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Aardvark
Conservation
Conservation Aardvarks were thought to have declining numbers, however, this is possibly because they are not readily seen. There are no definitive counts because of their nocturnal and secretive habits; however, their numbers seem to be stable overall. They are not considered common anywhere in Africa, but due to thei...
Aardvark
Mythology and popular culture
Mythology and popular culture thumb|200px|F-111 Aardvark thumb|200px|F-14 Tomcat from VF-114 Aardvarks with the squadron mascot painted on the tail In African folklore, the aardvark is much admired because of its diligent quest for food and its fearless response to soldier ants. Hausa magicians make a charm from the ...
Aardvark
Footnotes
Footnotes
Aardvark
References
References
Aardvark
External links
External links IUCN/SSC Afrotheria Specialist Group A YouTube video introducing the Bronx Zoo's aardvarks "The Biology of the Aardvark (Orycteropus afer)" a diploma thesis (without images) "The Biology of the Aardvark" (Orycteropus afer)" the thesis with images Category:Orycteropus Category:Mammals of Africa Ca...
Aardvark
Table of Content
Short description, Name and taxonomy, Name, Taxonomy, Evolutionary history, Subspecies, Description, Head, Digestive system, Habitat and range, Ecology and behaviour, Feeding, Vocalisation, Movement, Reproduction, Conservation, Mythology and popular culture, Footnotes, References, External links
Aardwolf
Short description
The aardwolf (Proteles cristatus) is an insectivorous hyaenid species, native to East and Southern Africa. Its name means "earth-wolf" in Afrikaans and Dutch."Aardwolf, n." Dictionary of South African English. Dictionary Unit for South African English, 2018. Web. 25 February 2019. It is also called the maanhaar-jackal"...
Aardwolf
Taxonomy
Taxonomy The aardwolf is generally classified as part of the hyena family Hyaenidae. However, it was formerly placed in its own family Protelidae. Early on, scientists felt that it was merely mimicking the striped hyena, which subsequently led to the creation of Protelidae. Recent studies have suggested that the aardwo...
Aardwolf
Etymology
Etymology The generic name Proteles is derived from two words of Greek origin: , prōtos and téleios, which combined mean "complete in front" referring to the aardwolf's five toes on the front paws and four on the hindpaws. The specific name cristatus is derived from Latin and means "provided with a comb or tuft", rel...
Aardwolf
Description
Description thumb|Aardwolf with tongue exposed. Note the prominent papillae The aardwolf resembles a much smaller and thinner striped hyena, with a more slender muzzle, black vertical stripes on a coat of yellowish fur, and a long, distinct mane down the midline of the neck and back. It also has one or two diagonal st...
Aardwolf
Distribution and habitat
Distribution and habitat Aardwolves live in open, dry plains and bushland, avoiding mountainous areas. Due to their specific food requirements, they are found only in regions where termites of the family Hodotermitidae occur. Termites of this family depend on dead and withered grass and are most populous in heavily gra...
Aardwolf
Behavior and ecology
Behavior and ecology thumb|left|Aardwolf at the San Antonio Zoo Aardwolves are shy and nocturnal, sleeping in burrows by day. They will, on occasion during the winter, become diurnal feeders. This happens during the coldest periods as they then stay in at night to conserve heat. They are primarily solitary animals, th...
Aardwolf
Feeding
Feeding The aardwolf feeds primarily on termites and more specifically on Trinervitermes. This genus of termites has different species throughout the aardwolf's range. In East Africa, they eat Trinervitermes bettonianus, in central Africa, they eat Trinervitermes rhodesiensis, and in southern Africa, they eat T. triner...
Aardwolf
Breeding
Breeding The breeding season varies depending on location, but normally takes place during autumn or spring. In South Africa, breeding occurs in early July. During the breeding season, unpaired male aardwolves search their own territory, as well as others, for a female to mate with. Dominant males also mate opportunist...
Aardwolf
Conservation
Conservation The aardwolf has not seen decreasing numbers and is relatively widespread throughout eastern Africa. They are not common throughout their range, as they maintain a density of no more than 1 per square kilometer, if food is abundant. Because of these factors, the IUCN has rated the aardwolf as least concern...
Aardwolf
In captivity
In captivity thumb|Illustration of Proteles cristatus Frankfurt Zoo in Germany was home to the oldest recorded aardwolf in captivity at 18 years and 11 months.
Aardwolf
Notes
Notes
Aardwolf
References
References
Aardwolf
Sources
Sources
Aardwolf
Further reading
Further reading
Aardwolf
External links
External links Animal Diversity Web IUCN Hyaenidae Specialist Group Aardwolf pages on hyaenidae.org Cam footage from the Namib desert https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lRevqS6Pxgg Category:Mammals described in 1783 Category:Carnivorans of Africa Category:Hyenas Category:Mammals of Southern Africa Category:Fauna of ...
Aardwolf
Table of Content
Short description, Taxonomy, Etymology, Description, Distribution and habitat, Behavior and ecology, Feeding, Breeding, Conservation, In captivity, Notes, References, Sources, Further reading, External links
Adobe
Short description
thumb|Adobe wall (detail) in Bahillo, Palencia, Spain thumb|Renewal of the surface coating of an adobe wall in Chamisal, New Mexico thumb|Adobe walls separate urban gardens in Shiraz, Iran Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regio...
Adobe
Description
Description Adobe bricks are rectangular prisms small enough that they can quickly air dry individually without cracking. They can be subsequently assembled, with the application of adobe mud to bond the individual bricks into a structure. There is no standard size, with substantial variations over the years and in di...
Adobe
Strength
Strength In dry climates, adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for some of the oldest existing buildings in the world. Adobe buildings offer significant advantages due to their greater thermal mass, but they are known to be particularly susceptible to earthquake damage if they are not reinforced.Short do...
Adobe
Distribution
Distribution Buildings made of sun-dried earth are common throughout the world (Middle East, Western Asia, North Africa, West Africa, South America, Southwestern North America, Southwestern and Eastern Europe.).Marchand, Trevor (2009). The Masons of Djenne. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press Adobe had been in use...
Adobe
Etymology
Etymology thumb|left|Church at San Pedro de Atacama, Chile The word adobe has existed for around 4,000 years with relatively little change in either pronunciation or meaning. The word can be traced from the Middle Egyptian () word ḏbt "mud brick" (with vowels unwritten). Middle Egyptian evolved into Late Egyptian and ...
Adobe
Composition
Composition thumb|Adobe style in Santa Fe, New Mexico An adobe brick is a composite material made of earth mixed with water and an organic material such as straw or dung. The soil composition typically contains sand, silt and clay. Straw is useful in binding the brick together and allowing the brick to dry evenly, ther...
Adobe
Material properties
Material properties thumb|The Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali, built in adobe. The struts projecting from the wall serve as decoration, as well as supports for scaffolding during maintenance. thumb|Maintenance of historic architecture in Agadez, Niger, by adding a new layer of mud rendering Adobe walls are load bearing, i...
Adobe
Uses
Uses
Adobe
Poured and puddled adobe walls
Poured and puddled adobe walls thumb|left|Cliff dwellings of poured or puddled adobe (cob) at Cuarenta Casas in Mexico Poured and puddled adobe (puddled clay, piled earth), today called cob, is made by placing soft adobe in layers, rather than by making individual dried bricks or using a form. "Puddle" is a general ter...
Adobe
Adobe bricks
Adobe bricks thumb|Adobe bricks near a construction site in Milyanfan, Kyrgyzstan Bricks made from adobe are usually made by pressing the mud mixture into an open timber frame. In North America, the brick is typically about in size. The mixture is molded into the frame, which is removed after initial setting. After dr...
Adobe
Adobe wall construction
Adobe wall construction thumb|The earthen plaster removed, exposing the adobe bricks at Fort St. Sebastien in France The ground supporting an adobe structure should be compressed, as the weight of adobe wall is significant and foundation settling may cause cracking of the wall. Footing depth is to be below the ground f...
Adobe
Adobe roof
Adobe roof The traditional adobe roof has been constructed using a mixture of soil/clay, water, sand and organic materials. The mixture was then formed and pressed into wood forms, producing rows of dried earth bricks that would then be laid across a support structure of wood and plastered into place with more adobe. ...
Adobe
Adobe around the world
Adobe around the world The largest structure ever made from adobe is the Arg-é Bam built by the Achaemenid Empire. Other large adobe structures are the Huaca del Sol in Peru, with 100 million signed bricks and the ciudellas of Chan Chan and Tambo Colorado, both in Peru.
Adobe
See also
See also used adobe walls (waterproofing plaster) (also known as Ctesiphon Arch) in Iraq is the largest mud brick arch in the world, built beginning in 540 AD
Adobe
References
References
Adobe
External links
External links Category:Soil-based building materials Category:Masonry Category:Adobe buildings and structures Category:Appropriate technology Category:Vernacular architecture Category:Sustainable building
Adobe
Table of Content
Short description, Description, Strength, Distribution, Etymology, Composition, Material properties, Uses, Poured and puddled adobe walls, Adobe bricks, Adobe wall construction, Adobe roof, Adobe around the world, See also, References, External links
Adventure
Short description
thumb|upright=1.5|People on a coracle An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme sports. Adventures are often undertaken ...
Adventure
Motivation
Motivation Adventurous experiences create psychological arousal, which can be interpreted as negative (e.g. fear) or positive (e.g. flow). For some people, adventure becomes a major pursuit in and of itself. According to adventurer André Malraux, in his Man's Fate (1933), "If a man is not ready to risk his life, where...
Adventure
Mythology and fiction
Mythology and fiction Some of the oldest and most widespread stories in the world are stories of adventure, such as Homer's Odyssey. The knight errant was the form the "adventure seeker" character took in the Late Middle Ages. Adventure fiction exhibits these "protagonist on adventurous journey" characteristics, as d...
Adventure
Outdoors
Outdoors Adventure books may have the theme of the hero or main character going to face the wilderness or Mother Nature. Examples include books such as Hatchet or My Side of the Mountain. These books are less about "questing", such as in mythology or other adventure novels, but more about surviving on their own, living...
Adventure
Questing
Questing Many adventures are based on the idea of a quest: the hero goes off in pursuit of a reward, whether it be a skill, prize, treasure, or perhaps the safety of a person. On the way, the hero must overcome various obstacles to obtain their reward.
Adventure
Video games
Video games In video game culture, an adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media, literature and film, encompassing a wide va...
Adventure
Nonfiction works
Nonfiction works From ancient times, travelers and explorers have written about their adventures. Journals which became best-sellers in their day were written, such as Marco Polo's journal The Travels of Marco Polo or Mark Twain's Roughing It. Others were personal journals, only later published, such as the journals of...
Adventure
Adventure sports
Adventure sports There are many sports classified as adventure sports, due to their inherent danger and excitement. Some of these include mountain climbing, skydiving, or other extreme sports.
Adventure
See also
See also Adventure film Adventure playground Adventure travel Expedition Exploration Filibuster (military) List of genres Novelty seeking Overlanding Sports Tourism
Adventure
References
References
Adventure
External links
External links Website of the Research Unit "Philology of Adventure": ongoing research project on the literary history of the adventure Wikivoyage
Adventure
Table of Content
Short description, Motivation, Mythology and fiction, Outdoors, Questing, Video games, Nonfiction works, Adventure sports, See also, References, External links
Asia
Short description
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of ma...
Asia
Etymology
Etymology thumb|left|Ptolemy's Asia The term "Asia" is believed to originate in the Bronze Age toponym () which originally referred only to a portion of northwestern Anatolia. The term appears in Hittite records recounting how a confederation of Assuwan states including Troy unsuccessfully rebelled against the Hitt...
Asia
Definition
Definition
Asia
Asia–Europe boundary
Asia–Europe boundary thumb|upright=1.2|Definitions used for the boundary between Asia and Europe in different periods of history. Modern definitions mostly fit with lines B and F given. The threefold division of the Old World into Africa, Asia, and Europe has been in use since the 6th century BCE, due to Greek geogr...
Asia
Asia–Africa boundary
Asia–Africa boundary The boundary between Asia and Africa is the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Suez, the Red Sea, and the Bab-el-Mandeb. This makes Egypt a transcontinental country, with the Sinai Peninsula in Asia and the remainder of the country in Africa.
Asia
Asia–Oceania boundary
Asia–Oceania boundary left|thumb|upright=1.2|Definitions of the boundary between Asia and Oceania The border between Asia and Oceania is usually placed somewhere in the Indonesian Archipelago, specifically in Eastern Indonesia. The Wallace Line separates the Asian and Wallacea biogeographical realms, a transition zo...
Asia
Asia–North America boundary
Asia–North America boundary thumb|upright=1.2|The United States–Russia borrder according to the USSR–USA Maritime Boundary Agreement The Bering Strait and Bering Sea separate the landmasses of Asia and North America, as well as forming the international boundary between Russia and the United States. This national an...
Asia
Ongoing definition
Ongoing definition thumb|left|Afro-Eurasia Geographical Asia is a cultural artifact of European conceptions of the world, beginning with the Ancient Greeks, being imposed onto other cultures, an imprecise concept causing endemic contention about what it means. Asia does not exactly correspond to the cultural borders...
Asia
History
History
Asia
Ancient era
Ancient era thumb|upright=1.2|The Silk Road connected civilisations across Asia.The history of Asia can be seen as the distinct histories of several peripheral coastal regions: East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia. The coastal periphery was home to some of the world's earliest known civi...
Asia
Medieval era
Medieval era thumb|upright=1.2|The Mongol Empire at its greatest extent. The gray area is the later Timurid Empire.The Islamic Caliphate's defeats of the Byzantine and Persian empires led to West Asia and southern parts of Central Asia and western parts of South Asia under its control during its conquests of the 7th ...
Asia
Modern era
Modern era European involvement in Asia became more significant from the Age of Discovery onward, with Iberian-sponsored sailors such as Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama paving the way for new routes from Atlantic Europe to Pacific Asia and the Indian Ocean respectively in the late 15th century. The Russian Em...
Asia
Contemporary era
Contemporary era thumb|The Soviet Union (in red) and China (yellow) controlled most of Asia in the late 20th century. With the end of World War II in 1945 and the wartime ruination of Europe and imperial Japan, many countries in Asia were able to rapidly free themselves of colonial rule. The independence of India cam...
Asia
Geography
Geography thumb|The Himalayan range is home to some of the planet's highest peaks. Asia is the largest continent on Earth. It covers 9% of the Earth's total surface area (or 30% of its land area), and has the longest coastline, at . Asia is generally defined as comprising the eastern four-fifths of Eurasia. It is lo...
Asia
Main regions
Main regions thumb|upright=1.4|Detailed map of Asian regions There are various approaches to the regional division of Asia. The following subdivision into regions is used, among others, by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). This division of Asia into regions by the United Nations is done solely for stati...
Asia
Climate
Climate thumb|upright=1.4|Köppen-Geiger climate classification map for Asia Asia has extremely diverse climate features. Climates range from Arctic and subarctic in Siberia to tropical in southern India and Southeast Asia. It is moist across southeast sections, and dry across much of the interior. Some of the larges...
Asia
Climate change
Climate change
Asia
Politics
Politics alt=|thumb|Map of 2023 V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index for Asia |upright=1.4 The most democratic countries in Asia are Japan, Taiwan and Israel according to the V-Dem Democracy indices in 2024.
Asia
List of states and territories
List of states and territories Symbol Flag Name Population() Area(km2) Capital 20px|link=Emblem of Afghanistan|alt=Emblem Afghanistan 652,864 Kabul Armenia 29,743 Yerevan Azerbaijan 86,600 Baku Bahrain 760 Manama 20px|link=National Emblem of Bangladesh|alt=Emblem Bangladesh 147,570 Dhaka 20px|link=Embl...
Asia
Economy
Economy thumb|upright=1.2|Singapore has one of the busiest container ports in the world and is the world's fourth-largest foreign exchange trading hub. Asia has the largest continental economy in the world by both GDP nominal and PPP values, and is the fastest growing economic region. , China is by far the largest e...
Asia
Tourism
Tourism thumb|alt=A Thai temple complex with several ornate buildings, and a lot of visitors|Wat Phra Kaew in the Grand Palace is among Bangkok's major tourist attractions. With growing Regional Tourism with domination of Chinese visitors, MasterCard has released Global Destination Cities Index 2013 with 10 of 20 ar...
Asia
Demographics
Demographics thumb|World population East Asia had by far the strongest overall Human Development Index (HDI) improvement of any region in the world, nearly doubling average HDI attainment over the past 40 years, according to the report's analysis of health, education and income data. China, the second highest achiev...
Asia
Languages
Languages Asia is home to several language families and many language isolates. Most Asian countries have more than one language that is natively spoken. For instance, according to Ethnologue, more than 700 languages are spoken in Indonesia, more than 400 languages spoken in India, and more than 100 are spoken in th...
Asia
Religions
Religions Many of the world's major religions have their origins in Asia, including the five most practiced in the world (excluding irreligion), which are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Chinese folk religion (classified as Confucianism and Taoism), and Buddhism. Asian mythology is complex and diverse. The story of t...
Asia
Abrahamic
Abrahamic thumb|The Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem thumb|The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem thumb|Pilgrims in the annual Hajj at the Kaabah in Mecca The Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Druze faith, and Baháʼí Faith originated in West Asia. Judaism, the oldest of th...
Asia
Indian and East Asian religions
Indian and East Asian religions thumb|The Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple in Delhi, according to the Guinness World Records, is the World's Largest Comprehensive Hindu Temple. Almost all Asian religions have philosophical character and Asian philosophical traditions cover a large spectrum of philosophical thoughts and...
Asia
Culture
Culture The culture of Asia is a diverse blend of customs and traditions that have been practiced by the various ethnic groups of the continent for centuries. The continent is divided into six geographic sub-regions: Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and West Asia. These regions are de...
Asia
Nobel laureates
Nobel laureates thumb|upright=0.8|Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, and Asia's first Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali dramatist and author from Santiniketan (now in West Bengal, India), won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913, becoming the first Asian Nobel laureat...
Asia
See also
See also Asian Century Asian Games Asian Highway Network Asian Monetary Unit Asian Para Games List of cities in Asia Asian cuisine Asian furniture Eastern Mediterranean Eastern world Fauna of Asia Flags of Asia List of metropolitan areas in Asia by population Trans-Asian Railway
Asia
Notes
Notes
Asia
References
References
Asia
Bibliography
Bibliography
Asia
Further reading
Further reading Embree, Ainslie T., ed. Encyclopedia of Asian history (1988) vol. 1 online; vol 2 online; vol 3 online; vol 4 online Higham, Charles. Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Facts on File library of world history. New York: Facts On File, 2004. Kamal, Niraj. "Arise Asia: Respond to White Peri...
Asia
External links
External links Asia: Human Geography at the National Geographic Society Asian Reading Room from the United States Library of Congress Category:Continents
Asia
Table of Content
Short description, Etymology, Definition, Asia–Europe boundary, Asia–Africa boundary, Asia–Oceania boundary, Asia–North America boundary, Ongoing definition, History, Ancient era, Medieval era, Modern era, Contemporary era, Geography, Main regions, Climate, Climate change, Politics, List of states and territories, Econ...
Aruba
Short description
Aruba ( , or , ), officially the Country of Aruba (; ), is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 1986, Aruba became a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and a...
Aruba
Etymology
Etymology The name Aruba most likely came from the Caquetío Oruba which means "well situated island", seeing as it was the Caquetío who were present on the island when Alonso de Ojeda arrived in the 16th century. Between 1529 and the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, the name "Isla de Oruba" was used for the island by the Sp...
Aruba
History
History
Aruba
Pre-ceramic age
Pre-ceramic age In Aruba's prehistoric era, there were distinct periods: the Archaic or Pre-Ceramic and the Neo-Indian or Ceramic (Dabajuroïd)  period. The Archaic occupation of Aruba continued well into the first millennium AD, which is relatively late in compared to other parts of the insular Caribbean. The archaic l...
Aruba
Early human migration and cultural exchange
Early human migration and cultural exchange During this period, the Leeward Islands maintained connections and engaged in trade with mainland South America, particularly with partners in the present-day Falcón-Zulia state in Venezuela and possibly the La Guajira Peninsula (Venezuela/Colombia). The specific language g...
Aruba
Neo-Indian period: the Caquetío
Neo-Indian period: the Caquetío The archaic population disappeared from Aruba from the archeological record around 950 AD, shortly after the arrival of the neo-Indian—Caquetío. It is clear that the Caquetíos had a superior culture in socio-economic and technological terms. It is possible that the Caquetío lived alon...
Aruba
Caquetío chiefdom
Caquetío chiefdom The area over which the legendary cacique Manaure exercised his authority was the coastal region of the current state Falcón-Zulia at Venezuela, including the Paraguaná Peninsula, as well as Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. The Caquetío people had a highly developed process of state formation. They had a...
Aruba
Political units and governance
Political units and governance The Caquetío territory consisted of several small political units that were under the authority of lower "second-tier chiefs" who were subordinate to the highest authority. How the central authority was exercised over the units is not clear. However, there are reports from the contact p...
Aruba
Agriculture, trade, and network
Agriculture, trade, and network The Caquetío people probably used a shifting cultivation farming method, also known as slash-and-burn.Versteeg, A.; Ruiz, A.C. (1995). Reconstructing Brasil Wood Island: the archaeology and landscape of Indian Aruba. Aruba: Publications of the Archaeological Museum, no. 6. The yields f...
Aruba
Burial practices
Burial practices In 1882 French explorer Alphonse L. Pinart documented an account provided by an old Aruba Indian. According to the Indian's account, witnessed at the former Indian encampment at Saboneta (Savaneta), a native female was inhumed in one of the large conical ollas. Her body was doubled up inside the vase...
Aruba
Last indigenous Aruban
Last indigenous Aruban Nicolaas Pyclas was regarded as the last known indigenous Aruban. Pyclas spoke and understood the extinct language of the original inhabitants of Aruba, adhering to their way of life and customs. He resided in a hut in Savaneta. His diet included sea snails, such as cocolishi (Cerun uva) and ca...
Aruba
Spanish period
Spanish period
Aruba
Early explorations
Early explorations It is known that Christopher Columbus was not searching for a new continent but for the shortest route to India. India had been the spearhead of European trade expansion and the foreign policy of the Spanish Crown since the travels of Marco Polo a century earlier. India, China, and Japan formed the...
Aruba
Conquistadors
Conquistadors Conquistadors were fascinated by legends of inexhaustible gold reserves of El Dorado. The conquest was characterized by bloodshed, destruction, and forced assimilation of the native peoples into European society, such as the initiation of Indian slavery by Columbus in 1492. Europeans had an advantage be...