KEVIN J. EDWARDS and IAN B. M. RALSTON (eds), Scotland after the Ice Age – Environment, Archaeology and History, 8000 BC–AD 1000

The Greenhouse Effect acts to slow the escape of infrared radiation to space, and hence warms the atmosphere. The oceans derive almost all of their thermal energy from the sun, and none from infrared radiation in the atmosphere. The thermal energy stored by the oceans is transported globally and released after a range of different time periods. The release of thermal energy from the oceans modifies the behaviour of atmospheric circulation, and hence varies climate. Based on ocean behaviour, New Zealand can expect weather patterns similar to those from 1890-1922 and another Little Ice Age may develop this century.

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On the origin of khutū

Archives of Natural History ◽

10.3366/e0260954108000405 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 306-318 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

C. LAVERS ◽

M. KNAPP

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

Medieval Literature ◽

Ice Age ◽

New Hypothesis

Khutū was a material derived from an animal used by Medieval Asian peoples in the manufacture of knife handles and as an alexipharmic. Al-Bīrūnī (973–1048) made extensive enquiries into the origin of khutū but reached no definite conclusion. Literary scholars in the first half of the twentieth century identified the walrus and narwhal as probable sources, but in ignoring aspects of the literature on khutū’s appearance and provenance left a number of questions unanswered. We clarify and extend this research and identify further clues to the identity of khutū. We concur that walrus ivory was one source of khutū, suggest that the remains of “Ice Age” mammals may have influenced development of the medieval literature on khutū more than previous investigators realized, and offer a new hypothesis of khutū’s origin.

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