The Function Of Prophecy In Old Testament Theology Religion Essay

The Function Of Prophecy In Old Testament Theology Religion Essay Prophets have always been surrounded by an aura of mystery. Because they were intermediaries between the human and divine worlds, prophets appeared to their hearers as terrifying yet magnetic and fascinating figures. Throughout the history of Western civilization, whenever these divinely inspired individuals have appeared, attempts have been made to penetrate the mystery that surrounds them. The focus of many of these attempts has been the Old Testament prophets who have traditionally functioned as models for the elucidation of other prophetic phenomenon. How prophets were viewed: Prophets were viewed as channels through which divine messages reached the ordinary world and through which humans could gain direct access to the divine. Therefore, the prophetic intermediaries appeared in any society which believed in the existence of divine powers capable of communicating with human beings.  [1]   However, within societies and groups, the behaviour of prophets tended to follow traditional, well-defined patterns. This behavior varied from society to society. Within a given society or group, prophetic behavior usually conformed to the expected norms. In the Old Testament we can find that the prophets receive divine messages and translate them into human terms and communicating them, using traditional speech forms and actions. This task indicates that they are functioning as prophets and the message they bring, comes from the divine realm.  [2]   Isaiah as a prophet: Similarly, Isaiah who is one of the great prophets, exercised his prophetic ministry during the reigns of Uzziah (783-742 BC), Jotham ( 742-735), Ahaz ( 735-715) and Hezekiah (715-687). The vision which is recorded in Chapter 6 was the one which constituted the call of Isaiah to be a prophet. It has sometimes been said that Isaiah must have belonged to the aristocracy of the capital because he knew the ways of the court and had ready access to the presence of the king when he had need. A prophet of the stature of Isaiah must have made himself a well-known member of the Jerusalem community and one whose words were treated with great respect.  [3]   The book of Isaiah, one of the longer units in the Hebrew Bible, comprises prophetic material in verse and prose collected over a period of at least half a millennium. In the opening chapter of Isaiah we catch echoes of Amos here and there, not least in the contrast between the sacrificial cult and the demands of social justice ( Isa. 1:12-17) which would fit better the early stage of Isaiahs career. There is also reminiscent of Amos in his condemnation of the ruling classes who grind the face of the poor (Isa. 3:15) and reflects a lack of concern for traditional moral values of the women of Jerusalem ( Isa. 3:16-17,24-26; cf. The poem on divine judgment (Isa. 2:6-22) restates for the befit of Judah the central message of Amos : that the God of Israel has now abandoned his people and left them at the mercy of history.  [4]   And Isaiah was taking up where Amos left. He is more explicit than Amos in his reference to the Assyrians and the role they were destined to play in Israels future ( Isa. 5:26-30). Social, cultural and political situation during the time of Isaiah: Before the time of Omri and Ahab, kings of Israel about a century before Isaiah received his call to be a prophet, the history of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah after the death of Solomon had been an unimpressive record of petty squabbles, and events of very local significance. But these two kings saw the folly of such behaviour o the part of two politically weak kingdoms, which, in face of an aggressive policy by a great power such as Assyria or Egypt, could hope to survive only by the combined military resources of an alliance of western states, in which they had part. Israel was the dominant partner. In every age political and commercial bargaining was successful done from a position of strength. With Israels considerable increase in national wealth owing to the opening up of profitable avenues of trade, s development which, in turn, widened the social gap between the wealthy, upper class in Israelite society and the poor peasants.  [5]  Such a situation was liable to recur whenever Israel entered into a close relation of association with, or, even more, of dependence on, a people greater in power than itself, and it was the main reason for the warning which the prophets repeatedly gave against any policy. In a way not paralleled in the activity of the other great prophets whose utterances have a place in the Old Testament canon, Isaiah took a very prominent part in the national crises of the days through which he lived. Isaiah as a Judge: In spite of the fact that judgment spoken of as if it were inevitable, that does not exclude from Isaiahs preaching the note of pleading and entreaty calling upon the people to return. This is found several times in chapter 1 (5, 16 f., 18 f.). It is Isaiahs conviction that for all this sinfulness a day of judgment is coming. God is not mocked; men cannot disobey his will with impunity. The land will be desolated. Lebanon will become a heath, fruitful places like Carmel and Sharon will become a wilderness, men and cattele will be few Time after time Assyria is specified as the instrument by which the judgment will accomplished.  [6]   Isaiah often declares his confidence that, however devastating the judgment may be, a remnant of the people will survive. Out of the stump of the tree new life will come. The glory will have departed, the comeliness will have perished, the new shoot will be a miracle of renewed life; but therein is the hope of the people and therein lies the possibility of the continuance of their work and witness. That conviction on the part of Isaiah may be related to the fact that even in human relations a complete obliteration of an individual or a people was guarded against with very great care ( cf. Deut. 25.5; Ruth 4.10 f., Amos 1.6,9). The doctrine of surviving remnant in turn is related to the fact that whereas the prophet can speak in terms of a judgment upon the whole people, he can, at the same time and without any sense of contradiction, speak of a discriminating judgment in which a distinction will be made between the righteous and the wicked ( Isa. 1. 27 f.; 3.10 f.; cf. 28.23-29). At this point Isaiah though of the necessary cleansing of the peoples as consisting substantiality of restoring in them a former righteousness and purity which had become corrupted; he comes near to describing it as a renewal of the wilderness ideal.  [7]   The message and the people Isaiah spoke to and spoke about: The postexilic community was concerned with their identity and self-understanding. Their existence as a people was threatened by the consequences of the catastrophe of exile and loss of national independence. There were other Jewish communities, and perhaps provinces, in close proximity to Judah, for example in Samaria and Transjordan, and far away, for away for example in Egypt and Babylon. Isaiah presents a vision for these people to understand themselves, their God and their world. The vision spans past, present and future. Israel as a people participates in this story ( Isa. 1.2-9; 4.2-6) and, at the same time, Israel is comprised of wicked and righteous, oppressors and the oppressed ( Isa. 1.19-23, 27-28; 3.13-15). Isaiah gives a clear picture of distinction between good and evil that is at points applied to over against the nations can be applied to Israel itself. Righteous versus wicked behaviour is the important point. There is no doubt in Isaiah about the radical separation of good and evil. What is in doubt, indeed, what is denied, is the equation of these absolute categories with actual human groups, whether defined in religious or political terms. Isaiah represents his vision as a Quasi-drama dominated by dramatic speeches. Even the narrative sections in chapter 6 provide settings for further speeches. The characters are not presented as distinct and historical individuals. They are constructs in the grand poetic work of Isaiah. Israel, for example, is masculine singular ( 1.4), masculine plural ( 1.5-6) and feminine singular ( 1.21-26), where one can see that Israel is judged and condemned, desolate and devastated, and comforted and redeemed.  [8]   Books Joseph Blenkinsopp, A History of Prophecy in Israel ( Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996) James Luther Mays and Paul J. Achtemeier. Early Israelite prophecy: Interpreting the prophets, ed., Philadelphia : Fortress Press, c1987. Mauchline, John. John Mauchline, Isaiah 1-39 , (London : SCM Press, 1962), p. Peter D. Miscall, Isaiah ( Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993). P.

All Is Not For The Best Essays -- essays research papers fc

"All is Not for the Best" 10-K Candide Voltaire's Candide is the story of an innocent man's experiences in a mad and evil world, his struggle to survive in that world, and his need to ultimately come to terms with it. All people experience the turmoil of life and must overcome obstacles, both natural and man-made, in order to eventually achieve happiness. In life, "man must find a medium between what Martin (scholar and companion to Candide) calls the "convulsions of anxiety" and the "lethargy of boredom"" (Richter 137). After a long and difficult struggle in which Candide is forced to overcome misfortune to find happiness, he concludes that all is not well (as he has previously been taught by his tutor, Dr. Pangloss), and that he must work in order to find even a small amount of pleasure in life. Candide grows up in the Castle of Westphalia and is taught by the learned philosopher, Dr. Pangloss. Candide is abruptly exiled from the castle when found kissing the Baron's daughter, Cunegonde. Devastated by the separation from Cunegonde, his true love, Candide sets out to different places in the hope of finding her and achieving total happiness. On his journey, he faces a number of misfortunes, among them being tortured during army training, yet he continues to believe that there is a "cause and effect" for everything. Candide is reunited with Cunegonde, and regains a life of prosperity, but soon all is taken away, including his beloved Cunegonde. He travels on, and years later he finds her again, but she is now fat and ugly. His wealth is all gone and so is his love for the Baron's daughter. Throughout Candide, we see how accepting situations and not trying to change or overcome obstacles can be damaging. Life is full of struggles, but it would be nonproductive if people passively accepted whatever fate had in store for them, shrugging off their personal responsibility. Voltaire believes that people should not allow themselves to be victims. He sneers at naive, accepting types, informing us that people must work to reach their utopia (Bottiglia 93). In Candide, reality and "the real world" are portrayed as being disappointing. Within the Baron's castle, Candide is able to lead a Utopian life. After his banishment, though, he recognizes the evil of the world, see... ...appiness. He believes, in his optimistic way, that he will find Cunegonde, his true love, and Dr. Pangloss, his mentor, and all will be well. When Candide is reunited with both he realizes that he was right not to lose hope. In essence, it was Candide's optimism that keeps him from a state of total dejection, maintaining his sanity during troubled times. Candide eventually achieves happiness with his friends in their simple, yet full, lives. The book's ending affirms Voltaire's moral that one must work to attain satisfaction. Work helps Candide overcome his tragedies and enables him to live peacefully and in contentment. The message of Candide is: "Don't rationalize, but work; Don't utopianize, but improve. We must cultivate our own garden, for no one is going to do it for us" (Richter 161). Works Cited Bottiglia, William. "Candide's Garden." Voltaire: A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Richter, Peyton. Voltaire. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980. Tsanoff, Radoslav. Voltaire's Candide and the Critics. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 1966. Voltaire. Candide. New York: Viking Publishers, 1976.

Free Essays on A Dolls House: An Essay :: Dolls House essays

A Doll House A Doll House was one of Henrik Ibsen's most controversial plays. He wrote this realistic play in 1879. Ibsen's writing style of realism was clearly shown in this play. This play was controversial at the time it was written, shocking conservative readers. But, at the same time, the play served as a rallying point for supporters of a drama with different ideas. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Art Nouveau style became an international movement. For the first time in decorative arts history there was a simultaneous movement throughout Europe and America. Art Nouveau brought the finest designers and craftsmen together in order to design buildings, furniture, wallpaper, fabrics, ceramics, metalwork and glasswork. Art Nouveau was considered more than a style, it was a philosophy. From this philosophy carefully designed articles for the home were designed intended to fit into the scheme of the whole Art Nouveau style. Line was the most important aspect of the Art Nouveau period. Art Nouveau was a rebellion against machine made articles of the 19th century that were copies of past designs. Art Nouveau was also a reaction against the old Victorian tradition. Art Nouveau designers borrowed from the past but because of the emphasis on line and adaptation of natural forms to design. Art Nouveau is easily distinguishable from any other p eriod in decorative arts. In conjunction with Art Nouveau style, the Edwardian style of costume and dress was also implemented during this time period. The Edwardian style embodied both extravagance and pageantry. A Doll House was a play written well ahead of its time. This play was written in a time when it was considered an outrage for a woman such as Nora not only to display a mind of her own, but also to leave her husband in order to obtain her freedom. This play relates to the Art Nouveau and Edwardian period because just as the furniture and clothing were considered decorative pieces, so were women. Women were expected only to tend to the husband's and children's needs. Women were not supposed to do anything without first consulting the husband and certainly never do anything without his prior knowledge and approval. Women were expected to be at home and always looking presentable for their husbands. *Please note all visual elements for this term paper can be viewed at the conclusion of this project.

Korean Investment

A Korean property development company, CoDA, is planning to increase the value of Swansea’s SA1 docklands project by  £80 million through investment.   The money poured into the project would develop Harbour Square, which overlooks the Prince of Wales Dock, with the creation of 406 apartments with shops.   Moreover, this new development would add to the growth expected in the area with 1,500 new jobs at a Jersey Marine distribution center established recently. It would take three years to build the 406 new apartments with shops on Harbour Square.   The Korean investment is expected to create approximately 400 construction jobs, and lead to further growth with respect to the project.   Indeed, this project is the biggest one in the scheme, turning old docklands into a modernized place to live and work.   The total cost of the scheme is estimated at  £400 million. CoDA, backed by UK and Korean banks as well as investment funds, is expected to make a formal announcement about its plan early next week.   The fact that the Korean firm chose Swansea ahead of many other potential sites in the UK has been explained by CoDA’s chief executive, Hoshik Chi, thus: â€Å"The market in Swansea is dynamic and buoyant, and I have been most impressed by the city and the surrounding area.† The Korean firm would seek planning permission for the 2.7-acre site soon.   The development on this site would consist of twin structures, four to eight storeys high, offering reasonably priced housing and car parking, in addition to seven retail units.   Developers are claiming that the new development would be as modernized as possible, featuring a community  heating system which would be fueled by zero emission wood pellets, in addition to a rain harvesting system. This eco-friendly development may very well be the biggest investment of a Korean company in the UK.   What is more, the Korean investment is bound to be highly profitable, seeing as Swansea’s city center and its waterfront are also in the process of being transformed through a  £1 billion plan announced last week; and the people of Wales continue to demand residential accommodation.   Other Korean companies may also join CoDA in Swansea’s development and modernization, especially since South Korea has relaxed its laws regulating the purchase of property in foreign countries.

Summary of the Book of Genesis

Summary of the book of Genesis In Genesis chapters 1-11, God created the universe and all living things in the span of 7 days. He created Adam and let him reside in the Garden of Eden so they may maintain it. The Garden of Eden has river that flows through it, and splits into four headstreams, Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. Soon after, God created woman, whom we know as Eve. The fall of man followed as Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and God banished them from the Garden of Eden.Adam and Eve Gave birth to Abel and Cain, Cain killed his brother Abel and Lived in the land of Nod, East of Eden. Soon the children of Adam and Eve soon bore children of their own, and their children’s children had children of their own, so on and so forth. At each passing generation their life spans become shorter. God decided to destroy all living things but allowed Noah and his family to be saved.He told them to make and Ark and bring seven of every kind of c lean animal, 2 of every unclean animal and seven of every kind of bird, so that their lives will be spared from the flood. The ark stopped at Mt. Ararat, and they all stepped out of the ark onto dry land, and Soon after they repopulated the earth. When the people, who all had a common language and vocabulary, started building the tower of Babel, God confused their language and spread them all over the earth. In Genesis chapters 12-25, it now begins the story of Abraham.God's call of Abram and the covenant with him in which he was promised that his descendants should inherit the land of Canaan, that they should become a great nation and that through them all nations of the earth would be blessed. Abram's name is changed to Abraham and Ishmael is born to Abraham and Hagar, Sarah's handmaid. Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed and the Lord sparing Lot’s life. Abraham deceived Abimelech concerning Sarah, his wife. And Sarah bore a child just as the Lord promised them, and they named him â€Å"Isaac†.God also tested Abraham’s faith by making him offer his only son as a burnt offering to Him. Soon after, Sarah died and they bought the family burial ground from the Hittites, and the betrothal of Isaac and Rebekah. At the end of this section, Abraham's death is recorded and the generations of Ishmael are given. And the story of Isaac was given and that he has twin sons, Jacob and Esau. In chapters 27-37, the story of Jacob and Esau were written. Jacob leaves home, after receiving his father's blessing by deceit. It was on this journey that he experienced the vision of the adder at Bethel. Jacob's family and his return from Haran to Canaan. Chapters 29-33 gives an account of Jacob's marriages, the birth of most of his children, the shrewd dealings between Laban and Jacob and the departure of Jacob from Haran. After leaving Haran and wrestling with the angel, Jacob came into contact with Esau, but without the conflict which had been feared. And finally in chapters 34-36 both lineages of Jacob and Esau were recorded. In the last arc of the Book of Genesis, chapters 37-50, the story of Joseph was written.Joseph, the seventeen year old son of Jacob, because of the jealousy of his brothers, is sold into Egypt where, after a series of events, he becomes a ruler of Egypt, ranking just under Pharaoh. Joseph's brothers come to Egypt to buy food during a time of great famine. After a time, Joseph reveals his identity to his brethren. Joseph insisted that Jacob and his family settle in Egypt. Jacob blessed Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and gave his prophecy concerning the twelve tribes. And at the final chapter of the Book of Genesis, was the recorded death of Joseph and Jacob.

Homo Neanderthalensis – the Neanderthals

Since their discovery more than a century ago, the Neanderthals have hovered over the minds and have baffled the best-laid theories of paleoanthropologists. They seem to fit in the general scheme of human evolution, and yet they’re misfits. (Jurmain, Kilgore, Trevathan and Ciochon. p. 367) In a way they are like us the modern Homo sapiens but yet are a very different species. But the real question that needs to be answered is â€Å"why the Neanderthals were considered a different species than the Homo sapiens and what made them go extinct? † The first Neanderthal remains were discovered in the year of 1856 in Germany. This discovery of a skullcap and partial skeleton in a cave in the Neander Valley (near Dusseldorf) was the first recognized fossil human form (Smithsonian 2007b). This was the first time Neanderthal fossils were discovered, as skulls were unearthed in Engis, Belgium in 1829 and Forbes’ Quarry, Gibraltar in 1848. However; these earlier discoveries were not known as belonging to archaic forms. The type of specimen, named Neanderthal 1, consisted of a skull cap, two femora, three bones from the right arm, two from the left arm, part of the left ilium, fragments of a scapula, and ribs. When this skeleton was recovered the workers thought the bones belonged to a bear. The workers then gave the material to an amateur naturalist Johann Karl Fuhlrott, who then in turn gave the fossils to anatomist Hermann Schaffhausen. The discovery was jointly announced in 1857. In 1864, a new species was known as: Homo Neanderthalensis. These, and later, discoveries led to the idea that these remains were from the ancient Europeans who played an important role in modern human origins. The bones of over four hundred Neanderthals have been found since. The most controversial one was excavated in 1908 at La Chalpelle-aux-Saints in southeast France. This was a nearly complete skeleton of a man who would have been elderly by the Neanderthals standards. The bones were analyzed between 1911 and 1913 by the well known French paleontologist, Marcellin Boule. But unfortunately his prejudices got in the way of scientific objectivity. He described the La Chapelle- aux-Saints man, and subsequently all Neanderthals, as dull- witted, brutish and ape-like creatures who walked hunched over with a shuffling gait. Today scientists think he misjudged the Neanderthal posture because the adult male that was discovered had osteoarthritis of the spine. Also, and probably more important, Boule and his contemporaries found it difficult to fully accept that the Neanderthals would have been the ancestor of modern humans. The skull of this male, which was 40 years old when he died, is very large with a cranial capacity of 1,620cm. Typical of western European classic forms, the vault was low and long; the brow ridges are immense, with the typical Neanderthal arched shape; the forehead was low and retreating; and the face was long and projecting. The La Chapelle skeleton wasn’t a typical Neanderthal, but and unusually robust male. Who â€Å"evidently represented an extreme in the Neanderthal range of variation† (Brace et al. , 1979, p. 117). The term â€Å"Neanderthal Man† was named by an Irish anatomist William King. He named them after the Neander River Valley. Classic Neanderthal fossils have been found over a large area, from northern Germany, to Israel to Mediterranean countries like Spain and Italy, and from England in the west to Uzbekistan in the east. The first proto- Neanderthal traits appeared in Europe as early as 350,000 years ago. (Bischoff et al. 003). By 130,000 years ago, full blown Neanderthal characteristics were present. Neanderthals became extinct in Europe approximately 30,000 years ago. There is recently discovered fossil and stone-tool evidence that suggests Neanderthals may have still been in existence 24,000 years ago, at which time they disappeared from the fossil record and were replaced in Europe by modern Homo sapiens. (Rincon 2006, Mcilroy 2006, Klein 2003, Smithsonian 2007b, 2007b, 2007c). The classic Neanderthal cranium was large, long, low and budging at the sides. Viewed from the side, the occipital bone is somewhat bun-shaped. The forehead rises more vertically than that of a H. Erectus, and the brow ridges arch over the orbits instead of forming a straight bar. The Neanderthals were robust, barrel-chested, powerfully muscled. They also had a large, thick skull, a sloping forehead, and a chinless jaw. This robust skeletal structure, in fact, dominates hominin evolution from H. Erectus through all premodern forms. (Jurmain, Kilgore, Trevathan and Ciochon. p. 370). Neanderthals had a compact body of short stature. Males averaged 1. 7 m (5ft 5in) tall and an estimate to weigh 84kg (185lb), and females averaged 1. m (5ft) tall and an estimate 80kg (176lb). (Smithsonian 2007c). Neanderthals also differed from modern Homo Sapiens in that they had a low forehead, double arched brow ridge, larger nasal area, projecting cheek region, weak chin, obvious space behind the third molar, heavily-built bones, broad scapula, short lower leg and arm bones relative to the upper portions, occasional bowing of the limb bones, the hip rotated outward, a long and thin pubic bone, and large joint surfaces of the toes and long bones. (Smithsonian 2007c). Neanderthals had noses that were broad and very large. They had limb bones that were thick and had large joints which indicate they had strongly muscled arms and legs. The shin bones and forearms tended to be shorter than those of modern humans. The pelvis was wider from side to side than in modern humans and this may have slightly affected their posture. One striking feature of Neanderthals was the brain size, which in these hominins actually was larger than that of H. sapiens today. The average for contemporary H. sapiens is between 1,300 and 1,400 cm, while for Neanderthals it was 1,520cm. The large size may have been linked with the metabolic efficiency of a larger brain in cold weather. Neanderthals mostly lived in cold climates, and their body proportions are similar to those of modern cold-adapted people for example the Eskimo people. The Eskimo people also live in very cold areas, and have a larger average brain size than most other modern human populations. Neanderthals develop quite differently in their childhood than the Homo sapiens. Neanderthal children may have grown faster than modern human children. Where as modern Homo sapiens have the slowest body growth of any mammal during childhood with lack of growth during this period being made up later in an adolescent growth spurt. The possibility that Neanderthal childhood growth was different was first raised in 1928 by the excavators of the Mousterian rock-shelter of a Neanderthal juvenile. Arthur Keith in 1931 wrote, â€Å"Apparently Neanderthal children assumed the appearances of maturity at an earlier age than modern children. †(Keith, Arthur p. 346) The rate of body maturation can be inferred by comparing the maturity of a juvenile’s fossil remains and the estimated age of death. Evidence shows that Neanderthals had a complex culture although they did not behave in the same ways as the early modern humans who lived at the same time. Scholars debate the degree of symbolic behavior shown by Neanderthals as finds of art and adornment are rare, particularly when compared to their modern human contemporaries who were creating significant amounts of cave paintings, portable art and jewelry. Some researchers believe that the Neanderthals lacked cognitive skills to create art and symbols and, in fact copied from or traded with modern humans rather than create their own artifacts. The Neanderthals had a reasonably advanced toolkit classified as Mode 3 technology that was used by early members of our own species, Homo sapiens. This was also known as the Mousterian, named after the site of Le Mousteir. Near the end of the time of the Neanderthals, they began to utilize the Chatelperronian tool style similar to the blade tools of Homo sapiens. . The tools of the Homo sapiens differed from that of the Neanderthals. The tools of the Homo sapiens were much more detailed as they were made out of ivory, bones antlers, and wood. There is little evidence that Neanderthals used antlers, shell, or other bone materials to make tools; their bone industry was relatively simple. However, there is good evidence that they routinely constructed a variety of stone implements. The Neanderthal (Mousterian) toolkits consisted of sophisticated stone-flakes, task-specific hand axes, and spears. Many of these tools were very sharp. Neanderthals trimmed a flint nodule around the edges to form a disk-shaped core. Each time they struck the edge, they produced a flake, and they kept at it until the core became too small and was discarded. There is also good evidence that they used a lot of wood, although such artifacts would likely not have been preserved (Henig 2000). Chatelperronian is one of the most advanced tool style than that of the Mousterian. This occurred at about the same time as modern humans entered Europe. Many archeologists think that the Neanderthals were attempting to copy the types of tools that they observed modern humans making. Alternatively, it is possible that they may have obtained these tools by trading with the modern humans. While Neanderthals had weapons, no projectile weapons have been found. They had spears, in the sense of a long wooden shaft with a spearhead firmly attached to it, but these were not spears specifically crafted for flight. The Neanderthals used their hunting weapons for hunting prey in close proximity and usually hunted in their localized areas. Because Neanderthals had no long-distance weaponry and were mostly limited to thrusting spears, they many have been more prone to serious injury-a hypothesis supported by paleoanthropologists Thomas Berger and Erik Trinkaus (Jurmain, Kilgore, Trevathan and Ciochon, p. 376). Where as the modern Homo sapiens made use of spear-thrower and bow and arrow. With these weapons the Homo sapiens had a wider range of social contacts, perhaps permitting larger, more organized hunting parities. The Neanderthals built hearths and were able to control fire for warmth, cooking and protection. They were known to wear animal hides, especially in cooler areas. However, there is no physical evidence that Neanderthal clothing was sewed together, and it may have simply been wrapped around the body and tied. A very intriguing find was excavated a hollowed-out bear femur that contained holes that may have been deliberately bored into it. This bone was found in western Slovenia in 1995, near the Mousterian fireplace, but its significance is still a matter of dispute. Some paleoanthropologists think that it might have been a flute, while others have expressed that it is a natural bone modified by bears. Another way in which Neanderthals differed markedly from contemporary modern Homo Sapiens, Homo sapiens employed a much wider range of materials from across Europe- such as seashells from Atlantic and mammoth ivory from southern Germany. Neanderthals, by contrast, probably stayed mostly around their caves and campsites. So they did not trade like the modern Homo sapiens. They probably transported their stone materials from short distances- just a few kilometers away. This suggests that Neanderthals activity was localized and territorial. Although much has been hyped about the Neanderthal’s burial of their dead, their burials were less elaborate than those of anatomically modern humans. The interpretation of the Shanidar IV burials as including flowers, and therefore being a form of ritual burial (Solecki 1975), has been questioned (Sommer 1999). On the other hand, five of the six flower pollens found with fossil Shanidar IV are known to have had traditional medical uses, even among relatively contemporary populations. In some cases Neanderthal burials have been found with grave goods, such as bison and auroch bones, tools, and the pigment ochre. On the other hand burial of Modern Homo sapiens were more much more complex, and frequently included both tools and remains of animals (Jurmain, Kilgore, Trevathan and Ciochon, p. 378) Neanderthals occupied a range of environments across Europe and the Middle East and lived through a period of changing climatic conditions. Ice Age in Europe was interspersed with warmer periods but by 110,000 years ago average temperatures were on the decline and full glacial conditions had appeared by 40,000 years ago. There is evidence that the Neanderthals hunted big game and chemical analysis of their fossils shows that they ate significant amounts of meat supplemented with vegetation. Despite this mixed diet, nearly half of the Neanderthals skeletons studied show the effects of a diet deficient in nutrients. Researchers have long debated whether Neanderthals also included human meat in their diets. It is not always easy to determine whether the cut marks on human bones are due to cannibalism, or some other practice or even animal teeth. But in recent years new evidence has emerged that suggests that some Neanderthals may indeed have been cannibals on occasions. The cave of El Sidron in Spain yielded hundreds of Neanderthals bones with cut marks, deliberate breaks for marrow extraction, and other signs that the bodies had been butchered for flesh in the same way as animals. There is Neurological evidence for potential speech in Neanderthalensis existed in the form of the hypoglossal canal, which is a bony canal in the occipital bone of the skull. The canal of Neanderthals is the same size or larger than in modern humans, which is significantly larger than the canal of Australopithecines and modern Chimpanzees. The canal carries the hypoglossal nerve, which supplies the muscles of the tongue with motor coordination. Researchers indicate that this evidence suggests that Neanderthalensis had vocal capabilities similar to, or possibly exceeding that of, modern humans (Kay et al. 1998). However, a research team from the University of California, Berkeley, led by David DeGusta, suggests that the size of the hypoglossal canal is not an indicator of speech. His team’s research, which shows no correlation between canal size and speech potential, shows there are number of living non-human primates and fossilized australopithecines that have equal or larger hypoglossal canal. In 1997, geneticists were able to extract a short sequence of DNA from Neanderthal bones from 30,000 years ago. In July 2006, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and 454 Life Sciences announced that they would sequence the Neanderthal genome over the next two years. At roughly 3. billion base pairs, Neanderthal genome is about the size of the modern human genome. According to the preliminary sequences, 99. 7% of the base pairs of the modern human and Neanderthal genomes are identical, compared to humans sharing around 98. 8% of the base pairs with the chimpanzee. The researchers recovered ancient DNA of Neanderthals by extracting the DNA from the femur bone of a 38,000 year old male Neanderthal specimen from Vindija Cave, Croatia and other bones found in Spain, Russia, and Germany. Additionally, in 2010, the announcement of the discovery and analysis of Mitochondrial DNA from the Denisova hominin in Siberia revealed that this specimen differs from that of modern humans by 385 bases in the mtDNA strand out of approximately 16,500, whereas the difference between the modern humans and Neanderthals is around 202 bases. Groundbreaking analysis of the Neanderthal genome published in 2010 shows that modern humans and Neanderthals did interbreed, although on a very limited scale. Researchers compared the genomes of five modern humans with the Neanderthal, discovering that Europeans and Asians share about 1-4% of their DNA with Neanderthals and Africans none. This suggests that modern humans bred with Neanderthals after moderns left Africa but before they spread to Asia and Europe. The most likely location is the Levant, where both species co-existed for thousands of years at various times between 20-90,000 years ago. Interestingly, the data doesn’t support wide-scale interbreeding between the species in Europe, where it would have been most likely given their close proximity. Neanderthals persisted for hundreds of thousands of years in extremely harsh conditions. They shard Europe for 10,000 years with the Homo sapiens. Today they no longer exist. There are two main theories of why they have disappeared. The first theory says the Neanderthals interbred with Homo sapiens on a relatively large scale. Followers of this theory believe that although Neanderthals as organisms no longer exist their genes were present in early modern Europeans and may still exist today. Interbreeding diluted Neanderthal DNA because there were significantly more Homo sapiens. Neanderthals were a sub-species of Homo sapiens rather than a separate species and hence their scientific name is Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. There is quite a bit of evidence that supports this theory. There are features of Neanderthals in some Cro-Magnon (Homo sapiens) populations. For instance the discoverers of the 24,000-year-old skeleton of a modern human boy from Lagar Velho in Portugal argue that although the pelvis and facial morphology are sapiens-like, the robusticity and limb proportions are more Neanderthal-like. As the age of the skeleton is later than the time of the last known Neanderthal, these features must represent significant interbreeding and transmission of DNA between modern humans and Neanderthals. Cro-Magnon remains from Vogelherd in Germany and Mladec in the Czech Republic also exhibit a Neanderthal-like projection of the occipital bun at the back of the skull, more so than in later Homo sapiens. Various reasons have been proposed for the ‘replacement’ of Neanderthals by modern humans. Today, most theories accept that Neanderthals displayed advanced behaviors and adaptive strategies and were not sluggish brutes that stood no chance against the vastly superior Homo sapiens. Neanderthal reproductive success and survival rates appeared poor compared to Homo sapiens. Most Neanderthal remains were of individuals rarely over 30 years old and over half were children. Slightly better rates of reproductive success and childhood survival over 10,000 years could be all it took for Homo sapiens to replace Neanderthals. Neanderthals may have also lacked the adaptive nature of modern humans who had complex social networks across wide areas. Smaller populations of Neanderthals that tended to stay in limited areas may have made them vulnerable to local extinctions. The survival techniques of Neanderthals were not as developed as Homo sapiens. For instance, studies on stress and build-up of tissue in Neanderthal bones indicate they may have lacked systematic and directional planning in procuring food. This Neanderthal predominance of ‘brawn over brain’ may also be reflected in the number of skeletal injuries seen in both sexes, probably from close range hunting. Other studies show that 40% of Neanderthal remains have hypoplasia, a condition caused by lack of nutrients in early childhood. This is supported by tests on Neanderthal bone collagen which indicate that meat was very significant in Neanderthal diets to the point that they may be lacking the nutrients from other sources used by Homo sapiens, especially fresh water products and vegetable matter. Researchers also believe climate could have played a major role in Neanderthal’s extinction. New data on the glacial period that occurred from about 65,000 to 25,000 years ago (known as OIS-3) shows that it was a period of rapid, severe and abrupt climate changes with profound environmental impacts. Although Neanderthals were physically adapted to the cold, the severe changes in conditions (within individuals' lifetimes in many cases) allowed no time for populations to recover. I believe doing this research on Neanderthals has taught me a lot more than I knew. I was fascinated by the anatomical differences and similarities between the Homo sapiens and the Neanderthals. I got to learn a lot about their lifestyles, their cultures and how the Neanderthals became extinct. I was surprised to know that some Neanderthals showed evidence of cannibalism. Now having done the research on the Neanderthal, if I was asked to answer my own research question I would be able to answer it. Neanderthals were different from the Homo sapiens for various reasons. They were anatomically different than the Homo sapiens. The Neanderthals were strong and robust while the Homo sapiens today are not as robust and barrel-chested as the Neanderthals. Also the brains of the Neanderthals were larger than the Homo sapiens today. Also I found the extinction theories of the Neanderthals very interesting. I agree with the climate theory. It was mentioned as evidence that the weather was so abrupt and severe it might have affected the Neanderthals negatively leading them to go extinct. Overall this research project made me become aware of all our previous human ancestors.

Christmas Celebration

Christmas Celebration Many people celebrate Christmas but don’t believe in God or Jesus. It’s a holiday that many people will celebrate together by giving each other gifts and spent time with family. The day of Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ. It is usually celebrated on December 25 each year. Many people around the world will usually celebrate it. It’s a time for family and friends to come together to celebrate a time of joy and love. People also think that on the day of Christmas it should be a day of peace around the world.Little kids will be exited on the day of Christmas because they often get many gifts or present from their friends and family. Many of them will also believe in Santa Claus. On the night before Christmas, kids will prepare a list or a letter to Santa telling him what they wish for. They will also have some cookies and drink on the table for him to eat. Kids have been told that if they are bad and naughty then they will get coal. But i f they are nice then they will get gifts.In their mind Santa Claus is dressed wearing a red coat with white collar, a Santa hat, black boots and leather belt with white bearded. They believe that on that night which is called Christmas Eve, Santa Claus will deliver presents with a sleigh and many reindeer to the well behaved children’s. He will come through the chimney on the roof. Then slide down and walk through the fire place. Then on the morning day of Christmas kids will wake up and presents will be under the Christmas tree. Some kids don’t believe in Santa Clause because they think it’s not real.They might have found out and knows about it. Some kids might be bad and never really got presents. It could also be when they were a kids their family never told them about how Santa Claus exist and how they deliver gifts. They think it is their parents the one who got the present to them and pretend to be Santa. Even though some kids know it’s not true but they still pretend to believe in it. They could be happy from writing the letter to Santa and waking up next morning seeing the presents.It really depends on themselves if they believe it or not. Maybe as they grew older and found out it is their parents then they might be sad and disappointed. I once believed in Santa Claus as a kid because I got present the next day I woke up from every Christmas. But then later on as I grew older I kind of know it was my aunt the one who gave me the presents. I remembered that as a kid before I know the truth it was fun on Christmas Eve because I went to sleep early and the next day I woke up with presents.And once I don’t believe in it then every Christmas there wasn’t gift to me from Santa Claus. I just got gifts from friends and family. This belief can be something going on till today. If each family has children then they can be the one telling them about Santa Claus and make them believe into it. Different culture can celebrat e Christmas in their way but it’s quite the same. With a Christmas tree and giving gifts. Santa Claus is always the same look. Mostly every country in the world will celebrate Christmas.Some of them celebrate early in December and others celebrate early in January. On December 24 the day or night before Christmas which is Christmas Eve is a night where they prepare things. I think Christmas has a beautiful decoration. Mostly if Christmas is celebrated then they would also have a Christmas tree. The Christmas tree will have lights and ornament. The house itself might as well be decorated. Some people will decorate their yards with Christmas figure. And at night it looks nice when it is dark and those Christmas decoration has lights.