Megalania - Facts and Figures

Name: Megalania (Greek for giant roamer); pronounced MEG-ah-LANE-ee-ah Habitat: Plains of Australia Historical Epoch: Pleistocene-Modern (2 million-40,000 years ago) Size and Weight: Up to 25 feet long and 2 tons Diet: Meat Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; powerful jaws; splayed legs About Megalania Aside from crocodiles, very few prehistoric reptiles after the age of dinosaurs achieved enormous sizes--one notable exception being Megalania, also known as the Giant Monitor Lizard. Depending on whose reconstruction you believe, Megalania measured anywhere from 12 to 25 feet from head to tail and weighed in the neighborhood of 500 to 4,000 pounds--a wide discrepancy, to be sure, but one that would still put it in a heftier weight class than the largest lizard alive today, the Komodo Dragon (a relative lightweight at only 150 pounds). Even though it was discovered in southern Australia, Megalania was described by the famous English naturalist Richard Owen, who in 1859 also created its genus and species name (Megalania prisca, Greek for great ancient roamer). However, modern paleontologists believe that the Giant Monitor Lizard should properly be classified under the same genus umbrella as modern monitor lizards, Varanus. The result is that professionals refer to this giant lizard as Varanus priscus, leaving it to the public to wield the nickname Megalania. Paleontologists speculate that Megalania was the apex predator of Pleistocene Australia, feasting at leisure on mammalian megafauna like Diprotodon (better known as the Giant Wombat) and Procoptodon (the Giant Short-Faced Kangaroo). The Giant Monitor Lizard would have been relatively immune from predation itself unless it happened to spar with two other predators that shared its late Pleistocene territory: Thylacoleo, the Marsupial Lion, or the Quinkana, a 10-foot-long, 500-pound crocodile. (Given its splay-legged posture, it seems unlikely that Megalania could have outrun more fleet-footed mammalian predators, especially if these furry assassins decided to gang up for the hunt.) One interesting fact about Megalania is that its the largest identified lizard ever to have lived on our planet. If that makes you do a double-take, remember that Megalania technically belongs to the order Squamata, placing it on an entirely different branch of evolution than plus-sized prehistoric reptiles like dinosaurs, archosaurs, and therapsids. Today, Squamata is represented by close to 10,000 species of lizards and snakes, including Megalanias modern descendants, the monitor lizards. Megalania is one of the few giant Pleistocene animals the demise of which cant be traced directly to early humans; the Giant Monitor Lizard was probably doomed to extinction by the disappearance of the gentle, herbivorous, oversized mammals that early Australians preferred to hunt instead. (The first human settlers arrived on Australia about 50,000 years ago.) Since Australia is such a huge and uncharted landmass, there are some people who believe that Megalania still lurks in the interior of the continent, but there isnt a shred of evidence to support this view!

Archetypes In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight - 829 Words

Archetypes can be found in most literary work, especially in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight most characters or objects served to aid in the development of the hero by being either a situational, character, color, or a symbol archetype. The poem begins with a challenge being presented to the knights of the Round Table by the Green Knight. While seeing that no one else will accept the challenge, putting Camelot’s honor at stake, Gawain accepts and then realizes that in a year they must meet again and the Green Knight will return the blow that Gawain gave to him. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight dramatically demonstrates how a single character can play many archetypal roles. In Sir Gawain and the Green†¦show more content†¦The ultimate boon is the girdle that was given to Gawain by the Host’s wife. On the third day that Gawain is staying with the Host he is given a green girdle by the Host’s wife that is said to protect the person wearing it; knowing that he will meet with the Green Knight the next day, he selfishly keeps the girdle without telling the Host. The next day Gawain meets with the Green Knight to complete the challenge that was presented to him in the beginning of the poem. However, since the Green Knight knows that Gawain broke the deal with the Host he cuts Gawain on the third swing of his sword. The three swings symbolize the three days Gawain stayed at the castle. The first two swings dont touch him because he kept his part of the deal. On the third swing he is cut, this symbolizes the third day when he keeps the girdle and breaks his part of the deal. The author utilizes colors to aid in the development of Gawain’s character: â€Å"Then they brought him his shield, which was of bright red, †¦ gleaming gold† (Weston 12). The red that Gawain wears symbolizes the passion that he shows toward the deal he made with the Green Knight. The gold symbolizes values and nobility two things that Gawain holds to a high standard. Another character whose colors stand out are the Green Knight’s he wears green and gold. The green represents the amount of envy that King Arthurs sisterShow MoreRelatedArchetypes In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight773 Words   |  4 PagesArchetypes are utilized to analyze the common patterns of human nature in literature and major motion pictures. In the poem Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, Gawain accepts the challenge the Green Knight has to offer and goes on a quest to redeem the honor of Camelot. The Green Knight teaches Gawain a lesson which changes his values. A number of archetypal sit uations occur in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that serve to promote Gawain’s moral development. The Green Knight makes his first appearanceRead MoreArchetypes In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight1100 Words   |  5 PagesIn almost any story, whether novel or poem, lies a hero. Depending on the path, a variety of archetypes usually accompany the hero. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines â€Å"archetype† as â€Å"the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies.† Joseph Campbell’s A Hero With A Thousand Faces introduces the common archetypes often found in various pieces of literature, explaining â€Å"The parallels will be immediately apparent; and these will develop a vast andRead MoreTheme Of Archetypes In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight864 Words   |  4 Pagesfollow Archetypes. The concept of Archetypes presents itself in Joseph Campbells’, Hero with a Thousand Faces. Campbell’s book goes the extra mile describing/explaining how Archetypes come into action throughout the journey of the her o detailing how â€Å"The archetypes to be discovered and assimilated are precisely those that have inspired, throughout the annals of human culture, the basic images of ritual, mythology, and vision†(Campbell 41). One story, in particular a poem, arises in Sir Gawain and theRead MoreExamples Of Archetypes In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight1223 Words   |  5 Pagesin today’s culture, we become more and more aware of the archetypes that surround us. Archetypes are the works of a typical character, situation, setting, or symbol that can be found in fantasy and reality. An example would be the renowned medieval story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Pearl Poet. The author permeates the story with situational, symbolic, and character archetypes that illustrate the profound life of Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain was apprehensive of his journey at first, but as time passesRead MoreTheme Of Archetypes In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight768 Words   |  4 PagesThe archetypes that are prevalent in many different stories all have have common origin in Joseph Campbells Hero With a Thousand Faces. More specifically, in the medieval story, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, there are distinct archetypes that are especially necessary to the theme of the story.An understanding of three key archetypes—the temptress the magic weapon, and the task—reveal the essence of Gawain’s role within the archetypal quest motif. To begin, the temptress archetype is an archetypeRead MoreThe Truth Behind the Knight: the Presence of Archetypes in Sir Gawain the Green Knight2908 Words   |  12 PagesThe Truth Behind the Knight: The Presence of Archetypes in Sir Gawain the Green Knight In the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, we are introduced to a young man, who, like many of young men, is trying to discover himself and travel through his rite of passage. He is trying to figure out who he is in life, and while in his journey, passes through many phases that mold him into one of the great Knights of the Round Table that old King Arthur wanted to serve with him. These phasesRead MoreArchetypal Conflicts In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight785 Words   |  4 Pagesmonomyth archetypes, it becomes apparent to one what common patterns are found when following along with the hero’s journey. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, readers follow Gawain on his quest to redeem the honor of his community. A number of archetypal situations occur to Sir Gawain and serve to promote Gawain’s conflicts, character, and theme development. Throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, many conflicts rise to the surface as the medieval story, portraying a prideful knight and hisRead MoreArchetypal Characters In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight : Character Analysis1143 Words   |  5 Pagesmiddle ages of literature, a story such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight had many aspects of Joseph Campbell’s view of the hero’s journey. In the story of our character Sir Gawain accepts a â€Å"Call to adventure† (Campbell 45) and goes on a quest that will go through many of the archetypes. Likewise, there lies one character, The Green Knight, that can be many of the archetypal characters in the cycle of the hero’s journey. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight dramatically demonstrates how a single characterRead MoreThe Role Of Women In Literature1587 Words   |  7 Pages When people are going through events in his or her life they look for a way to express or find something that relates to the feelings that they have. Majority of the time these feelings are expressed through literature. An example is the archetypes that can be found throughout literature. In the British Middle Ages, the people were grouped into different social classes using the feudal system. Society was mainly broken into two separate groups, the nobles, and the peasants. However, there was alsoRead MoreComparing Beowulf And Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Essay1555 Words   |  7 PagesBeowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, both reflect attributes of loyalty, specifically the testing of one’s loyalty and the consequences of disloyalty, which reflect the behavior and values shared by the Anglo-Saxons and the people of the Late Medieval era. When analyzing loyalty in both of these works one will see that one’s own self-worth turns loyalty into selfishness to save oneself rather than risking one’s life for the sake of the community. Joseph Campbell outlined archetypes in his Hero

Discuss the Effect of Islam upon West Africa Essay Free Essays

Change Over Time Essay Assignment # 1The camel. with its ability to go long distances without H2O and carry heavy tonss. facilitated trans-Saharan communicating. We will write a custom essay sample on Discuss the Effect of Islam upon West Africa Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now During the 7th and 8th centuries CE. Islamic vanquishers had added North Africa to the dar al-Islam. By the terminal of the 8th century CE. Muslim merchandisers had crossed the Sahara and initiated commercial dealingss with Sub-Saharan West Africa and by the beginning of the 2nd millenary. Islam had become entrenched in West African life. Islam dramatically changed West Africa culturally. politically. and economically in the clip period between 1000 CE and 1750 CE. but many basics of West African society remained the same. Economically. Islam ushered a new epoch of economic prosperity into West Africa. The acceptance of Islam by West African provinces provided them with common land upon which provinces such as Mali greatly expanded their gold trade to embrace Arab and Mediterranean states. Established Muslim trade paths facilitated the immense addition in the volume of African trade. Commercial metropoliss sprung up across West Africa. with commercialism increasing Timbuktu’s population to 100. 000. In the 12th century. Muslim merchandisers introduced cotton. rice. and citrus fruits to West Africa ; by the 16th century cotton was the chief fabric produced in West Africa. European demand for cotton fabrics ensured that West Africa would stay economically comfortable. Muslim merchandisers expanded the African break one’s back trade to a Continental degree. supplying Europeans with a model upon which to construct the ruinous Atlantic slave trade. replacing little graduated table tribal bondage with immense province economic systems built wholly around capturing slaves and selling them to foreign states. However. despite these immense alterations in economic methods and volume. West African provinces relied to a great extent upon trade as the rule signifier of economic support throughout periods of Islamic influence. The addition in trade with Islamic merchandisers between 1000 and 1750 led to the pervasion of Muslim civilization among West African peoples. Islamic swayers built big mosques and universities where people could larn about Islam. every bit good as other countries of cognition. These universities spread literacy within West African society. Islam was by and large tolerant of traditional values. such as polygamy. This allowed it greater popularity than Christianity. and decreased opposition to transition. Islam was non forced upon citizens by their male monarchs. but instead was voluntarily encouraged. Despite this. many people adopted Islam. particularly those who interacted with Muslim merchandisers. However. many of those who adopted Islam did non follow Islam in its original signifier. but instead combined it with traditional spiritual beliefs to make a syncretistic faith. There was much societal convulsion among purists. such as the Fulani. and those who practiced syncretistic Is lam. Despite the big Islamic influence in the country. many chose non to follow a syncretistic religion and instead kept their traditional beliefs. The integrating of Islamic civilization into West Africa. every bit good as the economic prosperity that Islamic trade brought West Africa. led to the creative activity of big centralised provinces. As opposed to the little lands. such as the land of Ghana. that the first Islamic merchandisers encountered in West Africa. by the 15th century two big centralized imperiums had emerged. Muslim influence played a big portion in the creative activity of these big imperiums. First. the gross created by integrating of West Africa into Islamic trade allowed West African swayers to make and back up big standing ground forcess. These ground forcess ensured that these imperiums could protect their peoples and beginnings of income. every bit good as exert their influence. Second. Islamic jurisprudence. known as Shari’a. introduced to West Africa allowed for incorporate regulation. Previously. changing tribal Torahs had caused upset and atomization. every bit good as discontent. Islamic jurisprudence facilitated and demanded the creative activity of big centralised imperiums. However. Islam itself did non needfully go the sole faith of these imperiums ; many. so most. citizens of these imperiums clung to and practise their traditional heathen spiritual beliefs. Following the prostration of these two imperiums. West African political construction returned to the little regional lands that had been West African norm before Muslim merchandisers crossed the Sahara. Overall. the Islam greatly. sometimes even wholly. changed cultural. political. and economic environments in West Africa between 1000 CE and 1750 CE. Examples of this alteration include the debut of centralised lands. trans-Saharan trade. and Muslim values. Despite this great alteration. many elements of West African society. such as popular faith. dependance on trade. and basic values remained the same despite Muslim influence up through 1750 CE. Near the terminal of that period. Africa began to be colonized by European states. and fell under European influence. 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