TACTICS, TROPHIES, AND TITLES: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE ON ANCIENT MAYA RAIDING

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Helmke

AbstractArchaeological and epigraphic data have greatly increased our understanding of ancient Maya warfare in recent decades. Nevertheless, one of the aspects that has received relatively little attention is the disambiguation between the different types of wars waged. The procurement of human trophies as attested in the archaeological record and imagery, as well as the counts-of-captives and captive statements recorded textually, all provide tantalizing clues that raids formed an integral part of Classic Maya military tactics. This rings particularly true when we consider that the Classic Maya terms for “captive” and “bone” are one and the same, thereby betraying emic conceptions wherein captives were deemed to be an ideal source of bone; human trophiespar excellence. The features identified for the Classic Maya have to be set within a larger perspective since these are also found among other Mesoamerican cultures, as well as indigenous societies in both North and South America. In so doing, it becomes clear that raiding and the acquisition of captives and human trophies served to foster and heighten prestige, especially among societies that cultivated the warrior ethos. Therefore, raiding emerges as a shared Amerindian trait, rather than being the product of diffusion or independent innovation.

1893 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 401-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl A. von Zittel

In a spirited treatise on the ‘Origin of our Animal World’ Prof. L. Rütimeyer, in the year 1867, described the geological development and distribution of the mammalia, and the relationship of the different faunas of the past with each other and with that now existing. Although, since the appearance of that masterly sketch the palæontological material has been, at least, doubled through new discoveries in Europe and more especially in North and South America, this unexpected increase has in most instances only served as a confirmation of the views which Rutimeyer advanced on more limited experience. At present, Africa forms the only great gap in our knowledge of the fossil mammalia; all the remaining parts of the world can show materials more or less abundantly, from which the course followed by the mammalia in their geological development can be traced with approximate certainty.


The Atlantic Ocean not only connected North and South America with Europe through trade but also provided the means for an exchange of knowledge and ideas, including political radicalism. Socialists and anarchists would use this “radical ocean” to escape state prosecution in their home countries and establish radical milieus abroad. However, this was often a rather unorganized development and therefore the connections that existed were quite diverse. The movement of individuals led to the establishment of organizational ties and the import and exchange of political publications between Europe and the Americas. The main aim of this book is to show how the transatlantic networks of political radicalism evolved with regard to socialist and anarchist milieus and in particular to look at the actors within the relevant processes—topics that have so far been neglected in the major histories of transnational political radicalism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Individual case studies are examined within a wider context to show how networks were actually created, how they functioned and their impact on the broader history of the radical Atlantic.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1515-1526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliénor Lavergne ◽  
Fabio Gennaretti ◽  
Camille Risi ◽  
Valérie Daux ◽  
Etienne Boucher ◽  
...  

Abstract. Oxygen isotopes in tree rings (δ18OTR) are widely used to reconstruct past climates. However, the complexity of climatic and biological processes controlling isotopic fractionation is not yet fully understood. Here, we use the MAIDENiso model to decipher the variability in δ18OTR of two temperature-sensitive species of relevant palaeoclimatological interest (Picea mariana and Nothofagus pumilio) and growing at cold high latitudes in North and South America. In this first modelling study on δ18OTR values in both northeastern Canada (53.86° N) and western Argentina (41.10° S), we specifically aim at (1) evaluating the predictive skill of MAIDENiso to simulate δ18OTR values, (2) identifying the physical processes controlling δ18OTR by mechanistic modelling and (3) defining the origin of the temperature signal recorded in the two species. Although the linear regression models used here to predict daily δ18O of precipitation (δ18OP) may need to be improved in the future, the resulting daily δ18OP values adequately reproduce observed (from weather stations) and simulated (by global circulation model) δ18OP series. The δ18OTR values of the two species are correctly simulated using the δ18OP estimation as MAIDENiso input, although some offset in mean δ18OTR levels is observed for the South American site. For both species, the variability in δ18OTR series is primarily linked to the effect of temperature on isotopic enrichment of the leaf water. We show that MAIDENiso is a powerful tool for investigating isotopic fractionation processes but that the lack of a denser isotope-enabled monitoring network recording oxygen fractionation in the soil–vegetation–atmosphere compartments limits our capacity to decipher the processes at play. This study proves that the eco-physiological modelling of δ18OTR values is necessary to interpret the recorded climate signal more reliably.


1953 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-185
Author(s):  
W. Scheijgrond

Trials were carried out at 2 stations in the Netherlands in the period 1949-51 to compare the amounts of dry matter and crude protein yielded per ha. by 5 different types of lucerne. The Northern French varieties (Du Puits, Flamande Chartain-villiers and Flamande Flandria) gave considerably higher yields of dry matter and protein than Provence or Italian lucerne. A further trial was carried out in the Netherlands in co-operation with O.E.E.C., in which the performances of varieties from Western, Eastern, Central and Southern Europe, North and South America, New Zealand, India and South Africa were compared. The results are tabulated under the following headings: yield in comparative figures, speed of regrowth after winter, earliness of flowering, degree of infestation by grasses and cold-resistance. The Northern French varieties Du Puits, Flamande Flandria, Flamande Chartainvilliers, Flamande Socheville and Flamande C49, gave higher yields of dry matter and crude protein, regrew more rapidly after winter and were less susceptible to infestation by grasses than the other varieties tested. Their cold-resistance was satisfactory. There were no considerable differences in performance between the Northern French varieties tested.-W.J.B. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)


The Bermuda Triangle is located in the area of the archipelago between North and South America and the Dragon Triangle is located in the area of the archipelago in Southeast Asia. There is a great resemblance between these two triangular areas; both were formed following special geological and tectonic conditions. It is herein proposed that their creation stems from the change in location of the axis of rotation of the earth and, accordingly, the change in the location of the equator.


2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (1-6) ◽  
pp. 129-175
Author(s):  
Christopher H. Dietrich ◽  
Dmitry A. Dmitriev

The 35 previously described species (including 4 junior synonyms) of the New World erythroneurine leafhopper genus Zyginama are reviewed and descriptions are provided for 43 new species, 2 from U.S.A., 26 from Mexico, 1 from Panama, and 14 from the Amazon region of South America. The following new synonyms are recognized: Z. aucta (McAtee) equals Erythroneura bilocularis Van Duzee, syn. n., and E. inclita Beamer, syn. n.; Z. nicholi (Beamer) equals E. canyonensis Beamer, syn. n., and E. ales Beamer, syn. n. Separate keys are provided for identification of males from North and South America, all known species are illustrated, and data on their distributions are summarized. Phylogenetic analysis of 40 morphological characters of the 71 species for which males are known yielded a reasonably well resolved estimate of relationships among the included species, but branch support was low overall.


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