Crows: From Holy to Evil Birds

Ridingonhorseback,IpassedDagarVillagebytheNyemo-QuxuHighway.A.truckbehindmewasobviouslyinahurryonitswaytosomewhere,andthedriverkeptpressingthehorntourgememakewayforhim.Allofasudden,adarkcloudrosefromnearbywalnuttreestowardthebluesky.Itwasactuallyadarkcloudofcrows.Outofcuriosity,Imovedtothewalnuttrees.Icountedcrownestsandfoundtheynumberedmorethan100.SKILLSOFCROWS.Crowsaregoodatbuildingnests.Eachnestiscomposedofsevenlayers,andeachlayerisbuiltwithmaterialsdifferentfromotherlayers.Notall…     

Rethinking Easter Island's ecological catastrophe

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) has become a paragon for prehistoric human induced ecological catastrophe and cultural collapse. A popular narrative recounts an obsession for monumental statuary that led to the island's ecological devastation and the collapse of the ancient civilization. Scholars offer this story as a parable of today's global environmental problems. In this paper, I review new and emerging Rapa Nui evidence, compare ecological and recently acquired palaeo-environmental data from the Hawaiian and other Pacific Islands, and offer some perspectives for the island's prehistoric ecological transformation and its consequences. The evidence points to a complex historical ecology for the island; one best explained by a synergy of impacts, particularly the devastating effects of introduced rats (Rattus exulans). This perspective questions the simplistic notion of reckless over-exploitation by prehistoric Polynesians and points to the need for additional research.     

Easter and the Battle of Pollentia

Interest in the battle of Pollentia in recent years has been confined to the issue of dating the year in which it occurred, the extent to which either Claudian or Prudentius, the two late Roman poets who mention it, depended on the other's work, and the significance of the battle in the political and military careers of its two chief protagonists, Stilicho, the Vandal regent of the emperor Honorius, and Alaric, the Visigothic leader and rebellious Roman agent. In this paper, I consider religion as a tactic in the conduct of the battle. We know from Orosius that it was fought at Easter, something for which he chastised Stilicho. While scholars refer to its Easter date and Vanderspoel has found Easter allusions in another of Claudian's poem written in the light of the battle, none has investigated the significance of the battle taking place at Easter. It is argued here that religious considerations were crucial in determining the moment of engagement and not just coincidental and that, by attacking Alaric at Easter, we have another indication of just how precarious Stilicho's position was.     

生蛋快乐!企鹅产卵的季节

正每年10月下旬开始进入了南极半岛一年一度的夏季,原本寂静的冰雪世界开始热闹起来,巴布亚企鹅、阿德利企鹅以及帽带企鹅都从海洋中返回到陆地上,并在这里开始为期4~5个月的繁殖哺育期。企鹅夫妻来到自己熟悉的繁殖栖息地,在一番恩爱之后,终于在11月中下旬产下1~2颗蛋,两颗蛋之间相隔约3天,一般孵化期在3~4周左右。     

关于东晋帝陵的两个问题

本通过史料并结合近年一些考古新发现,对东晋帝陵分布、陵区设立原因、陵区内部构成、陵区内各陵排葬规律以及陵园地面建筑等进行了比较全面的分析和探讨。     

The ‘walking’ megalithic statues (moai) of Easter Island

Explaining how the monumental statues (moai) of Easter Island were transported has remained open to debate and speculation, including their resource expenditures and role in deforestation. Archaeological evidence including analysis of moai variability, particularly those abandoned along ancient roads, indicates transport was achieved in a vertical position. To test this proposition we constructed a precise three-dimensional 4.35 metric ton replica of an actual statue and demonstrate how positioning the center of mass allowed it to fall forward and rock from side to side causing it to ‘walk.’ Our experiments reveal how the statue form was engineered for efficient transport by a small number of individuals.     

吃蜘蛛与食鸟卵

鲁迅先生说过:"第一个吃螃蟹的人是很可佩服的,不是勇士谁敢去吃它呢?螃蟹有人吃,蜘蛛也一定有人吃过.不过不好吃,所以后人便不吃了"(《今春的两种感想》).鲁迅的话说得也对也不全对.因为人类以前确实吃过蜘蛛,现在绝大多数人不再吃它了.但现在仍有极少数人还在吃它;并非蜘蛛不好吃,而是绝大部分地区的绝大多数人类已进步了发展了,不再需要吃蜘蛛了.但极个别地区的极少数人由于种种原因仍停留在原始社会石器时代,仍在捕捉、烹煮、吃食、保护蜘蛛.笔者最近在电视上清楚地看到了巴西亚马孙河地区印第安皮亚罗亚人(Piaroa)这一独特、有趣、令人惊奇的"生产"生活习俗(据成都电视台15频道1999年8月15日零点半至一点播出的专题片动物世界之一《毒蜘蛛的王国》).     

世界是我们的院子

篮子俊和陈思予是两个年岁相仿的年轻人,一年前的秋天他们驾驶着房车从北京出发,开启了漫游全国的模式。一年后的秋天,他们行至西藏。一年来的房车之旅,让他们的生活和工作空间浓缩到了5平方米之间。当一个个地理坐标变成了星星,闪烁在每一段他们曾驻足的地点,当每日的餐食随地域而丰富多变,他们终于达成了当初的愿望:跟着自己的心前行,不判断是否远大,只判断是否温暖。