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chikungunya

(Encyclopedia)chikungunya chĭkən-go͞onˈyä [key], viral disease transmitted by the bite of an infected female Aedes mosquito. Symptoms appear after an incubation period of four to eight days and include sudden ...

atlatl

(Encyclopedia)atlatl ätˈlätəl [key] [Nahuatl], device used to throw a spear with greater propulsion. Atlatls began to be used in the Americas in the post-Pleistocene period and were eventually replaced by the b...

Greek fire

(Encyclopedia)Greek fire, a flammable composition believed to have consisted of sulfur, naphtha, and quicklime. Although known in antiquity, it was first employed on a large scale by the Byzantines. Bronze tubes th...

Fertile Crescent

(Encyclopedia)Fertile Crescent, historic region of the Middle East. A well-watered and fertile area, it arcs across the northern part of the Syrian desert. It is flanked on the west by the Mediterranean and on the ...

Tlaxcala , city, Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Tlaxcala, city (1990 pop. 50,486), capital of Tlaxcala state, E central Mexico. It is the site of the oldest Christian church in the Americas, founded (1521) by the Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés. N...

Bridgman, Frederic Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Bridgman, Frederic Arthur, 1847–1927, American painter of genre and of scenes of Middle Eastern antiquity, b. Tuskegee, Ala. He studied under Gérôme in Paris, where he remained as an important fig...

Eiseley, Loren Corey

(Encyclopedia)Eiseley, Loren Corey īzˈlē [key], 1907–77, American anthropologist, b. Lincoln, Nebr. He taught anthropology at the Univ. of Kansas (1937–44), was chair of sociology and anthropology at Oberlin...

Collier, John

(Encyclopedia)Collier, John, 1884–1968, American social worker, anthropologist, and author, educated at Columbia and the Collège de France. After holding several positions in community organization and social wo...

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