south-central Egypt. It is situated about 110 miles (180 km) west-southwest of Naj' Hammadi, to which it is linked by railroad. The name Wahat al-Kharijah means �outer oasis.� The oasis consists of two fertile zones, extending about 100 miles (160 km) north-south and from 12 to 50 miles (19 to 80 km) east-west, with an area of more

Hope

2005-02-10T23:45:00.000-08:00

District municipality, southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It lies at the confluence of the Coquihalla and Fraser rivers in the forested Coast Mountains, near Mount Hope (6,000 feet [1,829 metres]), 90 miles (145 km) east of Vancouver. The Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Hope on the site in 1848 - 49, an event commemorated by a cairn at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Wallace

Abengourou

2005-02-09T08:53:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern C�te d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), on the road from Abidjan (the national capital) to Ghana. The major trading centre for a productive forest region, it is also the residence of the Anyi (Agni) paramount chief, who is the present king of Ind�ni� (an Anyi kingdom founded in the mid-18th century). The king's official residence (built 1882) is decorated with Ind�ni� relics and tapestries.

Cumberland

2005-02-08T08:18:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1789) of Allegany county, northwestern Maryland, U.S. It lies in a bowl-shaped valley in the narrow panhandle region between Pennsylvania (north) and West Virginia (south), bounded by the Potomac River to the south. It is situated at the entrance to Cumberland Narrows, a natural gateway carved by Wills Creek through the Allegheny Mountains west to the Ohio River valley.

Mures

2005-02-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

Judet (county), north-central Romania, occupying an area of 2,585 square miles (6,696 square km). The eastern Carpathian Mountains, including the Calim and Gurghiu ranges, rise above settlement areas in the valleys. The Mures River and its tributaries flow southwestward through the district. T�rgu Mures, a cultural and industrial centre, is the county capital. Its manufactures include

Hooghly-chinsura

2005-02-06T01:16:00.000-08:00

Hooghly, also spelled Hugli, was founded by the Portuguese in 1537 following the decline of Satgaon, the mercantile capital of lower Bengal; it was also the first

Lipalian Interval

2005-02-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

In geology, time span suggested in an attempt to explain the sudden appearance of abundant life forms in the earliest known Cambrian rocks (approximately 570,000,000 years old), in contrast to their absence in the latest Precambrian strata (no more than about 800,000,000 years old). Unlike Precambrian indications of life, Cambrian faunas are comparatively highly developed and diverse,

Triad

2005-02-04T14:23:00.000-08:00

In music, a chord of three tones, consisting of a root with its third and fifth and constituting the harmonic basis of tonal music. See chord.

Oman, Portuguese and Persian invasions

2005-02-03T19:11:00.000-08:00

On route to India, the Portuguese sacked Muscat in 1507 and soon controlled the entire coast. More than a century later the Ya'rubid dynasty drove the Portuguese from the Omani coast, recapturing Muscat in 1650 and then occupying Portuguese settlements in the Persian Gulf and East African coastal regions. Their empire eventually crumbled in a civil war over the succession

Fisk, James

2005-02-02T01:28:00.000-08:00

Fisk worked successively as a circus hand, waiter, peddler, dry-goods salesman, stockbroker, and corporate official. In 1866 he formed Fisk and Belden, a brokerage firm, with the support of Daniel

Janesville

2005-02-01T06:11:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1839) of Rock county, southern Wisconsin, U.S., on the Rock River, 37 miles (60 km) southeast of Madison. Settled in 1835 and named for a pioneer, Henry F. Janes (who later moved west to found Janesville, Minn., and Janesville, Iowa), it developed as a trading centre for a dairying, grain, and logging region. In 1919 General Motors Corporation opened a tractor factory, which became a Fisher Body

Race, Milieu, And Moment

2005-01-31T04:43:00.000-08:00

By �race� he meant the inherited disposition or temperament that persists stubbornly over

Tar Sand

2005-01-30T16:32:00.000-08:00

Deposits of bitumen, like those of other heavy hydrocarbons, are thought to be degraded remnants of accumulations of conventional

Hassan Ibn Thabit

2005-01-29T16:53:00.000-08:00

Hassan had won acclaim at the courts of the Christian Arab Ghassanid kings in Syria and the Lakhmid kings of al-Hirah in Iraq, where he met the poets an-Nabighah and 'Alqamah. He settled in Medina, where, after the advent of Muhammad, he accepted Islam at about the age of 60. Hassan, who is said to have

Strain Theory

2005-01-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

In chemistry, a proposal made in 1885 by the German chemist Adolf von Baeyer that the stability of carbocyclic compounds (i.e., those of which the molecular structure includes one or more rings of carbon atoms) depends on the amount by which the angles between the chemical bonds deviate from the value (109�28�) observed in compounds not containing such rings. The amount of deviation

Russell, Charles Taze

2005-01-27T00:35:00.000-08:00

By the time he was 20, Russell had left both Presbyterianism and Congregationalism because he could not reconcile the idea of an eternal hell with God's mercy. He had drifted into skepticism when a chance encounter with some Adventists

Furniture, Chair

2005-01-26T23:06:00.000-08:00

Of all furniture forms, the chair may be the most interesting. While most other forms (except the bed) are intended to support objects, the chair supports man. The term chair is used here in the widest sense, from stool to throne to derivative forms such as the bench and sofa, which may be regarded as extended or connected chairs, and whose character (i.e., whether they are intended

Bhangra

2005-01-25T02:32:00.000-08:00

Dancers in pairs give spontaneous solo displays that include virile jumps and even

Weber, Carl Maria Von

2005-01-24T00:18:00.000-08:00

In full �Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst, Freiherr (baron) Von Weber� German composer and opera director during the transition from Classical to Romantic music, noted especially for his operas Der Freisch�tz (The Freeshooter, 1821), Euryanthe (1823), and Oberon (1826). Der Freisch�tz, the most immediately and widely popular German opera that had then been written, established German Romantic

West Chester University Of Pennsylvania

2005-01-23T00:47:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in West Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. It is part of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education. The university comprises the College of Arts and Sciences and schools of Education, Health Sciences, Music, and Business and Public Affairs. In addition to undergraduate studies, West Chester offers some 70 master's

Razor-billed Auk

2005-01-22T16:17:00.000-08:00

Also called �Razorbill� (Alca torda), black and white seabird of the North Atlantic, bearing a sharp, heavy, compressed beak. About 40 cm (16 inches) long, it is the largest living member of the auk family, Alcidae (order Charadriiformes), and the nearest kin to the extinct great auk (q.v.). Razor-billed auks are deep divers, feeding on fish (including shellfish). They breed along North Atlantic coasts; some migrate

Devil

2005-01-21T21:58:00.000-08:00

In the monotheistic Western religions, the devil is viewed as a fallen angel who in pride has tried to usurp the position of

Basel, Confession Of

2005-01-20T05:44:00.000-08:00

Moderate Protestant Reformation statement of Reformed doctrine composed of 12 articles. It was first drafted by John Oecolampadius, the Reformer of Basel, and was compiled in fuller form in 1532 by his successor at Basel, Oswald Myconius. In 1534 it was adopted by the Basel city authorities and two or three years later by the city of Muhlhausen in Alsace. It was used by the Church

Condensation Reaction

2005-01-19T13:34:00.000-08:00

Any of a class of organic reactions in which two molecules combine, usually in the presence of a catalyst, with elimination of water or some other simple molecule. The combination of two identical molecules is known as self-condensation. Aldehydes, ketones, esters, alkynes (acetylenes), and amines are among several organic compounds that combine with each other and,

Allen, Sir Hugh (percy)

2005-01-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

Allen was an organ scholar at Christ's College, Cambridge, and later held organist's posts at Ely cathedral (1898 - 1901) and New College, Oxford (1901 - 18). In 1918 he became director of the Royal College of Music, London, and in

Babylon

2005-01-17T07:11:00.000-08:00

Babylonian �Bab-ilu�, Old Babylonian �Bab-ilim�, Hebrew �Bavel� or �Babel�, Arabic �Atlal Babil� one of the most famous cities of antiquity. It was the capital of southern Mesopotamia (Babylonia) from the early 2nd millennium to the early 1st millennium BC and capital of the Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) empire in the 7th and 6th centuries BC, when it was at the height of its splendour. Its extensive ruins, on the Euphrates River about 55 miles (88 km) south of Baghdad, lie near the modern

Andalusia

2005-01-16T05:27:00.000-08:00

Andalusia possesses the most varied terrain and vegetation in all Spain. Striking contrasts exist between alpine mountains and pine forests at high elevations, arid and barren deserts, and fertile irrigated plains that support plantations of subtropical fruits. The topography of Andalusia is divided by mountain ranges into several distinct zones, each running

Antsirabe

2005-01-15T14:44:00.000-08:00

Town, central Madagascar. It lies on the slopes of the nation's second highest peak, Tsiafajavona, in the Ankaratra Mountains. Thermal springs, associated with ancient volcanism, together with an elevation of 4,000 feet (1,200 m) encouraged the development of a health resort there in 1923. The terminus of a rail line from Antananarivo, the national capital (70 miles [110 km] northeast), Antsirabe

Rowan, Andrew Summers

2005-01-13T22:45:00.000-08:00

Rowan graduated from West Point in 1881. In 1898, at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, he was sent to the rebel Cuban leader General Calixto Garcia y ��iguez to determine the strength of the insurgent armies and obtain their cooperation. After completing his mission

Arabia, History Of, The Wahhabis

2005-01-12T07:38:00.000-08:00

The Ottomans, clinging to the Hejaz for religious prestige and claiming to be custodians of the Holy Cities, had little power outside their garrisons in those cities and along the pilgrim route. The bribes they gave the nomads for allowing the caravans to pass, and the need to keep food subsidies for Mecca and Medina, however, prevented their expulsion.

Fields, Dame Gracie

2005-01-11T23:34:00.000-08:00

In music halls from childhood, Fields gained fame playing the role of Sally Perkins in a touring revue called Mr. Tower of London (1918 - 25). She became tremendously popular in Great Britain with an act composed of low-comedy songs, such as �The Biggest Aspidistra in the World,� and sentimental ballads,

Nabu-rimanni

2005-01-10T05:09:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Naburianos, Naburiannuos, Naburiannu, or Naburimannu � the earliest Babylonian astronomer known by name, who devised the so-called System A, a group of ephemerides, or tables, giving the positions of the Moon, Sun, and planets at any given moment. Based on centuries of observation, these tables were nonetheless somewhat crude and were superseded about a century later by Kidinnu's System B, a refined mathematical

Pyramid

2005-01-09T22:40:00.000-08:00

In architecture, a monumental structure constructed of or faced with stone or brick and having a rectangular base and four sloping triangular (or sometimes trapezoidal) sides meeting at an apex (or truncated to form a platform). Pyramids have been built at various times in Egypt, The Sudan, Ethiopia, western Asia, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, India, Thailand, Mexico, South America,

Zonaras, Joannes

2005-01-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

After holding high office in Constantinople under Alexius I Comnenus, Zonaras became a monk and retired to a remote island. In Historical Epitome he drew on a rich collection of sources, some of which, notably several

Balbo, Cesare, Count (conte)

2005-01-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

Balbo grew up while Piedmont was annexed to France and began his career by entering the Napoleonic

Feller, Bob

2005-01-06T23:54:00.000-08:00

Feller was signed to a contract with the New Orleans Pelicans in 1935 and joined the Cleveland Indians mid-season in 1936. Initially Feller

Tibet, Superstitions

2005-01-05T23:29:00.000-08:00

Superstition is prominent in Tibet. A traveler who encounters either a funeral procession, the source of running water, or a passerby carrying a pitcher of water is considered to have good fortune awaiting him. If a vulture or an owl perches on a rooftop, it is believed that death or misfortune will soon befall the household. If snow falls during a marriage procession,

Tracheitis

2005-01-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

Acute infections occur suddenly and usually subside quickly. Common bacterial causes

Ma'adi, Al-

2005-01-02T19:47:00.000-08:00

Predynastic Egyptian site located just south of modern Cairo in Al-Qahirah muhafazah (governorate) in Lower Egypt. The settlement at Al-Ma'adi was approximately contemporary with the widespread Gerzean culture (c. 3400 - c. 3100 BC) of Upper Egypt. Al-Ma'adi was apparently a peasant village with a separate cemetery; the settlement was characterized by rectangular huts, splay-footed vases,

Caucasian Languages

2005-01-01T05:14:00.000-08:00

The North Caucasian languages are divided into two groups: Abkhazo-Adyghian, or the Northwest Caucasian, languages, and Nakho-Dagestanian, or the Northeast Caucasian, languages.

Cabbage

2004-12-31T06:57:00.000-08:00

Vegetable and fodder plant the various forms of which are said to have been developed by long cultivation from the wild, or sea, cabbage (Brassica oleracea) found near the seacoast in various parts of England and continental Europe. The common horticultural forms of Brassica oleracea may be classified according to the plant parts used for food and the structure

Nile, Battle Of The

2004-12-30T22:21:00.000-08:00

The French Revolutionary general Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 made plans for an invasion of Egypt in order to constrict Britain's trade routes and threaten its possession of India. The British government

Gatton

2004-12-29T17:15:00.000-08:00

Town and shire, southern Queensland, Australia. It lies along Lockyer Creek, about 58 miles (93 km) west of Brisbane. Probably named after Gattonside near Roxburgh in the Borders region, Scotland, it was gazetted as the site for a village in 1855 and by 1858 was a place of call for travelers between Brisbane and the Darling Downs. Gatton is now the service centre for a mixed-farming district

Clovis Complex

2004-12-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

Ancient culture centred primarily on the plateau or tableland of Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas. (It is so named from the first important site examined, in 1932, near Clovis, N.M.) This culture, which probably began sometime prior to 10,000 BC, is generally considered to be ancestral to the later Folsom complex. Like Folsom, the Clovis complex was part of the ancient big-game hunting

Musical Notation

2004-12-27T10:29:00.000-08:00

Two developments in musical style in the 20th century have placed great strain upon staff notation: integral serialism - in which the music is controlled by a mathematical system - and indeterminacy, or chance music. In the former, every note in a texture may have its individual dynamic marking and type of attack (for example, in Olivier Messiaen's Mode de valeurs et

Kinship, Double unilineal descent

2004-12-26T21:39:00.000-08:00

Double unilineal, or duolineal, descent is very rare. Arguably, a form of double descent exists among groups of Australian Aboriginals, but the most definitive examples are found in Africa. The Yako of Nigeria and the Herero of Namibia and Botswana are best known. The principle of double descent is that two kinds of descent group, patrilineal and matrilineal, exist

Ziggurat

2004-12-25T07:10:00.000-08:00

Pyramidal, stepped temple tower that is an architectural and religious structure characteristic of the major cities of Mesopotamia (now in Iraq) from about 2200 until 500 BC. The ziggurat was always built with a core of mud brick and an exterior covered with baked brick. It had no internal chambers and was usually square or rectangular, averaging either 170 feet square or 125 � 170 feet (40 � 50 metres)

Porringer

2004-12-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

A shallow, round bowl with one or two flat, horizontal handles set on opposite sides of the rim and, usually, a shallow lid. In recent usage, the word has also been used to refer to late 16th- and early 17th-century English silver vessels of cylindrical form with two vertical scroll handles. The precise purpose of porringers, or �cuelles, as they are known in France, is in dispute;

Bradenton

2004-12-23T02:46:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1903) of Manatee county, west-central Florida, U.S. It lies on the south bank of the Manatee River near its mouth at Tampa Bay, about 10 miles (15 km) north of Sarasota. The explorer Hernando de Soto landed nearby, probably at Shaw's Point, in 1539 (an event commemorated by a national memorial). Founded in the 1840s, the city was named for an early settler, Joseph Braden, who planted sugar and

Rhynchotrema

2004-12-22T17:30:00.000-08:00

Extinct genus of brachiopods, or lamp shells, found as fossils in Middle and Late Ordovician rocks (the Ordovician Period lasted from 505 to 438 million years ago). The shell is small and distinctive for its strongly developed ribbing. Rhynchotrema is a useful Ordovician index, or guide, fossil.

Alc�ntara, Order Of

2004-12-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

Major military and religious order in Spain. It was founded in 1156 or 1166 by Don Suero Fern�ndez Barrientos and was recognized in 1177 by Pope Alexander III in a special papal bull. Its purpose was to defend Christian Spain against the Moors. In 1218 King Alfonso IX of Leon gave to the order the town of Alc�ntara, and during the next two centuries its knights defended the southern borders

Koss, Johann Olav

2004-12-20T06:52:00.000-08:00

The highlight of the outstanding ice speed skating career of Norway's Johann Olav Koss came on Feb. 20, 1994, when he won the stamina-sapping 10,000-m race in the Winter Olympics at Hamar, Norway. His time of 13 min 30.55 sec lowered the record for the distance by an incredible margin of almost 13 seconds. He had clocked the previous best time three years earlier at Heerenveen, Neth. The feat put beyond

Plumbing

2004-12-19T23:56:00.000-08:00

One of the problems of every civilization in which the population has been centralized in cities and towns has been

Jan�cek, Leo

2004-12-18T21:13:00.000-08:00

Jan�cek was a choirboy at Brno and studied at the Prague, Leipzig, and Vienna conservatories. In 1881 he founded a college of organists at Brno, which he directed until 1920. He directed the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra from 1881 to 1888 and in

Jing Hao

2004-12-17T01:33:00.000-08:00

Jing spent much of his life in retirement as a farmer in the Taihang Mountains of Shanxi province. In his art, Jing followed the court painters of the Tang dynasty (618 - 907) in emphasizing the singular grandeur of the landscape. There are two paintings attributed to him: Mount

Puerto Vallarta

2004-12-16T21:38:00.000-08:00

Formerly �Las Pe�as, � city, western Jalisco estado (�state�), west-central Mexico. It lies on Banderas Bay, on the Pacific coastal lowland, 6 miles (10 km) south of the mouth of the Ameca River. It is the major port of Jalisco state and exports bananas, coconut oil, hides, and fine woods. Beans and bananas are grown in the hinterland, which is also used for raising pigs, horses, and bees. Puerto Vallarta's population

Carlisle, Lucy Hay, Countess Of

2004-12-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

The second daughter of Henry Percy, 9th earl of Northumberland, she married James Hay (the earl of Carlisle from 1622) and became a conspicuous figure at the court of Charles I. The King's adviser,

Urubamba River

2004-12-14T06:34:00.000-08:00

Spanish �R�o Urubamba, � river in the Amazon drainage system, rising in the Andes of southern Peru, near the border between Cuzco and Puno departamentos. It flows for about 450 miles (725 km) to its junction with the Apur�mac, where it forms the Ucayali. The upper part of the Urubamba, there called the Vilcanota, flows past the towns of Sicuani, Urcos, and Urubamba and is densely settled by Indian farmers.

Toreva Block

2004-12-13T18:18:00.000-08:00

Landslide product consisting of a very large block of undisturbed material that has been tilted backward toward the parent cliff during movement down a gentle slope. In northeastern Arizona such blocks are thought to have formed during more humid periods of the last glacial advance of the Pleistocene Epoch (1,600,000 to 10,000 years ago). Toreva blocks also occur, however, as a simple

Papua

2004-12-11T04:04:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1969 - 2002)� Irian Jaya �(until 1969) �Irian Barat� propinsi (province), Indonesia, the western half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands - including the individual islands of Yapen, Adi, Waigeo, Batanta, Kofiau, Salawati, Misool, and Yos Sudarsa and the Schouten Islands. Papua fronts the Ceram and Banda seas to the west, the Arafura Sea to the southwest, and the Pacific Ocean to the north; it is bounded by Papua

Sardica, Council Of

2004-12-10T06:49:00.000-08:00

(342/343), an ecclesiastical council of the Christian Church held at Sardica, or Serdica (modern Sofia, Bulg.). It was convened by the joint emperors Constantius II (Eastern, sympathetic to the Arian party) and Constans I (Western, sympathetic to the Nicene party) to attempt a settlement of the Arian controversies. In fact, the council merely embittered still further the relations

Arno, Peter

2004-12-09T06:10:00.000-08:00

While at Yale University (1922 - 24), Arno was particularly interested in music and organized his own band. He also decorated screens and panels for restaurants.