Calliope articles from January 2008

Calliope archives from January 2008

5 Intriguing Indus facts.
January 1, 2008... 1. The Indus is the 25th longest river in the world, measuring about 1,800 miles in length. The longest is Egypt's Nile, about 4,180 miles. 2. The Indus rises in the lofty Himalaya Mountains of Tibet, then flows west through India,...

Musings.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If there is one place on the face of the earth where all the dreams of living humans have found a home from the very earliest days when humans began the dream of existence, it is India. --Romain Rolland, a...

What is it?
January 1, 2008... Giant mounds dotted the landscape, hinting at treasures underneath, but all Cunningham could find was mud bricks, stone tools, and broken pottery. Sir Alexander Cunningham was digging at Harappa, a site located in the Punjab, a region centered...

Reading the clues.
January 1, 2008... When Alexander Cunningham found the stone seal at Harappa, he noticed lines and symbols that resembled writing above the carving of a one-horned bull. But he did not know what they said or meant. More than 150 years later, archaeologists still...

Booming Metropolises.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] An Indus city was easy to spot, even from miles away. It was built on high mounds and had walled sections. Entering through a large gateway, a visitor would have found it easy to get around, because the main streets...

The Indus world.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

At home by the Indus.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Imagine living in one of the Indus cities: running along the wide boulevards, watching ships unload along the riverbanks, or following bullock carts rumbling down the streets. If you did live in the city, your...

Other Indus cities.(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] People living near the Indus River began to build cities around 2800 B.C. Between 2600 and 1900 B.C., their cities thrived and their civilization became the largest in the ancient world, almost reaching the size of...

Body decorations.(ACTIVITY)
January 1, 2008... Yep, life is unfair. Big teens have tattoos, while you are stuck with a painted smiley. And you did not even want it on that arm! (Mom and Dad... will they ever get it?) What if you could have a safe and painless body decoration that might...

Making water work.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Water and its management were the keys to the success of the Indus civilization. Large cities were built along the rivers that offered water to the dry, thirsty land. These waterways also made it possible for boats...

Fun with words.
January 1, 2008... WORD ORIGINS Ancient Here's a word that is used in every issue of CALLIOPE. Ever wonder what its roots are? Actually, it's traveled quite a bit. The modern-day "ancient" traces its origin to the Middle English auncien, which, in turn, is a...

Creativity at work.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Artisans who produced goods for domestic use and international trade played a vital role in bringing prosperity to the indus region between 2600 and 1900 B.C. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] COPPER AND BRONZE...

Beyond the cities.
January 1, 2008... Imagine you are an archaeologist interested in discovering how the people in the first cities carried on maritime trade. You are digging at the site of one of the earliest Sumerian cities and unearth several seals from the Indus Valley. What...

Monsoons.(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Since the time of the Indus civilization, long-distance trade has depended on the monsoon winds that cross the Indian Ocean. The monsoon system depends on the different rates of temperature change between landmasses...

What's new?
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Every year, exciting new discoveries are uncovered at prehistoric sites in the greater Indus Valley region. Here are a few sites where major archaeological excavations are taking place Harappa SITE: A...

Face to face with history.
January 1, 2008... One of the most important aspects of an archaeologist's work is to make what has been uncovered understandable to people of all age groups. Many traditional museums throughout the world were created for adults or scholars to look at unique...

Using the Indus inch.(ACTIVITY)
January 1, 2008... Evidence suggests that the use of mathematics in India started in the Indus region. Among the contributions attributed to these ancient people are accurate methods of measuring length, mass, and time. In fact, they were the first to develop a...

Dog days.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There once lived a king named Dharmaputra. When he died, his faithful dog followed him all the way to heaven. "You may come in, but your pet must stay behind," the gatekeeper said. Dharmaputra so loved his dog...

Ask Calliope.(ASK ME!)
January 1, 2008... [?] Did the Hanging Gardens of Babylon ever exist? --Ben, 9, Hanover, New Hampshire [!] This is a question that has been asked for centuries--and still there is no definite answer. What is certain is that of the surviving ancient...

Genghis Khan.(From Our Readers)(Poem)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Genghis Khan Galloping through the steppes The stench of burning flesh around him Merciless men riding around Trunks full of riches pulled by oxen Men's heads on pikes covered with...

The Ancient South Asian World.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Ancient South Asian World by Jonathan Mark Kenoyer & Kimberley Heuston (Oxford, 2005, www.oup.com) is a must-read for anyone interested in learning more about the ancient Indus Valley. The book is written by the...

Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations by Charles F. Higham (Facts On File, 2004, (www.factsonfile.com) is a single-volume reference book that covers ancient Asia from the Indus Valley civilization in...

The Shining Stones.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Shining Stones by Shanti Pappu (Tulika Publishers, (www.tulikabooks.com) is an excellent book about an excavation site in Tamil Nadu, a site in India where hominins lived some half-million years ago....

On the net.(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Here's a great site about the Indus Valley civilization, with many, many links to a variety of related topics--and the images are superb: www.harappa.com/har/har0.html Geared to schools, this British-sponsored site makes learning about...

Calliope from a to z.
January 1, 2008... A Activities ankh search, Sept 07, 31 are you a sharp eye, Nov 07, 27 blazing sun maze, May 07, 23 bowls that sing, Feb 07, 10 build a bamboo butterfly, Feb 07, 41 build a seismograph, Feb 07, 13 build Silk...

Decline and legacy.(FROM PAST TO PRESENT)
January 1, 2008... As archaeologists excavated the top layer of what they believed had been a city at Mohenjo-daro, they found the remains of people. The bones were strewn about what turned out to have been the city's streets--and none had ever received a proper...

Then and now.(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This square seal was found at Mohenjo-daro. The carved figure is of a male deity with three faces and an elaborate headdress. On either side of the headdress are five signs of the Indus script--still undeciphered....