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Chickpea

Chickpea

The chickpea, chick pea, garbanzo bean, ceci bean, bengal gram (Cicer arietinum), or chana is an edible pulse of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. The plant is 20-50 cm high and has small feathery leaves on both sides of the stem. One seed-pod contains 2-3 peas. The flowers are white or reddish blue. Chickpeas need a subtropical or tropical climate and more than 400 mm annual rain. They can be grown in a temperate climate, but yields will be much lower.

Cultivation and uses

Several dozen distinct chickpea cultivars are grown. European cultivars are large (typically around 10-15 mm diameter) and most commonly pale yellow. There were several other cultivars, with black and reddish seeds that are rarely grown today. The black cultivar was mainly used as fodder. Asian cultivars are smaller (typically 5-8 mm) and dark brown in color. The chickpea is not known in a wild state. It is grown in the Mediterranean, western Asia and India. In India the plants are eaten as salad as well. Chickpeas can be eaten in salads, cooked in stews, ground into a flour called gram flour (also known as besan, and used in Indian cuisine), ground and shaped in balls and fried as falafel, cooked and ground into a paste called hummus, or roasted and spiced and eaten as a snack. The plant can also be used as a green vegetable. In India, where they are referred to as "chana", chickpeas form an important source of protein, which is important in a predominantly vegetarian culture.

History of cultivation

Domesticated chickpeas are first known from the aceramic levels of Jericho (PPNB) and Cayönü in Turkey and the pottery Neolithic in Hacilar, Turkey. They are found in the late Neolithic in Thessaly, at Kastanas, Lerna and Dimini at ca. 3500 BC. In the southern French cave of L'Abeurador Dept. Aude chickpeas have been found in Mesolithic layers, dated by radiocarbon dating to 6790±90 BC. By the Bronze age they were known in Italy and Greece. In classical Greece, they were called erébinthos, and eaten both as a staple and as dessert, raw when young. The Romans knew several varieties known, for example venus-, ram- and punic chickpeas. They were eaten as a broth and roasted as a snack. The Roman gourmet Apicius gives several recipes for chickpeas. Carbonised chickpeas have been found at the Roman legionary fort at Neuss (Novaesium), Germany in layers of the 1st century AD, as well as rice. Chickpeas are mentioned in Charlemagne's Capitulare de villis (ca. 800 AD) as cicer italicum, to be grown in each imperial demesne. Albertus Magnus knows three varieties, red, white and black. According to Culpeper "chick-pease or cicers" are less "windy" than peas and more nourishing. They are under the dominion of Venus and have a number of medical uses: they increase sperm and milk, provoke menstruation and urine and are helpful against kidney stones. The wild cicers were thought to be especially potent. Chickpeas were grown in some areas of Germany for use as a coffee substitute in the First World War.

Etymology

The name "chickpea" derives eventually from the Latin name cicer through the French chiche. The name Cicero is derived from this plant. "Garbanzo" is from the Spanish language, an alteration (perhaps influenced by Old Spanish garroba or algarroba) of the Old Spanish arvanço, perhaps from Greek erebinthos.[http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=garbanzo]

Trivia

It has been suggested (among other explanations) that the chickenpox disease gets its name from chick peas, which resembled the chickenpox blisters that appeared on the skin. Category:Faboideae Category:Beans ja:ヒヨコマメ

Pulse (legume)

Pulses are defined by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as annual leguminous crops yielding from one to twelve grains or seeds of variable size, shape and color within a pod. Pulses are used for food and animal feed. The term pulses, as used by the FAO, is reserved for crops harvested solely for the dry grain and therefore excludes green beans and green peas, which are considered vegetable crops. Also excluded are crops which are mainly grown for oil extraction, like soybeans and peanuts, and crops which are used exclusively for sowing (clovers, alfalfa). Pulses are important food crops due to their high protein and essential amino acid content. Like many leguminous crops, pulses play a key role in crop rotation due to their ability to fix nitrogen.

Statistics

India is both the world's largest producer and the world's largest importer of pulses. Canada, Myanmar, Australia and the United States are significant exporters of pulses. (Note: these are the four most significant suppliers of India's imports, in that order.) The vast majority of leguminous crops grown in the United States are peanuts and soybeans used as cattle feed and for extraction of vegetable oil, which are not considered pulses (see above).

Classification of pulses

FAO recognizes 11 primary pulses. # Dry beans (Phaseolus spp. including several species now in Vigna) #
- Kidney bean, haricot bean, pinto bean, navy bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) #
- Lima bean, butter bean (Vigna lunatus) #
- Azuki bean, adzuki bean (Vigna angularis) #
- Mung bean, golden gram, green gram (Vigna radiata) #
- Black gram, Urd (Vigna mungo) #
- Scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus) #
- Rice bean (Vigna umbellata) #
- Moth bean (Vigna acontifolia) #
- Tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius) # Dry broad beans (Vicia faba) #
- Horse bean (Vicia faba) #
- Broad bean(Vicia faba) #
- Field bean (Vicia faba) # Dry peas (Pisum spp.) #
- Garden pea (Pisum sativum var. sativum) #
- Protein pea (Pisum sativun var. arvense) # Chickpea, Garbonzo, Bengal gram (Cicer arietinum) # Dry cowpea, Black-eyed_pea, blackeye bean (Vigna unguiculata ssp. dekindtiana) # Pigeon pea, cajan pea, congo bean (Cajanus cajan) # Lentil (Lens culinaris) # Bambara groundnut, earth pea (Vigna subterranea) # Vetch, common vetch (Vicia sativa) # Lupins (Lupinus spp.) # Minor pulses include: #
- Lablab, hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus) #
- Jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis), sword bean (Canavalia gladiata) #
- Winged bean (Psophocarpus teragonolobus) #
- Velvet bean, cowitch (Mucuna pruriens var. utilis) #
- Yam bean (Pachyrrizus erosus)

Protein Content


- Pulses contain 20 to 25 % of proteins, which is double of that found in wheat and three times that found in rice. In fact pulses contain more protein than eggs, fish or flesh foods. But in regard to quality, Pulse proteins are inferior to animal proteins.
- Pulse proteins are poor in methionine and to a lesser extend, cysteine
- On the other hand, they are rich in lysine
- Pulses are also called as poor man’s meat

Reference


- Food and Agriculture Organization. [http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/faoinfo/economic/faodef/fdef04e.htm DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF COMMODITIES, 4. PULSES AND DERIVED PRODUCTS], 1994

See also


- Fabaceae

External link


- http://www.grainlegumes.com/

- http://www.beanslentils.com/about_b&l.htm

- http://www.citras.com.my/
Category:Vegetables Pulse Category:Granular materials

Fabaceae


Faboideae
Caesalpinioideae
Mimosoideae
References
[http://pgrc3.agr.ca/cgi-bin/npgs/html/family.pl?440 GRIN-CA] 2002-09-01 The Family Fabaceae sensu latu (also as Family Leguminosae) is a grouping of plants in the Order Fabales, and one of the largest families of flowering plants with 650 genera and over 18,000 species. These plants are commonly called legumes or pulses and the family contains some of our most valuable food crops, such as beans, peas, peanuts, soybeans, and lentils. Other members of the family are important sources of animal feed or green manure, such as lupins, clover, alfalfa, cassia, and soybean. Some genera such as Laburnum, Robinia, Gleditsia, Acacia, Mimosa, and Delonix are ornamental trees and shrubs. Still other members of the family have medicinal or insecticidal properties (for instance Derris) or yield important substances like gum arabic, tannin, dyes, or resins. Then there is kudzu, an east Asian species originally planted in the U.S. southeast for soil improvement and as a cattle feed, that has become a notorious invasive weed that tends to grow over everything. The use of the name Fabaceae is ambiguous, since it was used to represent the group faboideae for many years. Many specialists, especially in herbaria and floristics research, still use the old name of the family, Leguminosae, on order to avoid confusion. All members of this family have five-petaled flowers in which the superior ovary ripens to form a "pod", technically called a legume, whose two sides split apart, releasing the seeds which are attached to one or both seams. The legumous plants are classified into three subfamilies, sometimes raised to the rank of family in the order Fabales, on the basis of flower morphology (specifically, petal shape):
- Faboideae (Fabaceae sensu strictu), previously called Papilionoideae: One petal is large and has a crease in it, the two adjacent petals are on the sides, and the two bottom petals are joined together at the bottom, forming a boat-like structure.
- Caesalpinioideae (Caesalpiniaceae): The flowers are zygomorphic, but are very variable, e.g. closely resembling Faboideae flowers in Cercis, while symmetrical with five equal petals in Bauhinia.
- Mimosoideae (Mimosaceae): The petals are small, and are frequently globose or spicate and the stamens are the most showy part of the flower.

Nitrogen fixation

A significant characteristic of legumes is that they host bacteria in their roots, within structures called root nodules. These bacteria known as rhizobia have the ability to take nitrogen gas (N2) out of the air and convert it to a form of nitrogen that is usable to the host plant ( NO3- or NH3 ). This process is called nitrogen fixation. The legume, acting as a host; and rhizobia, acting as a provider of usable nitrate, form a symbiotic relationship. symbiotic

External link


- [http://www.ildis.org/ International Legume Database & Information Service] Category:Fabaceae Category:Legumes Category:Plant families Category:Nitrogen metabolism ja:マメ科

Faboideae

Abreae
Adesmieae
Aeschynomeneae
Amorpheae
Bossiaeeae
Brongniartieae
Carmichaelieae
Cicereae
Crotalarieae
Dalbergieae
Desmodieae
Dipterygeae
Euchresteae
Galegeae
Genisteae
Hedysareae
Indigofereae
Liparieae
Loteae
Millettieae
Mirbelieae
Phaseoleae
Podalyrieae
Psoraleeae
Robinieae
Sophoreae
Swartzieae
Thermopsideae
Trifolieae
Vicieae
See text The Subfamily Faboideae is in the flowering plant family, Fabaceae. This subfamily is widely distributed and members are adapted to a wide varitely of environments. Faboideae may be trees, shrubs or herbs. The flowers are classically pea shaped and root nodulation is very common. Note: The type genus, Faba, is a synonym of Vicia, and is listed here as Vicia.

See also


- Winged Bean, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus
- Fenugreek, Trigonella foenum-graecum
- Angsana, or Burmese Rosewood, Pterocarpus indicus Angsana Category:Faboideae

India

The Republic of India is a country in South Asia which comprises of the majority of the Indian subcontinent. India has a coastline which stretches over seven thousand kilometres, and shares its borders with Pakistan to the west, the People's Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, and Bangladesh and Myanmar on the east. On the Indian Ocean, it is adjacent to the island nations of the Maldives on the southwest, Sri Lanka on the south, and Indonesia on the southeast. India also claims a border with Afghanistan to the northwest. India is the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity. It is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of over one billion, and is the seventh largest country by geographical area. It is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, and a centre of important historic trade routes. Four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism have originated from India. Formerly a major part of the British Empire as the British Raj before gaining independence in 1947, during the past twenty years the country has grown significantly, especially in its economic and military spheres, regionally as well as globally. The name India , is derived from the Old Persian version of Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the river Indus; see Origin of India's name. The Constitution of India and general usage also recognises Bharat ( ), which is derived from the Sanskrit name of an ancient Hindu king, whose story is to be found in the Mahabharata, as an official name of equal status. A third name, Hindustan ( ) , or Land of the Hindus in Persian, has been used since the twelfth century, though its contemporary use is unevenly applied due to domestic disputes over its representiveness as a national signifier.

History

Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago and developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, which peaked between 2600 BC and 1900 BC. It was followed by the Vedic Civilisation. From around 550 BC onwards, many independent kingdoms came into being. In the north, the Maurya dynasty, which included Ashoka, contributed greatly to India's cultural landscape. From 180 BC, a series of invasions from Central Asia followed, with the successive establishment in the northern Indian Subcontinent of the Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian kingdoms, and finally the Kushan Empire. From the 3rd century AD onwards the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient India's "Golden Age". Gupta dynasty built by emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC]] In the south, several dynasties including the Chalukyas, Cheras, Cholas, Kadambas, Pallavas and Pandyas prevailed during different periods. Science, art, literature, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, religion and philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings. Following the Islamic invasions in the beginning of the second millennium, much of north and central India came to be ruled by the Delhi Sultanate, and later, much of the entire subcontinent by the Mughal dynasty. Nevertheless, several indigenous kingdoms remained or rose to power, especially in the relatively sheltered south. Vijayanagara Empire was notable among such kingdoms. During the middle of the second millennium, several European countries, including the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British, who were initially interested in trade with India, took advantage of fractured kingdoms fighting each other to establish colonies in the country. After a failed insurrection in 1857 against the British East India Company, popularly known in India as the First War of Indian Independence and most commonly known in the West as the Indian Mutiny, most of India came under the direct administrative control of the crown of the British Empire. British Empire, Orissa built in the 13th century, is one of the most famous monuments of stone sculpture in the world.]] sculpture in the 10th century AD.]] In the early part of the 20th century, a prolonged and largely non-violent struggle for independence, the Indian independence movement, followed, to be eventually led by Mahatma Gandhi, regarded officially as the Father Of The Nation. The culmination of this path-breaking struggle was reached on 1947-08-15 when India gained full independence from British rule, later becoming a republic on 1950-01-26. As a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, India has had its share of sectarian violence and insurgencies in different parts of the country. Nonetheless, it has held itself together as a secular, liberal democracy barring a brief period from 1975 to 1977 during which the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a "state of emergency" with the suspension of civil rights. India has unresolved border disputes with China, which escalated into a brief war in 1962, and Pakistan which resulted in wars in 1947, 1965, and 1971, and a border altercation in the northern state of Kashmir in 1999. India was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations. In 1974, India conducted an underground nuclear test, making it an unofficial member of the "nuclear club", which was followed up with a series of five more tests in 1998. Significant economic reforms beginning in 1991 have transformed India into one of the fastest growing economies in the world and added to its global clout.

Government

The Constitution of India states India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. India is a federal republic, with a bicameral parliament operating under a Westminster-style parliamentary system. It has a three branch system of governance consisting of the legislature, executive and judiciary. The President, who is the head of state, has a largely ceremonial role. His roles include interpreting the constitution, signing laws into action, and issuing pardons. He is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President and Vice-President are elected indirectly by an electoral college for five-year terms. The Prime Minister is the head of government and most executive powers are vested in this office. He (or she) is elected by legislators of the political party, or coalition, commanding a parliamentary majority, and serves a five-year term incumbent upon enjoying this majority. The constitution does not provide for a post of Deputy Prime Minister, but this option has been exercised from time to time. The legislature of India is the bicameral Parliament which consists of the upper house known as the Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, the lower house known as the Lok Sabha, or House of the People, and the President. The 245-member Rajya Sabha is chosen indirectly through an electoral college and has a staggered six year term. The 545-member Lok Sabha is directly elected for a five year term, and is the determinative constituent of political power and government formation. All Indian citizens above the age of eighteen are eligible to vote. The executive arm consists of the President, Vice-President and the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet) headed by the Prime Minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of either house of parliament. In India's parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature. India's independent judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India. The Supreme Court has both original jurisdiction over disputes between states and the Centre, and appellate jurisdiction over the High Courts of India. There are eighteen appellate High Courts, having jurisdiction over a large state or a group of states. Each of these states has a tiered system of lower courts. A conflict between the legislature and the judiciary is referred to the President.

Politics

Chief Justice of India For most of its independent history, India's national government has been controlled by the Indian National Congress Party. Following its position as the largest political organisation in pre-independence India, Congress, usually led by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, dominated national politics for over forty years. In 1977, a united opposition, under the banner of the Janata Party, won the election and formed a non-Congress government for a short period after the unpopular 'emergency rule' imposed by Indira Gandhi in the previous Congress regime. In 1996, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a political party with a right wing nationalist ideology, became the largest single party, and established for the first time a serious opposition to the largely centre-left Congress. But power was held by two successive coalition governments, who stayed on with the support of the Congress. In 1998, the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) along with smaller parties and became the first non-Congress government to sustain the full five year term after it returned to power in 1999. The decade prior to 1999 was marked by short-lasting governments, with seven separate governments formed within that period. One however, a Congress government formed in 1991, lasted the full five years and initiated significant economic reforms. In the 2004 Indian elections the Congress party returned to power after winning the largest number of seats, by a narrow margin. Congress formed a government in alliance with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and with several mostly-regional parties called the United Progressive Alliance. The NDA, led by the BJP, currently forms the main opposition. All governments formed since 1996 have required party coalitions, with no single majority party, due to the steady rise of regional parties at the national level.

States and union territories

India is divided into twenty-eight states (which are further subdivided into districts), six Union Territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. States have their own elected government, whereas Union Territories are governed by an administrator appointed by the union government, though some have elected governments. India has had two scientific bases in Antarctica – the Dakshin Gangotri and Maitri, but has made no territorial claims so far.

Geography

Maitri in the north to Arunachal Pradesh in the far east making up most of India's eastern borders]] India's entire north and northeast states are made up of the Himalayan Range. The rest of northern, central and eastern India consists of the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. Towards western India, bordering southeast Pakistan, lies the Thar Desert. The southern Indian peninsula is almost entirely composed of the Deccan plateau. The plateau is flanked by two hilly coastal ranges, the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats. India is home to several major rivers such as the Ganga (Ganges), the Brahmaputra, the Yamuna, the Godavari, and the Krishna. The rivers are responsible for the fertile plains in northern India which are conducive to farming. The Indian climate varies from a tropical climate in the south to a more temperate climate in the north. Parts of India which lie in the Himalaya have a tundra climate. India gets most of its rains through the monsoons.

Economy

monsoon India has an economy ranked as the tenth largest in the world in terms of currency conversion and fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It recorded one of the fastest annual growth rates of 6.9% for the year ending March 2005. India's per-capita income by purchasing power parity is US$ 3,262, ranked 125th by the World Bank. India's foreign exchange reserves amount to over US$ 143 billion. Mumbai serves as the nation's financial capital and is also home to both the headquarters of the Reserve Bank of India and the pre-eminent Bombay Stock Exchange. While a quarter of Indians still live below the poverty line, a large middle class has now emerged along with the rapid growth of the IT industry. The Indian economy has shed much of its historical dependence on agriculture, which now contributes to less than 25 % of GDP. Other important industries are mining, petroleum, diamond polishing, films, textiles, information technology services, and handicrafts. Most of India's industrial regions are centred around major cities. In recent years, India has emerged as one of the largest players in software and business process outsourcing services, with revenues of US$ 17.2 billion in 2004 to 2005. Many small-scale industries provide steady employment to workers in small towns and villages. business process outsourcing While India receives only around three million foreign visitors a year, tourism is still an important but under-developed source of national income. Tourism contributes 5.3 % of India's GDP. The actual employment generation, both direct and indirect, is estimated to be 42 million, or about 10 % of India's work force. In monetary terms, it contributes about US$4 billion in foreign exchange. India's major trading partners are the United States, Japan, China and the United Arab Emirates. India's main exports items include agricultural products, textile goods, gems and jewellry, software services and technology, engineering goods, chemicals and leather products while its main import commodities are crude oil, machinery, gems, fertiliser, chemicals. For the year 2004, India's total exports stood at US$ 69.18 billion while the imports were worth at US $89.33 billion.

Demographics

India is the second most populous country in the world, with only China having a larger population. By 2030, India is expected to surpass China with the world's largest population, estimated at 1.6 billion. Language, religion, and caste are major determinants of social and political organisation within the highly diverse Indian population today. Its biggest metropolitan agglomerations are Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Delhi, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and Chennai (formerly Madras). Chennai]] India's literacy rate is 64.8 % with 53.7 % of females and 75.3 % of males being literate. The sex ratio is 933 females for every 1000 males. Work Participation Rate (WPR) (the percentage of workers to total population) stands at 39.1 % with male WPR at 51.7 % and female WPR at 25.6 % inote|eu{inote|demostats{inote|religion{ref|languages{inote|tongues{see2|Christianity in India|Jews in India{seealso3|List of Indian languages by total speakers|List of cities in India|Religion in India{main|Culture of India{seealso4|List of World Heritage sites in India|Indian architecture|Indian family name|Cuisine of India{main|Sports in India{main|Holidays in India{Official Holidays of India{Topics related to India{portal{sisterlinks|India{wikitravel{wikicities|india|India{explain-inote{Web reference | title=India facts and figures | work=Embassy of India| URL= http://www.indianembassy.org/dydemo/indiaprofile/profile.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Forex reserves up by $1bn | work=Economic Times| URL= http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1093864.cms | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= India Economy | work=Travel Document Systems |URL= http://www.traveldocs.com/in/economy.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Services | work=India in Business| URL= http://www.indiainbusiness.nic.in/india-profile/ser-infotech.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Destination India: An Unpolished Diamond | work=Times of India | URL= http://timesfoundation.indiatimes.com/articleshow/819309.cms | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= US, UAE, UK, China, Japan among India's top trade partners | work=Indian Express| URL= http://www.indianexpress.com/news/business/20050102-0.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= CIA Factbook : India | work=CIA Factbook | URL= http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/in.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Provisional Population Totals 2001 Census| work=Census of India| URL=http://www.censusindia.net/results/resultsmain.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Debating India & India's literacy rate | work=Debating India | URL= http://india.eu.org/1963.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= India – Country profiles | work=indexmundi.com | URL= http://www.indexmundi.com/India/ India | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Census of India 2001, Data on Religion | work=Census of India | URL= http://www.censusindia.net/results/religion_main.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Languages of India | work=India image | URL= http://indiaimage.nic.in/languages.htm| date=August 14 | year=2005{Book reference | Author=K.M. Matthew | Title=Manorama Yearbook 2003 | Publisher= Malaya Manorama | Year=2003 | ID=ISBN 8190046187{mnb|afgh|1{mnb|LoC|2{South Asia{Asia{Commonwealth of Nations{SAARC{Life in India{Link FA|sv{Link FA|sv

Gram flour

Gram flour, not to be confused with Graham flour, also known as chana flour, besan or chickpea flour, is an ingredient used in Indian cuisine. It consists of ground chickpeas, and it is used in various foods such as curries and bombay mix. Vegetables deep-fried in Gram flour batter are known as pakoras. When onions are so fried they are known as onion bhajis.] There is a common misconseption that Gram flour is free from carbohydrates and hence suitable for the Atkin's diet. The flour is, however, suitable for gluten free diets. Category:Indian cuisine Category:Food ingredients

Falafel

Falafel (Arabic: فلافل () Hebrew: פלאפל (falafel)), also known in Egypt as ta`amiyya (Arabic طعمية), is a fried ball or patty of spiced fava beans or chickpeas. It is a highly popular form of fast food in the Arab East. Falafel is also very common in Israel, and it is regarded as the national food of Israel. Falafel is traditionally served as a filling ingredient in a pita bread wrap (i.e. sandwich), and the term "falafel" commonly refers to this sandwich, a prototypical street food (ie. fast food). Along with the falafel balls, which may be crushed onto the bread or added whole, sandwiches frequently include hummus, tahini, a yoghurt sauce, lemon, and various vegetables (ie. salad), with sumac and salt added as seasoning. Chilli sauce may also be added. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a mezze. During Ramadan they are sometimes eaten as part of an iftar, the meal which breaks the daily fast after sunset. Though the origin of falafel is uncertain, some believe that it was first made in India, where spiced soured bread was used. The word "falafel" comes from the Arabic word فلفل (filfil), meaning pepper, and probably ultimately from Sanskrit pippalī. Today, it is eaten in India as well as in Pakistan and the Middle East. Despite initial reluctance by both sides, falafel is now seen as a uniting, pan-Middle-Eastern dish. In recent years, immigration from the Middle East to Western countries has brought with it a broader availability of Arab and Middle Eastern cuisine, and the falafel sandwich has become a popular and iconic food within alternative fast food (ie. "slow food") movements.

Ingredients

Falafel (at least the Middle Eastern style) is made from fava beans, chick peas or any combination of the two. The Egyptian variation exclusively uses fava beans, while other variations may exclusively use chick peas. Unlike many other bean patties, in falafel the beans are not cooked prior to use. Instead they are soaked, possibly skinned, then ground with the addition of a small quantity of onion, spices, bicarbonate of soda and deep fried at a high temperature. Recent culinary trends have seen the triumph of the chickpea falafel over the fava bean falafel. Chickpea falafels are served across the Middle East, and popularized by expatriates of those countries living abroad.

Bibliography


- Yael Raviv, "Falafel: A National Icon", Gastronomica, Summer 2003, 3:3:20-25. Discusses how an Arab dish became "the national food of Israel". Category:Mediterranean cuisine Category:Middle Eastern cuisine Category:Vegetarian cuisine Category:Arab cuisine Category:Indian cuisine Category:Armenian cuisine Category:Egyptian cuisine Category:Israeli cuisine Category:Lebanese cuisine Category:Palestinian cuisine Category:Syrian cuisine Category:Turkish cuisine Category:Levantine cuisine ja:ファラフェル

Hummus

:For the biological matter in soil, see Humus; for the band, see Humus (band). Humus (band)] Hummus (Arabic: حمٌص ; Armenian translit: hamos; Greek: Χούμους; Hebrew: חומוס; also rendered as houmous, hommus, or humus) is a dip made of chickpea paste with various additions, such as olive oil, fresh garlic, lemon juice, paprika, and tahini (sesame seed paste). It is popular throughout the Middle East, including in Israel, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Syria, Turkey, and in Armenia, Cyprus and Greece, though the hummus eaten in Greece, for example, is quite different from the hummus eaten in the Arab world and in Israel. In Arabic, "Hummus" means simply chickpea. The dish described in this article is called "Hummus wa Tahina", i.e. chickpea and sesame, or "musabbaha". It is traditionally scooped up with flatbread (pieces of pita) to be eaten, but it is increasingly popular as a dip for tortilla chips in non-Middle Eastern countries. It is a popular breakfast food, especially when combined with another dip named "Ful" (pronounced //), which is based on crushed fava beans. It is also used as an appetizer dish to accompany main courses, and as part of a mezze. Hummus is relatively cheap to make with either dried or canned chickpeas. Dried chickpeas must be soaked in water overnight then simmered for an hour or more. The cooked or canned chickpeas are ground, using a food processor or hand blender, with olive oil, lemon juice, and tahini. A bit of the water in which the chickpeas were boiled may be added to reach the desired consistency. Garlic, salt, parsley, onions, cumin, and/or chili powder may be added. Peanut butter is occasionally substituted for tahini by Americans, but the taste of that mixture is very strange from a Middle-Eastern and European point of view. It is a nutritious food, containing a large amount of protein, dietary fiber, monounsaturated fat, and iron, and is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. It is often garnished with mushrooms, parsley, paprika, pine nuts, tomatoes, cucumber, thinly-sliced onions, or more chickpeas, and then drizzled with olive oil before serving.

External links


- [http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_hummus.htm Hummus recipe] Category:Dips Category:Armenian cuisine Category:Greek cuisine Category:Israeli cuisine Category:Lebanese cuisine Category:Syrian cuisine Category:Turkish cuisine Category:Palestinian cuisine Category:Levantine cuisine ja:フムス

Pre-Pottery Neolithic B

Pre-Pottery Neolithic B is a division of the Neolithic developed by Dame Kathleen Kenyon during her archaeological excavations at Jericho in Palestine. It differs from the earlier Pre-Pottery Neolithic A in that people living during this period began to introduce domesticated animals to supplement their earlier agrarian diet. The period is dated to between 9600 and 8000 BP. Work at the site of 'Ain Ghazal in Jordan has indicated a later Pre-Pottery Neolithic C period which lasted between 8200 and 7900 BP.

Related Article

Pre-Pottery Neolithic A preceded PPNB

Neolithic

The Neolithic, (Greek νέος (neos) = new + λίθος (lithos) = stone, or "New" Stone Age) was a period in the development of human technology that is traditionally the last part of the Stone Age. The name was invented by John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system. The term is more commonly used in the Old World and its application to cultures in the Americas and Oceania is problematic. It follows the terminal Pleistocene Epipalaeolithic and early Holocene Mesolithic periods, beginning with the start of farming and ending when metal tools became widespread in the Copper Age (chalcolithic), Bronze Age or Iron Age, depending on geographical region. The term "Neolithic" thus does not refer to a specific chronological period but a suite of behavioural and cultural characteristics including the use of (both wild and domestic) crops and the use of domesticated animals. Some archaeologists have long advocated replacing "Neolithic" with a more descriptive term, such as "Early Village Communities", although this has not gained wide acceptance.

Origins and regional development

In Southwest Asia, Neolithic cultures appear soon after 10000 BC, initially in the Levant (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B) and from there spread eastwards and westwards. Between South Asia's Neolithic sites there are two ancient ones: Mehrgarh now in Pakistan from 7000 BC and Lahuradewa from 6200 BC in Ganges Valley, India. Since beginning of cultivation is indicative of Neolithic, it must be mentioned the presence of charcoal showing slash and burn cultivation in the area around Lahuradewa from 8000 BC. More to the west but still in Ganges Valley studies in deposits at Sanai Tal lake showed also slash and burn cultivation with Cerelia pollens since 13000 BC in the concluding Pleistocene phase,making India one of the earliest centres of Neolithic development in the world (National Seminar on the Archaeology of the Ganga Plain, December 2004, Lucknow, India). There are early Neolithic cultures in SE Anatolia, Syria and Iraq by 8000 BC, and food-producing societies first appear in southeast Europe by 7000 BC, and Central Europe by cal 5500 BC (of which the earliest cultural complexes include the Starčevo-Koros (Cris), Linearbandkeramic, and Vinča). From there, through a combination of diffusion of ideas and migration of peoples, the Neolithic phenomenon spreads westward to northwest Europe by 4500 BC. Early Neolithic farming is limited to a narrow range of crops (both wild and domestic) and the keeping of sheep and goats, but by about 7000 BC it included domestic cows, pigs, permanently or semi-permanently inhabited settlements and the use of pottery. Not all of the cultural elements characteristic of the Neolithic (e.g., pottery, permanent villages, and the farming of domestic crops and animals) appear in the same order -- e.g. the earliest farming societies in the Near East do not use pottery, and in Britain it remains unclear what the contribution of domestic plants was in the earliest Neolithic, or even whether permanently settled communities existed. In other parts of the world, such as Africa, India and SE Asia, there are independent domestication events leading to regionally-distinctive Neolithic cultures completely independent of Europe. Japanese societies used pottery in the Mesolithic for example. In Mesoamerica a similar set of events (i.e., crop domestication and sedentary lifestyles) occurred at about 4500 BC, although here the term 'Formative' is used instead of 'Neolithic'.

Social organization

There is little evidence for developed hierarchies in the Neolithic, which is a cultural phenomenon more closely associated with the Bronze Age. Families and households were still largely economically independent. Excavations in Central Europe have also revealed that early Neolithic Linear Ceramic cultures were building large arrangements of circular ditches between 4800 BC and 4600 BC. These structures (and their later Neolithic equivalents such as causewayed enclosures, burial mounds, and henges) required considerable time and labour to construct, which suggests that some influential individuals were able to organise and direct human labour. There is also good evidence for fortified settlement at Linearbandkeramic sites along the Rhine, as well as evidence for inter-group conflict from Neolithic sites in Britain. Control of labour and inter-group conflict is characteristic of corporate-level or 'tribal' groups, headed by a charismatic individual (e.g., a 'big man', or proto-chief) such as a lineage group head. These sociopolitical entities later developed into the chiefdoms of the European Early Bronze Age. The Iroquois, Pueblo people, Maya civilization and the Maori are examples of stone-tool-dependent cultures with complex social and political systems.

Farming

A significant and far-reaching shift in human subsistence and lifestyle was to be brought about in those areas where crop farming and cultivation were first developed, then gradually improved. In these areas, the previous reliance upon a more nomadic hunter-gatherer subsistence technique was at first supplemented, and then increasingly replaced by, a reliance upon the yield produced from cultivated lands. These developments are also believed to have greatly encouraged the growth of settlements, since it may be supposed that the increased need to spend more time and labour in tending crop fields required more localised dwellings. This trend would continue into the Bronze Age, eventually giving rise to towns, and later cities and states whose larger populations could be sustained by the increased productivity from cultivated lands. The profound differences in human interactions and subsistence methods associated with the early onset of agricultural practices in the Neolithic have been called the Neolithic Revolution, a term first coined by the Australian archaeologist Vere Gordon Childe. One potential benefit of the increasing sophistication and development of farming technology was an ability (if conditions allowed) to produce a crop yield which would be surplus to the immediate needs of the community. When such surpluses were produced they could be preserved and sequestered for later use during times of seasonal shortfalls, traded with other communities (giving rise to a nascent non-subsistence economy), and in general allowed larger populations to be sustained. However, it should be noted that early farmers were also adversely affected in times of crop failures, such as may be caused by drought or pestilence. In instances where agriculture had become the predominant way of life the sensitivity to these shortages could be particularly acute, affecting agrarian populations to a sometimes dramatic extent which otherwise may not have been routinely experienced by former hunter-gatherer communities. Nevertheless, despite what must have been periodic setbacks in general agrarian communities proved successful, and their growth and the expansion of territory under cultivation continued. Another significant change undergone by many of these newly-agrarian communities was one of diet. Whereas hunter-gatherer communities typically have diets with a larger proportion of animal protein, those farmers whose opportunities and motivation for hunting had lessened might have their food intake derived in large part just from the proceeds of their plant cultivation. The relative nutritional benefits and disadvantages of these dietary changes, and their overall impact on early societal development is still the subject of some debate. The domestication of animals, either as draught animals or as a food source (livestock), was another innovation which altered the societal characteristics of those Neolithic communities which adopted it. Animal labour (for example, oxen) could greatly improve the efficiency of land tillage, and their by-product of dung could also be used as a fertilizer, as fuel or even as a building material. Apart from providing a ready source of protein and dairy-based products, livestock animals could also be used for barter and trade. For those communities where pastoralism of grazing animals was developed, this often implied a more nomadic existence than is the case for purely crop-based farming, as the animals were herded or migrated to seasonal pastures (a practice known as transhumance).

Technology

Neolithic peoples were skilled farmers, manufacturing a range of tools necessary for the tending, harvesting and processing of crops (such as sickle blades and grinding stones) and food production (e.g. pottery, bone implements). They were also skilled manufacturers of a range of other types of stone tool and ornaments, including projectile points, beads, and statuettes. Neolithic peoples in the Levant, Anatolia, Syria, northern Mesopotamia and Central Asia were also accomplished builders, utilising mud-brick to construct houses and villages. At Çatalhöyük, houses were plastered and painted with elaborate scenes of humans and animals. In Europe, long houses built from wattle and daub were constructed. Elaborate tombs for the dead were also built. These tombs are particularly numerous in Ireland, where there are many thousand still in existence. Neolithic people in the British Isles built long barrows and chamber tombs for their dead and causewayed camps, henges flint mines and cursus monuments. It was also important to figure out ways of preserving food for future months, such as fashioning relatively airtight containers, and using substances like salt as preservatives. With very small exceptions (a few copper hatchets and spear heads in the Great Lakes region), the peoples of the Americas and the Pacific remained at the Neolithic level of technology up until the time of European contact. Neolithic settlements include: :Jericho in the Levant, Neolithic from around 8350 BC, arising from the earlier Epipaleolithic Natufian culture. :Çatalhöyük in Turkey, 7500 BC :Mehrgarh in South Asia, 7000 BC :Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, ca. 9000 BC. :Nevali Cori in Turkey, ca. 8000 BC. :Knap of Howar and Skara Brae, the Orkney Islands, Scotland, from 3500 BC. :around 2000 settlements of Trypillian culture, 5400 BC -- 2800 BC The world's oldest known engineered roadway, the Sweet Track in England, also dates from this time.

See also


- Old European cultures
- Agricultural Revolution
- Ötzi the Iceman Category:Periods and stages in archaeology Category:Holocene ko:신석기 시대 ja:新石器時代



Thessaly

Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. The capital of the periphery is Larissa. The prefecture lies in central Greece and borders Macedonia on the north, Epirus on the west, Sterea Hellas or Central Greece on the south and the Aegean Sea on the east.

Geography

Its geography consists of a ring of mountains surrounding a central plain: Trikala and Larissa lowlands. It has a distinct summer and winter season, with summer rains augmenting the fertility of the plains. This has led to Thessaly occasionally being called the breadbasket of Greece. The region is well delineated by topographical boundaries. The Khásia and Cambunian mountains lie to the north, the Olympus massif to the northeast. To the west lies the Pindus mountain range, to the southeast the coastal ranges of Óssa and Pelion. Several tributaries of the Pineios river flow through the region.

Transport

There are a number of highways and the main railway from Athens to Thessaloniki (Salonika) crosses Thessaly.

History

Thessaly was home to an extensive Neolithic culture around 2500 BC. Mycenaean settlements have also been discovered, for example at the sites of Iolcos, Dimini and Sesklo (near Volos). Later, in ancient Greek times, the lowlands of Thessaly became the home of baronial families, such as the Aleuads of Larissa or the Scopads of Crannon. These baronial families organized a federation across the Thessaly region, later went on to control the Amphictyonic League in northern Greece. The Thessalians were renowned for their cavalry. During the Greco-Persian Wars the Aleuads joined the Persians. In the 4th century BC Thessaly became dependent on Macedonia and many served as vassals. In 148 BC the Romans formally incorporated Thessaly into the province of Macedonia, but in AD 300 Thessaly was made a separate province with its capital at Larissa. Between the 7th and the 13th century the area was controlled by Slavs, Byzantines, Bulgars and Normans. However by the 13th century Thessaly came to be called Megale Vlachia (Great Walachia) and was controlled by Vlach herdsmen. In 1394 the Turks assumed rule. In 1881 Turkey ceded most of Thessaly to Greece.

Administration

Thessaly is divided into 4 prefectures:
- Karditsa
- Larissa
- Magnesia
- Trikala Category:Peripheries of Greece Category:NUTS 2 Statistical Regions of Europe ja:テッサリア

Lerna

For the municipality, see Myloi (Argolida), Greece, the seat of the municipality of Lerna In classical Greece, Lerna was a region of springs and a former lake near the east coast of the Peloponnesus, south of Argos. It is most famous as the lair of the Lernaean Hydra, the chthonic many-headed water snake, a creature of great antiquity when Heracles killed it, as the second of his labors. The secret of the Lernaean spring was the gift of Poseidon when he lay with the "blameless" daughter of Danaus, Amymone. The geographer Strabo attests that the Lernaean waters were considered healing :"Lake Lerna, the scene of the story of the Hydra, lies in Argeia and the Mycenaean territory; and on account of the cleansings that take place in it there arose a proverb, 'A Lerna of ills.' Now writers agree that the county has plenty of water, and that, although the city itself lies in a waterless district, it has an abundance of wells. These wells they ascribe to the daughters of Danaus, believing that they discovered them ... but they add that four of the wells not only were designated as sacred but are especially revered, thus introducing the false notion that there is a lack of water where there is an abundance of it." :::—Strabo, Geography 8.6.8. Lerna was one of the entrances to the Underworld, and the ancient Lernaean Mysteries, sacred to Demeter, were celebrated there. Pausanias (2.37.1) says that the mysteries were initiated by Philammon, the twin "other" of Autolycus. At the Alcyonian Lake, entry to the netherworld could be achieved by a hero who dared, such as Dionysus in search of his mother Semele. For mortals the lake was perilous: :"There is no limit to the depth of the Alcyonian Lake, and I know of nobody who by any contrivance has been able to reach the bottom of it since not even Nero, who had ropes made several stades long and fastened them together, tying lead to them, and omitting nothing that might help his experiment, was able to discover any limit to its depth. This, too, I heard. The water of the lake is, to all appearance, calm and quiet but, although it is such to look at, every swimmer who ventures to cross it is dragged down, sucked into the depths, and swept away." :::—Pausanias, 2.37.4. At Lerna, Plutarch knew (Isis and Osiris), Dionysus was summoned as "Bugenes", "son of the Bull" with a strange archaic trumpet called a salpinx, while a lamb was cast into the waters as an offering for the "Keeper of the Gate." The keeper of the gate to the Underworld that lay in the waters of Lerna was the Hydra. Lerna was occupied in Neolithic times, as early as the 5th millennium BCE, then was abandoned for a time. It has one of the largest prehistoric tumuli of Greece, a site of a two-storey palace or administrative center that is referred to as the "House of the Tiles" for the terracotta tiles that sheathed its roof (an early example of tile roofing). The strongly-fortified power center called "Lerna II" in the site's stratigraphy, dates to the Early Bronze Age Early Helladic culture, ca 2500 - 2200 BCE. Though five stages of occupation at Lerna have been identified, the site of the "House of Tiles" was not rebuilt upon, whether through respect or fear, until at the end of the Middle Helladic period, shaft graves were cut into the tumulus of the House of Tiles, indicating that the significance of that monument had been forgotten. Lerna was used as a cemetery during the Mycenaean age, but was abandoned about 1250 BCE. Modern geological techniques such as core drilling have identified the site of the vanished sacred Lake Lerna, which was a freshwater lagoon, separated by barrier dunes from the Aegean. In the Early Bronze Age Lake Lerna had an estimated diameter of 4.7 km. Deforestation increased the rate of silt deposits and the lake became a malarial marsh, of which the last remnants were drained in the 19th century.

External links


- [http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Lerna.html Carlos Parada, "Greek Mythology link":] Lerna
- [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/siteindex?entry=Lerna Perseus Site:] Lerna
- [http://www.culture.gr/2/21/211/21104a/e211da13.html Hellenic Ministry of Culture:] Lerna
- [http://www.bu.edu/jfa/Abstracts/Z/ZanggerE_18_1.html Eberhard Zangger, "Prehistoric Coastal Environments in Greece: The Vanished Landscapes of Dimini Bay and Lake Lerna"]: (abstract)

Reference

Carl Kerenyi, The Heroes of the Greeks Category:Geography of Greece

Dimini

Dimini (Greek: Διμήνι), older forms: Diminio and Diminion was a village nearby the city of Volos, in Thessaly (central Greece), in the prefecture of Magnesia. It is also the seat of the municipality of Aisonia, Esonia or Essonia (Αισωνία), Latin: Aesonia. The neolithic settlement was discovered in the end of 19th century. The name Aisonia dates back to the ancient times. It is the westernmost place in the Volos area. It used to be west of the Volos area. Dimini has a school,a lyceum, a post office, banks and a square (plateia).

Historical population

External links


- [http://www.culture.gr/2/21/211/21113a/e211ma03.html Dimini Neolithic settlement]
- http://www.stoa.org/metis/cgi-bin/qtvr?site=dimini
- http://sfr.ee.teiath.gr/diafora/Neolith/dimini.htm (GR)


North: Nea Ionia/Iolkos
West: Feres Aisonia East: Pagasetic Gulf
South: Nea Agchialos

See also


- Communities of Magnesia
- Domini, in the northern part of the prefecture of Corinthia Category:Cities and towns in GreeceCategory:MagnesiaCategory:Thessaly

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic (Greek mesos=middle and lithos=stone or the 'Middle Stone Age') was a period in the development of human technology between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods of the Stone Age. It began at the end of the Pleistocene epoch around 10,000 years ago and ended with the introduction of farming, the date of which varied in each geographical region. In some areas, such as the Near East farming was already in use by the end of the Pleistocene and there the Mesolithic is short and poorly defined. In areas with limited glacial impact, the term Epipaleolithic is sometimes preferred. Regions that experienced greater environmental effects as the last ice age ended have a much more apparent Mesolithic era, lasting millennia. In Northern Europe for example, societies were able to live well on rich food supplies from the marshlands created by the warmer climate. Such conditions produced distinctive human behaviours which are preserved in the material record, such as the Maglemosian and Azilian cultures. Such conditions also delayed the coming of the Neolithic until as late as 4000 BC in Northern Europe. Remains from this period are few and far between, often limited to middens (rubbish heaps which grew over time). In forested areas of the world, the first signs of deforestation have been found, although this would only start in earnest during the Neolithic, when extra space for farming was needed. The mesolithic is characterized by small composite flint tools (microliths and microburins) in most areas. Fishing tackle, stone adzes and wooden objects such as canoes and bows have been found preserved at some sites.

Mesolithic sites


- Franchthi in Greece
- Lepenski Vir in Serbia
- Cramond in the United Kingdom
- Howick house in the United Kingdom
- Star Carr in the United Kingdom Category:Periods and stages in archaeology Category:Holocene ko:중석기시대

Bronze Age

:This article is about the archaeological era, for the era in Classical mythology see Ages of Man :For the comic book published by Image Comics, see Age of Bronze (comics) The Bronze Age is a period in a civilization's development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. The Bronze Age is part of the three-age system for prehistoric societies and follows the Neolithic in some areas of the World. In most parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Neolithic is directly followed by the Iron Age. Most surviving bronze implements are tools or weapons, though some ritual artifacts survive. The date of the arrival of a "Bronze Age" varies from culture to culture. The earliest Bronze Age civilisations were Sumer in modern Iraq, Egypt along the Nile, and the Indus Valley Civilisation on the Indian subcontinent.

East Asian Bronze Age

In Ban Chiang, Thailand, (Southeast Asia) bronze artifacts have been discovered dating to 2100 BC [http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/research/Exp_Rese_Disc/Asia/banchiang/bronzelab/index.shtml]. The Erlitou culture, Shang Dynasty and Sanxingdui culture of early China used bronze vessels for rituals as well as farming implements and weapons [http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/chbro_bron.shtm].

Aegean Bronze Age

The Aegean bronze age established a far-ranging trade network. The network imported tin and charcoal to Cyprus, where copper was mined and alloyed with the tin to produce bronze. Bronze objects were then exported far and wide, and supported the trade. Isotopic analysis of the tin in some Mediterranean bronze objects indicates it came from as far away as Great Britain. Navigation was well developed at this time, and reached a peak of skill not exceeded until a method was discovered to determine longitude around 1750. The Minoan empire appears to have coordinated and defended the bronze-age trade. One crucial lack in this period was that modern methods of accounting were not used, or available. Numerous authorities believe that ancient empires were prone to misvalue staples in favor of luxuries, and perish by famines created by uneconomic trading. How the Bronze age ended is still being studied. There is evidence that Mycenaean administration of the empire followed Minoan. There is evidence that several Minoan client-states lost large populations to extreme famines or pestilence, so the trade network is believed to have failed at some point, preventing the trade that would have previously relieved such famines and prevented some forms of illness (by nutrition). It is also known that the bread-basket of the Minoan empire, the area north of the Black Sea, lost population and probably some degree of cultivation in this era. Recent research has discredited the theory that exhaustion of the Cypriot forests caused the end of the bronze trade. The Cypriot forests are known to have existed to later times, and experiments have shown that charcoal production on the scale necessary for the bronze production of the late bronze age would have exhausted them in less than fifty years. One theory says that as iron tools became more common, the main justification of the tin trade ended, and the trade network ceased to exist. The individual colonies of the Minoan empire then suffered drought, famine or war, and had no access to the far-flung resources of an empire to recover. Another family of theories looks to the volcanic explosion of Thera, which occurred shortly before the end of the bronze age. Thera is about 40 miles north of Crete, which was at the time the capital of the Minoan empire. Some authorities speculate that a tsunami from Thera destroyed Cretan cities. Others say that perhaps a tsunami destroyed the Cretan navy in harbor, which then lost crucial battles with the Mycenaean navy, so that a former colony took over the empire. Another theory looks to the loss of Cretan expertise in administering the Empire. If this expertise was concentrated in Crete, and simply became discredited by military failure, the Mycenaeans may have made crucial political and commercial mistakes when administering the empire. All of these theories are persuasive, and all may have operated to some extent.

British Bronze Age

In Great Britain, the Bronze Age is considered to have been the period from 2200 to 700 BC. Immigration brought new people to the islands from the continent, recent tooth enamel isotope research on bodies found in early bronze age graves around Stonehenge indicate that at least some of the immigrants came from the area of modern Switzerland. The Beaker people displayed different behaviours from the earlier Neolithic people and cultural change was significant although integration is thought to have been peaceful as many of the early henge sites were seemingly adopted by the newcomers. The rich Wessex culture developed in southern Britain at this time. Additionally, the climate was deteriorating, where once the weather was warm and dry it became much wetter as the Bronze Age continued, forcing the population away from easily-defended sites in the hills and into the fertile valleys. Large livestock ranches developed in the lowlands which appear to have contributed to economic growth and inspired increasing forest clearances. The Deverel-Rimbury culture began to emerge in the second half of the Middle Bronze Age (c. 1400-1100 BC) to exploit these conditions. Cornwall was a major source of tin for much of western Europe and copper was extracted from sites such as the Great Orme mine in north Wales. Social groups appear to have been tribal but with growing complexity and hierarchies becoming apparent. Also, the burial of dead (which until this period had usually been communal) became more individual. For example, whereas in the Neolithic a large chambered cairn or long barrow was used to house the dead, the Early Bronze Age saw people buried in individual barrows (also commonly known and marked on modern British Ordnance Survey maps as Tumuli), or sometimes in cists covered with cairns.

Central European Bronze Age

cairn In Central Europe, the early Bronze Age Unetice culture (1800-1600 BC) contains numerous local groups like Straubingen, Adlerberg and Hatvan culture. Some very rich burials like Leubingen with grave gifts made of gold point to a beginning social stratification already in the Unetice culture. All in all, cemeteries of this period are rare and of small site. The Unetice culture is followed by the middle Bronze age (1600-1200 BC) tumulus culture characterised by inhumation burials in tumuli (barrows). In Eastern Hungary in the Körös tributaries, the early Bronze Age first saw the introduction of the Mako culture, followed by the Ottomany and Gyulavarsand cultures. The late Bronze age urnfield culture, (1300 BC-700 BC) is characterized by cremation burial. It includes the Lusatian culture in eastern Germany and Poland ((1300-500 BC) that continues into the Iron Age. The Central European Bronze Age is followed by the Iron Age Hallstatt culture (700-450 BC). Important sites include:
- Biskupin (Poland)
- Nebra (Germany)
- Zug-Sumpf, Zug, Switzerland

Nordic Bronze Age (1500-500 BC)

In Northern Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Bronze Age inhabitants manufactured many distinctive and beautiful artifacts, such as the pairs of lurer horns discovered in Denmark. Some linguists believe that a proto-Indo-European language was probably introduced to the area around 2000 BC and eventually became the ancestor of the Germanic languages. This would fit with the evolution of the Nordic Bronze Age into the most probably Germanic Pre-Roman Iron Age. The age is divided into the periods I-VI according to Oscar Montelius. Period Montelius V already belongs to the Iron Age in other regions.

External link


- http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Crete/4162/ Web index Bronze Age in Europe
- Category:Prehistory Category:Periods and stages in archaeology ko:청동기 시대 ja:青銅器時代 simple:Bronze Age

Greece

Greece, (Greek: Ελλάδα, older form: Ελλάς, Hellas), officially the Hellenic Republic (Greek: Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Ellinikí Dimokratía; see also List of traditional Greek place names), is a country in southern Europe on the tip of the Balkan peninsula. It has land boundaries with Bulgaria, The Republic of Macedonia, and Albania to the north and with Turkey to the east. The waters of the Aegean Sea border Greece to the east, and those of the Ionian and Mediterranean Sea to the west and south. Regarded by many as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy, Greece has a long and rich history during which its culture has proven especially influential in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

Name

Main article: Names of the Greeks The historical name of Greece in Greek is Ellás . This name is also written Hellas in English, following the ancient Greek pronunciation . In modern Greek it is called more commonly Ελλάδα Elládha . The mythical ancestor of the Greeks is the eponymous Hellen. The name of Greece in European languages (English: Greece, French: Grèce, Portuguese: Grécia, Spanish and Italian: Grecia, Welsh: Groeg, German: Griechenland, Dutch: Griekenland, Russian: Греция, etc.) comes from a different root: Graikós (via Latin Graecus) which according to Aristotle was an ancient name for the Greeks. The Japanese name is ギリシャ (Girisha), lent from European languages. On the other hand, the name of Greece in some Middle Eastern and Eastern languages (Turkish: Yunanistan, Arabic: يونان, Hebrew: יוון, ancient Persian: Yaunâ, Indian Pali: Yona, Malay and Indonesian: Yunani) derives from the Greek toponym Iōnía. Norwegian, Chinese (希腊 Xila) and Vietnamese are three of the few languages apart from Greek in which the name Hellas predominates. An interesting and unique form is kept in Georgian. In ancient times, Georgians (Colchs and Iberians) called Greeks ბერძენი berdzeni. This form derives from the Georgian word ბრძენი brdzeni – wise. According to Georgian historians, the name is connected with the notion that philosophy was born in Greece. Modern Georgians still call Greeks ბერძენი berdzeni and Greece საბერძნეთი saberdznet'i, 'Greeks' land' or literally 'land of the wise'. Some Greeks prefer the name Hellas for the country and Hellenes for the people even in English. See Hellenes for discussion.

History

Hellenes Main Article: History of Greece.

Prehistory and antiquity

The shores of Greece's Aegean Sea saw the emergence of the first civilizations in Europe, namely the Minoan and the Mycenaean. After these, a Dark Age followed until around 800 BC, when a new era of Greek city-states emerged establishing colonies along the Mediterranean. Greek culture would later become the basis of the Hellenistic civilization that followed the empire of Alexander the Great. For a detailed history of Ancient Greece see the relevant articles in: History of Greece.

Roman rule and Middle Ages

Militarily, Greece itself declined to the point that the Romans conquered the land (168 BC onwards), though, in many ways, Greek culture would in turn conquer Roman life. Greece became a province of the Roman Empire, but Greek culture continued to dominate the eastern Mediterranean. When the Roman Empire finally split in two, the Eastern Roman Empire, known as the Byzantine Empire, centered around Constantinople (known in ancient times as Byzantium), remained Greek in nature, encompassing Greece itself. From the 4th century to the 15th century, the Byzantine Empire survived eleven centuries of attacks from the north, west and east until Constantinople fell on May 29 1453 to the Ottoman Empire, when Constantine XI, the last emperor of the Palaeologus dynasty, fell. Greece was gradually conquered by the Ottomans during the 15th century.

Ottoman rule

While the Ottomans completed the conquest of the Greek Mainland, two Greek migrations occurred. The first migration saw the Greek intelligentsia migrate to Western Europe and contribute to the advent of the Renaissance. The second migration of Greeks left the plains of the Greek peninsula and resettled in the mountains. The Ottomans were unable to create a permanent military and administrative presence in these mountainous regions. As a result some Greek mountain clans across the peninsula, as well as some islands, were able to maintain a status of independence. The Sphakiots of Crete, the Souliots from Souli of Epirus, and the Maniots from Mani of Peloponnesus were the most resilient mountain clans throughout the Ottoman Empire. By the end of the 16th century and until the 17th century, Greeks began to migrate back to the plains and cities, adding to the increasing urban population. The millet system contributed to the ethnic cohesion of Orthodox Greeks by segregating the various peoples within the Ottoman Empire based on religion. The Orthodox Church, a religious institution with a strong national character, helped the Greeks from all geographical areas of the peninsula (i.e. mountains, plains, and islands) to preserve their ethnic, cultural and linguistic heritage during the years of the Ottoman rule (although at the time it was not stictly speaking a "Greek" church - the Greek Church was instituted after the liberation). The Greeks who remained on the plains during Ottoman occupation were either Christians, who dealt with the burdens of foreign rule, or to a considerable extent Crypto-Christians (Greeks Muslims who were secret practitioners of the Orthodox faith) in order to avoid heavy taxation. The Greeks who converted to Islam and were not Crypto-Christians became Turks in the eyes of Orthodox Greeks. There were no "Greek Muslims", and no "Christian Turks". As a result, religion played an integral part in the formation of the Modern Greek and other post-Ottoman national identities. Turks

Creation of the modern Greek state

The Ottomans ruled Greece until the early 19th century. In 1821, the Greeks rebelled and declared their independence, but did not succeed in winning it until 1829. The elites of powerful European nati