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natural disaster By : Ellsworth Huntington Stephen Sargent Visher
Catagory:Reading
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Posted Date:11/09/2024
Posted By:utopia online

HYPOTHESES OF CLIMATIC CHANGE The next step in our study of climate is to review the main hypotheses as to the causes of glaciation. These hypotheses apply also to other types of climatic changes. We shall concentrate on glacial periods, however, not only because they are the most dramatic and well-known types of change, but because they have been more discussed than any other and have also had great influence on evolution. Moreover, they stand near the middle of the types of climatic sequences, and an understanding of them does much to explain the others. In reviewing the various theories we shall not attempt to cover all the ground, but shall merely state the main ideas of the few theories which have had an important influence upon scientific thought. The conditions which any satisfactory climatic hypothesis must satisfy are briefly as follows: 1. Due weight must be given to the fact that changes of climate are almost certainly due to the combined effect of a variety of causes, both terrestrial and solar or cosmic. 2. Attention must also be paid to both sides in the long controversy as to whether glaciation is due primarily to a diminution in the earth's supply of heat or to a redistribution of the heat through changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation. At present the great majority of authorities are on the side of a diminution of heat, but the other view also deserves study. 3. A satisfactory hypothesis must explain the frequent synchronism between two great types of phenomena; first, movements of the earth's crust whereby continents are uplifted and mountains upheaved; and, second, great changes of climate which are usually marked by relatively rapid oscillations from one extreme to another. 4. No hypothesis can find acceptance unless it satisfies the somewhat exacting requirements of the geological record, with its frequent but irregular repetition of long, mild periods, relatively cool or intermediate periods like the present, and glacial periods of more or less severity and perhaps accompanying the more or less widespread uplifting of continents. At least during the later glacial periods the hypothesis must explain numerous climatic epochs and stages superposed upon a single general period of continental upheaval. Moreover, although historical geology demands cycles of varied duration and magnitude, it does not furnish evidence of any rigid periodicity causing the cycles to be uniform in length or intensity. 5. Most important of all, a satisfactory explanation of climatic changes and crustal deformation must take account of all the agencies which are now causing similar phenomena. Whether any other agencies should be considered is open to question, although the relative importance of existing agencies may have varied. I. Croll's Eccentricity Theory. One of the most ingenious and most carefully elaborated scientific hypotheses is Croll's[10] precessional hypothesis as to the effect of the earth's own motions. So well was this worked out that it was widely accepted for a time and still finds a place in popular but unscientific books, such as Wells' Outline of History, and even in scientific works like Wright's Quaternary Ice Age. The gist of the hypothesis has already been given in connection with the type of climatic sequence known as orbital precessions. The earth is 93 million miles away from the sun in January and 97 million in July. The earth's axis "precesses," however, just as does that of a spinning top. Hence arises what is known as the precession of the equinoxes, that is, a steady change in the season at which the earth is in perihelion, or nearest to the sun. In the course of 21,000 years the time of perihelion varies from early in January through the entire twelve months and back to January. Moreover, the earth's orbit is slightly more elliptical at certain periods than at others, for the planets sometimes become bunched so that they all pull the earth in one direction. Hence, once in about one hundred thousand years the effect of the elliptical shape of the earth's orbit is at a maximum. Croll argued that these astronomical changes must alter the earth's climate, especially by their effect on winds and ocean currents. His elaborate argument contains a vast amount of valuable material. Later investigation, however, seems to have proven the inadequacy of his hypothesis. In the first place, the supposed cause does not seem nearly sufficient to produce the observed results. Second, Croll's hypothesis demands that glaciation in the northern and southern hemisphere take place alternately. A constantly growing collection of facts, however, indicates that glaciation does not occur in the two hemispheres alternately, but at the same time. Third, the hypothesis calls for the constant and frequent repetition of glaciation at absolutely regular intervals. The geological record shows no such regularity, for sometimes several glacial epochs follow in relatively close succession at irregular intervals of perhaps fifty to two hundred thousand years, and thus form a glacial period; and then for millions of years there are none. Fourth, the eccentricity hypothesis provides no adequate explanation for the glacial stages or subepochs, the historic pulsations, and the other smaller climatic variations which are superposed upon glacial epochs and upon one another in bewildering confusion. In spite of these objections, there can be little question that the eccentricity of the earth's orbit and the precession of the equinoxes with the resulting change in the season of perihelion must have some climatic effect. Hence Croll's theory deserves a permanent though minor place in any full discussion of the causes of climatic changes. II. The Carbon Dioxide Theory. At about the time that the eccentricity theory was being relegated to a minor niche, a new theory was being developed which soon exerted a profound influence upon geological thought. Chamberlin,[11] adopting an idea suggested by Tyndall, fired the imagination of geologists by his skillful exposition of the part played by carbon dioxide in causing climatic changes. Today this theory is probably more widely accepted than any other. We have already seen that the amount of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere has a decided climatic importance. Moreover, there can be little doubt that the amount of that gas in the atmosphere varies from age to age in response to the extent to which it is set free by volcanoes, consumed by plants, combined with rocks in the process of weathering, dissolved in the ocean or locked up in the form of coal and limestone. The main question is whether such variations can produce changes so rapid as glacial epochs and historical pulsations. Abundant evidence seems to show that the degree to which the air can be warmed by carbon dioxide is sharply limited. Humphreys, in his excellent book on the Physics of the Air, calculates that a layer of carbon dioxide forty centimeters thick has practically as much blanketing effect as a layer indefinitely thicker. In other words, forty centimeters of carbon dioxide, while having no appreciable effect on sunlight coming toward the earth, would filter out and thus retain in the atmosphere all the outgoing terrestrial heat that carbon dioxide is capable of absorbing. Adding more would be like adding another filter when the one in operation has already done all that that particular kind of filter is capable of doing. According to Humphreys' calculations, a doubling of the carbon dioxide in the air would in itself raise the average temperature about 1.3°C. and further carbon dioxide would have practically no effect. Reducing the present supply by half would reduce the temperature by essentially the same amount. The effect must be greater, however, than would appear from the figures given above, for any change in temperature has an effect on the amount of water vapor, which in turn causes further changes of temperature. Moreover, as Chamberlin points out, it is not clear whether Humphreys allows for the fact that when the 40 centimeters of CO2 nearest the earth has been heated by terrestrial radiation, it in turn radiates half its heat outward and half inward. The outward half is all absorbed in the next layer of carbon dioxide, and so on. The process is much more complex than this, but the end result is that even the last increment of CO2, that is, the outermost portions in the upper atmosphere, must apparently absorb an infinitesimally small amount of heat. This fact, plus the effect of water vapor, would seem to indicate that a doubling or halving of the amount of CO2, would have an effect of more than 1.3°C. A change of even 2°C. above or below the present level of the earth's mean temperature would be of very appreciable climatic significance, for it is commonly believed that during the height of the glacial period the mean temperature was only 5° to 8°C. lower than now. Nevertheless, variations in atmospheric carbon dioxide do not necessarily seem competent to produce the relatively rapid climatic fluctuations of glacial epochs and historic pulsations as distinguished from the longer swings of glacial periods and geological eras. In Chamberlin's view, as in ours, the elevation of the land, the modification of the currents of the air and of the ocean, and all that goes with elevation as a topographic agency constitute a primary cause of climatic changes. A special effect of this is the removal of carbon dioxide from the air by the enhanced processes of weathering. This, as he carefully states, is a very slow process, and cannot of itself lead to anything so sudden as the oncoming of glaciation. But here comes Chamberlin's most distinctive contribution to the subject, namely, the hypothesis that changes in atmospheric temperature arising from variations in atmospheric carbon dioxide are able to cause a reversal of the deep-sea oceanic circulation. According to Chamberlin's view, the ordinary oceanic circulation of the greater part of geological time was the reverse of the present circulation. Warm water descended to the ocean depths in low latitudes, kept its heat while creeping slowly poleward, and rose in high latitudes producing the warm climate which enabled corals, for example, to grow in high latitudes. Chamberlin holds this opinion largely because there seems to him to be no other reasonable way to account for the enormously long warm periods when heat-loving forms of life lived in what are now polar regions of ice and snow. He explains this reversed circulation by supposing that an abundance of atmospheric carbon dioxide, together with a broad distribution of the oceans, made the atmosphere so warm that the evaporation in low latitudes was far more rapid than now. Hence the surface water of the ocean became a relatively concentrated brine. Such a brine is heavy and tends to sink, thereby setting up an oceanic circulation the reverse of that which now prevails. At present the polar waters sink because they are cold and hence contract. Moreover, when they freeze a certain amount of salt leaves the ice and thereby increases the salinity of the surrounding water. Thus the polar water sinks to the depths of the ocean, its place is taken by warmer and lighter water from low latitudes which moves poleward along the surface, and at the same time the cold water of the ocean depths is forced equatorward below the surface. But if the equatorial waters were so concentrated that a steady supply of highly saline water kept descending to low levels, the direction of the circulation would have to be reversed. The time when this would occur would depend upon the delicate balance between the downward tendencies of the cold polar water and of the warm saline equatorial water. Suppose that while such a reversed circulation prevailed, the atmospheric CO2 should be depleted, and the air cooled so much that the concentration of the equatorial waters by evaporation was no longer sufficient to cause them to sink. A reversal would take place, the present type of circulation would be inaugurated, and the whole earth would suffer a chill because the surface of the ocean would become cool. The cool surface-water would absorb carbon dioxide faster than the previous warm water had done, for heat drives off gases from water. This would hasten the cooling of the atmosphere still more, not only directly but by diminishing the supply of atmospheric moisture. The result would be glaciation. But ultimately the cold waters of the higher latitudes would absorb all the carbon dioxide they could hold, the slow equatorward creep would at length permit the cold water to rise to the surface in low latitudes. There the warmth of the equatorial sun and the depleted supply of carbon dioxide in the air would combine to cause the water to give up its carbon dioxide once more. If the atmosphere had been sufficiently depleted by that time, the rising waters in low latitudes might give up more carbon dioxide than the cold polar waters absorbed. Thus the atmospheric supply would increase, the air would again grow warm, and a tendency toward deglaciation, or toward an inter-glacial condition would arise. At such times the oceanic circulation is not supposed to have been reversed, but merely to have been checked and made slower by the increasing warmth. Thus inter-glacial conditions like those of today, or even considerably warmer, are supposed to have been produced with the present type of circulation. The emission of carbon dioxide in low latitudes could not permanently exceed the absorption in high latitudes. After the present type of circulation was finally established, which might take tens of thousands of years, the two would gradually become equal. Then the conditions which originally caused the oceanic circulation to be reversed would again destroy the balance; the atmospheric carbon dioxide would be depleted; the air would grow cooler; and the cycle of glaciation would be repeated. Each cycle would be shorter than the last, for not only would the swings diminish like those of a pendulum, but the agencies that were causing the main depletion of the atmospheric carbon dioxide would diminish in intensity. Finally as the lands became lower through erosion and submergence, and as the processes of weathering became correspondingly slow, the air would gradually be able to accumulate carbon dioxide; the temperature would increase; and at length the oceanic circulation would be reversed again. When the warm saline waters of low latitudes finally began to sink and to set up a flow of warm water poleward in the depths of the ocean, a glacial period would definitely come to an end. This hypothesis has been so skillfully elaborated, and contains so many important elements that one can scarcely study it without profound admiration. We believe that it is of the utmost value as a step toward the truth, and especially because it emphasizes the great function of oceanic circulation. Nevertheless, we are unable to accept it in full for several reasons, which may here be stated very briefly. Most of them will be discussed fully in later pages. (1) While a reversal of the deep-sea circulation would undoubtedly be of great climatic importance and would produce a warm climate in high latitudes, we see no direct evidence of such a reversal. It is equally true that there is no conclusive evidence against it, and the possibility of a reversal must not be overlooked. There seem, however, to be other modifications of atmospheric and oceanic circulation which are able to produce the observed results. (2) There is much, and we believe conclusive, evidence that a mere lowering of temperature would not produce glaciation. What seems to be needed is changes in atmospheric circulation and in precipitation. The carbon dioxide hypothesis has not been nearly so fully developed on the meteorological side as in other respects. (3) The carbon dioxide hypothesis seems to demand that the oceans should have been almost as saline as now in the Proterozoic era at the time of the first known glaciation. Chamberlin holds that such was the case, but the constant supply of saline material brought to the ocean by rivers and the relatively small deposition of such material on the sea floor seem to indicate that the early oceans must have been much fresher than those of today. (4) The carbon dioxide hypothesis does not attempt to explain minor climatic fluctuations such as post-glacial stages and historic pulsations, but these appear to be of the same nature as glacial epochs, differing only in degree. (5) Another reason for hesitation in accepting the carbon dioxide hypothesis as a full explanation of glacial fluctuations is the highly complex and non-observational character of the explanation of the alternation of glacial and inter-glacial epochs and of their constantly decreasing length. (6) Most important of all, a study of the variations of weather and of climate as they are disclosed by present records and by the historic past suggests that there are now in action certain other causes which are competent to explain glaciation without recourse to a process whose action is beyond the realm of observation. These considerations lead to the conclusion that the carbon dioxide hypothesis and the reversal of the oceanic circulation should be regarded as a tentative rather than a final explanation of glaciation. Nevertheless, the action of carbon dioxide seems to be an important factor in producing the longer oscillations of climate from one geological era to another. It probably plays a considerable part in preparing the way for glacial periods and in making it possible for other factors to produce the more rapid changes which have so deeply influenced organic evolution. III. The Form of the Land. Another great cause of climatic change consists of a group of connected phenomena dependent upon movements of the earth's crust. As to the climatic potency of changes in the lands there is practical agreement among students of climatology and glaciation. That the height and extent of the continents, the location, size, and orientation of mountain ranges, and the opening and closing of oceanic gateways at places like Panama, and the consequent diversion of oceanic currents, exert a profound effect upon climate can scarcely be questioned. Such changes may be introduced rapidly, but their disappearance is usually slow compared with the rapid pulsations to which climate has been subject during historic times and during stages of glacial retreat and advance, or even in comparison with the epochs into which the Pleistocene, Permian, and perhaps earlier glacial periods have been divided. Hence, while crustal movements appear to be more important than the eccentricity of the earth's orbit or the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, they do not satisfactorily explain glacial fluctuations, historic pulsations, and especially the present little cycles of climatic change. All these changes involve a relatively rapid swing from one extreme to another, while an upheaval of a continent, which is at best a slow geologic process, apparently cannot be undone for a long, long time. Hence such an upheaval, if acting alone, would lead to a relatively long-lived climate of a somewhat extreme type. It would help to explain the long swings, or geologic oscillations between a mild and uniform climate at one extreme, and a complex and varied climate at the other, but it would not explain the rapid climatic pulsations which are closely associated with great movements of the earth's crust. It might prepare the way for them, but could not cause them. That this conclusion is true is borne out by the fact that vast mountain ranges, like those at the close of the Jurassic and Cretaceous, are upheaved without bringing on glacial climates. Moreover, the marked Permian ice age follows long after the birth of the Hercynian Mountains and before the rise of others of later Permian origin. IV. The Volcanic Hypothesis. In the search for some cause of climatic change which is highly efficient and yet able to vary rapidly and independently, Abbot, Fowle, Humphreys, and others,[12] have concluded that volcanic eruptions are the missing agency. In Physics of the Air, Humphreys gives a careful study of the effect of volcanic dust upon terrestrial temperature. He begins with a mathematical investigation of the size of dust particles, and their quantity after certain eruptions. He demonstrates that the power of such particles to deflect light of short wave-lengths coming from the sun is perhaps thirty times more than their power to retain the heat radiated in long waves from the earth. Hence it is estimated that if a Krakatoa were to belch forth dust every year or two, the dust veil might cause a reduction of about 6°C. in the earth's surface temperature. As in every such complicated problem, some of the author's assumptions are open to question, but this touches their quantitative and not their qualitative value. It seems certain that if volcanic explosions were frequent enough and violent enough, the temperature of the earth's surface would be considerably lowered. Actual observation supports this theoretical conclusion. Humphreys gathers together and amplifies all that he and Abbot and Fowle have previously said as to observations of the sun's thermal radiation by means of the pyrheliometer. This summing up of the relations between the heat received from the sun, and the occurrence of explosive volcanic eruptions leaves little room for doubt that at frequent intervals during the last century and a half a slight lowering of terrestrial temperature has actually occurred after great eruptions. Nevertheless, it does not justify Humphreys' final conclusion that "phenomena within the earth itself suffice to modify its own climate,... that these and these alone have actually caused great changes time and again in the geologic past." Humphreys sees so clearly the importance of the purely terrestrial point of view that he unconsciously slights the cosmic standpoint and ignores the important solar facts which he himself adduces elsewhere at considerable length. In addition to this the degree to which the temperature of the earth as a whole is influenced by volcanic eruptions is by no means so clear as is the fact that there is some influence. Arctowski,[13] for example, has prepared numerous curves showing the march of temperature month after month for many years. During the period from 1909 to 1913, which includes the great eruption of Katmai in Alaska, low temperature is found to have prevailed at the time of the eruption, but, as Arctowski puts it, on the basis of the curves for 150 stations in all parts of the world: "The supposition that these abnormally low temperatures were due to the veil of volcanic dust produced by the Katmai eruption of June 6, 1912, is completely out of the question. If that had been the case, temperature would have decreased from that date on, whereas it was decreasing for more than a year before that date." Köppen,[14] in his comprehensive study of temperature for a hundred years, also presents a strong argument against the idea that volcanic eruptions have an important place in determining the present temperature of the earth. A volcanic eruption is a sudden occurrence. Whatever effect is produced by dust thrown into the air must occur within a few months, or as soon as the dust has had an opportunity to be wafted to the region in question. When the dust arrives, there will be a rapid drop through the few degrees of temperature which the dust is supposed to be able to account for, and thereafter a slow rise of temperature. If volcanic eruptions actually caused a frequent lowering of terrestrial temperature in the hundred years studied by Köppen, there should be more cases where the annual temperature is decidedly below the normal than where it shows a large departure in the opposite direction. The contrary is actually the case. A still more important argument is the fact that the earth is now in an intermediate condition of climate. Throughout most of geologic time, as we shall see again and again, the climate of the earth has been milder than now. Regions like Greenland have not been the seat of glaciers, but have been the home of types of plants which now thrive in relatively low latitudes. In other words, the earth is today only part way from a glacial epoch to what may be called the normal, mild climate of the earth—a climate in which the contrast from zone to zone was much less than now, and the lower air averaged warmer. Hence it seems impossible to avoid the conclusion that the cause of glaciation is still operating with considerable although diminished efficiency. But volcanic dust is obviously not operating to any appreciable extent at present, for the upper air is almost free from dust a large part of the time. Again, as Chamberlin suggests, let it be supposed that a Krakatoan eruption every two years would produce a glacial period. Unless the most experienced field workers on the glacial formations are quite in error, the various glacial epochs of the Pleistocene glacial period had a joint duration of at least 150,000 years and perhaps twice as much. That would require 75,000 Krakatoan eruptions. But where are the pits and cones of such eruptions? There has not been time to erode them away since the Pleistocene glaciation. Their beds of volcanic ash would presumably be as voluminous as the glacial beds, but there do not seem to be accumulations of any such size. Even though the same volcano suffered repeated explosions, it seems impossible to find sufficient fresh volcanic debris. Moreover, the volcanic hypothesis has not yet offered any mechanism for systematic glacial variations. Hence, while the hypothesis is important, we must search further for the full explanation of glacial fluctuations, historic pulsations, and the earth's present quasi-glacial climate. V. The Hypothesis of Polar Wandering. Another hypothesis, which has some adherents, especially among geologists, holds that the position of the earth's axis has shifted repeatedly during geological times, thus causing glaciation in regions which are not now polar. Astrophysicists, however, are quite sure that no agency could radically change the relation between the earth and its axis without likewise altering the orbits of the planets to a degree that would be easily recognized. Moreover, the distribution of the centers of glaciation both in the Permian and Pleistocene periods does not seem to conform to this hypothesis. VI. The Thermal Solar Hypothesis. The only other explanations of the climatic changes of glacial and historic times which now seem to have much standing are two distinct and almost antagonistic solar hypotheses. One is the idea that changes in the earth's climate are due to variations in the heat emitted by the sun and hence in the temperature of the earth. The other is the entirely different idea that climatic changes arise from solar conditions which cause a redistribution of the earth's atmospheric pressure and hence produce changes in winds, ocean currents, and especially storms. This second, or "cyclonic," hypothesis is the subject of a book entitled Earth and Sun, which is to be published as a companion to the present volume. It will be outlined in the next chapter. The other, or thermal, hypothesis may be dismissed briefly. Unquestionably a permanent change in the amount of heat emitted by the sun would permanently alter the earth's climate. There is absolutely no evidence, however, of any such change during geologic time. The evidence as to the earth's cosmic uniformity and as to secular progression is all against it. Suppose that for thirty or forty thousand years the sun cooled off enough so that the earth was as cool as during a glacial epoch. As glaciation is soon succeeded by a mild climate, some agency would then be needed to raise the sun's temperature. The impact of a shower of meteorites might accomplish this, but that would mean a very sudden heating, such as there is no evidence of in geological history. In fact, there is far more evidence of sudden cooling than of sudden heating. Moreover, it is far beyond the bounds of probability that such an impact should be repeated again and again with just such force as to bring the climate back almost to where it started and yet to allow for the slight changes which cause secular progression. Another and equally cogent objection to the thermal form of solar hypothesis is stated by Humphreys as follows: "A change of the solar constant obviously alters all surface temperatures by a roughly constant percentage. Hence a decrease of the heat from the sun would in general cause a decrease of the interzonal temperature gradients; and this in turn a less vigorous atmospheric circulation, and a less copious rain or snowfall—exactly the reverse of the condition, namely, abundant precipitation, most favorable to extensive glaciation." This brings us to the end of the main hypotheses as to climatic changes, aside from the solar cyclonic hypothesis which will be discussed in the next chapter. It appears that variations in the position of the earth at perihelion have a real though slight influence in causing cycles with a length of about 21,000 years. Changes in the carbon dioxide of the air probably have a more important but extremely slow influence upon geologic oscillations. Variations in the size, shape, and height of the continents are constantly causing all manner of climatic complications, but do not cause rapid fluctuations and pulsations. The eruption of volcanic dust appears occasionally to lower the temperature, but its potency to explain the complex climatic changes recorded in the rocks has probably been exaggerated. Finally, although minor changes in the amount of heat given out by the sun occur constantly and have been demonstrated to have a climatic effect, there is no evidence that such changes are the main cause of the climatic phenomena which we are trying to explain. Nevertheless, in connection with other solar changes they may be of high importance.


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Indian subcontinent,
Catagory: History
Author:
Posted Date:11/09/2024
Posted By:utopia online

The Indian subcontinent, the great landmass of South Asia, is the home of one of the world’s oldest and most influential civilizations. In this article, the subcontinent, which for historical purposes is usually called simply “India,” is understood to comprise the areas of not only the present-day Republic of India (free from British rule since August 15, 1947, celebrated as the country’s Independence Day) but also the republics of Pakistan (partitioned from India in 1947) and Bangladesh (which formed the eastern part of Pakistan until its independence in 1971). For the histories of these latter two countries since their creation, see Pakistan and Bangladesh. Since early times the Indian subcontinent appears to have provided an attractive habitat for human occupation. Toward the south it is effectively sheltered by wide expanses of ocean, which tended to isolate it culturally in ancient times, while to the north it is protected by the massive ranges of the Himalayas, which also sheltered it from the Arctic winds and the air currents of Central Asia. Only in the northwest and northeast is there easier access by land, and it was through those two sectors that most of the early contacts with the outside world took place. Within the framework of hills and mountains represented by the Indo-Iranian borderlands on the west, the Indo-Myanmar borderlands in the east, and the Himalayas to the north, the subcontinent may in broadest terms be divided into two major divisions: in the north, the basins of the Indus and Ganges (Ganga) rivers (the Indo-Gangetic Plain) and, to the south, the block of Archean rocks that forms the Deccan plateau region. The expansive alluvial plain of the river basins provided the environment and focus for the rise of two great phases of city life: the civilization of the Indus valley, known as the Indus civilization, during the 3rd millennium BCE; and, during the 1st millennium BCE, that of the Ganges. To the south of this zone, and separating it from the peninsula proper, is a belt of hills and forests, running generally from west to east and to this day largely inhabited by tribal people. This belt has played mainly a negative role throughout Indian history in that it remained relatively thinly populated and did not form the focal point of any of the principal regional cultural developments of South Asia. However, it is traversed by various routes linking the more-attractive areas north and south of it. The Narmada (Narbada) River flows through this belt toward the west, mostly along the Vindhya Range, which has long been regarded as the symbolic boundary between northern and southern India. The northern parts of India represent a series of contrasting regions, each with its own distinctive cultural history and its own distinctive population. In the northwest the valleys of the Baluchistan uplands (now largely in Balochistan, Pakistan) are a low-rainfall area, producing mainly wheat and barley and having a low density of population. Its residents, mainly tribal people, are in many respects closely akin to their Iranian neighbours. The adjacent Indus plains are also an area of extremely low rainfall, but the annual flooding of the river in ancient times and the exploitation of its waters by canal irrigation in the modern period have enhanced agricultural productivity, and the population is correspondingly denser than that of Baluchistan. The Indus valley may be divided into three parts: in the north are the plains of the five tributary rivers of the Punjab (Persian: Panjāb, “Five Waters”); in the center the consolidated waters of the Indus and its tributaries flow through the alluvial plains of Sind; and in the south the waters pass naturally into the Indus delta. East of the latter is the Great Indian, or Thar, Desert, which is in turn bounded on the east by a hill system known as the Aravali Range, the northernmost extent of the Deccan plateau region. Beyond them is the hilly region of Rajasthan and the Malwa Plateau. To the south is the Kathiawar Peninsula, forming both geographically and culturally an extension of Rajasthan. All of these regions have a relatively denser population than the preceding group, but for topographical reasons they have tended to be somewhat isolated, at least during historical times. East of the Punjab and Rajasthan, northern India develops into a series of belts running broadly west to east and following the line of the foothills of the Himalayan ranges in the north. The southern belt consists of a hilly, forested area broken by the numerous escarpments in close association with the Vindhya Range, including the Bhander, Rewa, and Kaimur plateaus. Between the hills of central India and the Himalayas lies the Ganges River valley proper, constituting an area of high-density population, moderate rainfall, and high agricultural productivity. Archaeology suggests that, from the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE, rice cultivation has played a large part in supporting this population. The Ganges valley divides into three major parts: to the west is the Ganges-Yamuna Doab (the land area that is formed by the confluence of the two rivers); east of the confluence lies the middle Ganges valley, in which population tends to increase and cultivation of rice predominates; and to the southeast lies the extensive delta of the combined Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. The Brahmaputra flows from the northeast, rising from the Tibetan Himalayas and emerging from the mountains into the Assam valley, being bounded on the east by the Patkai Bum Range and the Naga Hills and on the south by the Mikir, Khasi, Jaintia, and Garo hills. There is plenty of evidence that influences reached India from the northeast in ancient times, even if they are less prominent than those that arrived from the northwest. Along the Deccan plateau there is a gradual eastward declivity, which dispenses its major river systems—the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri (Cauvery)—into the Bay of Bengal. Rising some 3,000 feet (1,000 metres) or more along the western edge of the Deccan, the escarpment known as the Western Ghats traps the moisture of winds from the Arabian Sea, most notably during the southwest monsoon, creating a tropical monsoon climate along the narrow western littoral and depriving the Deccan of significant precipitation. The absence of snowpack in the south Indian uplands makes the region dependent entirely on rainfall for its streamflow. The arrival of the southwest monsoon in June is thus a pivotal annual event in peninsular culture. India from the Paleolithic Period to the decline of the Indus civilization The earliest periods of Indian history are known only through reconstructions from archaeological evidence. Since the late 20th century, much new data has emerged, allowing a far fuller reconstruction than was formerly possible. This section will discuss five major periods: (1) the early prehistoric period (before the 8th millennium BCE), (2) the period of the prehistoric agriculturalists and pastoralists (approximately the 8th to the mid-4th millennium BCE), (3) the Early Indus, or Early Harappan, Period (so named for the excavated city of Harappa in eastern Pakistan), witnessing the emergence of the first cities in the Indus River system (c. 3500–2600 BCE), (4) the Indus, or Harappan, civilization (c. 2600–2000 BCE, or perhaps ending as late as 1750 BCE), and (5) the Post-Urban Period, which follows the Indus civilization and precedes the rise of cities in northern India during the second quarter of the 1st millennium BCE (c. 1750–750 BCE). The materials available for a reconstruction of the history of India prior to the 3rd century BCE are almost entirely the products of archaeological research. Traditional and textual sources, transmitted orally for many centuries, are available from the closing centuries of the 2nd millennium BCE, but their use depends largely on the extent to which any passage can be dated or associated with archaeological evidence. For the rise of civilization in the Indus valley and for contemporary events in other parts of the subcontinent, the evidence of archaeology is still the principal source of information. Even when it becomes possible to read the short inscriptions of the Harappan seals, it is unlikely that they will provide much information to supplement other sources. In those circumstances it is necessary to approach the early history of India largely through the eyes of the archaeologists, and it will be wise to retain a balance between an objective assessment of archaeological data and its synthetic interpretation. The early prehistoric period In the mid-19th century, archaeologists in southern India identified hand axes comparable to those of Stone Age Europe. For nearly a century thereafter, evaluation of a burgeoning body of evidence consisted in the attempt to correlate Indian chronologies with the well-documented European and Mediterranean chronologies. As the vast majority of early finds were from surface sites, they long remained without precise dates or cultural contexts. More recently, however, the excavation of numerous cave and dune sites has yielded artifacts in association with organic material that can be dated using the carbon-14 method, and the techniques of thermoluminescent and paleomagnetic analysis now permit dating of pottery fragments and other inorganic materials. Research beginning in the late 20th century has focused on the unique environment of the subcontinent as the context for a cultural evolution analogous to, but not uniform with, that of other regions. Increasing understanding of plate tectonics, to cite one development, has greatly advanced this endeavour. Most outlines of Indian prehistory have employed nomenclature once thought to reflect a worldwide sequence of human cultural evolution. The European concept of the Old Stone Age, or Paleolithic Period (comprising Lower, Middle, and Upper stages), remains useful with regard to South Asia in identifying levels of technology, apart from any universal time line. Similarly, what has been called the Indian Mesolithic Period (Middle Stone Age) corresponds in general typological terms to that of Europe. For the subsequent periods, the designations Neolithic Period (New Stone Age) and Chalcolithic Age (Copper-Stone Age) also are applied, but increasingly, as archaeology has yielded more-detailed cultural profiles for those periods, scholars have come to emphasize the subsistence bases of early societies—e.g., hunting and gathering, pastoralism, and agriculture. The terms Early Harappan and Harappan (from the site where remains of a major city of the Indus civilization were discovered in 1921) are used primarily in a chronological way but also loosely in a cultural sense, relating respectively to periods or cultures that preceded the appearance of city life in the Indus valley and to the Indus civilization itself. The Indian Paleolithic The oldest artifacts yet found on the subcontinent, marking what may be called the beginning of the Indian Lower Paleolithic, come from the western end of the Shiwalik Range, near Rawalpindi in northern Pakistan. These quartzite pebble tools and flakes date to about two million years ago, according to paleomagnetic analysis, and represent a pre-hand-ax industry of a type that appears to have persisted for an extensive period thereafter. The artifacts are associated with extremely rich sedimentary evidence and fossil fauna, but thus far no correlative hominin (i.e., members of the human lineage) remains have been found. In the same region the earliest hand axes (of the type commonly associated with Acheulean industry) have been dated paleomagnetically to about 500,000 years ago. The Great Indian Desert, straddling what is now the southern half of the India-Pakistan border, supplied significant archaeological materials in the late 20th century. Hand axes found at Didwana, Rajasthan, similar to those from the Shiwalik Range, yield slightly younger dates of about 400,000 years ago. Examination of the desert soil strata and other evidence has revealed a correlation between prevailing climates and the successive levels of technology that constitute the Paleolithic. For example, a prolonged humid phase, as attested by reddish brown soil with a deep profile, appears to have commenced some 140,000 years ago and lasted until about 25,000 years ago, roughly the extent of the Middle Paleolithic Period. During that time the area of the present desert provided a rich environment for hunting. The Rohri Hills, located at the Indus River margins of the desert, contain a group of sites associated with sources of chert, a type of stone that is a principal raw material for making tools and weapons. Evidence surrounding these chert bands—in an alluvial plain otherwise largely devoid of stone—suggests their development as a major factory center during the Middle Paleolithic. The transition in this same region to a drier climate during the period from about 40,000 to about 25,000 years ago coincides with the onset of the Upper Paleolithic, which lasted until about 15,000 years ago. The basic innovation marking this stage is the production of parallel-sided blades from a prepared core. Also, tools of the Upper Paleolithic exhibit adaptations for working particular materials, such as leather, wood, and bone. The earliest rock paintings yet discovered in the region date to the Upper Paleolithic. Other important Paleolithic sites that have been excavated include those at Hunsgi in Karnataka state, at Sanghao cave in North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, and in the Vindhya Range separating the Ganges basin from the Deccan plateau. At the latter, local workers readily identified a weathered Upper Paleolithic limestone carving as a representation of a mother goddess. Mesolithic hunters The progressive diminution in the size of stone artifacts that began in the Middle Paleolithic reached its climax in the small parallel-sided blades and microliths of what has been called the Indian Mesolithic. A great proliferation of Mesolithic cultures is evident throughout India, although they are known almost exclusively from surface collections of tools. Cultures of this period exhibited a wide variety of subsistence patterns, including hunting and gathering, fishing, and, at least for part of the period, some herding and small-scale agriculture. It may be inferred from numerous examples that hunting cultures frequently coexisted and interacted with agricultural and pastoral communities. These relationships must have continually varied from region to region as a result of environmental and other factors. Strikingly, such patterns of interaction persisted in the subcontinent throughout the remainder of the prehistoric period and long into the historic, with vestiges still discernible in some areas in the 20th century. Thus, chronologically, the Mesolithic cultures cover an enormous span. In Sri Lanka several Mesolithic sites have been dated to as early as about 30,000 years ago, the oldest yet recorded for the period in South Asia. At the other end of the subcontinent, in caves of the Hindu Kush in northern Afghanistan, evidence of occupation dating to between 15,000 and 10,000 BCE represents the Epipaleolithic Stage, which may be considered to fall within the Mesolithic. The domestication of sheep and goats is thought to have begun in this region and period. Many of the caves and rock shelters of central India contain rock paintings depicting a variety of subjects, including game animals and such human activities as hunting, honey collecting, and dancing. This art appears to have developed from Upper Paleolithic precursors and reveals much about life in the period. Along with the art have come increasingly clear indications that some of the caves were sites of religious activity. The earliest agriculturalists and pastoralists Neolithic agriculture in the Indus valley and Baluchistan The Indo-Iranian borderlands form the eastern extension of the Iranian plateau and in some ways mirror the environment of the Fertile Crescent (the arc of agricultural lands extending from the Tigris-Euphrates river system to the Nile valley) in the Middle East. Across the plateau, lines of communication existed from early antiquity, which would suggest a broad parallelism of developments at both the eastern and western extremities. During the late 20th century, knowledge of early settlements on the borders of the Indus system and Baluchistan was revolutionized by excavations at Mehrgarh and elsewhere. The group of sites at Mehrgarh provides evidence of some five or six thousand years of occupation comprising two major periods, the first from the 8th through the 6th millennium BCE and the second from the 5th through the 4th (and possibly the 3rd) millennium. The earliest evidence occurs in a mound 23 feet (7 metres) deep discovered beneath massive alluvial deposits. Two subphases of Period I are apparent from the mound artifacts. Phase IA, dating to the 8th–7th millennium BCE, was an aceramic (i.e., lacking pottery) Neolithic occupation. The main tools were stone blades, including lunates and triangles, some probably mounted in wooden hafts with bitumen mastic; a relatively small number of ground stone axes have been found. Domestication of wheat and barley apparently reached the area sometime during this phase, as did that of sheep and goats, although the preponderance of gazelle bones among the animal remains suggests continued dependence on hunting. Houses of mud brick date from the beginning of this phase and continue throughout the occupation. Accompaniments to the simple burial of human remains included shell or stone-bead necklaces, baskets, and occasionally young caprids (both sheep and goats) slaughtered for the purpose. Phase 1B, dating to the 7th–6th millennium, is characterized by the emergence of pottery and improvements in agriculture. By the beginning of Phase 1B, cattle (apparently Bos indicus, the Indian humped variety) had come to predominate over game animals, as well as over sheep and goats. A new type of building, the small regular compartments of which identify it almost certainly as a granary, first appeared during this phase and became prevalent in Period II, indicating the frequent occurrence of crop surpluses. Burial took a more elaborate form—a funerary chamber was dug at one end of a pit, and, after inhumation, the chamber was sealed by a mud brick wall. From the latter phase of Period I also come the first small, hand-modeled female figurines of unburned clay. The Period I evidence at Mehrgarh provides a clear picture of an early agricultural settlement exhibiting domestic architecture and a variety of well-established crafts. The use of seashells and of various semiprecious stones, including turquoise and lapis lazuli, indicates the existence of trade networks extending from the coast and perhaps also from Central Asia. Striking changes characterize Period II. It appears that some major tectonic event took place at the beginning of the period (c. 5500 BCE), causing the deposition of great quantities of silt on the plain, almost completely burying the original mound at Mehrgarh. Nearly all features of the earlier culture persisted, though in altered form. There was an increase in the use of pottery. The granary structures proliferated, sometimes on a larger scale. The remains of several massive brick walls and platforms suggest something approaching monumental architecture. Evidence appears of several new crafts, including the first examples of the use of copper and ivory. The area of the settlement appears to have grown to accommodate an increasing population. While the settlement at Mehrgarh merits extensive consideration, it should not be perceived as a unique site. There are indications (not yet fully explored) that other equally early sites may exist in other parts of Baluchistan and elsewhere on the Indo-Iranian borderlands. In the northern parts of the Indus system, the earliest known settlements are substantially later than Mehrgarh. For example, at Sarai Khola (near the ruins of Taxila in the Pakistan Punjab) the earliest occupation dates from the end of the 4th millennium and clearly represents a tradition quite distinct from that of contemporary Sind or Balochistan, with ground stone axes and plain burnished red-brown pottery. The same is the case at Burzahom in the Vale of Kashmir, where deep pit dwellings are associated with ground stone axes, bone tools, and gray burnished pottery. Evidence of the “aceramic Neolithic” stage is reported at Gufkral, another site in the Kashmir region, which has been dated by radiocarbon to the 3rd millennium and later. SOURCE: https://www.britannica.com/place/India/The-Indian-Paleolithic


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THE GARDEN OF EROS Author: Oscar Wilde
Catagory:Phoeme
Author:
Posted Date:11/09/2024
Posted By:utopia online

IT is full summer now, the heart of June; Not yet the sunburnt reapers are astir Upon the upland meadow where too soon Rich autumn time, the season’s usurer, Will lend his hoarded gold to all the trees, And see his treasure scattered by the wild and spendthrift breeze. Too soon indeed! yet here the daffodil, That love-child of the Spring, has lingered on To vex the rose with jealousy, and still The harebell spreads her azure pavilion, And like a strayed and wandering reveller Abandoned of its brothers, whom long since June’s messenger The missel-thrush has frighted from the glade, One pale narcissus loiters fearfully Close to a shadowy nook, where half afraid Of their own loveliness some violets lie That will not look the gold sun in the face For fear of too much splendour,—ah! methinks it is a place p. 24Which should be trodden by Persephone When wearied of the flowerless fields of Dis! Or danced on by the lads of Arcady! The hidden secret of eternal bliss Kn own to the Grecian here a man might find, Ah! you and I may find it now if Love and Sleep be kind. There are the flowers which mourning Herakles Strewed on the tomb of Hylas, columbine, Its white doves all a-flutter where the breeze Kissed them too harshly, the small celandine, That yellow-kirtled chorister of eve, And lilac lady’s-smock,—but let them bloom alone, and leave Yon spirèd hollyhock red-crocketed To sway its silent chimes, else must the bee, Its little bellringer, go seek instead Some other pleasaunce; the anemone That weeps at daybreak, like a silly girl Before her love, and hardly lets the butterflies unfurl Their painted wings beside it,—bid it pine In pale virginity; the winter snow Will suit it better than those lips of thine Whose fires would but scorch it, rather go p. 25And pluck that amorous flower which blooms alone, Fed by the pander wind with dust of kisses not its own. The trumpet-mouths of red convolvulus So dear to maidens, creamy meadow-sweet Whiter than Juno’s throat and odorous As all Arabia, hyacinths the feet Of Huntress Dian would be loth to mar For any dappled fawn,—pluck these, and those fond flowers which are Fairer than what Queen Venus trod upon Beneath the pines of Ida, eucharis, That morning star which does not dread the sun, And budding marjoram which but to kiss Would sweeten Cytheræa’s lips and make Adonis jealous,—these for thy head,—and for thy girdle take Yon curving spray of purple clematis Whose gorgeous dye outflames the Tyrian King, And foxgloves with their nodding chalices, But that one narciss which the startled Spring Let from her kirtle fall when first she heard In her own woods the wild tempestuous song of summer’s bird, p. 26Ah! leave it for a subtle memory Of those sweet tremulous days of rain and sun, When April laughed between her tears to see The early primrose with shy footsteps run From the gnarled oak-tree roots till all the wold, Spite of its brown and trampled leaves, grew bright with shimmering gold. Nay, pluck it too, it is not half so sweet As thou thyself, my soul’s idolatry! And when thou art a-wearied at thy feet Shall oxlips weave their brightest tapestry, For thee the woodbine shall forget its pride And veil its tangled whorls, and thou shalt walk on daisies pied. And I will cut a reed by yonder spring And make the wood-gods jealous, and old Pan Wonder what young intruder dares to sing In these still haunts, where never foot of man Should tread at evening, lest he chance to spy The marble limbs of Artemis and all her company. And I will tell thee why the jacinth wears Such dread embroidery of dolorous moan, And why the hapless nightingale forbears To sing her song at noon, but weeps alone p. 27When the fleet swallow sleeps, and rich men feast, And why the laurel trembles when she sees the lightening east. And I will sing how sad Proserpina Unto a grave and gloomy Lord was wed, And lure the silver-breasted Helena Back from the lotus meadows of the dead, So shalt thou see that awful loveliness For which two mighty Hosts met fearfully in war’s abyss! And then I’ll pipe to thee that Grecian tale How Cynthia loves the lad Endymion, And hidden in a grey and misty veil Hies to the cliffs of Latmos once the Sun Leaps from his ocean bed in fruitless chase Of those pale flying feet which fade away in his embrace. And if my flute can breathe sweet melody, We may behold Her face who long ago Dwelt among men by the Ægean sea, And whose sad house with pillaged portico And friezeless wall and columns toppled down Looms o’er the ruins of that fair and violet cinctured town. p. 28Spirit of Beauty! tarry still awhile, They are not dead, thine ancient votaries; Some few there are to whom thy radiant smile Is better than a thousand victories, Though all the nobly slain of Waterloo Rise up in wrath against them! tarry still, there are a few Who for thy sake would give their manlihood And consecrate their being; I at least Have done so, made thy lips my daily food, And in thy temples found a goodlier feast Than this starved age can give me, spite of all Its new-found creeds so sceptical and so dogmatical. Here not Cephissos, not Ilissos flows, The woods of white Colonos are not here, On our bleak hills the olive never blows, No simple priest conducts his lowing steer Up the steep marble way, nor through the town Do laughing maidens bear to thee the crocus-flowered gown. Yet tarry! for the boy who loved thee best, Whose very name should be a memory To make thee linger, sleeps in silent rest Beneath the Roman walls, and melody p. 29Still mourns her sweetest lyre; none can play The lute of Adonais: with his lips Song passed away. Nay, when Keats died the Muses still had left One silver voice to sing his threnody, But ah! too soon of it we were bereft When on that riven night and stormy sea Panthea claimed her singer as her own, And slew the mouth that praised her; since which time we walk alone, Save for that fiery heart, that morning star Of re-arisen England, whose clear eye Saw from our tottering throne and waste of war The grand Greek limbs of young Democracy Rise mightily like Hesperus and bring The great Republic! him at least thy love hath taught to sing, And he hath been with thee at Thessaly, And seen white Atalanta fleet of foot In passionless and fierce virginity Hunting the tuskèd boar, his honied lute Hath pierced the cavern of the hollow hill, And Venus laughs to know one knee will bow before her still. p. 30And he hath kissed the lips of Proserpine, And sung the Galilæan’s requiem, That wounded forehead dashed with blood and wine He hath discrowned, the Ancient Gods in him Have found their last, most ardent worshipper, And the new Sign grows grey and dim before its conqueror. Spirit of Beauty! tarry with us still, It is not quenched the torch of poesy, The star that shook above the Eastern hill Holds unassailed its argent armoury From all the gathering gloom and fretful fight— O tarry with us still! for through the long and common night, Morris, our sweet and simple Chaucer’s child, Dear heritor of Spenser’s tuneful reed, With soft and sylvan pipe has oft beguiled The weary soul of man in troublous need, And from the far and flowerless fields of ice Has brought fair flowers to make an earthly paradise. We know them all, Gudrun the strong men’s bride, Aslaug and Olafson we know them all, How giant Grettir fought and Sigurd died, p. 31And what enchantment held the king in thrall When lonely Brynhild wrestled with the powers That war against all passion, ah! how oft through summer hours, Long listless summer hours when the noon Being enamoured of a damask rose Forgets to journey westward, till the moon The pale usurper of its tribute grows From a thin sickle to a silver shield And chides its loitering car—how oft, in some cool grassy field Far from the cricket-ground and noisy eight, At Bagley, where the rustling bluebells come Almost before the blackbird finds a mate And overstay the swallow, and the hum Of many murmuring bees flits through the leaves, Have I lain poring on the dreamy tales his fancy weaves, And through their unreal woes and mimic pain Wept for myself, and so was purified, And in their simple mirth grew glad again; For as I sailed upon that pictured tide The strength and splendour of the storm was mine Without the storm’s red ruin, for the singer is divine; p. 32The little laugh of water falling down Is not so musical, the clammy gold Close hoarded in the tiny waxen town Has less of sweetness in it, and the old Half-withered reeds that waved in Arcady Touched by his lips break forth again to fresher harmony. Spirit of Beauty, tarry yet awhile! Although the cheating merchants of the mart With iron roads profane our lovely isle, And break on whirling wheels the limbs of Art, Ay! though the crowded factories beget The blindworm Ignorance that slays the soul, O tarry yet! For One at least there is,—He bears his name From Dante and the seraph Gabriel,— Whose double laurels burn with deathless flame To light thine altar; He too loves thee well, Who saw old Merlin lured in Vivien’s snare, And the white feet of angels coming down the golden stair, Loves thee so well, that all the World for him A gorgeous-coloured vestiture must wear, And Sorrow take a purple diadem, Or else be no more Sorrow, and Despair Gild its own thorns, and Pain, like Adon, be Even in anguish beautiful;—such is the empery p. 33Which Painters hold, and such the heritage This gentle solemn Spirit doth possess, Being a better mirror of his age In all his pity, love, and weariness, Than those who can but copy common things, And leave the Soul unpainted with its mighty questionings. But they are few, and all romance has flown, And men can prophesy about the sun, And lecture on his arrows—how, alone, Through a waste void the soulless atoms run, How from each tree its weeping nymph has fled, And that no more ’mid English reeds a Naiad shows her head. Methinks these new Actæons boast too soon That they have spied on beauty; what if we Have analysed the rainbow, robbed the moon Of her most ancient, chastest mystery, Shall I, the last Endymion, lose all hope Because rude eyes peer at my mistress through a telescope! What profit if this scientific age Burst through our gates with all its retinue Of modern miracles! Can it assuage One lover’s breaking heart? what can it do p. 34To make one life more beautiful, one day More godlike in its period? but now the Age of Clay Returns in horrid cycle, and the earth Hath borne again a noisy progeny Of ignorant Titans, whose ungodly birth Hurls them against the august hierarchy Which sat upon Olympus; to the Dust They have appealed, and to that barren arbiter they must Repair for judgment; let them, if they can, From Natural Warfare and insensate Chance, Create the new Ideal rule for man! Methinks that was not my inheritance; For I was nurtured otherwise, my soul Passes from higher heights of life to a more supreme goal. Lo! while we spake the earth did turn away Her visage from the God, and Hecate’s boat Rose silver-laden, till the jealous day Blew all its torches out: I did not note The waning hours, to young Endymions Time’s palsied fingers count in vain his rosary of suns! p. 35Mark how the yellow iris wearily Leans back its throat, as though it would be kissed By its false chamberer, the dragon-fly, Who, like a blue vein on a girl’s white wrist, Sleeps on that snowy primrose of the night, Which ’gins to flush with crimson shame, and die beneath the light. Come let us go, against the pallid shield Of the wan sky the almond blossoms gleam, The corncrake nested in the unmown field Answers its mate, across the misty stream On fitful wing the startled curlews fly, And in his sedgy bed the lark, for joy that Day is nigh, Scatters the pearlèd dew from off the grass, In tremulous ecstasy to greet the sun, Who soon in gilded panoply will pass Forth from yon orange-curtained pavilion Hung in the burning east: see, the red rim O’ertops the expectant hills! it is the God! for love of him Already the shrill lark is out of sight, Flooding with waves of song this silent dell,— p. 36Ah! there is something more in that bird’s flight Than could be tested in a crucible!— But the air freshens, let us go, why soon The woodmen will be here; how we have lived this night of June!


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Today Nov 9 happend in History
Catagory: History
Author:
Posted Date:11/09/2024
Posted By:utopia online

On this day in history - Today, November 9 2009 20th anniversary of the fall of Berlin Wall On this day, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the last soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev and Polish ex-president and Noble Prize winner Lech Walesa walked through Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. ****** 1994 Darmstadtium created for the first time The heavily radioactive element with an atomic number of 110 and symbol Ds, was created at Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (Institute for Heavy Ion Research) in Darmstadt, Germany, the city after which the element is named. ****** 1985 Youngest person to become World Chess Champion 22-year-old Russian Gary Kasparov won the 13th World Chess Championship against Anatoly Karpov to become the youngest World Chess Champion. **** 1967 Rolling Stone makes its debut The biweekly popular culture magazine was founded by Jann Simon Wenner in San Francisco. The magazine launched the careers of many famous authors and published the early versions of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. **** 1938 Night of broken glass A pogrom against Jewish businesses, synagogues, and Jews in Germany and Austria was carried out by Sturmabteilung troops and civilians. The series of attacks that killed about 70 people and put 30,000 jews in prison is known as night of broken glass or Kristallnacht ***** Births On This Day, November 9 1974 Alessandro Del Piero Italian footballer **** 1970 Chris Jericho American/Canadian wrestler, singer-songwriter, actor **** 1934 Carl Sagan American astronomer, author **** 1928 Anne Sexton American poet ***** 1918 Spiro Agnew American politician, 39th Vice President of the United States ***** Deaths On This Day,November 9 2005 K. R. Narayanan Indian politician, 10th President of India **** 2004 Stieg Larsson Swedish writer *** 1970 Charles de Gaulle French general, politician, President of France *** 1953 Ibn Saud Saudi Arabian king **** 1940 Neville Chamberlain English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom


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The Substance to Gladiator II: The 10 films getting the biggest early Oscar buzz
Catagory:Reading
Author:
Posted Date:11/09/2024
Posted By:utopia online

Conclave Its potboiler plot doesn't sound like awards bait on paper, but Conclave hits the Oscar sweet spot: it plays like a compelling commercial thriller but has plenty of artistic cred. The fictional story goes behind the scenes as cardinals scheme and play politics to elect a new pope. That story is elevated by Edward Berger's meticulous direction, every shot full of visual artistry and information, and by Ralph Fiennes's subtly powerful performance as the cardinal in charge of the conclave while doubting his own faith. Well received by critics and audiences, it's a sure thing for a best picture nomination, with Fiennes very likely getting a best actor nod, Berger a strong possibility as director and maybe Stanley Tucci as supporting actor. Twice nominated, Fiennes has never won, and has "he's overdue" going for him. Voters obviously like Berger, whose All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) won four Oscars, including best international film. Conclave's biggest obstacle: keeping up its early momentum. (CJ) Nickel Boys Nickel Boys is adapted from a Pulitzer prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, which was drawn in turn from reports of the horrific racist abuse that took place in a Florida reform school in the 1960s. It's just the kind of heavyweight, politically charged period drama that would appeal to the Academy, however it was made. But the film's innovative camerawork is what really sets Nickel Boys apart. RaMell Ross, the maker of a 2018 Oscar-nominated documentary, Hale County This Morning, This Evening, shows everything from the viewpoint of the main characters. The audience seems to be looking through the eyes of two teenage boys (Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson), an immersive technique that is common in video games and virtual reality experiences, but so unusual in a film that Nickel Boys is the obvious pick for this year's cinematography and editing prizes, at the very least. (NB)Emilia Pérez There's not a more audacious, wonderfully bonkers or engaging film out there than this singing, dancing drama about a transgender Mexican crime lord who fakes her death and hides her new identity from her wife and children. Accessible and unique, this vibrant film, full of criminal action and personal emotion, is a frontrunner to win best international film, and a strong contender for a best picture nod. It will certainly figure in acting categories. Karla Sofía Gascón, who plays Emilia, is very likely for best actress, and would be the first trans nominee in that category. Zoe Saldaña, who has one of the best dance scenes, stands a good chance as supporting actress for her poignant performance as Emilia's lawyer. One good omen: at the Cannes Film Festival, they shared the best actress prize with co-stars Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz. If Netflix campaigns well enough, director Jacques Audiard might even make it into best director. (CJ) Gladiator II Even before its colourful, action-filled trailer dropped, audiences were excited about this sequel to the 2000 sword-and-sandals epic that won best picture. That anticipation was built partly on its dream-team casting: Paul Mescal as Lucius, the revenge-fuelled son of Russell Crowe's character in the original, Pedro Pascal as a Roman general, and Denzel Washington as a wealthy owner of gladiators. The trailer set off instant speculation that Washington is a likely supporting actor nominee, if only for his fierce, scenery-chewing proclamation, "I must have POWER." The film's spectacle and scale make it a natural in technical areas, including production design. And it's likely to be nominated for best picture, a category with up to 10 titles. But with only five slots for director, what happens to Sir Ridley Scott? In a career that includes Alien, Blade Runner and the first Gladiator, he has been nominated as director three times but never won. He has a good chance of making the cut, in a race that should be especially intriguing to follow. (CJ)The Brutalist Most film journalists assumed that this year's most impressive drama about a visionary architect would be Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis. But then Brady Corbet's The Brutalist came along. This indie period epic cost less than £10m ($13m) to make – ie, well under one-tenth of Megalopolis's budget – but it runs for 215 minutes, including an interval, and its themes, ideas and ambitions are sky-scrapingly expansive. Adrien Brody stars as a Hungarian-Jewish architect who migrates to the US just after World War Two, and is hired to build a vast concrete cultural centre for a tycoon played by Guy Pearce. It's Brody's most compelling performance since he won an Oscar for The Pianist back in 2003, so there would be a certain symmetry if he took home a second Oscar for a not dissimilar role, 22 years on. Meanwhile, Corbet and his co-writer and partner Mona Fastvold are in the frame for a best screenplay award. And if Hollywood wants to reassure itself that films can be serious-minded, uncompromising and artistic, then a best picture nod isn't out of the question. (NB) Anora Sean Baker follows such earthy indie favourites as The Florida Project and Red Rocket with his most crowd-pleasing film to date, a riotous farce about a strip-club dancer played by Mikey Madison who is whisked into a world of obscene wealth by a Russian oligarch's son, played by Mark Eydelshteyn. It's sparkily entertaining, which is not something you can say about every film that wins prestigious awards, but Anora is no escapist romcom. Not only is it rooted in the rough, tough reality of New York's Russian-American community, it takes an unsparing look at the power imbalance between the super-rich and everyone else. Ever since it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, it has been seen as a contender for best picture, best original screenplay and best director Oscars. And if Madison isn't nominated for best actress, then the Academy might as well admit that it isn't fit for purpose. (NB) A Real Pain Ever since this touching, funny, crowd-pleasing drama premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, Kieran Culkin has seemed like a lock for a supporting actor nomination as one of two cousins visiting their grandmother's birthplace in Poland. Culkin deserves that buzz. In fact, he and Jesse Eisenberg, who also wrote and directed, are co-leads, but positioning Culkin as supporting increases his chance to win (as in, he won't be competing against Adrien Brody and Ralph Fiennes in lead, although as it turns out he may face the prospect of Denzel). Each actor stays close to his typical role, with Culkin as the outgoing, irreverent cousin and Eisenberg as the nervous, buttoned-down guy, but they bring new depth to those types. With its deftly blended themes – the cousins' Jewish heritage and the Holocaust, as well as family dynamics and personal, emotional pain – the film should also be competitive in best picture and original screenplay. It's a bit surprising that the film isn't seen as stronger in those categories too, but now that it has opened that muted buzz might grow. (CJ)The Room Next Door Pedro Almodóvar's The Room Next Door won the top prize at this year's Venice Film Festival, and given that other recent recipients include Poor Things, Joker, Nomadland and The Shape of Water, that means that it must be in line for more big prizes in the months to come. Most critics agree that it isn't Almodóvar's finest work, but it's the Spanish writer-director's first feature film in English, and it's sincere and elegant in its treatment of a knotty theme: the right of a terminally ill person to end their own life. Tilda Swinton plays a retired war correspondent with cancer, and Julianne Moore plays an old friend of hers, an author who agrees to stay with her in a rented country house as death approaches. The film is close to being a two-hander, so the tricky part is: will the studio put both women in the lead actress category? Or will it pretend that Moore is a supporting actress, so as not to risk splitting the vote between them? (NB) The Substance Like Emerald Fennell's Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, The Substance is a high-concept satire that is hardly subtle, but which is brash and bloody enough to get people into cinemas – and to get them talking on the way out – so its writer-director, Coralie Fargeat, could nab an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay. Its lead actress, Demi Moore, should be in the mix this awards season, too. She plays a former superstar who is tossed aside by the sexist and ageist entertainment industry, and resorts to creating a younger clone of herself (Margaret Qualley). It's a bravely self-parodying role, and Moore attacks it with such gusto that this could be one of those John-Travolta-in-Pulp-Fiction situations which remind Academy voters how much they once valued an actor who has fallen out of fashion. Another factor is that Hollywood is oddly fond of films that mock Hollywood, so The Substance could even be a best picture nominee. (NB)A Complete Unknown Oscar voters can't resist a biopic. And so, sight unseen by critics or audiences, this fictionalised version of Bob Dylan at the start his career is already in the mix. Part of that is due to its lead actor, Timothée Chalamet as Dylan in his Greenwich Village years. Some of it comes from a template that might as well be a build-an-Oscar-nomination blueprint: get famous actors to play famous real-life singers, and let them do the singing themselves. Consider this: A Complete Unknown was directed by James Mangold, who directed another awards-bait musical biopic, Walk the Line (2005). Reese Witherspoon won the best actress Oscar for her performance in that film as June Carter Cash and Joaquin Phoenix earned a best actor nomination as Johnny Cash. If nothing else, A Complete Unknown may well bring Chalamet his second nomination,


Type:Social
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Why did the UK's first satellite end up thousands of miles from where it should have been?
Catagory:News
Author:
Posted Date:11/09/2024
Posted By:utopia online

Why did the UK's first satellite end up thousands of miles from where it should have been?Someone moved the UK's oldest satellite and there appears to be no record of exactly who, when or why. Launched in 1969, just a few months after humans first set foot on the Moon, Skynet-1A was put high above Africa's east coast to relay communications for British forces. When the spacecraft ceased working a few years later, gravity might have been expected to pull it even further to the east, out over the Indian Ocean. But today, curiously, Skynet-1A is actually half a planet away, in a position 22,369 miles (36,000km) above the Americas. Orbital mechanics mean it's unlikely the half-tonne military spacecraft simply drifted to its current location. Almost certainly, it was commanded to fire its thrusters in the mid-1970s to take it westwards. The question is who that was and with what authority and purpose? It's intriguing that key information about a once vital national security asset can just evaporate. But, fascination aside, you might also reasonably ask why it still matters. After all, we're talking about some discarded space junk from 50 years ago. "It's still relevant because whoever did move Skynet-1A did us few favours," says space consultant Dr Stuart Eves. "It's now in what we call a 'gravity well' at 105 degrees West longitude, wandering backwards and forwards like a marble at the bottom of a bowl. And unfortunately this brings it close to other satellite traffic on a regular basis. "Because it's dead, the risk is it might bump into something, and because it's 'our' satellite we're still responsible for it," he explains.Dr Eves has looked through old satellite catalogues, the National Archives and spoken to satellite experts worldwide, but he can find no clues to the end-of-life behaviour of Britain's oldest spacecraft. It might be tempting to reach for a conspiracy theory or two, not least because it's hard to hear the name "Skynet" without thinking of the malevolent, self-aware artificial intelligence (AI) system in The Terminator movie franchise. But there's no connection other than the name and, in any case, real life is always more prosaic.What we do know is that Skynet-1A was manufactured in the US by the now defunct Philco Ford aerospace company and put in space by a US Air Force Delta rocket. "The first Skynet satellite revolutionised UK telecommunications capacity, permitting London to securely communicate with British forces as far away as Singapore. However, from a technological standpoint, Skynet-1A was more American than British since the United States both built and launched it," remarked Dr Aaron Bateman in a recent paper on the history of the Skynet programme, which is now on its fifth generation. This view is confirmed by Graham Davison who flew Skynet-1A in the early 70s from its UK operations centre at RAF Oakhanger in Hampshire. "The Americans originally controlled the satellite in orbit. They tested all of our software against theirs, before then eventually handing over control to the RAF," the long-retired engineer told me. "In essence, there was dual control, but when or why Skynet-1A might have been handed back to the Americans, which seems likely - I'm afraid I can't remember," says Mr Davison, who is now in his 80s.Rachel Hill, a PhD student from University College London, has also been scouring the National Archives. Her readings have led her to one very reasonable possibility. "A Skynet team from Oakhanger would go to the USAF satellite facility in Sunnyvale (colloquially known as the Blue Cube) and operate Skynet during 'Oakout'. This was when control was temporarily transferred to the US while Oakhanger was down for essential maintenance. Perhaps the move could have happened then?” Ms Hill speculated. The official, though incomplete, logs of Skynet-1A’s status suggest final commanding was left in the hands of the Americans when Oakhanger lost sight of the satellite in June 1977. But however Skynet-1A then got shifted to its present position, it was ultimately allowed to die in an awkward place when really it should have been put in an "orbital graveyard". This refers to a region even higher in the sky where old space junk runs zero risk of running into active telecommunications satellites. Graveyarding is now standard practice, but back in the 1970s no-one gave much thought to space sustainability.Attitudes have since changed because the space domain is getting congested. At 105 degrees West longitude, an active satellite might see a piece of junk come within 50km of its position up to four times a day. That might sound like they’re nowhere near each other, but at the velocities these defunct objects move it’s starting to get a little too close for comfort. The Ministry of Defence said Skynet-1A was constantly monitored by the UK's National Space Operations Centre. Other satellite operators are informed if there's likely to be a particularly close conjunction, in case they need to take evasive action.Ultimately, though, the British government may have to think about removing the old satellite to a safer location. Technologies are being developed to grab junk left in space. Already, the UK Space Agency is funding efforts to do this at lower altitudes, and the Americans and the Chinese have shown it's possible to snare ageing hardware even in the kind of high orbit occupied by Skynet-1A. "Pieces of space junk are like ticking time bombs," observed Moriba Jah, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. "We need to avoid what I call super-spreader events. When these things explode or something collides with them, it generates thousands of pieces of debris that then become a hazard to something else that we care about."


Type:Science
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US charges man over alleged Iranian plot to kill Trump
Catagory:News
Author:
Posted Date:11/09/2024
Posted By:utopia online

The US government has brought charges against an Afghan national in connection with an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump before he was elected as the next president. The Department of Justice on Friday unsealed an indictment against Farhad Shakeri, 51, alleging he was tasked with “providing a plan” to kill Trump. The US government said Mr Shakeri has not been arrested and is believed to be in Iran - which described the claims as "completely baseless". In a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan court, prosecutors allege that an official in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard directed Mr Shakeri in September to devise a plan to surveil and kill Trump. “The Justice Department has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. The justice department also charged two others allegedly recruited to kill an American journalist who was an outspoken critic of Iran. The other individuals were identified by the justice department as Carlisle Rivera, also known as "Pop", 49, from Brooklyn, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, from Staten Island. The two appeared in court in the Southern District of New York on Thursday and are being detained pending a trial. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said similar accusations of attempts to assassinate US presidents had been made in the past, which Iran denied and went on to be false. In a statement, Mr Baghaei added that repeating such claims risked "further complicating the issues between the US and Iran". Trump has faced two separate alleged assassination attempts this year. In July, a gunman grazed the former president's ear after shooting at him during a Pennsylvania rally. Then, in September, a man was arrested for pointing a rifle at Trump who was golfing on his course in West Palm Beach. Mr Shakeri was asked to come up with a plan to kill Trump in seven days, the indictment alleges. According to prosecutors, Mr Shakeri told law enforcement that he did not intend to propose a scheme to kill Trump within that seven-day timeframe, so the Iranian Revolutionary Guard officials put the plan on pause. Mr Shakeri said the Iranian government told him it would be easier to try to assassinate Trump after the election, because they believed he would lose, prosecutors said. Prosecutors described Mr Shakeri as an Afghan national who came to the US when he was a child. He was eventually deported around 2008 after spending 14 years in prison for a robbery conviction. Prosecutors say the 51-year-old used “a network of criminal associates”, from prison, including Mr Rivera and Mr Loadholt, to conduct surveillance on the Iranian government’s targets. Mr Shakeri promised Mr Rivera and Mr Loadholt $100,000 to murder the American journalist, who had reported on the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses and corruption, prosecutors alleged. The journalist, who was not named, had been targeted in the past, prosecutors said. In a post on social media Friday, Brooklyn-based journalist Masih Alinejad said the FBI had arrested two men for attempting to kill her. She said the alleged killers came to the front of her house in Brooklyn. "I came to America to practice my First Amendment right to freedom of speech—I don’t want to die," Ms Alinejad wrote. "I want to fight against tyranny, and I deserve to be safe." In addition to the American journalist and Trump, the indictment alleges the Iranian government sought to kill two Jewish American businesspeople living in New York City, who were supportive of Israel on social media. Mr Shakeri also told prosecutors that his Iranian contacts asked him to plan a mass shooting to target Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka in October 2024, a year after the Hamas attacks on Israel. Mr Shakeri, Mr Rivera and Mr Loadholt were all charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. They also face counts of money laundering conspiracy - which could lead to 20 years in prison - and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.


Type:Social
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Life turned to dust': A family's grief after Spain floods
Catagory:News
Author:
Posted Date:11/08/2024
Posted By:utopia online

Like every parent in Valencia that day, Victor Matías had quickly changed his plans, fearing what could be on the way. The rain was still thundering down, but by now - early evening - he had managed to leave work early, safely pick up his boys from nursery and was about to make their favourite dinner – croquetas. The crispy fried rolls of mashed potatoes, stuffed full of cheese and ham, would be a treat for Izan, 5, and Rubén, 3, while their mum Marta finished her late shift at the supermarket in town. We have pieced together the tragic chronology of what happened next. Our picture emerges from the testimony of neighbours and relatives we spoke to, as well as what Victor was able to recall himself along with other first-hand accounts given to local media.The crushing story of the Matías family has generated huge attention in Spain. Many have followed updates on “Los niños desaparecidosas” – the missing children - as they have been frequently described. But this one family’s grief is many people’s grief as it’s a nightmare replicated across the Valencia region which was hammered by flash flooding nearly two weeks ago, killing at least 219 people. More than 90 are still missing. Utter devastation When we arrived at the family home, a few days after the deluge, it was languishing in a sea of destruction. That startling statistic - a year’s worth of rain had been dumped on some parts of Valencia in a matter of hours – became easy to believe as you took all this in. Huge metal containers – broken free from their articulated lorries – rested at unfathomable angles amid a jumble of cars, crumpled furniture and treacherous mud. One of the few things still intact was the door to what had been the boys’ bedroom; the bright, white individual letters spelling their names standing out in a sea of brown.Picking his way through this mess was Jonathan Perez, their next-door neighbour, who began to relive the terrifying sequence of events. “It was madness” he said. “I’ve never seen such force.” Jonathan explained to us how the raging torrent had scooped up trucks parked next door to the Matías family home with one smashing through an external wall. He said that Victor had explained to him how he’d grabbed his sons in his arms as the water dragged them all outside. Then – despite his desperate efforts to keep hold of them - they were gone. Victor was found around four hours later, more than 200 metres away. He had been clinging to a tree. His mother – the boys' grandma – revealed that Victor had been ready to throw himself into the torrent and surrender to his fate, but then stopped. He told himself he could not leave his wife alone. Family paradise shattered For 5 year old Izan and 3 year old Rubén, few places felt safer than the playground that was their house and garden. Their aunt, Barbara Sastre, told us they were like little bugs - “bichetes” - an endearing description to convey how they buzzed around, that is, when they weren’t absorbed by their cartoons. “They were such happy kids” she told us.Izan and Rubén’s parents had bought the property from a man called Francisco Javier Arona. Javi – as he’s known - told EFE, the Spanish news agency, that the home had become “a paradise" for the Matías family. He said he himself had lovingly constructed the house in La Curra, a neighbourhood of Mas del Jutge, in a colonial style over three years. Javi said he’d affixed ornamental amphoras and delicate clay stars beneath a sweeping arch. Outside, there was little traffic in the cul-de-sac, meaning the boys could run around carefree with little perceptible danger.Family house surrounded by trucks The impending storm gathering overheard on 29 October was a very big danger, and so Victor closed his business early and picked up his boys from the nursey so that he could keep them safe and dry at home, as the rain fell harder and harder. The force of the downpour became incredible, and soon the power was cut. The brothers’ grandma, Antonia María Matías, a 72 year old cancer patient, told ABC Sevilla that she had called her son Victor at around 6pm and heard the brothers crying. The water around them was rising all the time. But still, they were safe for now. It may have been their haven, but the family home was also next to a lorry park. Jonathan Perez, their next door neighbour, explained to us how this played a deadly role. He said, “The father told us that there was a truck that hit the back of the house and the force of the water tore away everything.” “Victor regained his footing and carried the boys in his arms. But then he realized he no longer had them. The water took everything in its path,” he explained.Barbara Sastre, the boy’s aunt also told us at least one truck had sliced open the house in a blow that precipitated the boys and their dad being swept towards the nearby ravine. The unnamed owner of the parking lot from where the trucks came told one newspaper they had not hit the family house. He insisted it was the strength of the water that did the fatal damage. Jonathan, the neighbour, encapsulated the seething anger millions of Spaniards are feeling. Particularly, at the fact the official red alert sent to mobile phones came at 8pm - far too late. “They were loving life and they hadn’t even started being people, they were three and five years old”, he said. “With better coordination, better management, and an earlier alarm – even half an hour earlier – those kids could have been saved and those parents would not be going through hell.” The frantic search for the boys The whole neighbourhood in La Curra, stunned and shattered by the violence of the flooding, immediately began to search for the missing Izan and Rubén. At least they did once the water had receded sufficiently for them to climb down from trees and clamber off their cars and try to re-orientate themselves. They were helped by police officers from nearby Alicante, including a friend of Victor’s, who quickly arrived and began a desperate search. But where to start? Cars, bricks, bed frames had been carried hundreds of meters from where they once stood. A team of firefighters from Mallorca and then Civil Protection volunteers from the island of Ibiza also came and scoured the most hard-to-reach areas. Despite nearly two weeks of intensive daily searches, the brothers have not been found.Life 'turned to dust' In the hours before everything changed, Marta - the mother of the boys - had started her late shift at the shop, safe in the knowledge their dad would be picking them up from school and taking them home. In the early hours of the next morning, she was told her boys were gone. Relatives say they can’t describe what Marta is experiencing. The boy’s grandma, Antonia María, said her son Victor’s life had been destroyed - in her own words “turned to dust”. As he was recovering in hospital, Victor took to sleeping with his boys’ blankets - salvaged from the ruins of their family home - resting on his face. It is the closest he can be to them now.


Type:Social
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