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lost tribes

(Encyclopedia)lost tribes, 10 Israelite tribes that, according to the Bible, were transported to Assyria by Tiglathpileser III or Shalmaneser after the conquest of Israel in 722 b.c. Numerous conjectures have been ...

San Blas Islands

(Encyclopedia)San Blas Islands mo͞oläˈtäs [key], archipelago off the northeast coast of Panama. It consists of 332 coral islands. The inhabitants are almost pure-blooded aborigines of Carib origin; fishing and ...

Tutsi

(Encyclopedia)Tutsi wä– [key], cattle-raising people of central Africa, particularly in Burundi and Rwanda; they are also known as Watusi or Batusi. The original Tutsi homeland was probably in Ethiopia, and c.40...

Gupta

(Encyclopedia)Gupta go͝opˈtə [key], Indian dynasty, a.d. c.320–c.550, whose empire at its height encompassed much of N India. Ancient Indian culture reached a high point during this period. Gupta paintings ado...

Chibcha

(Encyclopedia)Chibcha chĭbˈchə [key], indigenous people of the eastern cordillera of the Andes of Colombia. Although trade with neighboring tribes was common, the Chibcha seem to have evolved their culture in co...

zone

(Encyclopedia)zone [Gr.,=girdle], in geography, area with a certain physical and/or cultural unity that distinguishes it from other areas. The division of the earth into five climatic zones probably originated (5th...

W and Z particles

(Encyclopedia)W and Z particles, elementary particles that mediate, or carry, the fundamental force associated with weak interactions. The discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, in the...

Narmada

(Encyclopedia)Narmada nərmŭˈdə [key], river, c.775 mi (1,250 km) long, rising in Madhya Pradesh state, central India, and flowing W between the Satpura and Vindhya ranges through Gujarat state to the Gulf of Kh...

Sikkim

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Sikkim sĭkˈĭm [key], state (2001 provisional pop. 540,493), 2,745 sq mi (7,110 sq km), India. It is located in the E Himalayas and bordered by Nepal (W), by the Tibet region of China (N), by...

Ballia

(Encyclopedia)Ballia bŭlˈyə [key], town, Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. Situated on a rich alluvi...