Controversies In Archaeology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Controversies In Archaeology - Essay Example At the end of Pleistocene period, these animals had completely disappeared or extinct. In Asia and Europe, a similar pattern of extinction of Pleistocene mammal took place where lions, bear, and woolly rhino disappeared (Fagan 47). The central question that archeologist and paleontologists ask is what caused the extinction of these large mammals in such a short time span? Some archaeologists, scientists, and paleontologists have proposed that the demise of these mammals can be attributed to the climatic changes while others such as Paul Martin have attributed it to the human cause or hunting overkill. Martin’s explanation of the disappearance of the largest mammals towards the end of Pleistocene period has not received endorsement from North American Pleistocene archaeological and paleontological records. It has been a controversial topic in archaeology since the 1860s with some archaeologists arguing that human hunters were the ones responsible for the extinction of the Pleis tocene mammals. Currently, the issue of human hunters being blamed for the disappearance of the world’s biggest creatures has been disputed with scholars from North America, Western Europe, and Australia arguing that mammal extinction during the Pleistocene period cannot be blamed on the overkill (Meltzer and Grayson 586). The theory of overkill has been disputed because of lack of sufficient evidence. Paleontologists and archaeologists argue that the overkill theory was entirely based on beliefs or faith rather than on science and concrete evidence from animal’s remains. Archaeologists such as Paul Martin has attributed the extinction of the world’s largest mammals to human causes as he asserts that their extinctions were because of impact of human hunting in North America. Further, Martin argues that the climatic changes during the interglacial periods did not lead to the demise of the large mammals such as Mammoth at the end of the Pleistocene period because these animals were well adapted to different environments and therefore, they could not succumb to the changes in climate. The appearance of the Clovis hunters in North America 11,000 years ago corresponds to the disappearance of some of the extinct species such as woolly rhinos. The fluted points have been discovered in relation with the bones of the extinct species of these animals such as the bison, horse, mammoth, and camel. These discoveries suggest that the Paleo-Indian and Clovis hunters with quick and effortless access to animals ignorant of the dangerous predators such as lions and bears rapidly eradicated the entire species of large animals they faced (Price and Feinan 152). Martin’s argues that the Clovis group of hunters hunted these Animals, which led to their extinction. Archaeological evidence from these sites and other North American plains contained the remains of mammoth, which made Martin assert that the Clovis hunters hunted these animals. This reasonable observation was then translated into generalization that the Clovis people were big game hunters even there was no (and still there is no) evidence for such specialization. Due to this rationale, some North America archaeologists have attributed the North American Pleistocene extinction in part to human causes. In order to justify his arguments, Martin used Island extinction to prove that human colonization led to the disappeara

DHTML Lessons :: Technology, Informative

DHTML LESSONS Lesson 1 - Introduction What you should already know Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following: „X WWW, HTML and the basics of building Web pages „X Cascading Style Sheets „X JavaScript If you want to study these subjects first, go to our Home Page DHTML does not exist ! DHTML is an abbreviation for the term "Dynamic HTML". But DHTML is just a buzzword. DHTML does not exist. It is not a "thing" or a standard defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It is not defined anywhere. It is just a fancy word. It is important that you know this (so you don't make a fool of yourself when you are talking with the pros). So what is DHTML? To most people DHTML means a combination of HTML 4.0, Style Sheets and JavaScript. W3C once said this: "Dynamic HTML is a term used by some vendors to describe the combination of HTML, style sheets and scripts that allows documents to be animated." The Elements of DHTML HTML 4.0 HTML 4.0 introduced two important things: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and the Document Object Model (DOM). Creating dynamic HTML documents would not be possible without these two additions. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) With CSS we got a style and layout model for HTML documents. Creating dynamic HTML documents would not be possible without CSS. Document Object Model With the DOM we got a document content model for HTML documents. Creating dynamic HTML documents would not be possible without the DOM. JavaScript (and VBScript) With HTML 4.

Analysis of Widower in the Country by Les Murray Essay

Les Murray’s poem ‘Widower in the Country’ highlights the painful effect of the death of a loved one. His tone in this poem is one of grief and loneliness, and through strong imagery and emotive language, the composer draws out empathy and interest from the reader. This poem describes how repetitive life becomes after someone very close to you passes away. The composer conveys a strong feeling of grief and pain in the poem. The composer creates an empathy towards the widower, by expressing just how lonely he feels after his wife had died, and he had to stay in the place that they had shared together. Through the use of multiple metaphors, â€Å"The Christmas paddocks aching in the heat/The windless trees, the nettles in the yard† , the composer builds a path into how the widower is ‘aching’ after the grief of losing his wife. ‘windless trees’ implies the feeling of death, as the trees have no leaves, whilst ‘nettles’ evokes the pain and burning he is feeling at this difficult time. The reader realises that this might be a difficult time for the widower, and empathises to attempt to feel what he feels. Les Murray creates an overall feeling of grief and loneliness throughout his poem. Murray clearly outlines just how much losing a loved one makes you suffer and hurt for a very long time. The poem is structured in a way that establishes the routine of morning, afternoon and evening that widows or widowers are forced through to change their everyday lives to suit after losing their partner. The composer uses enjambment and a metaphor to create this idea. â€Å"The roof reflects the sun and makes my eyes / Water and close on bright webbed visions smeared / On the dark of my thoughts to dance and fade away.† Murray makes it easy for the readers to relate to the text by creating a clear empathy for the grief and loss the widower is feeling in the poem. Some people can not regain the strength to lead a normal life after losing those dear to them. The poem reveals how monotonous life becomes after losing their partner. The widower lives day to day and tries to get through daily life without his partner, but finds that he suffers for it. People who live a monotonous life tend to keep to themselves and may come off as sharp, as they are so stuck to their routine so they don’t have to think about anything other than the work they have to do to avoid the prickly pain. The composer uses repetition â€Å"I’ll go,† to reinforce the monotonous, day to day life that widowers lead. â€Å"I’ll get up soon, and leave my bed unmade./I’ll go outside and split off kindling wood†¦Ã¢â‚¬  demonstrates the feeling of numbness that the widower feels, and the feeling that he doesn’t want to get out of bed and go and live his life, because he feels as though he can’t live it without his wife. This poem highlights how a widower leads his life after losing his wife. Murray demonstrates how people in outback Australia deal with loss. The widower is still trying to live through the grief, pain and torture that people suffer after losing their loved ones, and the composer creates a clear empathy towards the widower. The widower leads a monotonous life, and struggles to get through day to day life without his partner. The poem effectively demonstrates how a widower feels after losing their wife, through strong metaphors, emotive language and repetition.

The History of Corinthian Columns

The word Corinthian describes an ornate column style developed in ancient Greece and classified as one of the Classical Orders of Architecture. The Corinthian style is more complex and elaborate than the earlier Doric and Ionic Orders. The capital or top part of a Corinthian style column has lavish ornamentation carved to resemble leaves and flowers. Roman architect Vitruvius observed that the delicate Corinthian design was produced out of the two other orders. He described the Corinthian column as an imitation of the slenderness of a maiden; for the outlines and limbs of maidens, being more slender on account of their tender years, admit of prettier effects in the way of adornment. Because of their opulence, Corinthian columns are rarely used as common porch columns for the ordinary home. The style is more suited for Greek Revival mansions and public architecture such as government buildings, especially courthouses. Characteristics of Corinthian columns include: Fluted (grooved) shaftsCapitals (the tops of each shaft) decorated with  acanthus leaves and flowers and sometimes small scrollsCapital ornaments that flare outward like bells, suggesting a sense of heightProportion; Vitruvius tells us that the height of their capitals gives them proportionately a taller and more slender effect than Ionic columns Why Are They Called Corinthian Columns? In the worlds first architecture textbook, De architectura (30 B.C.), Vitruvius tells the story of a young girl from the city-state of Corinth. A free-born maiden of Corinth, just of marriageable age, was attacked by an illness and passed away, writes Vitruvius. She was buried with a basket of her favorite things atop her tomb, near the root of an acanthus tree. That spring, leaves and stalks grew up through the basket, creating a delicate explosion of natural beauty. The effect caught the eye of a passing sculptor named Callimachus, who began to incorporate the intricate design onto column capitals. Because the sculptor found this design in Corinth, the columns that bear it became known as Corinthian columns. West of Corinth in Greece is the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae, thought to be the oldest surviving example of the Classical Corinthian column. This temple from about 425 B.C. is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Tholos (a round building) at Epidauros (c. 350 B.C.) is thought to be one of the first structures to use a colonnade of Corinthian columns. Archaeologists have determined the tholos to have 26 exterior Doric columns and 14 interior Corinthian columns. The Temple of Olympian Zeus (175 B.C.) in Athens is said to have had more than 100 Corinthian columns. Are All Corinthian Capitals the Same? No, not all Corinthian capitals are exactly alike, but they are characterized by their leafy flowers. The capitals of Corinthian columns are more ornamented and delicate than the tops of other column types. They can easily deteriorate over time, especially when they are used outdoors. Early Corinthian columns were used primarily for interiors spaces, and thus were protected from the elements. The Monument of Lysikrates (c. 335 B.C.) in Athens features some of the earliest examples of exterior Corinthian columns. Replacing deteriorated Corinthian capitals must be done by master craftsmen. During the 1945 bombing of Berlin, the royal palace was heavily damaged, and it was later demolished in the 1950s. With the reunification of East and West Berlin, the palace was reinvented. Sculptors used old photographs to recreate the architectural details in the new facade, in clay and in plaster, noting that not all of the Corinthian capitals were the same. Architectural Styles That Use Corinthian Columns The Corinthian column and the Corinthian Order were created in ancient Greece. Ancient Greek and Roman architecture is collectively known as Classical, and so Corinthian columns are found in Classical architecture. The Arch of Constantine (A.D. 315) in Rome and the Ancient Library of Celsus in Ephesus feature examples of Corinthian columns in Classical architecture. Classical architecture was reborn during the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries. Later derivatives of Classical architecture include the Neoclassical, Greek Revival, and Neoclassical Revival architectures of the 19th century, and the Beaux Arts architecture of the American Gilded Age. Thomas Jefferson was influential in bringing the Neoclassical style to America, as seen in the Rotunda at The University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Corinthian-like designs can also be found in some Islamic architecture. The distinctive capital of the Corinthian column comes in many forms, but the acanthus leaf appears in most designs. Professor Talbot Hamlin suggests that Islamic architecture was influenced by the acanthus leaf design: Many mosques, like those at Kairouan and Cordova, used actual ancient Corinthian capitals; and later Moslem capitals were often based on the Corinthian scheme in general pattern, although the tendency toward abstraction gradually removed all remaining signs of realism from the carving of the leaves. Famous Buildings With Corinthian Columns In the United States, famous buildings with Corinthian columns include the U.S. Supreme Court Building, the U.S. Capitol, and the National Archives Building, all of which are in Washington, D.C. In New York City, buildings with these columns include the New York Stock Exchange Building on Broad Street in Lower Manhattan and the James A. Farley Building, which is across the street from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. In Rome, check out the Pantheon and the Colosseum, where Doric columns are on the first level, Ionic columns on the second, and Corinthian columns on the third. Great Renaissance cathedrals throughout Europe are apt to show off their Corinthian columns, including St. Pauls Cathedral and St Martin-in-the-Fields in London.