The present article examines the porosity of the boundaries between certain human-animal hybrids on the basis of the relatively intense cultural pressures directed at them that were evident between Antiquity and the Middle Ages. These cultural pressures, however, are less common among other creatures of the same general type. Might or might not there be a cultural predisposition to reinforce the more human aspect of monsters, which are already so highly anthropomorphized?Having raised questions about the general concept of humanization with regard to half-human and half-animal creatures, we will examine it in some Western texts written in the historical period roughly between the ninth and fifteenth centuries to see if these hybrids have already benefited from humanization in one form or another in the past. The creatures in question are five different hybrids of mythology and fabulous natural history: sirens (uniquely in their aspect of fish women), centaurs, cynocephali or dog heads, and satyrs or half-man half-goat.Finally, we will ask whether there is a determining cultural factor that has favoured this kind of particularly transgressive slippage between human and animal boundaries, even if it has not always and in case every instance prevailed.
Diachronic translation in the context of modern translation studies allows you to get acquainted with written monuments of past times, as well as their cultural, historical, and social aspects. The object of the study is diachronic translation as a special type of translation. A separate place among the medieval written sources is occupied by the texts of office work and legal proceedings, which initiated the formation of the official business style of the sphere of law in its modern form. One of these written monuments is an ancient official document in Old French by Philippe de Beaumanoir “Coustumes de Beauvaisis” (French “Coustumes de Beauvaisis”). This medieval legal document is the material of the study. The relentless interest in written monuments as keepers of the cultural heritage of the past times determines the relevance of the topic. The translation of official texts in a historical context makes it possible to identify the features of the functioning of terms and concepts in history and their evolution over time. The purpose of the study is to identify the specifics of the diachronic translation of a medieval official document of the 13th century “Coustumes de Beauvaisis” in Old French. At the moment, there is no complete translation of this document into Russian. In this regard, the implementation of the translation of some sections of the document, as well as the identification of the features of diachronic translation, constitute the novelty of the study. In the course of working with the text, the following methods were used: the method of interpretation, translation studies, descriptive and contextual types of analysis which allowed in the process of pre-translation analysis of a text passage to identify the specifics of the use of legal and economic terms, species-temporal verb forms of the past tense, as well as to interpret particular specific situations characteristic of medieval France. As a result, our pre-translation analysis allowed us to choose a translation strategy as lying between imitating archaization and moderate modernization. The interpretation of the linguistic facts of the medieval text contributed to the understanding of the non-linguistic reality of the Old French period and allowed us to recreate the document in the translated language so that it was understandable to our contemporaries.
The article presents a Nabataean text inscribed in raised relief on a bronze plate and dated to the seventh year of the Nabataean king Aretas IV (3 BC). The text is significant since it mentions the dedication of a water well/cistern by Aretas, to his god Dushara, the God of Gaia “for the life of himself and his wife ḥldw, queen of the Nabataeans, and their daughter pṣʾl.” The paper includes a commentary on the vocabulary of the text and sheds some light on water and its association with the cult in Nabataea. In addition, it provides some details about ḥldw, queen of the Nabataeans and pṣʾl, the daughter of Aretas and ḥldw, allowing an update of the Nabataean royal family tree.
Historic blocks are steeped in the history and culture of a city, reflecting the characteristics of the landscape during historical periods; they are of great significance to the preservation of the historical memory of the city. However, existing research generally lacks integration with big data, and research perspectives are mostly from the conservation planning of historic blocks, the evaluation mechanisms of blocks, and the development of block tourism resources; thus, the public perception is lacking. This study involved 28 historical and cultural blocks in Beijing, the capital of China, and constructed a system of cultural perception symbols based on the cultural connotations of the capital. On this basis, photo recognition was conducted on Weibo photo data collected by relying on the photo segmentation method, and the intrinsic factors affecting the cultural perception of the historical and cultural blocks were explored from the perspective of public perception (local residents and tourists). The results show that: (1) the capital culture of Beijing can be roughly divided into five categories: ancient capital culture, red culture, Beijing-style culture, innovation culture, and other types of culture, based on the photo recognition method; (2) from the perspective of public perception, the degree of perception of Beijing culture and innovation culture is generally higher, while the degree of perception of red culture and ancient capital culture is lower; (3) the 28 historic and cultural blocks of Beijing’s old city are mainly dominated by one or more cultures, and there are no historic and cultural blocks with a balance of five cultures, reflecting the relative lack of cultural diversity within the blocks; (4) the local cultural identity of Beijing is prominent and dominant in the public mind. However, local residents have a relatively high perception of innovative culture, whereas tourists have a higher perception of ancient capital culture and red culture. In this study, photo recognition technology was introduced to study the cultural perception of historical and cultural blocks to provide new ideas and methods for the study of historical and cultural blocks.
Damjan Donev, The Busy Periphery: Urban Systems of the Balkan and Danube Provinces (2nd – 3rd c. AD), Archaeopress, Roman Archaeology Series 61, Oxford, 2019, ISBN-10: 1789693497, 380. p.
Reseña del libro de Marta Bailón García – Ignacio Jordán Gimena, Cursus Publicus. El primer correo en Hispania (=Colección Ayudas a la Investigación 3), Madrid, Sociedad Estatal Correos y Telégrafos, S.A., 2019, 155 pp. [ISBN: 978-84-88841-49-0].
O artigo trata da África Antiga no ensino de história no Brasil. Trata, ainda,
das maneiras como a África Antiga tem sido e pode ser retratada na educação,
para propor um retrato mais complexo, profundo e inspirador. Volta-se, em
seguida, para a presença humana na África, por meio de situações de aprendizagem.
O Egito destaca-se como parte da cultura africana. Conclui-se por
enfatizar o papel das aulas de História para reconhecer a presença africana
muito antes e para além do período moderno.
<p>Snake, the renowned slither, is a creature that has appeared in various shapes in myths across numerous cultures and nations. This creature comprises a great number of designs in Iran, as well. It seems that the image of the snake contains a special meaning, which has been used as a symbol and shares ties to people’s beliefs and the religion. Thus, the researcher’s attention has been turned to how the image of the snake has been used in the remaining artifacts from Elam and its neighboring regions, such as Jiroft, and its general differences to the Zoroatrian culture. In this paper, taking on a comparative descriptive approach, the repetition of the image of this creature in different designs is examined, a separate division is presented for each region (Elamite and Jiroft) and the mythological meanings and concepts related to each design are explained. In the end, the image of the snake in Zoroastrianism is briefly explained. The snake's image in Elam reveals more than anything, its connection with God, water, fertility, and the other world. In Jiroft, the image of interwoven snakes, coiled snakes, and even snakes fighting other animals are seen. Afterwards, with the influence of the Zoroastrian culture in Iran, this creature finds a new and completely different role to the point where it is introduced as a devilish creature.</p>
The paper presents a new interpretation of globalization within the boundaries of the author’s concept of soft globalization, which exploits a normatively attractive alternative to the concept of the Empire. It is argued here that the conditions of development of contemporary post - colonial world communities do not require any unification in the form of the Empire, but instead the creation of a non repressive mechanism of social regulation - the implementation of a form of soft globalization, a globalization with a mental form are expedient here. Historically, globalization occurred in a strict material(i.e. economical and military) form that prompted the conditions for the evolution of civilization as the Empire: a case in which the development of the world occurs under the power of a single dominating state. Imperialistic politics leads to colonial politics formation. The history of the phenomena of civilization shows many instances of Empire globalization. Globalization in the Empire form was already observed at the time of the Roman Empire. At this time processes of development inside the Empire were manifestations of globalization in its highest cultural shape. But ancient Rome was also a social and political experiment that acquired the attributes of a purely material globalization in the end, and historically brought about the irreversible crash of the Roman Empire itself. Contemporary fluctuations referring to the process of globalization can be registered in the US’s attempts of material domination inside this or that existing case of civilization, which causes colonialism appearance. The main idea stressed in the paper is that only a mental globalization could succeed in the end.
<p>The article is an attempt to analyze female silver jewellery produces and used during Early Middle Ages in regions of southeastern and southwestern Poland. Those regions correspond to the area of nowadays Poland, respectively southwestern voivodeships: Dolnoslaskie, Slaskie, Opolskie, Malopolskie and southeastern voivodeships: Podkarpackie and Lubuskie.</p><p>The presented work deals with similarities and differences in quality and types of jewellery from those regions. The analysis focuses on silver items found in settlements, cemeteries and hoards. The recovered female jewellery highlights the divergence between east, under influence of culture from Byzantine Empire, and west.</p>Thanks to described archeological relics, the southern region of present Poland can be easily divided into two distinguishable parts representing different cultures<strong>.</strong>
The Egyptologist Samuel Birch (1813–85) began to study Chinese at school, and obtained his first post at the British Museum cataloguing Chinese coins. He maintained his interest in Chinese civilisation throughout his life, but also collaborated with C. T. Newton on a catalogue of Greek and Etruscan vases, and with Sir Henry Rawlinson on cuneiform inscriptions, while also specialising in the examination and cataloguing of the Museum's growing collection of Egyptian papyri and other artefacts. Birch describes this two-volume, highly illustrated work on ancient pottery, published in 1858, as filling a perceived need: 'A work has long been required which should embody the general history of the fictile art of the ancients.' Volume 1 covers the composition and techniques of the pottery of ancient Egypt and Assyria, with notes on Jewish Phoenician wares, and begins an examination of the techniques and art of the Greek ceramicists.
En el presente trabajo se presenta la vajilla de mesa (terra sigillata y cerámica engobada) que consta entre los materiales cerámicos de la ciudad romana de Los Bañales (Uncastillo, Zaragoza), recuperados en los años setenta del siglo pasado por Antonio Beltrán Martínez. Con este trabajo se pretende aportar datos que ayuden en el estudio de la antigua ciudad ubicada en el lugar y enriquezcan la investigación que hay en ella y que ha sido retomada en los últimos años para el mejor conocimiento, conservación, puesta en valor y difusión de la ciudad.
In the following pages, the material culture results, specifically terra sigillata and engobada pottery, obtained from a series of archaeological interventions undertaken in the 1970’s by the lecturer Antonio Beltrán, at the archeological site of Los Bañales (Uncastillo, Zaragoza), are presented. The aim of this article is to increase the information available on these ceramics and to provide a contribution towards a greater understanding of the historical city of Los Bañales. This study will also assist recent archaeological investigations on this historic site, by providing better information on the form, chronology and use of these ceramics and by communicating the results of this study to both the researchers and the interested public. It will also contribute to the culture heritage of Uncastillo through the conservation of the ceramic evidence and the public display of this material culture.
History (General) and history of Europe, History (General)
Resumen: Introducción: La medicina y la literatura han estado unidas desde antiguo, prueba de ello es que muchos médicos se han dedicado a la literatura y muchos escritores han plasmado en sus obras la actividad médica y la enfermedad. Un ejemplo es la obra Sinuhé, el Egipcio, de Mika Waltari, que narra magistralmente la actividad médica del protagonista y describe la técnica de trepanación. Desarrollo: El presente trabajo comienza con el análisis de las trepanaciones desde la Prehistoria y se ilustra la práctica de la trepanación en Sinuhé, el egipcio. En esta obra se hace referencia en múltiples ocasiones a la trepanación y se detalla la forma de practicarla y el instrumental necesario. La trepanación es una de las intervenciones quirúrgicas más antiguas llevada a cabo con fines terapéuticos en traumatismos craneales y patologías neurológicas, pero también con una finalidad mágico-religiosa, para expulsar los espíritus malignos causantes de enfermedades mentales o de los síntomas de epilepsias y migrañas. Conclusiones: La trepanación es una práctica quirúrgica realizada desde la Prehistoria en traumatismos craneales, epilepsias, cefaleas y enfermedades psiquiátricas. En la novela Sinuhé, el Egipcio se describe con detalle la figura del trepanador, la técnica de trepanación y el instrumental necesario. Abstract: Introduction: Medicine and literature have been linked from ancient times; proof of this shown by the many doctors who have made contributions to literature and the many writers who have described medical activities and illnesses in their works. An example is The Egyptian, the book by Mika Waltari that provides a masterly narration of the protagonist's medical activity and describes the trepanation technique. Development: The present work begins with the analysis of trepanations since prehistory and illustrates the practice of the trepanation in The Egyptian. The book mentions trepanation frequently and illustrates how to practice it and which instruments are required to perform it. Trepanation is one of the oldest surgical interventions carried out as treatment for cranial trauma and neurological diseases, but it also had the magical and religious purpose of expelling the evil spirits which caused the mental illness, epilepsy, or migraine symptoms. Conclusions: Trepanation is a surgical practice that has been carried out since prehistory to treat post-traumatic epilepsy, migraine, and psychiatric illness. The Egyptian is a book that illustrates the trepan, the trepanation technique, and the required set of instruments in full detail. Palabras clave: Antiguo Egipto, Cirugía, Historia de la neurología, Medicina y literatura, Medicina egipcia, Trepanación, Keywords: Ancient Egypt, surgery, History of neurology, Medicine and literature, Egyptian medicine, Trepanation
AbstractThe word *kakaw(a)(‘cacao’,Theobroma cacao) was widely diffused among Mesoamerican languages, and from there to much of lower Central America. This study provides evidence establishing beyond reasonable doubt that this word originated in the Mije-Sokean family; that it spread from the Mije-Sokean languages in or around the Olmec heartland into southeastern Mesoamerican languages; that its diffusion into Mayan languages took place between about 200 B.C. and A.D. 400; and that it spread from a Mije-Sokean language in or near the Basin of Mexico into languages in the region. It shows that each of the arguments presented by Dakin and Wichmann (2000) against a Mije-Sokean origin is either unworkable, is based upon false premises, or is not relevant; and that their proposed alternative — that it originated in and spread from Nawa into other Mesoamerican languages — conflicts with the mass of evidence relevant to the issue.This study also discusses the linguistic details of vocabulary for drinks made from cacao; shows that no proposed etymology for the word chocolate is correct, but agrees with Dakin and Wichmann that its proximate source is a Nawa formchikola:tl;and discusses the history of words forTheobroma bicolor(‘Nicaragua chocolate tree;pataxte’) and their use.The linguistic data are pertinent to issues of intergroup interaction in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, but do not shed light on the nature or the cultural context of the diffusion of cacao in Mesoamerica, nor on its uses.