Kunlun Mountains, Climate
The Kunluns are almost totally isolated from the climatic influence of the Indian and Pacific Ocean monsoons. Instead, they are under the constant influence of the continental air mass, which causes great annual and diurnal temperature fluctuations. Maximum aridity occurs in the middle segment of the mountain system; to the west and east, however, the climate is
Animals, Master Of The
Supernatural figure regarded as the protector of game in the traditions of early hunting peoples. The name was actually devised by Western scholars who have studied such hunting societies. In some traditions, the master of the animals is believed to be the ruler of the forest and guardian of all animals; in others, he is the ruler of only one species, usually a large
Ochsenbein, Ulrich
An ardent Bernese radical, Ochsenbein organized and directed an abortive military coup against the clerical government of Luzern (March 1845), precipitating
Vriesea
The stiff, sword-shaped, fleshy green leaves grow in a rosette and often are mottled or banded with brown. The pink,
Vriesea
The stiff, sword-shaped, fleshy green leaves grow in a rosette and often are mottled or banded with brown. The pink,
Vriesea
Also called �Steller's sea cow� very large aquatic mammal, now extinct, that once inhabited nearshore areas of the Komandor Islands in the Bering Sea. Steller's sea cows were wiped out by hunters in the 18th century less than 30 years after they were first discovered by Arctic explorers. Today, the term sea cow is sometimes used to refer to other sirenians, namely, the manatee and the
Shamanism, Dress
He wears a ritual gown, which usually imitates an animal - a deer, a bird, a bear. Similarly, the headdress is a crown made of antlers or a band into which feathers of birds have been pierced. The footwear is also symbolic - iron deer hooves, birds' claws, or bears' paws. The clothing of the shamans among the Tofalar (Karagasy), Soyet, and Darhat are decorated with representations
Moli�re
Although the sacred and secular authorities of 17th-century France often combined against him, the genius of Moli�re finally emerged to win him acclaim. Comedy had a long history before Moli�re, who employed most of its traditional forms, but he succeeded in inventing
Bald Cypress
A young bald cypress is symmetrical and pyramidal;
Argentina, Political developments
Works on Juan Per�n and Peronism include Frederick C. Turner and Jos� Enrique Miguens (eds.), Juan Per�n and the Reshaping of Argentina (1983); Joseph A. Page, Per�n: A Biography (1983); Nicholas Fraser and Marysa Navarro, Eva Per�n (1980, reissued as Evita, 1996); Jeane Kirkpatrick, Leader and Vanguard in Mass Society: A Study of Peronist Argentina (1971); and Guido Di Tella, Argentina Under Per�n, 1973 - 76: The Nation's Experience with a Labour-Based Government (1983).
Rhyolite
Extrusive igneous rock that is the volcanic equivalent of granite. Most rhyolites are porphyritic, indicating that crystallization began prior to extrusion. Crystallization may sometimes have begun while the magma was deeply buried; in such cases, the rock may consist principally of well-developed, large, single crystals (phenocrysts) at the time of extrusion.
Biblical Literature, Wanderings in the desert of Paran
This section apparently combines various traditions of how the Israelites came into Palestine, and J, E (or JE), and P sources have been discerned in these chapters. The traditional �40 years� in the wilderness (38 or 39, according to critical calculations) were spent mostly in the wilderness of Paran, with a short stay in the oasis of Kadesh, according to P; while, according to J, they
Affleck, Thomas
Probably trained in England, Affleck settled in Philadelphia in 1763, producing tables, chairs, sofas, and case furniture for Governor John Penn and other leading Philadelphia
Piceni
English �Picenes� Early Iron Age inhabitants of the Adriatic coast of Italy from Rimini to the Sangro River. Men and women dressed in wool; men wore armour, weapons, and ornaments of bronze or iron; women had numerous fibulae, torques, bracelets, girdles, and ornamental pendants. They had two main centres, one at Novilara in the north, and another around Belmonte and Fermo farther south. The
Nephron
Functional unit of the kidney, the structure that actually produces urine in the process of removing waste and excess substances from the blood. There are about 1,000,000 nephrons in each human kidney. The most primitive nephrons are found in the kidneys (pronephros; q.v.) of primitive fish, amphibian larvae, and embryos of more advanced vertebrates.
Shigatse
Chinese (Wade-Giles) �Jih-k'a-tse�, Pinyin �Xigaz� city in the south-central part of the Tibet autonomous ch'� (region), China. Situated on a well-defended height (elevation 12,800 feet [3,900 m]) overlooking the confluence of two rivers in one of the most fertile valley areas of Tibet, it is the traditional capital of the area known as Hou-tsang on the Nepal border. It was formerly a small town near one of the largest monasteries in Tibet,
Clodius Pulcher, Publius
Born into two distinguished families, Clodius served under his brother-in-law L. Lucullus in the war against Mithradates and instigated a mutiny among the troops in the winter of 68 - 67. In December 62, when the winter ceremony of the
Philadelphus
Genus of deciduous shrubs of the family Hydrangeaceae, including the popular garden forms commonly known as mock orange (from its characteristic orange-blossom fragrance) and sweet syringa. Philadelphus, comprising about 65 species, is native to northern Asia and Japan, the western United States, the southern Atlantic coast of the United States, and Mexico. These
Adams, John Quincy
Eldest son of President John Adams and sixth president of the United States (1825 - 29). In his prepresidential years he was one of America's greatest diplomats (formulating, among other things, what came to be called the Monroe Doctrine); in his postpresidential years (as U.S. congressman, 1831 - 48) he conducted a consistent and often dramatic fight against the expansion of slavery. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America. See also Cabinet of President John Quincy Adams.)
Earth, Field-aligned currents
Circulation of magnetic field lines in a pattern of closed loops within the magnetosphere is a consequence of the tangential drag of the solar wind. This circulation produces another important magnetic field source, the field-aligned current system. The field-aligned currents flow on two shells completely surrounding the Earth (Figure 11). The higher latitude shell
Bingham, George Caleb
In 1819 Bingham's family moved to Franklin, Missouri, on the Lewis and Clark trail. After the death of his father, the family relocated to Arrow Rock, Missouri. Between 1827 and 1828, Bingham apprenticed to a
Abrahams, Harold
Abrahams was born into an athletic family; his older brother Sidney represented Great Britain in the Olympics in 1912. Abrahams participated in the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp but did not win a gold medal. Competing for Cambridge University from 1920 to 1924, he won a series
Ayre
Also spelled �Air, � genre of solo song with lute accompaniment that flourished in England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The outstanding composers in the genre were the lutanist John Dowland, whose �Flow, my teares� (�Lachrimae�) became so popular that a large number of continental and English instrumental pieces were based on its melody, and the poet and composer Thomas
Antiferromagnetism
Type of magnetism in solids such as manganese oxide (MnO) in which adjacent ions that behave as tiny magnets (in this case manganese ions, Mn2 ) spontaneously align themselves at relatively low temperatures into opposite, or antiparallel, arrangements throughout the material so that it exhibits almost no gross external magnetism. In antiferromagnetic materials,
Hoorn
Gemeente (commune), Noord-Holland provincie, northwestern Netherlands, on the IJsselmeer (lake). Founded about 1300 and chartered in 1357, it was the capital of medieval West Friesland. Its horn-shaped harbour (for which it is named) was one of the principal ports of the Netherlands until the Zuiderzee silted up in the 18th century. The first great net for herring fishing was made in
Scandinavian Literature, Finno-Swedish literature
A significant literature in the Swedish language developed in Finland during the 1800s. Its emergence can be traced to the works of Johan Ludvig Runeberg. His epic poems, Elgskyttarne (1832; �The Moose Hunters�) and Hanna (1836), won him a place in Swedish letters. Notable, too, were the writings of Zacharias Topelius, which contributed to the development of the Finnish historical novel.
Brentano, Clemens
Brentano's mother, Maximiliane Brentano, was J.W. von Goethe's friend in 1772 - 74, and his sister, Bettina von Arnim, was a correspondent
Mursilis I
Mursilis was the adopted heir of his grandfather, Hattusilis I, whom he succeeded on the throne. He first continued his predecessor's campaigns in northern Syria, destroying Aleppo and delivering the final blow to Mari. He then turned eastward, and by raiding Babylon he put an end to the Amorite dynasty there.
Breckinridge, John
Breckinridge grew up on the Virginia frontier but nonetheless managed to attend William and Mary College for two years. While a student there he was elected to a seat in the Virginia legislature
Gravimetric Analysis
A method of quantitative chemical analysis in which the constituent sought is converted into a substance (of known composition) that can be separated from the sample and weighed. The steps commonly followed in gravimetric analysis are (1) preparation of a solution containing a known weight of the sample, (2) separation of the desired constituent, (3) weighing the isolated
