WiseFarm

Friday, December 31, 2004

Pre-columbian Civilizations, The Middle Horizon

Both Pucar� and Tiwanaku were early forms of what became known as the Middle Horizon, an expansion of multiple-valley political rule that had two centres: one in the southern Altiplano, the other centred on Huari (Wari), near the modern Peruvian city of Ayacucho. This development is usually dated about AD 600. Some Tiwanaku effigy vessels have been discovered at Huari, but

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Bonstetten, Karl Viktor Von

Of a conservative and patrician family, Bonstetten for 12 years had to resist being forced into the traditional career of municipal magistrate. Instead he studied Horace and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, traveled abroad, and cultivated friendships in the liberal intellectual

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Arts, Central Asian, Neolithic and Metal Age cultures

Many Neolithic (New Stone Age) sites were discovered in what was formerly Soviet Central Asia, and the number of Bronze Age sites is even higher. The majority were found on the middle reaches of the Yenisey River, especially in the Minusinsk Basin, where metallurgy developed early. They testify to the existence of three main, basically successive, yet often overlapping

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Biblical Literature, The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians

The authenticity of Ephesians as a genuinely Pauline epistle has been doubted since the time of the Dutch Humanist Erasmus in the 16th century. It is most reasonable to consider it as �deutero-Pauline� - i.e., in the tradition of Paul but not written by him. The problem of Ephesians cannot be solved apart from that of Colossians, because many similarities are noted in the style

Monday, December 27, 2004

Biblical Literature, The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians

The authenticity of Ephesians as a genuinely Pauline epistle has been doubted since the time of the Dutch Humanist Erasmus in the 16th century. It is most reasonable to consider it as �deutero-Pauline� - i.e., in the tradition of Paul but not written by him. The problem of Ephesians cannot be solved apart from that of Colossians, because many similarities are noted in the style

Sunday, December 26, 2004

Gonz�lez De Clavijo, Ruy

A chamberlain to King Henry III of Castile, Gonz�lez was a member of Henry's second embassy to Timur. Departing from El Puerto de Santa Mar�a, near C�diz, on May 22, 1403, he sailed via Constantinople (now Istanbul) to the eastern

Saturday, December 25, 2004

Viscaceae

Members of the Viscaceae are primarily tropical in distribution and are parasites on the branches of many tree species.

Friday, December 24, 2004

Amicus Curiae

An amicus curiae normally may not participate except by

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Feng Tao

Pinyin �Feng Dao � Chinese Confucian minister generally given credit for instigating the first printing of the Confucian Classics, in 932. As a result, Confucian texts became cheap and accessible, the number of scholars and the knowledge of literature greatly increased throughout the nation, and the number of people able to compete in the

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Adamkus, Valdas V.

In 1997 Valdas Adamkus retired from his post at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after nearly 30 years--the longest tenure of any senior executive at the agency--with the expressed intention of working on his golf game. Soon afterward, however, it seemed that golf would have to wait, because in February 1998 the unassuming 71-year-old career bureaucrat, a citizen of the United

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Arraiolos Rug

Embroidered floor covering made at Arraiolos, north of �vora in Portugal. The technique is herringbone or cross-stitch on a linen cloth foundation. Early Arraiolos rugs utilized designs derived from the Persians, from whom the Portuguese learned the craft. Portuguese artisans soon replaced these Persian designs with Portuguese folk-art patterns in more limited

Monday, December 20, 2004

Annelid

General overviews of annelids can be found in R. Phillips Dales, Annelids, 2nd ed. (1967), a semipopular account; D.T. Anderson, Embryology and Phylogeny in Annelids and Arthropods (1973); P.J. Mill (ed.), Physiology of Annelids (1978), a review; Robert D. Barnes, Invertebrate Zoology, 4th ed. (1980), ch. 10, �The Annelids,� pp. 263 - 341; R.O. Brinkhurst, �Evolution in the Annelida,� Canadian Journal of Zoology, 60(5):1043 - 59 (1982), a summary of current scholarship; Donald J. Klemm (ed.), A Guide to the Freshwater Annelida (Polychaeta, Naidid and Tubificid Oligochaeta, and Hirudinea) of North America (1985), on ecology and taxonomy; and Vicki Pearse et al., Living Invertebrates (1987), ch. 16, �Annelid Body Plan,� and ch. 17, �A Diversity of Annelids,� pp. 387 - 437. For information on polychaetes, see Kristian Fauchald, The Polychaete Worms: Definitions and Keys to the Orders, Families, and Genera (1977); Kristian Fauchald and P.A. Jumars, �The Diet of Worms: A Study of Polychaete Feeding Guilds,� Oceanography and Marine Biology, 17:193 - 284 (1979); and Albrecht Fischer and Hans-Dieter Pfannenstiel (eds.), Polychaete Reproduction: Progress in Comparative Reproductive Biology (1984), a collection of symposium papers. For oligochaetes, see R.O. Brinkhurst and B.G.M. Jamieson, Aquatic Oligochaeta of the World (1971); C.A. Edwards and J.R. Lofty, Biology of Earthworms, 2nd ed. (1977); and O. Giere and O. Pfannkuche, �Biology and Ecology of Marine Oligochaeta: A Review,� Oceanography and Marine Biology, 20:173 - 308 (1982). See also the proceedings of three international symposia on aquatic oligochaete biology: R.O. Brinkhurst and David G. Cook (eds.), Aquatic Oligochaete Biology (1980); G. Bonomi and C. Ers�us (eds.), Aquatic Oligochaeta (1984); and R.O. Brinkhurst and R.J. Diaz (eds.), Aquatic Oligochaeta (1987). For leeches, see Kenneth J. Muller, John G. Nicholls, and Gunther S. Stent (ed.), Neurobiology of the Leech (1981); and Roy T. Sawyer, Leech Biology and Behaviour, 3 vol. (1986), an extensive overview.

Saturday, December 18, 2004

Ascus

Plural �Asci, � a saclike structure produced by fungi of the class Ascomycetes (sac fungi) in which sexually produced spores (ascospores), usually four or eight in number, are formed. Asci may arise from the fungal mycelium (the filaments, or hyphae, constituting the organism) without a distinct fruiting structure, as in the leaf curl fungi; it may arise within a fruiting structure (ascocarp)

Friday, December 17, 2004

Turkey Work

Form of knotted embroidery practiced in England from the 16th century to the mid-18th century, but especially in the 17th century. Used for upholstery and table covers, it was worked in imitation of Turkish carpets, which are known from paintings to have been imported to England from the 16th century. The designs were usually of geometrically stylized flowers. A document from

Thursday, December 16, 2004

Harding, Florence

Before returning to Marion, Florence destroyed many of the papers that could have documented more fully her role in what many observers consider the worst presidency in the country's history. She had worked hard to make her husband a success, but the revelations associated with the Teapot Dome Scandal made his flaws very clear. One biographer concluded that she was a �full partner� in Warren's presidency. She died in 1924 and was buried beside her husband in a large mausoleum near the house where they were married.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

China, The Ch'ing Empire

After 1683 the Ch'ing rulers turned their attention to consolidating control over their frontiers. Taiwan became part of the empire, and military expeditions against perceived threats in north and west Asia created the largest empire China has ever known. From the late 17th to the early 18th century Ch'ing armies destroyed the Oyrat Empire based in Dzungaria and incorporated

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Aubrey, John

Antiquarian and writer, best known for his vivid, intimate, and sometimes acid biographical sketches of his contemporaries. Educated at Oxford at Trinity College, he studied law in London at the Middle Temple. He early displayed his interest in antiquities by calling attention to the prehistoric stones at Avebury,

Monday, December 13, 2004

Ara

Also spelled �Arrah� city, Bihar state, northeastern India. The city is a major rail and road junction. Agricultural trade and oilseed milling are carried on there. It is the site of several colleges affiliated with Magadh University. The Little House at Ara is a building that was defended by the British against Kunwar Singh during the Indian Mutiny in 1857. Ara was constituted a municipality

Sunday, December 12, 2004

Sardanapalus

According to the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, Sardanapalus was the last of a line of 30 kings of Assyria, who exceeded all his predecessors

Saturday, December 11, 2004

Saptamatrka

Representations of the goddesses are found in shrines throughout

Friday, December 10, 2004

Romanesque Art

The name Romanesque

Thursday, December 09, 2004

Optics, The pinhole camera

An excellent example of the working of the wavelet theory is found in the well-known pinhole camera. If the pinhole is large, the diverging geometrical pencil of rays leads to a blurred image, because each point in the object will be projected as a finite circular patch of light on the film. The spreading of the light at the boundary of a large pinhole by diffraction is

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Novella

Short and well-structured narrative, often realistic and satiric in tone, that influenced the development of the short story and the novel throughout Europe. Originating in Italy during the Middle Ages, the novella was based on local events that were humorous, political, or amorous in nature; the individual tales often were gathered into collections along with

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Aroostook

County, northern Maine, U.S. It is bordered by Quebec, Can., to the west and northwest and by New Brunswick, Can., to the north and east. The northern boundary is defined by the St. Francis and St. John rivers. The county is a hilly highland region with numerous streams and lakes. Major waterways include the Allagash, Aroostook, Big Black, Little Madawaska, Machias, and Mattawamkeag

Monday, December 06, 2004

Steel

Alloy of iron and carbon in which the carbon content ranges up to 2 percent (with a higher carbon content, the material is defined as cast iron). By far the most widely used material for building the world's infrastructure and industries, it is used to fabricate everything from sewing needles to oil tankers. In addition, the tools required to build and manufacture such

Sunday, December 05, 2004

Arisaema

Of the hardy species often planted in the shady wild garden, two are especially familiar. The jack-in-the-pulpit, or Indian turnip (A. triphyllum), native to eastern North America, usually has

Saturday, December 04, 2004

West Bridgford

Town, Rushcliffe district, administrative and historic county of Nottinghamshire, England. The town now functions largely as a residential suburb of Nottingham, which lies just to the northwest. West Bridgford's parish church was built in the 14th century. There is some modern light industry in the town. Trent Bridge cricket ground (one of England's most famous) and Nottinghamshire's

Friday, December 03, 2004

Edmund I

He was the son of the West Saxon king Edward the Elder (reigned 899 - 924) and the half brother of King Athelstan (reigned 924 - 939), under whom the political unification of England had been accomplished. On Athelstan's death (939), Olaf Guthfrithson, the Norse king of Dublin,

Thursday, December 02, 2004

Arts, Central Asian, Buddhist monastic dance

The second major genre of the performing arts to develop in Central Asia was 'cham, the ritualistic dance performed in Buddhist monasteries. The origin of 'cham may well be an older form of shamanic ceremonial dance in Tibet, but centuries of evolution within a Buddhist-dominated society led to the recasting of the roles and theme of the dance in keeping with Buddhist

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Fire Ant

Also called �Thief Ant� (Solenopsis), any of a genus of insects in the family Formicidae, order Hymenoptera, several species of which are common in North America. The red or yellowish ants are one to five millimetres in length and can inflict a severe sting. The semipermanent nest consists of a loose mound with open craters for ventilation. The workers are notorious for damaging planted grain