#turtleback tombs

[jonthackery]

[nailsalon75034]

T SHIRT SYMBOLIZES AROWANA RICH & LUCKY

Feng Shui Arowana - the symbol of wealth, opening the supply of wealth, peace

The dragon fish statue is considered a symbol of feng shui (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feng_shui) in folk culture, representing wealth, rich, wealth and prosperity. Products help open up the supply of wealth, peace, and bring fullness to life. Therefore, feng shui arowana has been chosen by many customers to display in their living space as well as as a high-class gift on a special occasion.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_arowana

  t-shirt-symbolize-arowana-rich by themagpie robinbird Via Flickr: Buy for link teespring.com/vi-VN/T-shirt-symbolize-arowana-rich

[carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory]

Egypt and the Nile

Over the course of some five millennia the ancient Egyptians developed a distinctive material culture shaped in large part by their local geography, natural resources, and relationship with the Nile River. In the 5th Century BCE, the Greek historian Herodotus noted that “any sensible person” could see that Lower Egypt was a “gift of the river” (Herodotus, 2.5). While his comments were limited to the areas in the north and in the Delta, they really ring true for all the Nile River Valley. Every aspect of life in Egypt depended on the river – the Nile provided food and resources, land for agriculture, a means of travel, and was critical in the transportation of materials for building projects and other large-scale endeavors. It was a critical lifeline that literally brought life to the desert.

Map of Ancient Egypt (www.shutterstock.com 211163719)

The modern name of the Nile River comes from the Greek Nelios, but the Egyptians called it Iteru or “River.” The Nile is the longest river in the world, measuring some 6,825 km. The Nile River System has three main branches – the White Nile, the Blue Nile, and the Atbara river. The White Nile, the river’s headwaters, flows from Lake Victoria and Lake Albert. The Blue Nile brings about the inundation or annual flood and provides most of the river’s water and silt. The Atbara river has less of an impact, as it flows only occasionally.

In the south, the Nile has a series of six main cataracts, which begin at the site of Aswan. A cataract is a shallow stretch of turbulent waters formed where flowing waters encounter resistant rock layers. In the case of the Nile cataracts, large outcroppings of granite make the flow of the river unpredictable and much more difficult to traverse by boat. The cataract system created a natural boundary at Aswan, separating Egypt from its southern neighbor, Nubia.

Ancient Egypt was located in Northeastern Africa and had four clear geographic zones: the Delta, the Western Desert, the Eastern Desert, and the Nile Valley. Each of these zones had its own natural environment and its own role within the Egyptian State. Cities could only flourish in the Nile Delta, the Nile Valley, or desert oases, where people had access to water, land, and key resources. The ancient Egyptians, who were always keen observers of nature, often associated the Nile Valley with life and abundance and the neighboring deserts with death and chaos.

Kemet or, “black land,” denotes the rich, fertile land of the Nile Valley, while Deshret, or “red land,” refers to the hot, dry desert. The contrast between the red land and the black land was not just visible or geographic, it effected the Egyptians’ everyday lives. The dry climate of the desert, for example, made it an ideal location for cemeteries. There, the annual Nile flood would not disturb people’s graves and the dry climate acted to preserve tombs and their contents. Good preservation and the fact that most people do not live in the desert, are the main reasons that so much of what archaeologists and anthropologists study comes from a funerary context. 

View with the Nile River Valley in the foreground and the desert cliffs in the background. (www.shutterstock.com 1082850872)

The landscapes of Upper and Lower Egypt also differ. The Egyptian word Tawy, means “Two Lands” – this refers to the two main regions of ancient Egypt, Upper and Lower Egypt. Lower Egypt is in the north and contains the Nile Delta, while Upper Egypt contains areas to the South. These two designations may seem counterintuitive to their physical locations, but they reflect the flow of the Nile River, from South to North.

The expansive floodplain of the Nile Delta and the very narrow band of fertile land present in the Nile Valley led to different ways of life. In the Nile Delta for example, the Egyptians constructed their towns and cemeteries on turtlebacks; natural highpoints in the landscape that became islands during the inundation. In addition, the location of the Delta along the Mediterranean and at the entry point into the Levant made it an important area for trade and international contacts. The Delta was a very multi-cultural region throughout Egyptian history.

Ancient Egyptian Sema-Tawy – represents the eternal unification of Upper and Lower Egypt (www.shutterstock.com 1778750570).

The Egyptians thought of the king as the unifier of the “Two Lands.” One of the king’s primary roles was to keep Upper and Lower Egypt united; the Egyptians expressed this visually using something we call the sema-tawy motif. Here you can see two Nile gods symbolically uniting the lands of Upper and Lower Egypt – each depicted in the form of their characteristic plant, the papyrus for Lower Egypt and the lotus for Upper.

The Egyptians constructed their calendar around the yearly cycle of the Nile. It included three main seasons: Akhet, the period of the Nile’s inundation, Peret, the growing season, and Shemu, harvest season. The Egyptians made Nilometers to measure and track the height of the annual inundation – they used the recorded readings from these Nilometers much like more contemporary farmers would use almanacs. One particularly well-preserved example is located on Elephantine Island at Aswan.

The close connection between the Egyptians the Nile River led them to identify a number of Egyptian gods with aspects of the river, its annual flood, and the fertility and abundance associated with them. Hapi, for example, is the incarnation of the life force that the Nile provides; he also symbolizes the annual inundation of the Nile. His round belly and folds of skin represent abundance. Osiris, who is most often recognized in his role associated with the afterlife, is fundamentally a god of regeneration and rebirth. Artists often depicted him with black skin, linking him to the fertility of the Nile River and its lifegiving silt. The broader natural world was a further source of inspiration for Egyptian religion. 

Elephantine Nilometer (Image by author)

The Nile was also an important highway, it was the easiest way to travel and played an essential role in mining expeditions, trade, architectural projects, and general travel. The Egyptians were expert boat builders; images of boats are some of the earliest designs that appear on Egyptian Predynastic Vessels dating to ca. 3500-3300 B.C.E. River access decreased the time and number of individuals needed for the transportation of large objects, like stones, obelisks, and architectural elements. Boats were also common in the funerary religion as well – as a part of the funeral itself and for the afterlife.

Although I’ve only been able to touch on a few key elements here, the natural environment of Egypt and the Nile River impacted every aspect of life in ancient Egypt. The river’s floodplain, water, and silt provided the foundation for civilization and served as a source of inspiration for the people who inhabited northeastern Africa during this pivotal period in history.  

Lisa Saladino Haney is Postdoctoral Assistant Curator of Egypt on the Nile at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

[connorricks]

Even more aliens from the Clowns vs. Mimes universe

The universe is very, very big, and very, very old. Click the ‘keep reading’ to keep reading.

Officially listed as extinct by many galactic authorities, the Gladiautos can be more accurately described as 'being lost underneath the galaxy's car seat'. A multitude of these bio-mechs were created by an civilization to battle for their entertainment, but that society is long since dead, and their creations have spread across the galaxy, often in pieces. Very few Gladiautos are still functional and are considered living antiques. If two of these bio-mechs were to meet, a very violent yet very brisk battle will will ensue before an exchange of limbs, often with the winner getting the more favorable part. Communication between Gladiautons conducted though a very ancient form of wireless internet that only they have access to. They communicate to other species though thumbs-up, thumbs-down, and thumb-sideways hand gestures.

The Atenn-Dii are also considered dead and gone, and with good riddance, too. Almost as ancient as the Gladiauto's creators, the Atenn-Dii specialized in hosting elaborate masquerade balls and parties, often at the expense of the resources of several nearby planets. While at the peak of their culture they very suddenly seemed to die out, leaving behind their vast mansions and castles, as well as some lavish tombs filled with their belongings. Many of these have been looted, partially for the riches and super-tech they contained, but also because people hated them. However, once any being with a face puts on one of their masks the back-up copy of the original owner's mind, personality, and memories will possess them. If enough of these get together, the masquerades will begin anew. These masks come in blue, green, orange, purple, white, black, and violet, and their wearers, both original and new, often base their whole outfit on these colors. There is one that even the newly reawakened Atenn-Dii truly deeply fear; a figure in red, and worse still, the red mask upon their face.

In the early 90's a very popular pet in the galaxy was the Grubling, a nice little eyeless worm creature that was playful, fun, and easy to take care of. They could eat anything, and were great with kids of all species. HOWEVER - if your pet worm somehow ingested blood of any sort it would metamorpihize into it's adult form, the mischievous and deadly Acro-Flea. Originally the pests of a creature so large is was of size with a planet, they would often leap to nearby planets that their host would pass by, but the Grubling pet trade has only expanded their population and range. Often nasty and with twisted senses of humor, Acro-Fleas are known to wreck havoc wherever they go, feeding upon the blood of any lifeform unfortunate enough to draw their attention. Adding to this is the fact that Acro-Flea saliva has a compound that can cause anyone bitten to tumble and leap about like an acrobat, which the fleas think is hilarious.

Not really a species per se, but there is more than one of them. Mysterious in their origin, these giant unbreakable slabs are present in many locales throughout the universe, fulfilling an unknown function. Near us, one is orbiting Jupiter, another is on the moon, while a third one is in Turtleback, Wyoming, outside a gas station. It goes by the name Mo-Lith the Magnificent, and claims to know all. Give it an object that you consider valuable and it can tell you your fortune, tell you the future, or even grant a wish. It would behoove you to be specific; Mo-Lith will twist your wish if it doesn't like your attitude, and even if it does it's often very bored and may lightly monkey's paw your wish for the entertainment value.

Click here for even more aliens

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[ucsc-omi]

Trauma in the Ryukyus; The Battle of Okinawa by Theodor Jaich

This week's readings primarily deal with the Battle of Okinawa, and, more specifically, the ways that battle seriously affected the families on the island. Notably, the “Turtleback Tombs” by Ōshiro Tatushiro, in great detail, describes the horrors and tragedies of the very gruesome battle and how all Okinawans, military and civilian, were deeply affected. To reinforce the piece's focus on the Okinawan familial tombs we read “White Ryukyuan Tombs” by Mabuni Chōshin, further elucidating the importance of these caves as a means of protection from war. "Surviving the Battle of Okinawa" by Yoshiko Sakumoto Crandell provides a very descriptive account of what life was like before, during, and after the battle; giving similar descriptions of war to that of "Turtleback Tombs." “The Kunenbo Orange Trees” by Yamagusuku Seichū also gives some background of Okinawa before the battle and how the Ryukyus were being closely integrated into imperial Japan. Furthermore, the “Tree of Butterflies” by Medoruma Shun focuses on the burden held by many survivors of the battle who had no way of dealing with their war trauma. To put the battle into some historical context, Aniya Masaaki's "Compulsory Mass Suicide" provides more information on the legacies of the Battle of Okinawa and the atrocities committed their, which allowed for the death of 150,000 Okinawans. This piece specifically focusing on the mass suicides encouraged by the Japanese military, although it ties the many other pieces together as examples of the ways this battle so intensely affected all Okinawans. In all, these readings deal with the ways in which the Battle of Okinawa affected local families and how this gruesome scene remains a very important and tragic memory of the island.