Archaeology [Sticky] Archaeology by Prau123

Columbian Exchange

Wikipedia 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_exchange

The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, named after Christopher Columbus, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries. It also relates to European colonization and trade following Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage.[1] Invasive species, including communicable diseases, were a byproduct of the exchange. The changes in agriculture significantly altered global populations. The most significant immediate impact of the Columbian exchange was the cultural exchanges and the transfer of people (both free and enslaved) between continents.
The new contact between the global population circulated a wide variety of crops and livestock, which supported increases in population in both hemispheres, although diseases initially caused precipitous declines in the numbers of indigenous peoples of the Americas. Traders returned to Europe with maize, potatoes, and tomatoes, which became very important crops in Europe by the 18th century.
The term was first used in 1972 by American historian Alfred W. Crosby in his environmental history book The Columbian Exchange.[2] It was rapidly adopted by other historians and journalists and has become widely known.

The world became globalize after 1492.  Old World were introduce to fruits, vegetables and nuts from the New World for the first time such as tomato, potato, corn, berries, peanuts, pineapples while the New World were receiving animal live stocks such as cows, pigs, common chicken, and pack animals such as horses and donkeys. There were more commodity exchanges than what I mentioned here.  People were the biggest exchange however. When Europeans heard the news that there were more freedom and opportunities to live a better life in the Americas, people began to migrate and settle in large volumes. As each century passed by, several more people began to flee their home country to the New World.

In the end, some people infer that the Columbian exchange was seen as problematic for humanity and the environment rather than beneficial since several plants and animals were wiped out due to overhunting and fishing, trees were being cut down and never recovered,  mistreatment of others such as slavery,  wars and diseases lead to a severe depopulation of the indigenous people and the lost of their lands and civilizations and so forth. Some were intentionally done while others were not intentionally done such as insects, rats and other pest that were onboard shipping vessels.

Videos

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/precontact-and-early-colonial-era/old-and-new-worlds-collide/v/the-columbian-exchange

Italy

 Anyone for a Q&A Break Time?

Question 1

Top 3 countries with the most archaeological sites in the world?

Answer:

Big countries such as Peru, Mexico, and India will likely have the most archaeological sites in the world.  These countries are rank in the top 20 with the largest land area out of a possible 193 countries that exist today. 

Question 2

Top 3 countries with the most archaeological sites per square foot in the world?  This question should be number 1 actually.

Answer:

Italy, Guatemala and Greece. These countries will make you feel like you're completely surrounded with archaeological wonders wherever you go. 

Guatemala has a lot of archaeological sites that so far haven't been excavated and they are enormously massive in size.  There were 61,000 plus sites that were scanned a few years ago. 

There are few other countries that could have made this list such as Turkey, Cambodia, Iran, etc...  

Without Buddhism, would there only be a few ancient constructions in Southeast Asia or Asia in general?   Seems as if majority of the temple structures in Southeast Asia are devoted to Buddhism in countries such as India, Thailand, Cambodia, Borobudur in Indonesia, Myanmar(Burma). 

There were 10,000 temples in Bagan, Myanmar(Burma) until the Mongol invasion destroyed several of them in the 1300's only leaving less than 3,000 of them standing intact today.  However a lot of the damage were post wars from other Southeast Asian invasions, some were due to earthquakes, and over time the stones did crumble and collapse. People did loot several of the ruins.  On the contrary, the city of Bagan as well as the country has recovered since and Myanmar(Burma) will one day become a tourist destination. The Pagodas are a fine example of Buddhism and tourism for the country as well as it's neighboring country of Thailand.  The enchanting city of Bagan has never lost the reputation as the shining pearl city of Southeast Asia. 

Possibly 30% to 40% of the Buddhist structures have already been laid to ruins throughout Southeast Asia. Several of them are showing wear and tear and they will eventually collapse in the next few hundred years.

Bagan, Myanmar(Burma)

Coriolis Effect in Ecuador

The Coriolis effect is the one that makes low pressures rotate anti-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern. ... That's why the direction of rotation changes between the two hemispheres. The Coriolis effect is greatest at the poles and zero at the equator because of the earth's spherical shape.

Videos in Ecuador where the equator is located.  

Water spins clockwise on one side of the equator while the other water spins counterclockwise on the other side of the equator.

An egg stands perfectly balance on the equator.

Inca/Pre-Inca stone water fountain

Videos