View allAll Photos Tagged Definitive
Welp here's some figs inspired by the published DCU content.
Lantern - Of course written by King Clown. I honestly don't have the parts that most use to upgrade this figure so I left him as is.
Green Arrow - Written by Enoshime. Pretty much the one from the javelin but I added TLBM Robin arms and painted my own dark green boots.
Shazam - Written by HaphazardPanada. Pretty simple Shazam. I would've loved to use the new figure but it ain't out yet.
Aquaman - I don't have the new figure so I used the old torso with the Black Manta Sub Legs. Also used the original Chris Pratt head because King Clown does so.
Batman - Written by Joe. Thought this suit closely resembled Joe's beautiful painted one.
Superman - Written by Superior Idiot. Just used the MM legs but I didn't have the arms so I just used red.
Beast Boy - Written by Enoshima. Vanilla fig,
Starman: By Congo Jack. I like his "out of costume" look.
Flash: Written by me. I painted the dark red on an old Flash Figure.
4K size file. Best if seen in large format. See (and post) other high resolution images in the flickr group "4K World" ( flic.kr/g/uT8pG )
San Felipe, Valparaíso Region, Chile
20151121_IMG_5994 - 4K
Classic - VanHool T9 Astrobel
Date taken: 22/08/11
Location: M4 Motorway Service Station, M4 Eastbound, M4 Motorway, Heston, Middlesex, UK
Definitively haven't posted a picture of Piper in a very long time. Seeing how I was creatively challenge today, figured that the bird would be a good subject. That and the sun was setting so I had nice light in the living room.
She was moving quite a bit. Wanted to join the other two lovebirds.
A colorful series of Dutch definitive stamps featuring the profile of Queen Juliana, issued in various values and shades. These classic “Juliana Regina” stamps were a familiar sight in Dutch postal history for many years.
Blue and white are the definitive colours of Santorini. The white walls are dazzling and the blue stands out perfectly on them. It is no wonder that this awesome place merges so effortlessly into the sky. They merge together very well too. And of course, you can't go wrong with black & white. See the blue domes in Imerovigli, Firostefani and Oia.
Check out the whole set - Glorious Greece.
Santorini, Greece
2009
Cette horloge à rouages avec des mécanismes astronomiques a été installée en 1379. Elle est l'une des plus anciennes d'Europe. Elle est composée d'une tour carrée de 1,80 m de côté surmontée d'une tourelle octogonale dans laquelle évoluent des automates.
eux statuettes fixes représentent les deux premiers évêques de Lyon : Saint Pothin et Saint Irénée. L'ouvrage se termine par un dôme supportant un coq qui culmine à 9 mètres du sol (la hauteur totale est de 9,35 m).
Pour compléter le calendrier perpétuel, un almanach ecclésiastique précise notamment les dates du mercredi des cendres (premier jour de carême), de Pâques, de l'Ascension, de la Pentecôte et de l'Avent jusqu'en 2019.
C'est en 1598 qu'un horloger de Lyon, Hugues Levet, la répara avec l'aide de Johannes Lippius, savant en mathématiques et en astronomie. Il l'installa définitivement dans le transept nord, à la place qu’elle occupe encore aujourd’hui. Elle a été complétée en 1660 par Guillaume Nourisson.
L’horloge de Saint Jean, malgré ses restaurations successives, est la seule en France qui conserve son mécanisme primitif : tous les rouages anciens sont en fer forgé et le petit nombre de modernes, en bronze.
This clock clockwork with astronomical mechanisms was installed in 1379. It is one of the oldest in Europe. It consists of a square tower of 1.80 m side surmounted by an octagonal turret in which evolve automatons.
their fixed statuettes represent the first two bishops of Lyon: Saint Pothin and Saint Irénée. The work ends with a dome supporting a rooster that rises 9 meters above the ground (the total height is 9.35 m).
To complete the perpetual calendar, an ecclesiastical almanac specifies in particular the dates of Ash Wednesday (first day of Lent), Easter, Ascension, Pentecost and Advent until 2019.
It was in 1598 that a watchmaker from Lyon, Hugues Levet, repaired it with the help of Johannes Lippius, a scholar in mathematics and astronomy. He installed it permanently in the north transept, in the place it still occupies today. It was completed in 1660 by Guillaume Nourisson.
The clock of Saint John, despite its successive restorations, is the only one in France that retains its original mechanism: all the old wheels are wrought iron and the small number of modern, bronze.
Definitively i don't like this doll, i'm playing with photoshop to see if i could do something to her that i like, but i just can't...i guess i'll try to sell her
Figured I'd start something of a new series called DC Definitives. Pretty much just making a bunch of DC characters and then providing my explanation for my choices.
Wonder Woman: Pretty standard WW all things considered. I tried using the new face but something about it still sets me off...which is why I used the side that I did. I used the most recent costume from the whole Lex Mech but slapped the old arms on her...which LEGO should have done in the first place but whatever.
Batman: Again Nothing new but I did remove printing for the first time ever and it took me a whole hour because I was nervous which is why I'm using this look instead of another. I thought about adding the purple cape on the inside but I truly do like the black and grey.
Superman: Normally I go for the classic swirly hair but I like this on him too as well as the new face instead of the Man of Steel one. I also used a painted torso I made absolutely ages ago to give him even more of a New 52 look.
So there we have it. New series. New figbarfs. I'm feeling a lot better by the way and thank you for the support on my last post. But I'm back! And don't worry...I'll get my retribution for taking time off soon enough...
Nayra is of my girls the one that has had more changes of hair, finally it has its definitive hair, I liked very much the color Teal, but was too long,I think this is perfect for her
Striscia has found the most comfortable place to have a nap :-)))
He is a wild and very sweet cat.
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Update: Striscia crossed the Rainbow Bridge on Dec 11st 2010.
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*© All rights reserved *
Location: Table mountain as seen from Milnerton beach
Description: A few months back I was out on the beach virtually every evening, trying to capture that definitive "Table Mountain at Sunset" photograph. After many not-so-good attempts, I decided to give it a rest for a while. But that was a few months ago, before I'd started processing my photographs with a completely different approach.
This morning while I was browsing these earlier photographs of Table Mountain, I came across two that fitted together perfectly... vertically! Two landscape images, one exposed for the beach and waves, and the other exposed for the sky. Hmm, Perfect for another vertical panorama, I thought...
So, it seems that I'd already taken that definitive photograph... it just needed some careful processing to make it come alive!!
Equipment: Sony Alpha 100
Best viewed large
Saffron spiced prawns 🍤 on creamy base kerrygold butter sauce, tarragon and mushrooms in white wine on a Goldenbake Puff Pastry
For the food Love of the Gods💛
The definitive photographic highlight of my trip to Florida this past weekend (and part of last week) came on our last full day of the trip (Sunday). We had a very busy few days, exploring various parks and gardens, but oddly the wildlife sightings weren't nearly as numerous as they were when we were there in 2017 (or at least, we didn't see too many new creatures). I had a list of birds that I wanted to photograph, which I missed last time, but I only ended up getting one from that list (which I'll share later this week). However, equally as high on that list were a few snakes, with the Pygmy Rattler being number one. This little fellow is (I think) one of the smaller Rattlesnakes that exists, but it still packs a nasty venom if it were to bite you. Upon finding this one, I was truly amazed at its small size...being not much bigger than a slice of onion. Granted, I believe this was a pretty young snake. Thankfully this one was very cooperative, allowing me to snap a number of shots without much fuss. The snake stayed in its spot on the rock, where I imagine it eventually caught some breakfast. I walked away, still shaking a bit from the excitement of my first ever venomous snake encounter and photos...first of what I hope will be many more. I'll have more shots to share of this one later this week or next, so stayed tuned (unless you don't like snakes).
Canon 5D Mark IV - Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM - ISO 800 - f/6.3 - 1/1000s
Click here for high resolution and prints:
Avec l'acquisition définitive des îles de la mer Égée établie par le Traité de Lausanne de 1923 et la nomination du gouverneur Mario Lago, Benito Mussolini désire faire du Dodécanèse une vitrine de l'empire colonial italien et y met en œuvre une politique de grands travaux. De nouvelles routes, des constructions massives répondant aux critères de l'architecture fasciste, des aqueducs, des centrales électriques, des hôpitaux et divers bâtiments publics sont ainsi édifiés, parfois avec une main-d'œuvre forcée. Comme les autres îles du Dodécanèse, Léros qui possède encore aujourd’hui de nombreux édifices de la période italienne et restaure lentement ce patrimoine architectural.
With the definitive acquisition of the Aegean islands established by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 and the appointment of the governor Mario Lago, Benito Mussolini wishes to make the Dodecanese a showcase of the Italian colonial empire and implements a policy of major works. New roads, massive constructions meeting the criteria of fascist architecture, aqueducts, power stations, hospitals and various public buildings are built, sometimes with forced labor. Today, as the other islands of the Dodecanese, Leros still owns many buildings of the Italian period and slowly restores this architectural heritage.
Avec l'acquisition définitive des îles de la mer Égée établie par le Traité de Lausanne de 1923 et la nomination du gouverneur Mario Lago, Benito Mussolini désire faire du Dodécanèse une vitrine de l'empire colonial italien et y met en œuvre une politique de grands travaux. De nouvelles routes, des constructions massives répondant aux critères de l'architecture fasciste, des aqueducs, des centrales électriques, des hôpitaux et divers bâtiments publics sont ainsi édifiés, parfois avec une main-d'œuvre forcée. Comme les autres îles du Dodécanèse, Léros possède encore aujourd’hui de nombreux édifices de la période italienne et restaure lentement ce patrimoine architectural.
With the definitive acquisition of the Aegean islands established by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 and the appointment of the governor Mario Lago, Benito Mussolini wishes to make the Dodecanese a showcase of the Italian colonial empire and implements a policy of major works. New roads, massive constructions meeting the criteria of fascist architecture, aqueducts, power stations, hospitals and various public buildings are built, sometimes with forced labor. Today, as the other islands of the Dodecanese, Leros still owns many buildings of the Italian period and slowly restores this architectural heritage.
Red indian.... a member of the race of people living in America when Europeans arrived
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the descendants of the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas. Pueblos indígenas (indigenous peoples) is a common term in Spanish-speaking countries. Aborigen (aboriginal/native) is used in Argentina, whereas "Amerindian" is used in Quebec, The Guianas, and the English-speaking Caribbean.[21][22][23][24] Indigenous peoples are commonly known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, which include First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.[25] Indigenous peoples of the United States are commonly known as Native Americans or American Indians, and Alaska Natives.[26]
According to the prevailing theories of the settlement of the Americas, migrations of humans from Asia (in particular North Asia)[27][28] to the Americas took place via Beringia, a land bridge which connected the two continents across what is now the Bering Strait. The majority of experts agree that the earliest pre-modern human migration via Beringia took place at least 13,500 years ago.[29] These early Paleo-Indians spread throughout the Americas, diversifying into many hundreds of culturally distinct nations and tribes. According to the oral histories of many of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, they have been living there since their genesis, described by a wide range of creation myths.
Application of the term "Indian" originated with Christopher Columbus, who, in his search for Asia, thought that he had arrived in the East Indies.[30][31][32][33][34][35] The Americas came to be known as the "West Indies", a name still used to refer to the islands of the Caribbean Sea. This led to the names "Indies" and "Indian", which implied some kind of racial or cultural unity among the aboriginal peoples of the Americas. This unifying concept, codified in law, religion, and politics, was not originally accepted by indigenous peoples but has been embraced by many over the last two centuries.[citation needed] Even though the term "Indian" does not include the Aleuts, Inuit, or Yupik peoples, these groups are considered indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Although some indigenous peoples of the Americas were traditionally hunter-gatherers—and many, especially in Amazonia, still are—many groups practiced aquaculture and agriculture. The impact of their agricultural endowment to the world is a testament to their time and work in reshaping and cultivating the flora indigenous to the Americas.[36] Although some societies depended heavily on agriculture, others practiced a mix of farming, hunting, and gathering. In some regions the indigenous peoples created monumental architecture, large-scale organized cities, chiefdoms, states, and empires.
A Navajo man on horseback in Monument valley, Arizona.
Many parts of the Americas are still populated by indigenous peoples; some countries have sizable populations, especially Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Greenland, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru. At least a thousand different indigenous languages are spoken in the Americas. Some, such as the Quechuan languages, Aymara, Guaraní, Mayan languages, and Nahuatl, count their speakers in millions. Many also maintain aspects of indigenous cultural practices to varying degrees, including religion, social organization, and subsistence practices. Like most cultures, over time, cultures specific to many indigenous peoples have evolved to incorporate traditional aspects, but also cater to modern needs. Some indigenous peoples still live in relative isolation from Western culture and a few are still counted as uncontacted peoples.
Migration into the continents[edit]
For more details on theories of the migrations of the Paleo-Indians, see settlement of the Americas.
The specifics of Paleo-Indian migration to and throughout the Americas, including the exact dates and routes traveled, provide the subject of ongoing research and discussion.[37][38] According to archaeological and genetic evidence, North and South America were the last continents in the world with human habitation.[37] During the Wisconsin glaciation, 50–17,000 years ago, falling sea levels allowed people to move across the land bridge of Beringia that joined Siberia to north west North America (Alaska).[39][40] Alaska was a glacial refugia because it had low snowfall, allowing a small population to exist. The Laurentide Ice Sheet covered most of North America, blocking nomadic inhabitants and confining them to Alaska (East Beringia) for thousands of years.[41][42]
Indigenous genetic studies suggest that the first inhabitants of the Americas share a single ancestral population, one that developed in isolation, conjectured to be Beringia.[43][44] The isolation of these peoples in Beringia might have lasted 10–20,000 years.[45][46][47] Around 16,500 years ago, the glaciers began melting, allowing people to move south and east into Canada and beyond.[38][48][49] These people are believed to have followed herds of now-extinct Pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran Ice Sheets.[50]
Another route proposed involves migration - either on foot or using primitive boats - along the Pacific Northwest coast to South America.[51] Evidence of the latter would have been covered by a sea level rise of more than 120 meters since the last ice age.[52]
The time range of 40,000–16,500 years ago is debatable and probably will remain so for years to come.[37][38] The few agreements achieved to date include:[29][53]
the origin from Central Asia
widespread habitation of the Americas during the end of the last glacial period, or more specifically what is known as the Late Glacial Maximum, around 16,000–13,000 years before present
Stone tools, particularly projectile points and scrapers, are the primary evidence of the earliest human activity in the Americas. Crafted lithic flaked tools are used by archaeologists and anthropologists to classify cultural periods.[54] The Clovis culture, the earliest definitively-dated Paleo-Indians in the Americas, appears around 11,500 RCBP (radiocarbon years Before Present[55]), equivalent to 13,500 to 13,000 calendar years ago.
In 2014, the autosomal DNA of a 12,500+-year-old infant from Montana found in close association with several Clovis artifacts was sequenced.[56] These are the Anzick-1 remains from the Anzick Clovis burial in Montana. The data indicate that the individual was from a population ancestral to present South American and Central American Native American populations, and closely related to present North American Native American populations. The implication is that there was an early divergence between North American and Central American plus South American populations. Hypotheses which posit that invasions subsequent to the Clovis culture overwhelmed or assimilated previous migrants into the Americas were ruled out.[56]
Similarly, the skeleton of a teenage girl (named 'Naia', after a water nymph from Greek mythology) found in the underwater caves called sistema Sac Actun in Mexico's eastern Yucatán Peninsula in 2007 has had DNA extracted, and at 13,000 years old is considered the oldest genetically intact human skeleton ever found in the Americas. The DNA indicates she was from a lineage derived from Asian origins that is represented in the modern native population's DNA.[57]
Pre-Columbian era[edit]
Main article: Pre-Columbian era
See also: Archaeology of the Americas
Language families of North American indigenous peoples
The Pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European and African influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original arrival in the Upper Paleolithic to European colonization during the early modern period.[58]
While technically referring to the era before Christopher Columbus' voyages of 1492 to 1504, in practice the term usually includes the history of American indigenous cultures until Europeans either conquered or significantly influenced them, even if this happened decades or even centuries after Columbus' initial landing.[59] "Pre-Columbian" is used especially often in the context of discussing the great indigenous civilizations of the Americas, such as those of Mesoamerica (the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacano, the Zapotec, the Mixtec, the Aztec, and the Maya civilizations) and those of the Andes (Inca Empire, Moche culture, Muisca Confederation, Cañaris).
Ethnic groups circa 1300-1535
Paleo-Indians hunting a glyptodont
Many pre-Columbian civilizations established characteristics and hallmarks which included permanent or urban settlements, agriculture, civic and monumental architecture, and complex societal hierarchies.[60] Some of these civilizations had long faded by the time of the first significant European and African arrivals (ca. late 15th–early 16th centuries), and are known only through oral history and through archaeological investigations. Others were contemporary with this period, and are also known from historical accounts of the time. A few, such as the Mayan, Olmec, Mixtec, and Nahua peoples, had their own written records. However, the European colonists of the time worked to eliminate non-Christian beliefs, and Christian pyres destroyed many pre-Columbian written records. Only a few documents remained hidden and survived, leaving contemporary historians with glimpses of ancient culture and knowledge.
According to both indigenous American and European accounts and documents, American civilizations at the time of European encounter had achieved many accomplishments.[61] For instance, the Aztecs built one of the largest cities in the world, Tenochtitlan, the ancient site of Mexico City, with an estimated population of 200,000. American civilizations also displayed impressive accomplishments in astronomy and mathematics. The domestication of maize or corn required thousands of years of selective breeding.
Inuit, Alaskan Native, and American Indian creation myths tell of a variety of origins of their respective peoples. Some were "always there" or were created by gods or animals, some migrated from a specified compass point, and others came from "across the ocean".[62]
European colonization[edit]
Main article: European colonization of the Americas
See also: Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas and Columbian Exchange
Cultural areas of North America at time of European contact
The European colonization of the Americas forever changed the lives and cultures of the peoples of the continents. Although the exact pre-contact population of the Americas is unknown, scholars estimate that Native American populations diminished by between 80 and 90% within the first centuries of contact with Europeans. The leading cause was disease. The continent was ravaged by epidemics of diseases such as smallpox, measles, and cholera, which were brought from Europe by the early explorers and spread quickly into new areas even before later explorers and colonists reached them. Native Americans suffered high mortality rates due to their lack of prior exposure to these diseases. The loss of lives was exacerbated by conflict between colonists and indigenous people. Colonists also frequently perpetrated massacres on the indigenous groups and enslaved them.[63][64][65] According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census (1894), the North American Indian Wars of the 19th century cost the lives of about 19,000 whites and 30,000 Native Americans.[66]
The first indigenous group encountered by Columbus were the 250,000 Taínos of Hispaniola who represented the dominant culture in the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. Within thirty years about 70% of the Taínos had died.[67] They had no immunity to European diseases, so outbreaks of measles and smallpox ravaged their population.[68] Increasing punishment of the Taínos for revolting against forced labour, despite measures put in place by the encomienda, which included religious education and protection from warring tribes,[69] eventually led to the last great Taíno rebellion.
Following years of mistreatment, the Taínos began to adopt suicidal behaviors, with women aborting or killing their infants and men jumping from the cliffs or ingesting untreated cassava, a violent poison.[67] Eventually, a Taíno Cacique named Enriquillo managed to hold out in the Baoruco Mountain Range for thirteen years, causing serious damage to the Spanish, Carib-held plantations and their Indian auxiliaries.[70] Hearing of the seriousness of the revolt, Emperor Charles V (also King of Spain) sent captain Francisco Barrionuevo to negotiate a peace treaty with the ever-increasing number of rebels. Two months later, after consultation with the Audencia of Santo Domingo, Enriquillo was offered any part of the island to live in peace.
The Laws of Burgos, 1512-1513, were the first codified set of laws governing the behavior of Spanish settlers in America, particularly with regard to native Indians. The laws forbade the maltreatment of natives and endorsed their conversion to Catholicism.[71] The Spanish crown found it difficult to enforce these laws in a distant colony.
Drawing accompanying text in Book XII of the 16th-century Florentine Codex (compiled 1540–1585), showing Nahuas of conquest-era central Mexico suffering from smallpox
Various theories for the decline of the Native American populations emphasize epidemic diseases, conflicts with Europeans, and conflicts among warring tribes. Scholars now believe that, among the various contributing factors, epidemic disease was the overwhelming cause of the population decline of the American natives.[72][73] Some believe that after first contacts with Europeans and Africans, Old World diseases caused the death of 90 to 95% of the native population of the New World in the following 150 years.[74] Smallpox killed up to one third of the native population of Hispaniola in 1518.[75] By killing the Incan ruler Huayna Capac, smallpox caused the Inca Civil War. Smallpox was only the first epidemic. Typhus (probably) in 1546, influenza and smallpox together in 1558, smallpox again in 1589, diphtheria in 1614, measles in 1618—all ravaged the remains of Inca culture.
Smallpox had killed millions of native inhabitants of Mexico.[76][77] Unintentionally introduced at Veracruz with the arrival of Pánfilo de Narváez on April 23, 1520, smallpox ravaged Mexico in the 1520s,[78] possibly killing over 150,000 in Tenochtitlán alone (the heartland of the Aztec Empire), and aiding in the victory of Hernán Cortés over the Aztec Empire at Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City) in 1521.[citation needed]
Over the centuries, the Europeans had developed high degrees of immunity to these diseases, while the indigenous Americans had no immunity.[79]
Explorations of the Caribbean led to the discovery of the Arawaks of the Lesser Antilles. The culture was destroyed by 1650. Only 500 had survived by the year 1550, though the bloodlines continued through to the modern populace. In Amazonia, indigenous societies weathered centuries of colonization.[80]
Indians visiting a Brazilian farm plantation in Minas Gerais ca. 1824
Contact with European diseases such as smallpox and measles killed between 50 and 67 per cent of the Aboriginal population of North America in the first hundred years after the arrival of Europeans.[81] Some 90 per cent of the native population near Massachusetts Bay Colony died of smallpox in an epidemic in 1617–1619.[82] In 1633, in Plymouth, the Native Americans there were exposed to smallpox because of contact with Europeans. As it had done elsewhere, the virus wiped out entire population groups of Native Americans.[83] It reached Lake Ontario in 1636, and the lands of the Iroquois by 1679.[84][85] During the 1770s, smallpox killed at least 30% of the West Coast Native Americans.[86] The 1775–82 North American smallpox epidemic and 1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic brought devastation and drastic population depletion among the Plains Indians.[87][88] In 1832, the federal government of the United States established a smallpox vaccination program for Native Americans (The Indian Vaccination Act of 1832).[89][90]
The Indigenous peoples in Brazil declined from a pre-Columbian high of an estimated three million[91] to some 300,000 in 1997.[dubious – discuss][not in citation given][92]
The Spanish Empire and other Europeans brought horses to the Americas. Some of these animals escaped and began to breed and increase their numbers in the wild.[93] The re-introduction of the horse, extinct in the Americas for over 7500 years, had a profound impact on Native American culture in the Great Plains of North America and of Patagonia in South America. By domesticating horses, some tribes had great success: horses enabled them to expand their territories, exchange more goods with neighboring tribes, and more easily capture game, especially bison.
Agriculture[edit]
See also: Agriculture in Mesoamerica and Incan agriculture
A bison hunt depicted by George Catlin
Over the course of thousands of years, American indigenous peoples domesticated, bred and cultivated a large array of plant species. These species now constitute 50–60% of all crops in cultivation worldwide.[94] In certain cases, the indigenous peoples developed entirely new species and strains through artificial selection, as was the case in the domestication and breeding of maize from wild teosinte grasses in the valleys of southern Mexico. Numerous such agricultural products retain their native names in the English and Spanish lexicons.
The South American highlands were a center of early agriculture. Genetic testing of the wide variety of cultivars and wild species suggests that the potato has a single origin in the area of southern Peru,[95] from a species in the Solanum brevicaule complex. Over 99% of all modern cultivated potatoes worldwide are descendants of a subspecies indigenous to south-central Chile,[96] Solanum tuberosum ssp. tuberosum, where it was cultivated as long as 10,000 years ago.[97][98] According to George Raudzens, "It is clear that in pre-Columbian times some groups struggled to survive and often suffered food shortages and famines, while others enjoyed a varied and substantial diet."[99] The persistent drought around 850 AD coincided with the collapse of Classic Maya civilization, and the famine of One Rabbit (AD 1454) was a major catastrophe in Mexico.[100]
Andenes in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Peru. The Incan agricultural terraces are still used by many of the Incas' descendents, Quechua-speaking Andean farmers.
Natives of North America began practicing farming approximately 4,000 years ago, late in the Archaic period of North American cultures. Technology had advanced to the point that pottery was becoming common and the small-scale felling of trees had become feasible. Concurrently, the Archaic Indians began using fire in a controlled manner. Intentional burning of vegetation was used to mimic the effects of natural fires that tended to clear forest understories. It made travel easier and facilitated the growth of herbs and berry-producing plants, which were important for both food and medicines.[101]
In the Mississippi River valley, Europeans noted Native Americans' managed groves of nut and fruit trees not far from villages and towns and their gardens and agricultural fields. Further away, prescribed burning would have been used in forest and prairie areas.[102]
Many crops first domesticated by indigenous Americans are now produced and used globally. Chief among these is maize or "corn", arguably the most important crop in the world.[103] Other significant crops include cassava, chia, squash (pumpkins, zucchini, marrow, acorn squash, butternut squash), the pinto bean, Phaseolus beans including most common beans, tepary beans and lima beans, tomatoes, potatoes, avocados, peanuts, cocoa beans (used to make chocolate), vanilla, strawberries, pineapples, Peppers (species and varieties of Capsicum, including bell peppers, jalapeños, paprika and chili peppers) sunflower seeds, rubber, brazilwood, chicle, tobacco, coca, manioc and some species of cotton.
Studies of contemporary indigenous environmental management, including agro-forestry practices among Itza Maya in Guatemala and hunting and fishing among the Menominee of Wisconsin, suggest that longstanding "sacred values" may represent a summary of sustainable millennial traditions.[104]
Culture[edit]
Further information: Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of North America
Quechua woman and child in the Sacred Valley, Andes, Peru
Cultural practices in the Americas seem to have been shared mostly within geographical zones where unrelated peoples adopted similar technologies and social organizations. An example of such a cultural area is Mesoamerica, where millennia of coexistence and shared development among the peoples of the region produced a fairly homogeneous culture with complex agricultural and social patterns. Another well-known example is the North American plains where until the 19th century several peoples shared the traits of nomadic hunter-gatherers based primarily on buffalo hunting.
Writing systems[edit]
See also: Canadian Aboriginal syllabics, Cherokee syllabary, and Quipu
Maya glyphs in stucco at the Museo de sitio in Palenque, Mexico
The development of writing is counted among the many achievements and innovations of pre-Columbian American cultures. Independent from the development of writing in other areas of the world, the Mesoamerican region produced several indigenous writing systems beginning in the 1st millennium BCE. What may be the earliest-known example in the Americas of an extensive text thought to be writing is by the Cascajal Block. The Olmec hieroglyphs tablet has been indirectly dated from ceramic shards found in the same context to approximately 900 BCE, around the time that Olmec occupation of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán began to wane.[105]
The Maya writing system was a combination of phonetic syllabic symbols and logograms — that is, it was a logosyllabic writing system. It is the only pre-Columbian writing system known to represent completely the spoken language of its community. In total, the script has more than one thousand different glyphs, although a few are variations of the same sign or meaning, and many appear only rarely or are confined to particular localities. At any one time, no more than about five hundred glyphs were in use, some two hundred of which (including variations) had a phonetic or syllabic interpretation.[106][107][108]
Aztec codices (singular codex) are books written by pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs. These codices provide some of the best primary sources for Aztec culture. The pre-Columbian codices differ from European codices in that they are largely pictorial; they were not meant to symbolize spoken or written narratives.[109] The colonial era codices not only contain Aztec pictograms, but also Classical Nahuatl (in the Latin alphabet), Spanish, and occasionally Latin.
Spanish mendicants in the sixteenth century taught indigenous scribes in their communities to write their languages in Latin letters, and there is a large number of local-level documents in Nahuatl, Zapotec, Mixtec, and Yucatec Maya from the colonial era, many of which were part of lawsuits and other legal matters. Although Spaniards initially taught indigenous scribes alphabetic writing, the tradition became self-perpetuating at the local level.[110] The Spanish crown gathered such documentation, and contemporary Spanish translations were made for legal cases. Scholars have translated and analyzed these documents in what is called the New Philology to write histories of indigenous peoples from indigenous viewpoints.[111]
The Wiigwaasabak, birch bark scrolls on which the Ojibwa (Anishinaabe) people wrote complex geometrical patterns and shapes, can also be considered a form of writing, as can Mi'kmaq hieroglyphics.
Aboriginal syllabic writing, or simply syllabics, is a family of abugidas used to write some Aboriginal Canadian languages of the Algonquian, Inuit, and Athabaskan language families.
Music and art[edit]
Main articles: Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas and Native American music
Apache fiddle made by Chesley Goseyun Wilson (San Carlos Apache)
Chimu culture feather pectoral, feathers, reed, copper, silver, hide, cordage, ca. 1350–1450 CE
Textile art by Julia Pingushat (Inuk, Arviat, Nunavut Territory, Canada), wool, embroidery floss, 1995
Native American music in North America is almost entirely monophonic, but there are notable exceptions. Traditional Native American music often centers around drumming. Rattles, clappersticks, and rasps were also popular percussive instruments. Flutes were made of rivercane, cedar, and other woods. The tuning of these flutes is not precise and depends on the length of the wood used and the hand span of the intended player, but the finger holes are most often around a whole step apart and, at least in Northern California, a flute was not used if it turned out to have an interval close to a half step. The Apache fiddle is a single stringed instrument.[citation needed]
The music of the indigenous peoples of Central Mexico and Central America was often pentatonic. Before the arrival of the Spaniards and other Europeans, music was inseparable from religious festivities and included a large variety of percussion and wind instruments such as drums, flutes, sea snail shells (used as a trumpet) and "rain" tubes. No remnants of pre-Columbian stringed instruments were found until archaeologists discovered a jar in Guatemala, attributed to the Maya of the Late Classic Era (600–900 CE), which depicts a stringed musical instrument which has since been reproduced. This instrument is one of the very few stringed instruments known in the Americas prior to the introduction of European musical instruments; when played, it produces a sound that mimics a jaguar's growl.[112]
Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas comprise a major category in the world art collection. Contributions include pottery, paintings, jewellery, weavings, sculptures, basketry, carvings, and beadwork.[113] Because too many artists were posing as Native Americans and Alaska Natives[114] in order to profit from the cachet of Indigenous art in the United States, the U.S. passed the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, requiring artists to prove that they are enrolled in a state or federally recognized tribe. To support the ongoing practice of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian arts and cultures in the United States,[115] the Ford Foundation, arts advocates and American Indian tribes created an endowment seed fund and established a national Native Arts and Cultures Foundation in 2007.[116][117]
Demography of contemporary populations[edit]
This map shows the percentage of indigenous population in different countries of the Americas.
The following table provides estimates for each country in the Americas of the populations of indigenous people and those with partial indigenous ancestry, each expressed as a percentage of the overall population. The total percentage obtained by adding both of these categories is also given.
Note: these categories are inconsistently defined and measured differently from country to country. Some figures are based on the results of population-wide genetic surveys while others are based on self-identification or observational estimation
I guess I have a new thing after 'EX.' cuz this is definitely the best shot out of the whole shoot, perhaps along with EX IV - JESSICA!
#stevenleemedia
#slmediaofficial
Updated changes as of July 2007. The way Explore works is not static, but seems to be always in development.
MY ORIGINAL POST HERE
As of November, 2006, features of explore include:
1) limitations on the number of photos by one photographer per month (currently this appears to be between 2 and 5)
2) Photos selected for explore depend on the average of the photographer's other photos. The higher your average, the tougher it is for your photo to get into explore.
3) The monthly photo "cap" is slowly being rolled out in reverse date order. It seems to be at about March of 2005 right now. That means that the few people who have high numbers in Explore usually have been around since nearly the beginning of flickr (June 1, 2004)
4) Photos pop in and out of explore for the first 3-4 months, then stabilize. Especially if you have more than the upper limit (3-5) that deserve to be in explore according to the algorhithm, Explore will cycle through them all to give more of your photos a chance the first few months. This is purposeful, and not an accident.
5) A simpler way to get a feel for which of you photos has been well received over the long run is to check the most "popular" of you own photos. Since the change many that were in explore may now be gone from explore, but if you do a SEARCH on a tag, then sort by "most interesting", they will probably still be near the top.
THE MORAL OF THE STORY: Don't be concerned if you are not getting into Explore if you are a very popular photographer. Actually it is currently a badge of HONOR for a photo with 50 or more faves NOT make it into explore. It means that you are getting quite enough views and popularity with your own following !! Forget competition, since Explore only really shows everybody their best 2-4 photos for a given month, as a maximum. Flickr was meant for inspiration, encouragement, enjoyment, and FUN. . .
For more details or a more comprehensive elaboration, see my first comment below (which is still in development)